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Precise timing and synchronization (T&S) is crucial for many applications. It plays a vital role in the protection of critical infrastructure, ranging from energy to telecommunications. Galileo provides a unique service to the T&S user community by delivering a free, stable and very accurate time-and-frequency source that is available worldwide.

The 30 nanosecond timing provided by E-GNSS means that Europe can offer highly accurate time, phase and frequency network synchronization with clear benefits to critical infrastructure operators, thanks to its increased robustness against spoofing and jamming and improved timing service availability. Reinhard Blasi, market development officer at GSA, the European GNSS Agency, presented some of the latest market developments at the Paris International Air Show. He outlined the main uses for T&S in the fields of telecommunications, energy and finance.

Accuracy and compliance important for confidence

The GNSS T&S segment is driven by the telecommunications sector, which represents around 90% of overall GNSS device shipments. By 2020, 5G is expected to be a new paradigm in the telecom industry, providing higher data rates and requiring further synchronisation accuracy. EGNSS should be able to contribute to meeting these more demanding accuracy requirements.

In the field of energy, for example, GNSS is used to provide a precise timing marker at nodal points of networks to ensure proper monitoring and protection against failure – GNSS can also improve the efficiency of the electricity supply network, detecting and reacting to local changes in usage, thereby helping to make energy grids ‘smarter’.

In financial trading, GNSS is used in trade timestamping in line with upcoming new regulatory frameworks that will require financial operators to trace and synchronise trades with financial computer systems. Accuracy and compliance with regulations are particularly important for the confidence of those using trading platforms.

Valeria Catalano, market development officer at GSA, presented the GSA and EC Timing and Synchronisation funded project: DEMETRA and ROBUST EGNSS TIMING SERVICES.

DEMETRA aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of delivering early EGNSS timing services to end users by utilising an operational demonstrator and conducting tests with pilot applications. The project developed a prototype of a European time disseminator, based on EGNSS, validating the concept of “time as a service” and adding new or improved features like time certification, redundancy, resilience, integrity, and improved accuracy.

The Robust Timing project is aimed at defining and validating the concept of a robust stand-alone timing service for Galileo as well as for EGNOS. The project will also design a synchronisation service using the precise time generated by Galileo (GST), but without using the Signal in Space for exchange of synchronisation information.

Read this: GNSS Market Report

David Comby, French inter-ministerial coordinator for GNSS programmes, said: “The issue is time; time is used for many applications and many of them are very critical. The question is how to use Galileo and EGNOS to benefit from their added value to the users, be it in the area of energy, high-frequency trading or telecommunications.”

GSA finds solutions

The issue of resilience has come under the spotlight in recent years with ‘jamming’ and ‘spoofing' attacks. GSA has found solutions in the shape of Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OS NMA) and Commercial Service Authentication services. These services are able to detect and ward off spoofing attacks.

Galileo now offers more robust Commercial Service Authentication on the E6 signal; its public regulated service offers an encrypted and robust navigation service specifically designed to be more resistant to jamming interference and spoofing, to ensure continuity of service to authorised users, even in times of crisis.

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 GSA discussed how Galileo helps the mapping and surveying sector harmonise geospatial data during the EUREF 2017 Symposium in Wroclaw, Poland.

EUREF, the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) Reference Frame Sub-Commission for Europe, is dedicated to the definition, realisation and maintenance of the European Geodetic Reference Systems. Included in this mission is the development and maintenance of the EUREF GNSS Permanent Network (EPN), which is a ground-based GNSS infrastructure for scientific and practical applications in positioning and navigation.

“Through the INSPIRE Directive, the European Union requires that geospatial data be harmonised across Europe via a common coordinate system,” says Professor Alessandro Caporali of Italy’s University of Padova. “GNSS based satellite positioning is, to date, the most efficient and accurate technique for consistently defining coordinates on a regional and global scale.”

EUREF provides standards and guidelines to European National Mapping Authorities in order to harmonise the definition and adoption of national coordinate reference systems.

Galileo readiness

But of course all of these benefits can only be used if the geodetic community is ‘Galileo ready’. According to the GSA’s GNSS User Technology Report, surveying, mapping and construction (both person-based and machine controlled) together accounted for 95% of all GNSS device shipments in 2016. “In the coming decade, the total amount of shipments is expected to reach 815,000 units worldwide, representing almost a four-fold increase over 2015,” said GSA Head of Market Development Gian Gherardo Calini, speaking at the recent EUREF 2017 Symposium in Wroclaw, Poland.

According to Calini, multi-constellation and multi-frequency are widely adopted to fulfil the sector’s stringent accuracy requirements. A recent GSA survey of the sector showed that 77% of responding reference networks indicated that they had enough information to integrate Galileo into their systems, while 41% say they are already fully prepared to use Galileo signals. In total, 78% of reference networks have plans to upgrade to Galileo this year.

Currently, most Galileo-enabled chipsets and receivers are found in the automotive, consumer, agriculture and surveying sectors. For example, in the high-precision market, all the leading receiver developers have integrated Galileo into their products, including Trimble, Leica- Geosystems, Javad, TopCon, Septentrio and NovAtel.

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).

As home to over 600 million inhabitants, many technically skilled experts in the area of satellite technology, and a fast-growing economy, South East Asia is a hotspot for global business – and GNSS is no exception. In fact, thanks to its unique geographic position, where it is able to receive all GNSS signals (and even some EGNOS signals), South East Asia is developing into a regional ‘GNSS Valley’.  

To help ensure European GNSS’ spot at this table, the Horizon 2020-funded BELS project conducts a range of coordinated activities to raise awareness and build capacities for the exploitation of E-GNSS technologies in South East Asia. The BELS consortium brings together 12 European, Asian and Australian partners, including European companies with a presence in the region, as well as leading universities. Together, these partners concentrate on three core objectives:

1. Opening new markets to EU companies
2. Increasing awareness of E-GNSS technology through workshops
3. Increasing the technical expertise of people in the region

One of the project’s core focuses is to promote Galileo and how it can benefit the region. This work is particularly important as the region lacks its own satellite navigation capabilities and is thus dependent on other national or regional systems. “There’s a lot of competition coming from Russia, China and Japan – each looking to tie South East Asia to their GNSS system,” says Matteo Vannucchi from the BELS coordination team. “However, the majority of these systems are military-based or controlled, which of course raises concerns for users in the region.”

According to Vannucchi, because Galileo is the only civil-operated GNSS programme, it has a unique advantage in the region. “The potential here is substantial,” he says. For example, the Vietnamese government has issued a regulation that requires all vehicles used for transporting passengers or goods to be equipped with ‘black boxes’ capable of relaying data – which will come from GNSS technology. “Many of these local technology companies are looking for suitable providers, but tend to look towards the US, Japan and China instead of European ones,” adds Vannucchi.

A dedicated GNSS R&D centre

Core to this job is the NAVIS Centre, a dedicated GNSS R&D centre located in Hanoi, Vietnam. The centre’s mission is to act as a linking entity between Europe and South East Asia within the GNSS sector. Specifically, it aims to promote cooperation between EU and South East Asian actors, promote European GNSS technology, and reinforce international collaboration among players. To achieve this, the centre conducts research, training and awareness initiatives in collaboration with a growing network of international institutions from Asia-Pacific and Europe. NAVIS also provides support to regional policy makers on GNSS technical issues relating to the development of regulations and standards.

“Our core function is to develop satellite navigation in South East Asia,” says Vannucchi. “Together, we are conducting ongoing research and coordinating workshops and conferences that give these actors an opportunity to come together and share their findings.”

The NAVIS facility is also available for both testing and research activities and serves as a hub for establishing new links with regional GNSS stakeholders. NAVIS is particularly well suited for testing a receiver’s multi-constellation function, and several EU receiver manufacturers have taken up the opportunity to co-locate their receivers at the centre.

Test your receivers here

To encourage more companies to take advantage of this opportunity, the NAVIS centre has issued calls for expression of interest, where European GNSS companies can receive vouchers to visit the NAVIS Centre. “NAVIS is the perfect place to test receivers and devices, not only because of how one can receive all GNSS signals here, but also because of the unique phenomena of ionosphere found here,” says Vannucchi. “In general, if it works at NAVIS, it will work anywhere in the world.”

The purpose of these visits is to provide a company with a chance to experience the centre and all that it has to offer in terms of serving as a testbed for their GNSS equipment and solutions prior to making a commitment to relocate some of their activities here. Whereas the first call was to invite companies to come and see if NAVIS was a good fit for them, a subsequent second call gives these companies an opportunity to apply to receive vouchers to conduct their testing at the centre and network with stakeholders in Southeast Asia.

Last year, seven European companies visited NAVIS and started planning their test campaigns. One such company was UK-based NSL, who has developed a GNSS interference and jammer detection system. Originally developed within the GSA-funded DETECTOR project, the company is now looking to commercialise the system. “Thanks to the partnership between NSL and the BELS project, NSL has been able to trial their technology in the South East Asian region and to disseminate results with key regional stakeholders,” says Vannucchi. “The company is also looking forward to closer cooperation with the BELS partners to develop solutions that ensure safe, secure and reliable use of GNSS in support of a range of governmental applications within the region.”

These calls are open to any EU-based company working with E-GNSS equipment and solutions and with commercial interest in the region. Successful applicants receive financial support via a voucher worth up to EUR 2 500. Applicants can apply at any time during the year, with applications being evaluated every three months. The call will be closed once the available budget has been fully allocated. In order to be considered, companies should provide a short company profile, proof of activity in the field of E-GNSS, a letter of motivation, CV and suggested timeframe for the visit.

More information can be found 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 Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency (GSA) presented two exciting Galileo ‘search and rescue’ (SAR) projects - GRICAS and HELIOS - at the Paris International Air Show in June.

On 8 March 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a passenger flight, disappeared between Kuala Lumpur International Airport and its destination, Beijing Airport in China. The disappearance triggered one of the largest and most expensive multinational searches for a missing aircraft in history. The flight recorder could not be located and so it was not possible immediately to carry out an analysis of what went wrong and what could be done to ensure it never happened again.

Before MH370 vanished it did not send out a distress signal, there was no indication of poor weather and there was no warning of a technical problem; it was a mystery. MH370 came four years after the loss of Air France flight AF477 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris – again, there was no warning signal.

Watch this: Galileo Search and Rescue

Following the incident, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) realised that they needed to do something to improve the distress signalling and adopted new recommendations for a Global Aeronautical Distress and Safety System (GADSS). The European Union adopted an initiative in 2015 to improve the location of distressed aircraft for the swift rescue of passengers and rapid analysis to determine what went wrong and to identify safety improvements.

GSA steps in

ICAO recommendations outlined the end to be achieved, while leaving the technological solutions to industry. Autonomous distress tracking means that an aircraft can transmit a signal automatically without the intervention of crew – who are focussed on recovery in an emergency. The device must also be autonomous of the aircraft’s electricity or other aircraft systems. There must also be a way for the device to alert SAR (Search and Rescue) control centres.

Through the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Development programme, the GSA funded projects proposing technical solutions based on satellite support through the Galileo SAR service.

At the air show, Orolia, a lead partner in the HELIOS project, presented its GADSS compliant ‘Distress Tracking - Emergency Locator Transmitter’ (ELT-DT), which allows a beacon to automatically send a distress signal providing an accurate position when it detects unusual activity, such as a precipitous drop in altitude. Oralio CEO Jean-Yves Courtois said: “The ability to autonomously track aircraft in distress with continuous location data is an industry breakthrough that will deliver long-lasting benefits for the travelling public.”

Also watch: How the Galileo SAR service works

The GRICAS (Galileo Search-And-Rescue Return-Link Implementation for a better Civil Aviation Safety) system, like HELIOS, makes use of medium-altitude earth orbiting search and rescue systems (Cospas-Sarsat) which are supported by global navigation satellite systems, such as Galileo.

“GRICAS has developed two main products - firstly the ground station, MEOLUT, localising the distress signals; the second is next generation beacons that will equip the aircrafts to meet the ICAO requirements, allowing the aircraft to be localised and rescued in distress situations,” said Michel Monnerat, manager of the Location Infrastructure and Security Department at Thales Alenia Space.

All new commercial aircraft will have to meet ICAO requirements by 2021.

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).