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Users don’t differentiate between good indoor and good outdoor positioning; they want solutions that deliver good positioning everywhere. Speaking at the IPIN 2018 indoor positioning and navigation conference in Nantes on 25 September, the European GNSS Agency’s Justyna Redelkiewicz presented the agency’s work to map user requirements along with the latest issue of its GNSS User Technology Report.

Understanding user requirements is key to delivering solutions that respond to user needs. However, these requirements are extremely diverse. Redelkiewicz, who is in charge of LBS and IoT market development at the GSA, said at the conference that last year alone a User Consultation Platform run by the GSA had collected more than 400 completely different user requirements, some of which contradicted each other.

“Consequently, there is no single positioning solution that we are aiming for, as no single positioning, navigation and timing solution is capable of satisfying user needs in all use cases,” she said, adding that there is a place for all technologies in providing effective solutions. “As an example, in the case of smartphones we have to look at visual navigation, we have to look at ultra-precise MEMS and Signals of Opportunity and see how we can integrate all available technologies to provide the best solution.”

Read this: GNSS User Technology Report 2018 available for download now!

Even though GNSS is a mature technology, there is still is a lot of development around it, particularly involving multi-frequency, so developers of outdoor-indoor positioning solutions should look at what is happening in GNSS and understand that there is more to the technology than simple navigation, Redelkiewicz said.

Looking to the future

The future of automated, intelligent positioning systems will be built on four main areas of development. Firstly, there is accuracy – here, rather than focusing on millimetre-level accuracy that is achievable with expensive receiver technology, the goal is to reach decimetre level accuracy that is available to everyone everywhere.

The second area of development is ubiquity, which means having seamless location everywhere – both outdoors and indoors. Another important element is connectivity, allowing the exchange of data with infrastructure and with other users to generate value added solutions using location. “There is a lot of development on both satellite and terrestrial networks such as 5G, LPWANs or satellite communication LEO constellations to provide the connectivity needed to enable constant sharing of positioning information,” Redelkiewicz said.

Finally, there is security which, in addition to robust and secure positioning, also involves protection of location information and covers all other issues related to data privacy.

Better availability

GNSS is responding to all of these needs. From 40 operational GNSS satellites in 2000 the global constellations have increased their fleet to 100 satellites in 2017. Likewise, the installed base of GNSS devices has increased to around 6 billion today, the majority of which are smartphones, of which currently around 400 million are Galileo-enabled.

This means that most people have a satellite receiver in their pockets and are able to use it. Of particular significance from the point of view of ubiquity, currently only about 30% of receiver models are single-constellation, which means that the majority use two, three or four constellations simultaneously.

On the downside, it has become increasingly easy in recent years to spoof a GNSS location, as spoofing devices have fallen in price. However, Redelkiewicz noted that authentication can provide a solution to this. “From 2020 Galileo will provide Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OS-NMA), which will be a type of digital signature confirming that a particular signal comes from a particular satellite,” she said, adding that this is supported further by a lot of development around end-to-end authentication and security, including with blockchain.

Increased accuracy

Galileo’s multi-frequency capability is responding to the need for increased accuracy. Around 40% of receiver models on the market are now multi-frequency. And, with the launch of the world’s first dual-frequency GNSS smartphone by Xiaomi, and u-blox, STM, Intel and Qualcomm launching their first dual-frequency products earlier this year, multi-frequency has entered the mass market, addressing user needs for increased accuracy.

Moreover, commercial augmentation services offering precise point positioning (PPP) and real-time kinematic (RTK) corrections are starting to target the mass market, and system providers are also aiming at providing new high accuracy services, such as the Galileo High Accuracy Service, Redelkiewicz said.

Access to GNSS raw measurements is also opening up new possibilities for app developers and users in terms of increased accuracy and robustness. The possibilities offered by access to these raw measurements were the subject of a separate tutorial at IPIN 2018. (See article below.)

And this: GNSS raw measurements delivering greater accuracy

The availability of raw measurements, combined with the availability of very powerful chipsets, the fact that dual-frequency capability is available in smartphones and high precision corrections are freely available means that the gap between high precision and the mass market is closing.

“The market used to be split between consumer, high precision, and safety-critical applications, but now everything is converging. Indoor and outdoor positioning solutions are also converging to provide ubiquitous location, so the future looks very exciting,” Redelkiewicz said.

GNSS User Technology Report

The second issue of the GSA’s GNSS User Technology Report, which Redelkiewicz presented at IPIN 2018, is available for free download, providing an exhaustive review of all the latest GNSS trends and developments. Like the inaugural Report in 2016, the second issue focuses on three key macrosegments: mass market solutions; transport safety- and liability-critical solutions; and high precision and timing solutions.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).

The widespread uptake of GNSS in commercial shipping has raised the need for common performance, reliability and resilience standards. With this in mind, the European GNSS Agency (GSA) and the Joint Research Centre (JRC) are launching a test campaign to help manufacturers with the implementation of Galileo in maritime shipborne receivers while checking compliance with standards in the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).

GNSS has radically changed maritime navigation. Whether it is on board the largest super-tankers and container ships or on small leisure craft using inexpensive handsets, GNSS has become the main source of position and timing information. However, this has raised the need for common standards for performance, reliability and resilience across and within constellations.

The susceptibility of the GNSS signal to interruptions in the availability of any given constellation means that the ability of receivers to process signals from more than one constellation needs to be assessed. GNSS receivers in the maritime domain are also vulnerable to interference, creating the need for mitigation measures such as GNSS integrity warning monitoring and complementary back-up navigation systems.

IMO standards

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has published performance standards for multi-system shipborne receivers, which highlight the need to adopt the new GNSS systems, their space-based and terrestrial-based augmentations, as well as non-GNSS based terrestrial PNT.

Read this: H2H – leveraging EGNSS for safer maritime navigation

In this context, and to facilitate the successful market uptake of the EU GNSS programmes in the maritime domain, the GSA in collaboration with the JRC, the European Commission’s in-house science service, is launching a testing campaign on Galileo-enabled ship-borne GNSS receivers.

This test campaign aims to assess both the correct implementation of Galileo in the receivers through targeted tests with a GNSS simulator and/or live GNSS signals, and the consistency of the performance requirements set for Galileo in the maritime domain.

Added value for manufacturers

The testing campaign is targeted at maritime receiver manufacturers looking for independent assessment of Galileo implementation into their products and assistance with any issues linked to this implementation.

In order to assess the correct implementation of Galileo, the tested receivers should have the capacity to enable and disable specific GNSS constellations and be able to function in Galileo-only mode. During the execution of the tests the receivers should also be able to provide information on position, course over ground (COG), speed over ground (SOG), time, and any indications and warnings.

Manufacturers stand to benefit from the fact that the tests will be independent – the GSA/JRC will conduct neutral test cases and provide objective results. These test cases will also be flexible, and can be modified depending on the manufacturer's needs. The campaign is also completely free of cost to the manufacturers. It aims is to support the industry in the implementation of Galileo in shipborne receivers. Based on the testing, the manufacturer will receive a confidential comparative analysis of the results with respect to the average behaviour.

Timeframe

The testing campaign is planned to start in the fourth quarter of 2018 and will continue through 2019. The tests should not exceed four months per model and the duration of the whole test campaign will depend on the number of models tested.

How to apply

Interested shipborne receiver manufacturers and AIS Class A manufacturers are invited to send an email to market@gsa.europa.eu, with the subject Galileo testing campaign for shipborne receivers, indicating their interest in participating. The call for participation is continuously open.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).

The European GNSS Agency (GSA) has opened a call for proposals within its Fundamental Elements funding mechanism, targeting the development of an innovative positioning On-Board-Unit (OBU) suitable for fully automated driving. The deadline for submissions is 1 March 2019.

Autonomous driving is set to radically transform mobility - enhancing road safety, reducing traffic and exhaust pollution, and increasing comfort for drivers and passengers alike. The autonomous driving concept will transfer the vehicle control function from the human driver to the automated system, which needs to be aware of its location, sense the surrounding environment and navigate by making decisions without human input.

Hybridisation is key

Autonomous driving is a safety-critical application, as its failure may have serious consequences for people, property and the environment. Therefore autonomous cars need high-performance positioning engines that make optimal use of a complete set of sensors complementing each other in a tightly hybridised solution.

Read this: GSA releases 2018 Grant Plan

The objectives of this call for proposals are to develop an innovative close-to-market GNSS-based On-board-Unit (OBU) suitable for fully automated driving and/or cooperative positioning (ideally level 5, according to the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) classification), integrating a GNSS receiver with additional sensors and possibly a communication modem to enable the target application’s performance.

GNSS will be the core element of the proposed solution, thanks to its unique capacity for providing accurate absolute positioning and precise timing information, but will be hybridised with other on-board sensors such as LIDAR, radar, cameras, etc.

EGNSS differentiators

The receiver should leverage EGNSS differentiators such as multi-frequency (E1/E5 or E1/E5/E6), wide-band (E5 AltBOC) and pilot signals, Open Service navigation message authentication (OS-NMA), Galileo High Accuracy Service (HAS), and so on.

The call for proposals is intended to fund up to two projects with the following activities:

• Design, development, testing and demonstration of dual- or multi-frequency GNSS-based OBU for fully autonomous driving to be embedded on autonomous vehicles.
• Tight integration of the GNSS receiver with other sensors to reach the application needs.

To register to take part in the webinar, click here.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).

The European GNSS Agency (GSA) has opened a call for proposals within its Fundamental Elements funding mechanism, targeting the development of an innovative positioning On-Board-Unit (OBU) suitable for fully automated driving. The deadline for submissions is 1 March 2019.

Autonomous driving is set to radically transform mobility - enhancing road safety, reducing traffic and exhaust pollution, and increasing comfort for drivers and passengers alike. The autonomous driving concept will transfer the vehicle control function from the human driver to the automated system, which needs to be aware of its location, sense the surrounding environment and navigate by making decisions without human input.

Hybridisation is key

Autonomous driving is a safety-critical application, as its failure may have serious consequences for people, property and the environment. Therefore autonomous cars need high-performance positioning engines that make optimal use of a complete set of sensors complementing each other in a tightly hybridised solution.

Read this: GSA releases 2018 Grant Plan

The objectives of this call for proposals are to develop an innovative close-to-market GNSS-based On-board-Unit (OBU) suitable for fully automated driving and/or cooperative positioning (ideally level 5, according to the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) classification), integrating a GNSS receiver with additional sensors and possibly a communication modem to enable the target application’s performance.

GNSS will be the core element of the proposed solution, thanks to its unique capacity for providing accurate absolute positioning and precise timing information, but will be hybridised with other on-board sensors such as LIDAR, radar, cameras, etc.

EGNSS differentiators

The receiver should leverage EGNSS differentiators such as multi-frequency (E1/E5 or E1/E5/E6), wide-band (E5 AltBOC) and pilot signals, Open Service navigation message authentication (OS-NMA), Galileo High Accuracy Service (HAS), and so on.

The call for proposals is intended to fund up to two projects with the following activities:

• Design, development, testing and demonstration of dual- or multi-frequency GNSS-based OBU for fully autonomous driving to be embedded on autonomous vehicles.
• Tight integration of the GNSS receiver with other sensors to reach the application needs.

Webinar

On 22 November 2018 at 15:00, a webinar on the Fundamental Elements Call “Enhanced Receiver for autonomous driving/navigation” will be held to provide applicants with additional details on the proposal preparation.

To register for the webinar click here.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).

The European GNSS Agency (GSA) has opened a call for proposals within its Fundamental Elements funding mechanism, targeting the development of an innovative positioning On-Board-Unit (OBU) suitable for fully automated driving. The deadline for submissions is 1 March 2019.

Autonomous driving is set to radically transform mobility - enhancing road safety, reducing traffic and exhaust pollution, and increasing comfort for drivers and passengers alike. The autonomous driving concept will transfer the vehicle control function from the human driver to the automated system, which needs to be aware of its location, sense the surrounding environment and navigate by making decisions without human input.

Hybridisation is key

Autonomous driving is a safety-critical application, as its failure may have serious consequences for people, property and the environment. Therefore autonomous cars need high-performance positioning engines that make optimal use of a complete set of sensors complementing each other in a tightly hybridised solution.

Read this: GSA releases 2018 Grant Plan

The objectives of this call for proposals are to develop an innovative close-to-market GNSS-based On-board-Unit (OBU) suitable for fully automated driving and/or cooperative positioning (ideally level 5, according to the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) classification), integrating a GNSS receiver with additional sensors and possibly a communication modem to enable the target application’s performance.

GNSS will be the core element of the proposed solution, thanks to its unique capacity for providing accurate absolute positioning and precise timing information, but will be hybridised with other on-board sensors such as LIDAR, radar, cameras, etc.

EGNSS differentiators

The receiver should leverage EGNSS differentiators such as multi-frequency (E1/E5 or E1/E5/E6), wide-band (E5 AltBOC) and pilot signals, Open Service navigation message authentication (OS-NMA), Galileo High Accuracy Service (HAS), and so on.

The call for proposals is intended to fund up to two projects with the following activities:

• Design, development, testing and demonstration of dual- or multi-frequency GNSS-based OBU for fully autonomous driving to be embedded on autonomous vehicles.
• Tight integration of the GNSS receiver with other sensors to reach the application needs.

To register to take part in the webinar, click here.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).

With the release of Android 7 (Nougat) in 2016, Google made GNSS raw measurements available to smartphone users, allowing them to improve their positioning accuracy. A tutorial at the IPIN 2018 indoor positioning and navigation conference in Nantes on 24 September explained how users can access raw measurements and examined how they are contributing to better location performance in mass market applications.

In August 2016 Google officially released its Android 7 (Nougat) operating system. With this release, Google made GNSS raw measurements available to users for the first time, giving them access to a range of advanced GNSS processing techniques that had previously been restricted to more professional GNSS receivers.

With these raw measurements, Android users are now able to calculate pseudoranges (the distance between the user’s receiver and the satellite) and position, velocity and time (PVT) on their own, using their Android device. ‘So what?’ you might ask. Well, the opportunity to use this information can deliver significant benefits in a number of areas.

Benefits for users

European GNSS Agency (GSA) Market Development Innovation Officer Martin Sunkevic highlighted some of these benefits at the IPIN 2018 tutorial. He said that, first of all, in the area of research and development, the measurements could be used to test hardware and software solutions for new algorithms, such as for modelling the ionosphere or troposphere. But the benefits to users do not stop there.

“Access to raw measurements also means that developers can now use advanced positioning techniques to create solutions that are currently only available in professional receivers,” Sunkevic said, adding that this increased accuracy is resulting in a technological push to develop new applications. As an example of an app providing high accuracy, he noted PPP WizzLite, which can achieve accuracy of 1-2 meters in motion, and sub-metre accuracy in static mode.

What’s more, access to raw measurements offers new ways to detect radio frequency interference and will make it possible to use the Galileo Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OS-NMA) to verify data from the Galileo navigation message, which will soon help to increase the robustness of the signal.

In the area of testing, performance monitoring and education, the GSA innovation officer noted that the raw measurements could be used to compare solutions from individual constellations. Using applications such as GNSSLogger and RINEX ON, it is possible to test only satellites from the Galileo constellation, for example. A smartphone testing campaign conducted by the GSA showed that Galileo delivered impressive accuracy gains.

Toolkit

Moisés Navarro Gallardo, Navigation User Receiver Testing Engineer at Airbus, provided an example on how to use RTK positioning using raw measurements. Firstly, there is the raw measurement log file, which can be logged using, for instance, the GNSSLogger from Google. Once logged, the raw measurements can be converted, in post processing, into a standard format, such as RINEX. Other tools, like RINEX GEO++, convert the raw data into RINEX format in real time.

Next, it is necessary to have the ephemerides, which are the parameters needed to compute the satellite positions – these can be downloaded from the Internet, Navarro Gallardo said. The observations from a base station are also needed, which can also be downloaded from the Internet (IGS network) or received from local stations. Finally, an RTK tool is required, like the public RTKLIP tool. With these elements in place, the raw measurements can be used in the RTK PVT solution to allow users to mitigate common errors (between station and the user smartphone) and to achieve a more accurate position.

GSA Task Force

Around the same time as the Android 7 release, the GSA set up a Task Force to engage with navigation and positioning experts and boost innovation around this new feature. Sunkevic noted at the tutorial that one of the GSA’s core responsibilities is to develop the GNSS market and ensure that Galileo is used by as many people as possible.

He said that, with the Raw Measurements Task Force, the GSA aimed to valorise the main Galileo differentiators, including high accuracy and authentication, and to share knowledge and expertise on Android raw measurements and their wider use, including their potential for high accuracy positioning techniques.

One of the main outcomes of the Task Force, highlighted at the conference, is a White Paper with which the Task Force promotes the use of GNSS raw measurements in mass market applications and demonstrates their use to the GNSS community through practical examples.

Galileo App Competition

Promoting the use of raw measurements among the development community is also the aim of an upcoming Galileo App Competition, announced at the IPIN session by Galileo Service Performance Engineer Gaetano Galluzzo, from the European Space Agency’s research and technology centre (ESA-ESTEC).

Galuzzo said that the goal of the competition is to design an Android application capable of performing fixes using single- and dual-frequency raw measurements from GPS, Galileo and GPS + Galileo satellites. Run by ESA in collaboration with the GSA and the European Commission, with support from Google, the competition is open to all students from European universities and trainees in posts at European research and development organisations.

In his presentation at the conference, the ESA engineer highlighted some of the key ingredients needed for high accuracy apps in smartphones, including raw measurements, continuous carrier phase measurements, and dual frequency chips for fast convergence. He noted in particular that dual frequency measurements, along with chipset algorithmic enhancements, are enabling a significant reduction in positioning error, and that decimetre-level accuracy is possible even in devices with low-cost GNSS chipsets, which means that the advantages of Galileo can be enjoyed by people on all budgets.

The GSA recently launched an enhanced version of its popular UseGalileo.eu site, which tracks the many new Galileo-enabled devices and services coming onto the market. You can check the site to find out which chipsets, smartphones or wearables are Galileo-enabled.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).

With the release of Android 7 (Nougat) in 2016, Google made GNSS raw measurements available to smartphone users, allowing them to improve their positioning accuracy. A tutorial at the IPIN 2018 indoor positioning and navigation conference in Nantes on 24 September explained how users can access raw measurements and examined how they are contributing to better location performance in mass market applications.

In August 2016 Google officially released its Android 7 (Nougat) operating system. With this release, Google made GNSS raw measurements available to users for the first time, giving them access to a range of advanced GNSS processing techniques that had previously been restricted to more professional GNSS receivers.

With these raw measurements, Android users are now able to calculate pseudoranges (the distance between the user’s receiver and the satellite) and position, velocity and time (PVT) on their own, using their Android device. ‘So what?’ you might ask. Well, the opportunity to use this information can deliver significant benefits in a number of areas.

Benefits for users

European GNSS Agency (GSA) Market Development Innovation Officer Martin Sunkevic highlighted some of these benefits at the IPIN 2018 tutorial. He said that, first of all, in the area of research and development, the measurements could be used to test hardware and software solutions for new algorithms, such as for modelling the ionosphere or troposphere. But the benefits to users do not stop there.

“Access to raw measurements also means that developers can now use advanced positioning techniques to create solutions that are currently only available in professional receivers,” Sunkevic said, adding that this increased accuracy is resulting in a technological push to develop new applications. As an example of an app providing high accuracy, he noted PPP WizzLite, which can achieve accuracy of 1-2 meters in motion, and sub-metre accuracy in static mode.

What’s more, access to raw measurements offers new ways to detect radio frequency interference and will make it possible to use the Galileo Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OS-NMA) to verify data from the Galileo navigation message, which will soon help to increase the robustness of the signal.

In the area of testing, performance monitoring and education, the GSA innovation officer noted that the raw measurements could be used to compare solutions from individual constellations. Using applications such as GNSSLogger and RINEX ON, it is possible to test only satellites from the Galileo constellation, for example. A smartphone testing campaign conducted by the GSA showed that Galileo delivered impressive accuracy gains.

Toolkit

Moisés Navarro Gallardo, Navigation User Receiver Testing Engineer at Airbus, provided an example on how to use RTK positioning using raw measurements. Firstly, there is the raw measurement log file, which can be logged using, for instance, the GNSSLogger from Google. Once logged, the raw measurements can be converted, in post processing, into a standard format, such as RINEX. Other tools, like RINEX GEO++, convert the raw data into RINEX format in real time.

Next, it is necessary to have the ephemerides, which are the parameters needed to compute the satellite positions – these can be downloaded from the Internet, Navarro Gallardo said. The observations from a base station are also needed, which can also be downloaded from the Internet (IGS network) or received from local stations. Finally, an RTK tool is required, like the public RTKLIP tool. With these elements in place, the raw measurements can be used in the RTK PVT solution to allow users to mitigate common errors (between station and the user smartphone) and to achieve a more accurate position.

GSA Task Force

Around the same time as the Android 7 release, the GSA set up a Task Force to engage with navigation and positioning experts and boost innovation around this new feature. Sunkevic noted at the tutorial that one of the GSA’s core responsibilities is to develop the GNSS market and ensure that Galileo is used by as many people as possible.

He said that, with the Raw Measurements Task Force, the GSA aimed to valorise the main Galileo differentiators, including high accuracy and authentication, and to share knowledge and expertise on Android raw measurements and their wider use, including their potential for high accuracy positioning techniques.

One of the main outcomes of the Task Force, highlighted at the conference, is a White Paper with which the Task Force promotes the use of GNSS raw measurements in mass market applications and demonstrates their use to the GNSS community through practical examples.

Galileo App Competition

Promoting the use of raw measurements among the development community is also the aim of an upcoming Galileo App Competition, announced at the IPIN session by Galileo Service Performance Engineer Gaetano Galluzzo, from the European Space Agency’s research and technology centre (ESA-ESTEC).

Galuzzo said that the goal of the competition is to design an Android application capable of performing fixes using single- and dual-frequency raw measurements from GPS, Galileo and GPS + Galileo satellites. Run by ESA in collaboration with the GSA and the European Commission, with support from Google, the competition is open to all students from European universities and trainees in posts at European research and development organisations.

In his presentation at the conference, the ESA engineer highlighted some of the key ingredients needed for high accuracy apps in smartphones, including raw measurements, continuous carrier phase measurements, and dual frequency chips for fast convergence. He noted in particular that dual frequency measurements, along with chipset algorithmic enhancements, are enabling a significant reduction in positioning error, and that decimetre-level accuracy is possible even in devices with low-cost GNSS chipsets, which means that the advantages of Galileo can be enjoyed by people on all budgets.

The GSA recently launched an enhanced version of its popular UseGalileo.eu site, which tracks the many new Galileo-enabled devices and services coming onto the market. You can check the site to find out which chipsets, smartphones or wearables are Galileo-enabled.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).