Tag: Galileo HAS

GSA publishes High Accuracy Service information update
Click to download report from the GSA.

The European GNSS Agency (GSA), with the European Commission, has published an information note on the Galileo High Accuracy Service (HAS). The 16-page document provides an overview of the main characteristics of the service, information on features such as service levels, target performance, an implementation roadmap, and an overview of the target markets for the service.

Target markets for Galileo HAS include geomatics, precision agriculture, consumer solutions and the space sector.

The market for high-accuracy positioning is dynamic, driven by various factors, including
- emerging applications such as autonomous vehicles and drones;
- technological advances such as dual-frequency chipsets for the mass-market; and
- the market situation, with cheap or free-of-charge augmentation services available in some countries.
These factors are resulting in the democratization of high accuracy, which is becoming a more widespread commodity, rather than the exclusive domain of professional applications.

With the Galileo HAS, Galileo will pioneer a worldwide, free high-accuracy positioning service aimed at applications that require higher performance than that offered by the Galileo Open Service.

Benefitting several markets

Target markets for the HAS include geomatics, agriculture or consumer solutions. Transport is also a major potential target market, with possible applications in aviation, road, rail and maritime and inland waterways.

In these markets, the HAS will provide high-accuracy precise point positioning corrections for Galileo and GPS free of charge, in the Galileo E6-B data component and by terrestrial means, to achieve real-time improved user positioning performances, with a positioning error of less than two decimetres in nominal conditions.

“With its High Accuracy Service, Galileo will be the first satellite constellation able to provide a high-accuracy precise point positioning service globally, directly through the Signal in Space,” said GSA Executive Director Rodrigo da Costa. “This will be another key differentiator of the Galileo system, giving it a competitive advantage over other systems and allowing it to foster innovation in both consolidated and emerging markets.”

Galileo HAS high-level architecture. (Image: GSA)

HAS Initial Service

HAS Phase 1 will cover the provision of an initial Galileo HAS resulting from the implementation of a high-accuracy data-generation system that processes Galileo data only.

Phase 2 will see full provision of the Galileo HAS, meeting its target performance of 20-cm worldwide positioning accuracy after 2024.

Through the HAS, Galileo will offer a unique service with the transmission of corrections directly via Galileo satellites, allowing free high-accuracy positioning globally, for everyone.
March 31, 2021
Spaceopal, GSA sign contract for Galileo High-Accuracy Service

Spaceopal and the European GNSS Agency (GSA, the future EUSPA, the European Union Agency for the Space Programme) have signed a contract for the development of an innovative reference algorithm and user terminal for the Galileo High-Accuracy Service (HAS).

Spaceopal is the prime contractor for Galileo’s operational services.

Spaceopal is an equal-share joint venture between Telespazio, a Leonardo (67%) and Thales (33%) company, and DLR Gesellschaft für Raumfahrtanwendungen (GFR) mbH. Spaceopal will develop the solution with the support of its shareholders DLR-GfR and Telespazio, and partners such as ANavS GmbH, the DLR IKN, IABG mbH and Iguassu Software Systems.

The project, awarded within the “Galileo Reference High Accuracy Service User Algorithm and User Terminal” Call, will develop the reference algorithm for HAS, which will be made publicly available and will be used for its validation. The user terminals at a high technology readiness level provided to GSA will serve as a blueprint and further facilitate the adoption of the European GNSS.

Spaceopal will develop the solution in the next 12 months, followed by a 6-month period of providing engineering support to the GSA for testing activities, training and demonstrating the performance of Galileo HAS.

Leveraging on the experience of the NAVCAST precise positioning services, on the commitment of Spaceopal’s shareholders and on the skills of its industrial partners, Spaceopal will build a close-to-market solution for the validation of the Galileo HAS service.

“This contract is a substantial milestone in Spaceopal’s path to innovation excellence and confirms our commitment to support the GNSS services of the future. We are delighted to be trusted by the European GNSS Agency to develop this service further facilitating the adoption of the European GNSS, that will provide an unmatched accuracy for the HAS users,” said Sebastian Fedeli, Spaceopal’s sales and procurement director.

Feature image: imaginima/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images

March 15, 2021
Japan’s CLAS positioning service receives major upgrade

Japan’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) CLAS received a major enhancement on Nov. 30. QZSS CLAS (centimeter-level augmentation service) is the satellite-based nationwide open PPP-RTK service in Japan, providing centimeter positioning accuracy within one minute.

With the introduction of a new, highly efficient atmospheric correction message, the number of available satellites will be increased to 17 for those using CLAS. GPS, Galileo and QZS satellites in view will be corrected by the QZS L6 signal.

“The performance is expected be improved considerably, especially in urban areas,” said Rui Hirokawa, the deputy general manager, Space Systems Department of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Kamakura Works, in an email to GPS World.

Compact SSR — a highly efficient RTCM-compatible open specification for PPP/PPP-RTK — is applied to QZS CLAS. Compact SSR is accepted as a PPP-RTK standard in the 3GPP LTE positioning protocol (LPP) and the mobile communication standard for LTE/5G, with plans for it to be applied to the Galileo High-Accuracy Service (HAS).

Detailed information about the augmentation system upgrade is described in the ION GNSS+ 2020 paper, “Open Format Specifications for PPP/PPP-RTK Services: Overview and Interoperability Asse ssment,” by Rui Hirokawa and Ignacio Fernández-Hernández.

Since July 1, CLAS has been broadcasting a trial signal compliant with IS-QZSS-L6-003 using the L6D signal of QZS-3, which increases the number of augmented satellites to a maximum of 17 for more stable positioning accuracy.

On Nov. 30 (JST), the official broadcast of the augmentation information began from all four QZS satellites (QZS-1, 2, 3 and 4).

To continue using CLAS after Nov. 30, it may be necessary to update the receiver’s F/W to comply with IS-QZSS-L6-003. Please contact the manufacturer of the CLAS receiver for further information. Read more in this National Space Policy Secretariat notice.

December 2, 2020