GPS World

Tag: ERA-GLONASS

  • K2 will drive GLONASS under 1M

    K2 will drive GLONASS under 1M

    New GLONASS-K2 satellites will improve the accuracy of Russia’s satellite navigation system from 3-5 meters to less than 1 meter, said Chief Designer Mikhail Korablyov of the Joint Stock Company GLONASS, operator of the ERA-GLONASS traffic accident emergency response system, at a transport conference in Moscow in late May.

    Russia plans to launch the first K2 satellite in late 2019 or early 2020. By 2030 the GLONASS constellation will consist wholly of K2 space vehicles, 24 of them.

    The improved accuracy will better determine vehicle location in analyzing a traffic accident, according to Korablyov. It will not, however, be sufficient for lane-keeping and other advanced driver assistance systems, nor for more stringent autonomous driving requirements, at least according to emerging Western standards.

    “There are also tasks linked with the country’s defense, there are special precision weapons, the requirements for which already make up less than a meter,” Korablyov added.

    Yury Urlichich, First Deputy Director General, Roscosmos. (Photo: Roscosmos)
    Yury Urlichich, First Deputy Director General, Roscosmos. (Photo: Roscosmos)

    Numbers. Writing in the December 2018 issue of GPS World, Yury Urlichich, First Deputy Director General, Roscosmos State Space Corporation, gave a somewhat more precise figure for the new accuracy to be achieved via the K2 generation. “The new signals will allow lowering the hardware-dependent SC-user ranging error by an order of magnitude, reducing the influence of signal reflections from buildings, constructions and landscape (multipath effect), thus enabling their effective use for high-precision navigation with real-time errors below 0.1 m.

    “This SC will enable navigation not only using legacy FDMA signals available for users for more than 35 years, but simultaneously with a full row of CDMA signals in all GLONASS frequency bands: L1, L2 and L3.”

    Later in the same piece, Urlichich wrote “Mission Definition Requirements for Glonass-K2 define user range error to be 0.3 m, qualitatively improving GLONASS user performance.”

    The new K2 satellite will transmit nine navigation signals and will weigh about 1,800 kg, twice as much the latest GLONASS-K generation, known as K1. Of the 24 currently orbiting operational satellites, only two are K1 space vehicles. The other 22 are older GLONASS-M satellites.

    A Shock to the System. A bolt of lightning struck the rocket launcher for the latest GLONASS-M satellite to rise, on May 27. It did not adversely affect the bird’s journey to space, and all systems were found to be functioning properly once the satellite was released into preliminary orbit, Russian space officials said.

  • Rohde & Schwarz offers certified eCall test solution

    Rohde & Schwarz offers certified eCall test solution

    From April 1 onward, car manufacturers are required to equip new vehicles for sale in the European Union with an eCall module. In the event of a serious accident, this emergency call system automatically sends data to the uniform European emergency phone number 112 to facilitate faster response by emergency services.

    The independent test house CETECOM has now certified the eCall test solution from Rohde & Schwarz, which can be used to simulate a public-safety answering point, in accordance with the EN standard. This puts manufacturers and suppliers in a very good position for acceptance tests of their installed emergency call systems, and the Russian emergency call counterpart ERA-Glonass can also be tested with an extension.

    The Rohde & Schwarz eCall test solution is the first of its kind to be certified by an independent test body, according to the company. CETECOM has examined the implementation of the eCall test public safety answering point (PSAP) in the Rohde & Schwarz solution for the pan-European emergency call system and certified it as compliant with the CEN EN 16454:2015 standard. This is a prerequisite for tests compliant with Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/79.

    CETECOM has been officially designated as a technical service for eCall by the German Federal Motor Transport Authority. After March 31, manufacturers must equip new vehicles for sale in the EU with an eCall module. The R&S CMW-KA094 test solution is the first independently certified test PSAP system based on a wireless communications test platform.

    Rohde & Schwarz thus offers a compact solution for reproducible end-to-end functional tests and standard-compliant conformance tests of eCall and ERA-Glonass modules. The prescribed conformance tests can be performed with the test solution.

    Manufacturers and suppliers use these tests to check whether the installed modem properly initiates an emergency call in the event of a motor vehicle accident, correctly acquires the relevant data and sends it via the mobile network, and is able to establish a voice connection to the PSAP.

    Test houses and vehicle manufacturers use this solution for type approvals and for other tests requiring the emulation of mobile networks, such as location-independent testing of a car telephone.

    The certification of an eCall test solution by an independent body demonstrates that Rohde & Schwarz is a reliable partner for the automobile industry — the majority of global OEMs use the R&S CMW500 wideband radio communication tester and rely on the field-proven Rohde & Schwarz test solution.

    The company is also developing test features for the next-generation eCall over LTE system and making the corresponding solution fit for the future and for testing new vehicle telematics units.

    Along with eCall, Rohde & Schwarz supports the automobile industry with test solutions for V2X communications (from a vehicle to other users).

    The eCall test solution based on the R&S CMW500 platform in combination with the R&S SMBV100A GNSS simulator is the first to be certified by CETECOM. (Photo: Rohde & Schwarz)

    Technical basis. The R&S CMW-KA094 application software specifically developed for eCall is based on the R&S CMW500 platform in combination with the R&S SMBV100A GNSS simulator.

    The software simulates a PSAP and controls the R&S CMW500, which emulates a mobile network in the lab. It also controls the GNSS simulator, which provides the position data of the accident location.

    The R&S SMBV100A additionally supports the GNSS receiver performance tests in accordance with Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/79 Annex VI.

    The eCall test solution can be fully automated with the R&S CMWrun sequencer software for further conformance tests, enabling users to directly utilize ready-made test sequences for eCall and ERA-Glonass modules compliant with ETSI TS 103 412, CEN EN 16454 or GOST 33467. This additionally facilitates demonstration of the functional capability of the overall system in accordance with Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/79. For more information on how to test eCall and ERA-Glonass system modules, visit www.rohde-schwarz.com/ad/press/ecall-cetecom.

  • R&S simulator tests Russia’s emergency call system

    New cars for the Russian market must be equipped with the automatic ERA-GLONASS emergency call system.

    For certification of these in-vehicle systems, both conformance and performance tests are mandatory, in line with the Russian GOST R 55534 specification.

    The Rohde & Schwarz CMW500 is being used to test the ERA-GLONASS system.
    The Rohde & Schwarz CMW500 is being used to test the ERA-GLONASS system.

    For both types of tests, the Russian Certification Center Svyaz-Certificate uses standard-compliant test solutions from Rohde & Schwarz. Manufacturers and component suppliers can use the same test solution in pre-tests to speed up certification for their products.

    The R&S SMBV100A was first used in the mandatory conformance test, with an R&S CMW500 wideband radio communication tester, GNSS simulator and the associated application software.

    Now, for the newly required performance test, the center is using the GNSS simulator in the R&S SMBV100A vector signal generator.

    Accuracy Requirements. During performance testing, it is verified whether the GNSS receiver of an ERA-GLONASS emergency call system fulfills the accuracy requirements of the specification.

    In case of an emergency, the call system should not only correctly transmit position data according to a specified protocol to the public safety answering point, but position data must also be accurate so that the first responder can locate the accident vehicle quickly.

    ERA-GLONASS module manufacturers and test houses can use the R&S SMBV100A during pre-tests to create reliable and reproducible conditions similar to those in official certification tests, according to Rohde & Schwarz, to minimize the risk of failing tests during certification.