GPS World

Tag: Ordnance Survey

  • CGI to develop service to alert UK of GNSS disruption

    CGI to develop service to alert UK of GNSS disruption

    The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded a contract to London-based CGI to develop a GNSS Event Notification Service (GENS) capable of monitoring the United Kingdom (U.K.) GNSS spectrum to enable effective alerting and reporting of position, navigation and time (PNT) disruption.

    GENS will integrate CGI’s PNT Incident Event Monitoring (PNTIEM) system with existing U.K.-developed sensors from Ordnance Survey’s network (OS NET) of GNSS receivers and GMV NSL’s Detector, GISMO and Strike 3 interface technologies.

    Bringing together existing systems will build on proven technologies, reducing the cost of development of a large-scale monitoring network while providing the ability to introduce new services for detecting GNSS events and disruption, according to a CSI press release.

    Supported by the OS and GMV NSL, CGI will lead the delivery of GENS using an agile software delivery experience, supported by system design and DevSecOps development and integration skills. An open interface will be offered for future providers of GNSS measurements or spectrum event data.

    Alongside the GENS system technical delivery, the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) will develop a GNSS guidance document in partnership with U.K. government departments, agencies, CNI operators, professional institutes, academic institutes and commercial organizations to enable informed requirements development, procurement, deployment and support of HMG GNSS-reliant services.

    Reviewed alongside events identified by GENS, the combined offering will highlight and inform stakeholders on risks posed by the loss of PNT services as identified by the PNT Strategy Group Interim Report in April 2020.

    GENS will also respond to HMG’s “Satellite-derived time and position: a study of critical dependencies” report which identified the need for mitigation to GNSS disruption and estimated the economic impact to the U.K. economy of a five-day disruption to GNSS at £5.2 billion.

    The full GENS system will enable users across both commercial and public sector services to subscribe to be informed of both GNSS quality and interference events for regions of interest. By focusing on these events and the improved understanding of the risk posed by disruption, stakeholders will be better informed to enable them to build system resilience or to respond to the disruption of GNSS within the U.K.

    ‘‘Detecting and monitoring GNSS is core to better understanding the scale and risk posed by PNT disruption in the U.K. and across all ESA member states,” said Rafael Lucas Rodriguez, technical officer for GENS, European Space Agency. “ESA is supporting CGI to develop effective tools enabling a system to be created utilizing previous ESA and UK HMG work. This will bring direct benefits for U.K. public and private stakeholders.”

    “The U.K. is a leading investor in GNSS research,” said Andy Proctor, U.K. lead delegate to the ESA Programme Board for Navigation. “Understanding GNSS spectrum quality is vital for the stability of PNT services in the U.K. This program will help promote and address GNSS disruption affecting PNT services while supporting the U.K.’s thriving space sector and the wider economy.”

    “This is an exciting project that brings together CGI’s navigation and spectrum domain expertise supported by scaled agile and DevSecOps delivery experience,” said John Hanley, vice president of secure and assured space solutions at CGI in the U.K. “After talking to both public and private stakeholders for GNSS, it became clear that one of the initial challenges is understanding the scale of PNT disruption. GNSS services touch every part of society across finance, utilities, transport and defense and need to be protected.”

    CGI has been delivering complex, mission-critical space software systems for clients across Europe, Asia and North America, supporting satellite navigation, communications, operations and space enabled applications for more than 40 years.

    Feature photo: alice-photo/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images

  • UK’s Westfield and Ordnance Survey work on autonomous vehicles

    Westfield Technology Group, a British vehicle manufacturer, and Ordnance Survey have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support autonomous vehicle development.

    The MoU will support a wider range of autonomous vehicle operations by improving access to detailed and accurate mapping.

    Project LAVIS is investigating how autonomous vehicles, particularly shared PODs, could offer residents and visitors sustainable and shared transport around the Lake District National Park area.

    Previous collaborations between Westfield Technology Group and Ordnance Survey include jointly collaborating with Emirates Airlines in Dubai and mapping potential autonomous vehicle routes in the Lake District for the Innovate U.K.-funded Project LAVIS.

    Recognizing the mutual benefits of collaborating on domestic and international activities, the organizations will continue developing and advancing autonomous vehicle capability. By utilizing 3D high-definition mapping capability, this partnership will add significant value the autonomous vehicle industry, the companies said.

    “We’re very excited about strengthening our working relationship with Ordnance Survey,” said Julian Turner, CEO at Westfield Technology Group. “This MoU will allow us to further advance and improve our autonomous vehicle operations, particularly in areas which desperately need access to sustainable, reliable and flexible transport.”

    “This MoU further cements our relationship with Westfield Technology Group,” said Andy Wilson, region director for Europe and Africa at Ordnance Survey. “We’re excited about collaborating on this important project, which is another example of how accurate, up-to-date geospatial data and mapping is key to the success of new and emerging technologies.”

  • Open Geospatial Consortium requests info for study

    ogc-logoThe Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is requesting information from interested parties to inform a Concept Development Study (CDS) that will assess the current state and future direction of information standards for modeling, mapping and managing underground infrastructure. Organizations with an interest in underground infrastructure are invited to respond before March 15.

    According to OGC, the study will define the scope of a multi-phase underground infrastructure interoperability project. It will also provide an in-depth understanding of the components necessary to enable infrastructure data interoperability and standards in an underground environment.

    The CDS is initially focused on urban landscape, but it is extendable, OGC adds. This request for information is the first step in the CDS process.

    The Fund for the City of New York, thorough its Center for Geospatial Innovation, has provided support for this project’s conceptualization. In addition, the Singapore Land Authority and Ordnance Survey, Britain’s National Mapping Agency, have contributed to the project.

    “In a digitally based society, the lack of comprehensive and reliable data relating to above and particularly below ground assets, will prove to be a barrier to the effective operation of those assets through digital systems,” says Rollo Home, strategic product manager for Ordnance Survey. “We recognize that establishing data as an infrastructure capability will be key to managing assets within an open, secure context. Geospatial data, in particular, can act as the framework within which the inter-relationships across these domains can be identified, modeled and managed.”

    Find out how you can submit your response here.