GPS World

Category: Applications

  • TimePictra 12 designed to strengthen synchronization for critical infrastructure

    TimePictra 12 designed to strengthen synchronization for critical infrastructure

    Microchip Technology has released the TimePictra 12 platform, a major software upgrade to its synchronization management software to help critical-infrastructure operators manage advanced timing architectures with greater visibility, automation and control. The new version delivers a redesigned graphical user interface (GUI), expanded automation capabilities and enhanced support for the latest high‑accuracy timing technologies.

    As telecom, power, transportation, data center and other critical infrastructure networks evolve, operators are increasingly deploying more sophisticated synchronization architectures to improve resilience, reduce dependence on GNSS and maintain precise clock alignment across distributed environments. The TimePictra 12 platform addresses these requirements with enhanced capabilities for managing high-accuracy time transfer connections, monitoring GNSS observables using Microchip’s BlueSky technology, and maintaining clock alignment using SkyWire technology.

    The platform is also designed to strengthen GNSS visibility and resiliency by monitoring using BlueSky technology. By enabling centralized monitoring of GNSS-observables, the TimePictra 12 platform helps operators better understand GNSS conditions, identify anomalies, and manage timing infrastructure in environments where GNSS availability, integrity and security are critical.

    In addition, the TimePictra 12 platform supports the maintenance of clock alignment using SkyWire technology, helping operators preserve synchronization accuracy across distributed network elements. This capability is especially important as networks become more distributed, automated and dependent on precise phase and frequency alignment.

    The TimePictra 12 software suite introduces a refreshed user experience designed to simplify how operators interact with large, meshed synchronization environments. The modernized GUI makes it easier to view network relationships, identify issues and streamline ongoing management, helping reduce operational overhead for telecom, power, data center and other timing‑dependent sectors such as telecom, power, transportation, data centers and AI infrastructure.

    To help minimize deployment challenges, the software is designed to accelerate network rollouts, upgrades and configuration activities. The TimePictra 12 platform supports up to 5,000 elements, more than double the network size of earlier versions, providing increased capacity for large-scale synchronization deployments.

    The TimePictra 12 platform supports a broad range of Microchip’s synchronization products, including the TimeProvider 4100, 4500 and 5000 grandmaster clocks, SSU-2000, TimeCesium 4400 and 5071 products, Skywire technology and BlueSky GNSS Firewall. It enables centralized monitoring, configuration and management of these devices across critical infrastructure networks such as 5G, utilities, transportation, power substations, AI and datacenters.

  • Telit Cinterion launches GNSS Module in a legacy-compatible footprint

    Telit Cinterion launches GNSS Module in a legacy-compatible footprint

    Telit Cinterion has launched the SE869eK2L, a single-frequency L1 GNSS module designed to help device manufacturers upgrade legacy positioning designs with improved performance and cost efficiency, while preserving design continuity.

    Built on the Airoha AG3352 platform, the SE869eK2L supports GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou and QZSS for reliable multiconstellation positioning. With approximately 1.5-meter accuracy and update rates of up to 10 Hz, it is well-suited for connected devices that require dependable positioning without the cost or complexity of higher-end GNSS architectures.

    For OEMs managing product refresh cycles, the SE869eK2L provides a straightforward migration path from Telit Cinterion’s SL869L-V2 and legacy xL869 modules. Its 12.2 x 16 mm footprint maintains pin-to-pin compatibility with the industry-standard form factor, so OEMs can extend existing designs while gaining updated performance and supply flexibility. The footprint includes reserved pins for future use.

    The module is designed for a broad range of IoT and industrial use cases, including:

    • Asset tracking
    • Fleet management
    • Smart infrastructure
    • Cell-tower synchronization
    • Industrial equipment
    • Wi-Fi 6E / 7 routers

    The SE869eK2L also supports connected devices that require reliable L1 positioning.

    Two hardware variants are available: a 3.3 V option and a 1.8 V option, allowing designers to align the module with their system architecture and power requirements.

    Dedicated firmware variants provide Windows Location Services compatibility and enable precise timing functionality, delivering synchronization output with ±7 ns jitter.

    The module also supports Wi‑Fi navigation mode, enabling compliance with Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) requirements for Wi‑Fi 6E and Wi‑Fi 7 routers.

    Device manufacturers building connected products can pair the SE869eK2L with Telit Cinterion cellular modules — including those without embedded GNSS — simplifying sourcing, integration and support through a single supplier.

    Samples of the SE869eK2L are expected to be available soon, with mass production planned for the fourth quarter of 2026.

    Telit Cinterion will exhibit at Hardware Pioneers Max, Stand G4, where attendees can learn more about the company’s GNSS, cellular IoT and industrial connectivity portfolio.

  • Indian Defense signs deal for indigenous Navy GNSS jammers

    The system is designed to degrade an adversary’s satellite signal acquisition and tracking capabilities

    The Indian Ministry of Defense (MoD) has signed a ₹449-crore contract with Bengaluru-based Accord Software and Systems Private Limited (ASSPL) for the procurement of 20 enhanced capability GNSS (ECGNSS) jammers for the Indian Navy.  

    The system’s capabilities include degrading the satellite signal acquisition and tracking performance of the adversary GNSS receiver and signal spoofing or deceptive jamming, paving the way for safe operations by the Indian Navy in a multi-threat environment.

    The deal has been signed under the Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured) category and includes a minimum of 75 percent indigenous content. 

  • Chipmakers demonstrate European-only manufacture of security-critical GNSS chip

    Chipmakers demonstrate European-only manufacture of security-critical GNSS chip

    A sophisticated GNSS system-on-chip design for secure positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) applications is the first fully European-based, end-to-end semiconductor manufacturing flow.

    Its manufacture demonstrates that security-critical chips for aerospace, defense and critical infrastructure can be designed, manufactured and delivered entirely within Europe.

    The QLX3xx design targets sovereign GNSS-based PNT solutions for aerospace, defense and critical infrastructures — such as resilient timing and synchronization networks and highly integrated, ultra-low-power GNSS receivers at the connected edge.

    In a partnership co-funded by the European Chips Act, GlobalFoundries’ Dresden site is establishing its European sovereign manufacturing flow, consolidating every step of the production process — from design intake and mask services to wafer manufacturing — within the European Union. No sensitive design data or physical materials leave Europe, meeting the strict regulatory and security requirements of European governments, defense agencies, system integrators and critical infrastructure operators. Qualinx served as the launch customer.

    The tape‑out realized with Qualinx represents the first operational milestone on the path toward a fully automated, trusted European flow, which GlobalFoundries aims to establish in Dresden by the end of 2026.

    Starting in 2027, aerospace and defense, as well as critical infrastructure customers, will be able to use this automated flow as part of regular foundry engagements, including the integration of European IP partners, mask houses and OSAT service providers to ensure a consistent, European-anchored value chain.

    A number of European system and module manufacturers from aerospace and defense, as well as operators of critical infrastructure, are in discussions with GlobalFoundries to map upcoming product generations onto GlobalFoundries’s sovereign manufacturing flow. The successful start with Qualinx serves as a strong proof point and reduces both technical and regulatory risks for subsequent programs.

    GlobalFoundries is also working with European connectivity and cloud providers to secure data flows across the entire semiconductor value chain. In a joint project with Deutsche Telekom, GlobalFoundries is assessing how production-related data from design and tape-out through manufacturing, test and quality can be processed, transported and stored entirely within Europe on European networks, cloud infrastructures and data centers.

    The resulting practices in secure data routing, encryption and access management for highly sensitive A&D and critical infrastructure workloads will feed directly into the scaling of GlobalFoundries’ European sovereign manufacturing model.

  • SyncIoT introduces GNSS module family for IoT, defense and critical infrastructure

    SyncIoT introduces GNSS module family for IoT, defense and critical infrastructure

    SyncIoT, a division of SyncWise Inc., has introduced its G1 and G5 families of GNSS receiver modules for applications in the Internet of Things (IoT), defense and critical infrastructure sectors.

    According to the company, the modules are designed and manufactured outside China and contain no Chinese hardware or software components. The products are intended for organizations seeking secure supply chains and compliance with U.S. procurement requirements, including those related to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

    The G1 family is designed for applications requiring a balance of positioning performance, power consumption and cost. The L1 receivers support concurrent tracking of up to four GNSS constellations, enabling access to more satellites and improving positioning availability in challenging environments. A low-power version, the G1LP, is aimed at battery-powered applications.

    The G5 module supports both L1 and L5 GNSS signals and is designed for higher-precision positioning applications. SyncIoT said the module can provide sub-meter accuracy while tracking up to four satellite constellations simultaneously. The use of L5 signals can help mitigate multipath effects, which can degrade positioning accuracy in urban and other signal-challenged environments.

    Additional features of the G5 include raw carrier-phase measurements, a one-pulse-per-second (1PPS) timing output, anti-jamming and anti-spoofing capabilities, inertial measurement unit (IMU) data pass-through and an integrated surface acoustic wave (SAW) filter and low-noise amplifier (LNA).

    “The release of the G1 and G5 families was initiated at the request of our top customers, who require U.S.-based solutions and greater security across their supply chains,” said Mark Murray, Head of IoT Modules at SyncWise. “The G1 and G5 families are only the beginning. Stay tuned for announcements regarding future products and partnerships.”

    Samples and development kits for both product families are currently available here.

  • Precise acoustic seafloor positioning described in new research paper

    Precise acoustic seafloor positioning described in new research paper

    Incorporating a layered horizontal gradient structure can improve GNSS-Acoustic (GNSS-A) seafloor positioning, according to a new research paper in the April 20 issue of Satellite Navigation.

    GNSS-A integrates satellite positioning of a sea-surface platform with underwater acoustic ranging to achieve seafloor positioning accuracy at centimeter level. This technique supports the construction of seafloor geodetic observation networks, improves the oceanic component of the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF), and provides a key means for monitoring tectonic deformation and related submarine geohazards.

    However, the accuracy of GNSS-A seafloor positioning is affected by spatiotemporal variability in the ocean sound speed field. The conventional depth-invariant horizontal sound speed gradient models represent the water-column sound speed structure using a single effective depth-averaged gradient, which cannot adequately describe the vertical heterogeneity of horizontal gradients and therefore introduce model errors and positioning biases.

    To address this issue, the authors propose a layered sound-speed gradient model and a corresponding joint inversion framework for precise GNSS-A seafloor positioning.

    The proposed method parameterizes horizontal sound-speed gradients in multiple depth layers and couples adjacent layers through depth-weighted interlayer continuity constraints, which jointly estimates seafloor transponder coordinates, the depth-invariant temporal perturbation, and layer-wise horizontal gradients.

    Results of simulations

    Simulation results under depth-dependent horizontal gradient scenarios show that the conventional single-layer model introduces systematic positioning biases, whereas the proposed layered model significantly improves positioning accuracy, accurately estimates the temporal perturbation and layer-wise horizontal gradients, and is robust for a broad range of layering configurations and constraint parameters.

    Field experiments using real GNSS-A observations further demonstrate the practical value of the proposed method, with results showing that the proposed approach improves the fitting of acoustic observations, maintains short-term repeatability, and yields consistent multi-epoch coordinate time series together with reasonable site-velocity estimates.

    These findings indicate that incorporating a layered horizontal gradient structure can improve GNSS-A seafloor positioning and provides an interpretable modeling and inversion framework for long-term seafloor deformation monitoring and characterization of ocean environmental variability.

    “Precise acoustic seafloor positioning with joint estimation of sound speed field structure using a layered sound speed gradient model,” by Yang, W., Xu, T., Wang, J. et al, can be downloaded from Springer’s website.

  • Finnish Skyfora raises €6.5M to turn GNSS telecom into real-time weather sensors

    Finnish Skyfora raises €6.5M to turn GNSS telecom into real-time weather sensors

    Skyfora, a Finnish weather data company building a new global data layer for weather and AI, has raised €6.5 million to transform GNSS telecom infrastructure into a real-time atmospheric sensing network.

    The funding comes as demand for high-resolution weather data surges, driven by AI forecasting models, climate volatility, and the growing need for weather-resilient operations.

    GNSS metrology system

    Traditional weather forecasting relies on sparse networks of expensive ground stations, weather balloons, and radar systems — methods that leave vast gaps in coverage, particularly in urban areas and developing regions. Instead, Skyfora combines atmospheric physics, advanced signal processing, and artificial intelligence to extract weather intelligence from GNSS data.

    GNSS meteorology turns every GNSS receiver into a weather sensor. The more receivers in an area, the higher the resolution of atmospheric data achievable.

    GNSS signals traveling through the atmosphere are delayed by water vapor. By measuring these delays from multiple satellites and ground stations, Skyfora can create detailed 3D maps of atmospheric moisture — a critical input for weather forecasting.

    Once the atmospheric data is captured and reconstructed, the system uses AI and high-performance computing to turn it into accurate, actionable forecasts.

    Using existing GNSS receivers

    Skyfora’s core technology uses GNSS receivers already installed in telecom networks, complemented by StreamGNSS hardware where telecom GNSS is not available, to measure atmospheric humidity with high precision and frequency. The GNSS signal delays are processed into real-time weather data streams that power next-generation AI weather models and forecasting systems, enabling more accurate, earlier, and hyperlocal predictions.

    The company’s approach addresses a structural bottleneck in weather forecasting: most of the world’s atmosphere remains underobserved, and existing observation infrastructure cannot provide the data coverage and resolution required by modern AI models. Skyfora’s solution scales using existing infrastructure, requiring no new hardware at telecom sites.

    Skyfora operates active deployments across multiple countries, working with telecom operators, meteorological institutions, forecasting partners and weather-affected industries to build out real-time atmospheric sensing on a global scale.

    Latest capital round partners

    The new capital will be used to accelerate the commercial scale-up of Skyfora’s software platform and atmospheric data products, expand partnerships with telecom operators, forecasting providers, meteorological institutions and weather-affected industries, and grow the team. The primary focus is on scaling deployment and market adoption: bringing Skyfora’s real-time data, API and atmospheric intelligence dashboard to market.

    The round includes equity participation from Eviny Ventures, Ugly Duckling Ventures, Lumo Labs and the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund, alongside non-dilutive funding from Business Finland.

    The company is actively working to deploy datasets and customer opportunities across several countries in Europe, the United States, Africa and the Middle East.

  • Topcon brings latest innovations to GEO Business in London

    Topcon brings latest innovations to GEO Business in London

    Topcon Positioning Systems attended GEO Business in London this month to showcase its latest solutions to improve survey and geospatial workflows.

    The event, which took place at Excel London June 4-5, showcased hardware, software and workflow technologies across capture reality, surveying solutions, engineering surveys, and GIS mapping and utilities, including the company’s new suite of 3D scanning solutions. The scanning solutions offer integrated software that enables high-speed data capture and immediate analysis for a wide array of geomatics applications.

    Topcon is partnering with Amberg Technologies on rail solutions. (Credit: Topcon)
    Topcon is partnering with Amberg Technologies on rail solutions. (Credit: Topcon)

    “Smarter workflows for rail survey data”: Bruno Fileno, senior segment manager geomatics, gave an in-depth look at integration efforts between Topcon and Amberg Technologies that focus on how interoperable workflows streamline surveying tasks such as track alignment, geometry verification, and clearance assessment.

    “Control, confidence, custody: How surveyors defend georeferenced SLAM workflows”: Phil Marsh, director of scanning sales EMEA, shared a practical framework for delivering georeferenced SLAM results, with tips on combining RTK with survey control and independent checkpoints, and building a lightweight QA pack to prove accuracy – producing outputs surveyors can get behind and clients can sign off.

    “From ground to cloud: Transforming utilities with accessible digital workflows”: Nathan Ward, business development manager, utilities solutions EMEA, explored the newest innovations in utilities mapping, explaining how seamless data capture with the Topcon CR-H1 handheld device and automated cloud processing can deliver date-stamped records that cut delays, reduce rework, and speed up sign-off and payment.

    Visit for more information on Topcon at GEO Business 2026.

  • RoGO partners with AugSense on edge AI analytics for first responders and military

    RoGO partners with AugSense on edge AI analytics for first responders and military

    RoGO Communications, the creator of the DropBlock satellite communications platform for cellular-denied environments, is partnering with Augmented Sense Technologies (AugSense) to integrate artificial intelligence capabilities into RoGO’s communications infrastructure.

    RoGO was founded to develop lifesaving technology for wildland firefighters and first responders. It’s product DropBlock is a ruggedized, portable satellite communications platform that provides real-time GPS tracking, weather telemetry, IoT sensor data, and tactical messaging in cellular-denied and remote environments.

    The partnership will develop edge AI-powered sensor fusion, Team Awareness Kit (TAK) ecosystem development, and predictive analytics to firefighters, disaster recovery, military and other first responders and remote operators, including All Hazards emergencies such as hurricanes, earthquakes and floods. Last month, RoGO and AugSense presented the combined capabilities at the annual convention for Special Operation Forces (SOF Week) in Tampa.

    Wildland firefighters, search-and-rescue teams, and military personnel routinely operate in remote terrain where conventional communications infrastructure does not exist. RoGO’s DropBlock technology has proven its ability to deliver real-time GPS tracking, weather data, IoT sensor telemetry, and tactical messaging over satellite links in these environments—deployed today by wildland fire agencies. As missions grow more complex and sensor-rich, operators increasingly need more than raw data. AI can deliver intelligence at the edge, delivered in real time, without dependence on connectivity.

    Through this partnership, RoGO will enhance its platform with AugSense’s edge AI engine, a modular, platform-agnostic system that processes and fuses multi-modal sensor data directly on devices, without requiring a cloud connection. The AI-enriched intelligence products will  transform raw sensor feeds into actionable decisions, such as predictions for the spread of a wildfire or other threats to safety.

    Edge AI Capabilities

    Edge AI Processing: AugSense’s engine runs AI workloads directly on edge devices using neuromorphic and spiking neural network architectures, achieving greater energy efficiency than conventional approaches. This means intelligence processing in power-constrained environments — no cloud, no data center, no latency.

    Multi-Modal Sensor Fusion: AugSense’s fusion engine synthesizes data from diverse sensors (RF, weather, geospatial, physiological, and chemical/biological) into a single actionable intelligence picture at the edge.

    TAK Integration & Development: Purpose-built plugins for the Android Team Awareness Kit (ATAK) and broader TAK ecosystem that overlay AI-fused intelligence onto the common operating picture, enhancing coordination across distributed teams connected through RoGO’s DropBlock network.

    Predictive Analytics: Machine learning models that transform raw sensor telemetry into forward-looking predictions such as anticipating weather shifts, equipment failures, threat patterns, and fire behavior.

    Immediate Applications

    The combined solution targets several high-impact use cases.

    • In wildland firefighting, the integration enables AI-predicted wind shifts and fire behavior models to reach incident commanders via RoGO’s satellite network—critical for crew safety decisions.
    • For search-and-rescue operations, fused sensor data and intelligent mapping overlays allow distributed teams to coordinate effectively through the DropBlock network without relying on cellular infrastructure.
    • In defense and special operations, the partnership delivers fused multi-sensor intelligence and TAK-integrated common operating pictures over satellite backhaul in contested and communications-degraded environments.

    A new RoGO mobile phone app coming in the third quarter enables point-to-point communications among DropBlocks and firefighter crews and displays the location of firefighting assets along with fire weather data.

  • Todd Humphreys: Russian satellites a cause of GNSS jamming across Europe

    Todd Humphreys: Russian satellites a cause of GNSS jamming across Europe

    Russian satellites have caused GPS outages of as long as 10 seconds across Europe, according to a new research paper, authored in part by GNSS expert Todd Humphreys.

    Humphreys is head of the Radionavigation Laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin. Separate research by Richard Bowden at Spanish company GMV supports the findings, according to The New York Times.

    In at least three of 75 instances identified since 2019, the interference originated from as many as three Russian satellites. The other cases implicate the same Russian early-warning network; though data is insufficient to pinpoint the source, the same type of signal was identified.

    Whether Russia knows of the interference — and its motives — is unknown, but the signals disrupt GPS, Galileo and BeiDou, and not Russia’s own GLONASS. The press office for the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C. told The Times it had no comment.

    The paper, “Chasing Lightning: Detecting, Characterizing, and Identifying a Powerful Space-Based GNSS Interference Source” by Zachary L. Clements, Argyris Kriezis and Todd E. Humphreys, can be accessed here.

    The paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the GNSS interference phenomenon: wide-area transient interference from a space-based source causing up to 10-dB GNSS degradation across Europe since 2019 in the L1 band. The interference’s spatial, temporal and spectral properties are detailed. The researchers designed a framework to detect events using 1-Hz carrier-to-noise ratio observables from a network of 165 reference stations.

    The three satellites implicated in the interference are part of Russia’s Edinaya Kosmicheskaya Sistema (EKS) constellation, which detects missile launches and nuclear explosions around the world. The first instance of this widespread jamming was recorded in October 2019, a month after the first EKS satellite was launched.

    These cases are among the first known examples of GPS interference originating from space. Two historic cases of satellite interference were caused by technical glitches.

  • Broadcasters launch company to advance Broadcast Positioning System

    Broadcasters launch company to advance Broadcast Positioning System

    The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has launched Merkhet Solutions, an independent company focused on the commercial deployment of the Broadcast Positioning System (BPS).

    BPS, first conceived by the technology team at NAB in 2021, is a patented terrestrial, GPS-independent timing and positioning technology that leverages the high-power, geographically diverse broadcast infrastructure already covering the United States.

    BPS has been designed to address the more than $1 billion-per-day economic and national security risk posed by overreliance on GPS. Merkhet Solutions is engaging across critical infrastructure sectors, including energy, data centers, telecommunications and financial services – where a loss of precision time can trigger grid instability, outages and lost trades.

    “BPS represents a powerful intersection of innovation, public safety and opportunity for broadcasters,” said NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt. “Launching Merkhet Solutions is the next step in commercializing this technology and ensuring it reaches the critical-infrastructure operators who need it most, while continuing to create meaningful long-term opportunities for local stations.”

    “BPS solves a problem we can no longer afford to ignore: an entire economy and national security posture resting on a single, contested signal from space,” said Merkhet Solutions CEO Sam Matheny. “We built BPS at NAB because broadcast infrastructure is uniquely suited to deliver assured terrestrial timing at scale. We’re launching Merkhet Solutions because the time to operationalize this technology is now.”

    Under Matheny’s leadership at NAB, BPS has advanced rapidly from research concept to real-world deployment. NAB demonstrated the first BPS prototype to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) in 2022, followed by the first live broadcast demonstration in 2023.

    In 2024, NAB entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Nexstar Media Group. In 2025, NIST concluded in a peer-reviewed paper presented at the Institute of Navigation International Technical Meeting that BPS was “comparable to or better than GNSS” for time transfer stability and a “viable complementary PNT solution.”

    Later that year, the U.S. DOT awarded NAB a contract to deploy a BPS field trial with critical-infrastructure partner Dominion Energy.

    BPS is designed as a terrestrial complement to GPS, providing operators with an additional resilient source of timing and positioning that can be used alongside GPS or relied upon when satellite-based services are disrupted by jamming, spoofing, cyberattacks or natural events. The need for terrestrial complements to GPS has been recognized by the U.S. government through the National Timing Resilience and Security Act and Executive Order 13905.

  • U-blox GNSS tech powers telescope array searching for alien life

    U-blox GNSS tech powers telescope array searching for alien life

    The PANOSETI project achieves sub-nanosecond synchronization without fiber infrastructure using u-blox ZED-F9T 

    The u-blox ZED-F9T high-precision GNSS receiver is enabling sub-nanosecond synchronization in an advanced telescope array used in optical Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) research. 

    The results have been achieved for the SETI program called PANOSETI (Pulsed All-sky Near-infrared Optical SETI), a multi-institutional scientific initiative where precise time synchronization across distributed telescope arrays is critical. Institutions involved include the University of California Berkeley, UC San Diego, Harvard and Caltech.

    Discovery at unprecedented scale

    PANOSETI is designed to detect fast-transient optical and near-infrared signals across the entire observable sky, with the goal of identifying potential technological signatures or astrophysical phenomena. Achieving this requires extremely precise time synchronization between widely distributed telescope nodes.

    Traditionally, such synchronization depends on fiber-based systems such as White Rabbit, which can be costly and impractical to deploy in remote observatory locations.

    By leveraging GNSS-based differential timing with the u-blox ZED-F9T, the PANOSETI team demonstrated:

    • ~0.7 nanosecond standard deviation between 1PPS signals over a 1 km baseline 
    • Improved performance down to ~200 picoseconds using filtering techniques 

    This level of accuracy meets, and in some cases exceeds, the requirements for next-generation distributed sensing systems.

    Precision timing without constraints

    Credit: U-blox
    Credit: U-blox

    The results highlight a key benefit of GNSS-based timing: high-precision timing can be achieved in environments where fiber infrastructure is unavailable, impractical or excessively costly.

    These results show the capabilities that GNSS timing offers, not only for scientific research, but also for a range of other emerging applications, such as distributed sensor networks, remote timing systems and resilience of critical infrastructure, also in remote locations.

    Collaboration driving innovation

    “Achieving this level of synchronization without fiber is a significant step forward for distributed instrumentation,” said Dan Werthimer, chief scientist of the PANOSETI project at UC Berkeley. “It allows us to achieve the timing precision we need for our telescope array in locations where traditional fiber-based systems are not feasible.”

    “At u-blox, we are excited to support PANOSETI in their search for extraterrestrial intelligence,” said Samuli Pietilä, Director of Product Line Management, Timing and Infrastructure. “GNSS timing is used across many industries, but none quite like the advanced optical telescopes that PANOSETI is deploying.”

    The ability to move from physically-based precision synchronization to resilient GNSS solutions unlocks the potential for distributed sensor networks.