GPS World

Tag: Jean-Marie Sleewaegen

  • Editorial Advisory Board: GNSS constellations and receivers

    Editorial Advisory Board: GNSS constellations and receivers

    Which GNSS constellations do most receivers currently use? How is that mix changing?

    Ellen Hall

    “Most modern commercial receivers today are moving to receive all GNSS signals: GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS, IRNSS and so forth. Also important, in which bands does the receiver operate, and how many channels does it have for optimum accuracy and quicker cold start? Application and location for local stability are also factors. If the operation is in India, IRNSS would be important, in Japan QZSS, and so forth.”

    — Ellen Hall
    Imminent Federal

    Jean-Marie Sleewaegen

    “The current standard in commercial receivers is to exploit the interoperability between the various GNSS signals and to make use of all satellites in view, regardless of their constellation. While the L1/E1/B1 frequency band continues to be the primary frequency in almost all GNSS systems, the legacy L2 band is gradually losing its importance as most satellites are already broadcasting more advanced signals in the L5/E5 band.”

    — Jean-Marie Sleewaegen
    Septentrio

    Bernard Gruber

    “The newest phones offered by Google and the largest manufacturers in the world — Apple, Samsung, OPPO and Vivo — support the following positioning systems: Google — Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro: GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS, and other // Apple — iPhone 14: GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, and BeiDou // Samsung — S23 and most other recent versions: GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, and BeiDou // Xiaomi — Xiaomi 13 Pro: GPS (L1+L5), Galileo (E1+E5a), GLONASS (G1), BeiDou, NavIC (L5A-GPS supplementary positioning) // OPPO — F21: GPS, A-GPS, BeiDou, GLONASS, Galileo, and QZSS // Vivo — Vivo X90: GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS, NavIC, Cell ID, Wi-Fi. // For farming, John Deere’s SF-RTK uses GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou and Galileo.”

    — Bernard Gruber
    Northrop Grumman

    Bradford W. Parkinson “All modern generation cell phones use virtually all GNSS signals. This includes GPS, Galileo, GLONASS and BeiDou. In addition, they receive the correction signals, such as WAAS and EGNOS. This capability is embedded in the chips that are currently used. We are told that they have the capability to track on the order of 50 satellites at once. We expect that dual frequency is close to realization and the use of the new civil L5 signal will make cell phones even more capable.”

    — Bradford W. Parkinson
    Stanford Center for Position, Navigation and Time 

  • Editorial Advisory Board PNT Q&A: GNSS diminishing returns?

    As the number of GNSS constellations and satellites in orbit continues to grow,
    will we reach the point of diminishing returns?

    Ellen Hall
    Ellen Hall

    “More satellites equal more data, and redundant constellation systems — through GNSS interoperability — can give us more robust PNT, as restated in the January Memorandum on Space Policy Directive 7. That said, there are always diminishing returns. Treaties place liability on the launching country if something goes wrong, but with tens of thousands of small satellites expected to be launched over the next decade, it will be getting increasingly crowded. Concerns are growing about the necessity of increased maneuvers to keep these satellites from a chain reaction of collisions, which ultimately could cause debris to fall to inhabited areas of Earth.”
    — Ellen Hall / Spirent Federal Systems

    Jean-Marie Sleewaegen
    Jean-Marie Sleewaegen

    “With already more than 130 GNSS satellites in orbit, the benefit of new satellites decreases while the risk of satellites interfering with each other increases. However, this is only considering GNSS as we know it, in the MEO orbit (altitude about 22,000 km). The future of GNSS may well be closer to Earth, in the LEO orbit (<1,000 km), with well-known benefits in terms of convergence time and resilience to jamming. Sooner than later, we can expect constellations of hundreds or thousands of LEO satellites carrying a GNSS-like payload supporting PNT services. No worries, there is still growth potential!”
    — Jean-Marie Sleewaegen / Septentrio

    Headshot: Stuart Riley
    Stuart Riley

    “With the current four GNSS constellations and a typical survey elevation mask of 10˚in North America, we average around 30 visible satellites. Far more are visible in Asia with the addition of the regional systems. In an area with a clear view of the sky, this provides more than enough satellites for precision centimeter positioning. However, most professional GNSS users do not have the luxury of operating exclusively in open areas with ideal conditions. Accessing many satellites across multiple constellations increases the probability of receiving sufficient satellites that produce high-quality measurements in obstructed areas. As the constellations expand, we observe improvement in precision position availability in these locations. The large number of satellites, coupled with independence across the four systems, improves system integrity and continuity while also helping to reduce the converge time in PPP solutions.”
    — Stuart Riley / Trimble

    Bernard Gruber
    Bernard Gruber

    “In a utopian vision of navigation, data gluttons and like-users of GNSS would say that there will never be enough! If capabilities remained static, then yes, I believe we would reach the point of diminishing returns. I would offer that innovation and competition will continue to drive capability improvements via power, signal quality, coverage, integrity and clock/timing accuracy. These innovations, coupled with user equipment flexibility utilizing signals from space, will drive an ever-maturing market balance and increasing return.”
    — Bernard Gruber / Northrop Grumman

  • Editorial Advisory Board PNT Q&A: Lessons from Galileo and BeiDou

    What is the single most valuable lesson GPS can learn from Galileo and/or BeiDou?

    Bernard Gruber
    Bernard Gruber

    “Service continuity. Given that GNSS are so ubiquitous today, similar to the electrical grid, it is imperative that GPS continue the superb system of outage reporting via NANUs, transparency via GPS.gov, and statutory commitments via U.S. Code. Aligning to the U.S. commitment, continued Open Service Signal-in-Space, such as GPS-Galileo-BeiDou, allows thousands of planned and interoperable “apps” such as Google Maps and Waze to thrive. Although not directly in line with the question, terrestrial timing backup systems, similar to what China and some other countries do, is a valuable lesson in continuity from BeiDou.”

    Bernard Gruber
    Northrop Grumman

    Ellen Hall
    Ellen Hall

    “Perhaps the lesson could be, ‘It’s easier not to be first!’ Newer navigation constellations have the benefit of watching and learning from GPS — things done well and things to improve. From technology to operational procedures, a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) is difficult to execute. Would it have been easier or cost less if the United States had decided to land on the Moon after someone else had paved the way? Probably, but there is something very satisfying about being first! And, despite the fact that GPS satellites outlive their life expectancy, we keep launching new ones, with improved technology, to give the world better accuracy and more robust signals. The world of navigation welcomes Galileo, BeiDou, and all the others to follow.”

    Ellen Hall
    Spirent Federal Systems

    Alison Brown
    Alison Brown

    “GPS could benefit from lessons learned from BeiDou as to the importance of resilience in providing PNT services. BeiDou has a total of 42 satellites now in operation and open signals are broadcast on six frequencies (B1I, B1C, B2I, B2a, B2b, and B3I). In comparison, GPS has currently 29 operational satellites and provides open signals on three frequencies (L1, L2, L5). As the global threat to GPS grows, from frequency incursions by evolving 5G systems as well as deliberate interference or spoofing, the ability to operate on different frequencies to provide resilience against harmful interference will become increasingly important.”

    Alison Brown
    NAVSYS Corporation 

    Jean-Marie Sleewaegen
    Jean-Marie Sleewaegen

    “While GPS remains a gold standard with decades of reliable service, the advent of BeiDou and Galileo has undoubtedly stirred up competition. While BeiDou is exceptionally fast at deploying new signals and services, Galileo is now transmitting the first ever authenticated OSNMA signals, helping secure GNSS receivers against spoofers. The main lesson is that it is better to have company than to be alone. Having multiple GNSS not only increases the number of satellites and signals, which improves positioning accuracy and reliability, but more importantly, it fosters continuous innovation, for the benefit of all users.”

    Jean-Marie Sleewaegen
    Septentrio

  • Editorial Advisory Board PNT Q&A: Opportunities with GNSS correction services

    Editorial Advisory Board PNT Q&A: Opportunities with GNSS correction services

    New players are offering GNSS correction services — pushing prices down and offering new business models. What opportunities does this open up?

    Jules McNeff
    Jules McNeff

    “This trend is encouraging, as new entrants bring energy and new ideas, keeping the PNT technology sector fresh. GNSS corrections enhance the value of dynamic mapping coupled with grid-coordinate systems such as the U.S. National Grid in producing user-friendly geolocation values for delivery of people and things and especially enabling efficient, precise, land mobility activities such as spatial awareness for autonomous vehicle movement and command and control of emergency response operations.”
    — Jules McNeff
    Overlook Systems Technologies

     

    Greg Turetzky
    Greg Turetzky

    “In a 5G world where most devices regardless of size are connected, it make sense that those devices that are mobile are going to need to be located. Correction services are key to providing enhanced accuracy, and new business models are needed to address these new markets that are fundamentally different than traditional high-accuracy markets.”
    — Greg Turetzky
    Consultant

    Jean-Marie Sleewaegen
    Jean-Marie Sleewaegen

    “Traditional correction services rely on bidirectional communication between a user and a local correction provider. They offer centimeter accuracy over small regions. Instead, new services broadcast corrections applicable to larger areas and with flexible accuracy levels, from centimeters to decimeters. They bring benefits not only in pricing, but also in terms of accessibility, scalability and ease of use. They make accuracy transparent to the user, opening up the opportunity of high accuracy to mass-market and industrial applications.”
    — Jean-Marie Sleewaegen
    Septentrio

  • Editorial Advisory Board Q&A: High-precision surveying and GPS III

    Editorial Advisory Board Q&A: High-precision surveying and GPS III

    What improvements will GPS III bring to high -precision surveying? When? Will these improvements require any changes in equipment and/or processes?

    Photo: Nearmap
    Tony Agresta, Nearmap

    “The biggest impact of GPS III to high precision surveying will be a full constellation of L5 satellites. Triple frequency will bring faster convergence times and better accuracy in more difficult conditions. GPS III will better align with Galileo and BeiDou with L1C which means better availability in restricted sky conditions. Users will want to have equipment capable of supporting these new signals, in antenna and receiver HW as well as the signal processing done on board.”
    Tony Agresta
    Nearmap

     

    Jean-Marie Sleewaegen
    Jean-Marie Sleewaegen

    “Of all the improvements brought by GPS III, the new L1C signal will probably have the biggest impact on high-precision surveying. Compared to L1 C/A, L1C brings better reception in difficult environments, improved availability thanks to the “pilot” component, enhanced resilience to jamming attacks, and better interoperability with Galileo, BeiDou and QZSS. Many receivers do support L1C already, but the benefits will become more tangible as the GPS III constellation grows.”
    Jean-Marie Sleewaegen
    Septentrio

    Members of the EAB

    Tony Agresta
    Nearmap

    Miguel Amor
    Hexagon Positioning Intelligence

    Thibault Bonnevie
    SBG Systems

    Alison Brown
    NAVSYS Corporation

    Ismael Colomina
    GeoNumerics

    Clem Driscoll
    C.J. Driscoll & Associates

    John Fischer
    Orolia

    Ellen Hall
    Spirent Federal Systems

    Jules McNeff
    Overlook Systems Technologies, Inc.

    Terry Moore
    University of Nottingham

    Bradford W. Parkinson
    Stanford Center for Position, Navigation and Time

    Jean-Marie Sleewaegen
    Septentrio

    Michael Swiek
    GPS Alliance

    Julian Thomas
    Racelogic Ltd.

    Greg Turetzky
    Consultant

  • Editorial Advisory Board PNT Q&A: Are UAVs disruptive?

    Editorial Advisory Board PNT Q&A: Are UAVs disruptive?

    Are drones (UAVs) a disruptive or constructive technology for high-precision mapping that yields practical, actionable results for the end user/customer?

     

    Ismael Colomina
    Ismael Colomina

    “More constructive than disruptive. Drone mapping is opening new markets that, to a large extent, were not serviceable by conventional manned flights. On the other hand, the profound changes — and crisis — in the mapping business were not produced by drones.”
    Ismael Colomina
    GeoNumerics

     

    Jean-Marie Sleewaegen
    Jean-Marie Sleewaegen

    “Drones have dramatically reshaped the surveying and mapping industry. Combined with reliable positioning and recent advancements in high-resolution cameras, photogrammetry and computer vision, drones now enable high-accuracy mapping faster and at much lower cost than conventional mapping techniques.”
    Jean-Marie Sleewaegen
    Septentrio

     

    Jules McNeff
    Jules McNeff

    “Drones can be constructive augmentations to high-precision map products because of their ready access to diverse locations. Drone imagery can document real-time physical changes that affect mapping applications during natural disasters or other events — but images alone aren’t maps without a geo-referenced grid such as the U.S. National Grid.”
    Jules McNeff
    Overlook Systems Technologies Inc.

     

    Other members of the EAB

    Tony Agresta
    Nearmap

    Miguel Amor
    Hexagon Positioning Intelligence

    Thibault Bonnevie
    SBG Systems

    Alison Brown
    NAVSYS Corporation

    Clem Driscoll
    C.J. Driscoll & Associates

    John Fischer
    Orolia

    Ellen Hall
    Spirent Federal Systems

    Terry Moore
    University of Nottingham

    Bradford W. Parkinson
    Stanford Center for Position,Navigation and Time

    Michael Swiek
    GPS Alliance

    Julian Thomas
    Racelogic Ltd.

    Greg Turetzky
    Consultant

  • Septentrio accepts 2018 Products Leadership Award

    Septentrio accepts 2018 Products Leadership Award

    The Septentrio team poses with the Products Leadership Award. (Photo: Septentrio)
    The Septentrio team poses with the Products Leadership Award. (Photo: Septentrio)

    The Septentrio team — including Andrew Simsky, navigation algorithms software engineer; Wim De Wilde, system designer; Jean-Marie Sleewaegen, system architect; and Tom Willems, senior researcher — received the 2018 GPS World Products Leadership Award for developing the versatile PolaRx5 receivers, enabling many Earth-observing applications including worldwide ionosphere monitoring. Sleewaegen offers the team’s acceptance speech below.

    It is a great honor and privilege to be here and we are very happy to receive this wonderful award. On behalf of my colleagues Tom, Andrew and Wim, and the entire Septentrio team in Belgium, I would like to thank Alan and all sponsors and organizers of this dinner.

    From the beginning, Septentrio enjoyed close ties with the scientific community, and we continue to cherish this connection.  Our PolaRx receivers, and especially our ionosphere monitoring receiver, is the result of a close collaboration with scientists at universities and research institutes around the world, some of them present here. While the GNSS industry was and is still largely relying on legacy L1 signals, they have been early adopters of all new signals and constellations. For us, this has been a great motivation to implement support for all signals and frequencies at the earliest stage of availability.

    Ionosphere scientists are special folks. While most of us dream of getting rid of error sources, they just focus on them, and more specifically on small delays and variations caused by the atmosphere. They don’t want us to filter out these perturbations.  On the contrary, they want to see them in their full glory. But the problem is, there are plenty of other error sources. Multipath, clock jitter, vibrations, hardware biases, interference are all out there and are hard to distinguish from what the ionosphere is doing. Our challenge was to minimize those noises and biases to extract the underlying physical signals. This exercise was really instructive, and this technology which we developed for the scientific community is now in the heart of all our receivers.

    Looking ahead, while the avalanche of new signals and satellites is an opportunity, it is also a huge challenge. In some regions, we can already track more than 60 GNSS satellites, all transmitting multiple signals, and this number will only keep growing.

    How to use all this information?  What is the optimal set of signals for a certain application? Are these signals all useful? With the many tracking options, how to guarantee compatibility between vendors?  Many open questions still remain to be answered and will keep us busy for the years to come.

    We really appreciate the opportunity to be here, thank you for listening!