GPS World

Tag: HAS

  • EUSPA grants Thales Alenia Space framework contract to build European GNSS Demonstrator

    EUSPA grants Thales Alenia Space framework contract to build European GNSS Demonstrator

    EUSPA has signed a Framework Contract with Thales Alenia Space to build the European GNSS Service Demonstrator (ESD), a centralized modular platform advancing EU Space services like EGNOS, Galileo, Copernicus, and GOVSATCOM/IRIS2.

    This EGNSS Service Demonstrator is a key innovation accelerator for EUSPA, paving the way for large-scale end-to-end testing future Galileo and EGNOS augmentation services through both geostationary satellite and internet-based dissemination.

    The system will serve as the backbone of pre-operational EGNSS service validation, anticipating future positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) user needs across critical markets, support standardization activities, and sustain EUSPA’s commitment to service excellence.

    Building on Thales Alenia Space’s track record in PNT satellite-based services, the EGNSS Service Demonstrator project inherently anchors Thales Alenia Space at the forefront of the new generation of GNSS-based applications and services for millions of European and global users.

    Capabilities

    The ESD will comprise modular and flexible ground and support segments to handle a diverse number of reference stations and data. It will be able to compute corrections, messages or data that will be disseminated in real-time via different means such as GEO SiS and the internet.

    It centralizes EGNSS demonstrations, incorporating future services like high accuracy (HAS), authentication (OSNMA, SAS), maritime/rail DFMC safety, space weather and emergency warning via scalable infrastructure.

    Strategic role

    The ESD will facilitate the seamless rollout of new/improved services without disrupting operations of current EGNSS services, emulating signals for realistic testing to support future prototyping and standarization of receivers (such as for rail safety or automotive high-accuracy units), and app development. It will refine user needs across sectors while engaging users and developers.

    Key use cases

    The main use cases that the ESD will cover are:

    • Early Open Service signals, such as pre-operational EGNOS DFMC SBAS or Galileo HAS integrity, to accelerate user readiness.
    • Service consolidation for evolutions like enhanced HAS via E-GSC interface, OS-NMA/SAS testing, and sector-specific apps (maritime, rail).
    • Standardization support for receivers like MUGG, EDG2E and Fundamental Elements projects; SBAS promotions and demos.

    With the European GNSS Service Demonstrator, EUSPA strengthens Europe’s ability to test, evolve and deploy future EU Space services, supporting innovation, standardization and market uptake while ensuring service continuity and resilience.

  • PPP GNSS delivers real-time positioning with centimeter accuracy

    PPP GNSS delivers real-time positioning with centimeter accuracy

    Precise Point Positioning (PPP) has long held promise as a standalone, high-accuracy positioning technique, but its slow convergence and complexity in ambiguity resolution have limited widespread use. Over the past decade, GNSS modernization (GPS, Galileo and BeiDou) has introduced multi-frequency, high-precision signals, enhancements that expand opportunities for precise positioning.

    Yet challenges remain, especially in environments with obstructed views or fast-changing motion. High-fidelity corrections and real-time performance are critical for sectors like smart transportation, robotics and disaster response.

    Further in-depth research is needed to refine PPP solutions and meet the demands of real-world, dynamic applications.

    A collaborative research team from Wuhan University and affiliated institutions has published a major study in the July 2025 issue of Satellite Navigation. The team developed and validated an enhanced PPP and PPP-RTK framework using next-generation GNSS signals and satellite augmentation services.

    The study evaluated the performance of BDS-3’s PPP-B2b and Galileo’s HAS services across a variety of experimental settings, revealing dramatic improvements in positioning accuracy, convergence time, and reliability.

    These breakthroughs offer a practical roadmap for deploying real-time high-precision navigation at global scale.

    The researchers constructed an integrated precise point positioning with real-time kinematic (PPP-RTK) system incorporating real-time atmospheric corrections, observable-specific bias (OSB) products, and multi-constellation satellite data. Through extensive global experiments, they demonstrated that a combined GPS/Galileo/BeiDou configuration reduced static convergence time to under 5 minutes while achieving horizontal accuracy below 2 cm. In dynamic tests — including a real-world vehicular trial in Wuhan — PPP-RTK achieved sub-5 cm accuracy with instant or near-instant convergence, even under rapidly changing observation environments.

    These systems proved especially effective when paired with atmospheric modeling techniques like Kriging and distance interpolation. With fix rates exceeding 98%, the results underscore PPP-RTK’s readiness for mission-critical applications in rapidly changing environments.

    Additionally, the study evaluated augmentation services: the BeiDou PPP-B2b and Galileo High Accuracy Service (HAS). Both were found to significantly accelerate convergence (to under 15 minutes and 100 seconds, respectively) and deliver decimeter-level accuracy in kinematic scenarios.

    “This study marks a turning point in the quest for real-time, high-accuracy positioning,” said Xiaodong Ren, lead author and professor at Wuhan University. “By merging advanced GNSS signals, atmospheric corrections, and real-world testing, we’ve demonstrated that PPP-RTK can deliver fast, stable and highly accurate results — even in the most demanding environments. These capabilities are essential for the next generation of autonomous systems, from self-driving cars to drones and beyond.”

    The ability to achieve centimeter-level positioning accuracy quickly and without reliance on dense base station networks opens doors for a wide range of smart technologies, Xiaodong said. PPP-RTK has the potential to reshape industries such as precision agriculture, surveying, transportation logistics, and unmanned systems.

    This study provides a robust framework and empirical validation for real-world adoption of high-precision GNSS applications, according to the authors. “As satellite constellations and augmentation services continue to evolve, PPP-RTK is poised to become the foundation of global positioning solutions — reliable, scalable, and ready for deployment in tomorrow’s connected world,” Xiaodong said.

    DOI: 10.1186/s43020-025-00169-6

  • GMV awarded contract for Galileo HAS data generator

    GMV awarded contract for Galileo HAS data generator

    Image: EUSPA
    Image: EUSPA

    GMV has been awarded a contract for the implementation of the Galileo High Accuracy data generator (HADG), which will be the facility in charge of generating the high-accuracy corrections data to enable the provision of the Galileo High Accuracy Service (HAS).

    The contract was awarded by the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA).

    HADG will ensure the continuous provision of HAS data with a proper rate, accuracy, availability, continuity and latency. The data will encompass orbit and clock corrections, biases, quality indicators and service parameters.

    The HADG contract addresses a key infrastructure development of the Galileo program. The Galileo HAS, together with the Open Service Authentication (OSNMA) and the Commercial Authentication Service (CAS), is one of Galileo’s stand-out services, setting it apart from GPS or GLONASS.

    The HAS will be an open-access service based on the provision of high-accuracy corrections transmitted in the Galileo E6-B signal (E6, data component), at a rate of 448 bps per Galileo satellite connected to an uplink station. The data retrieved by the user from the different satellites offering the HAS will be reconstructed, allowing the user to achieve an improved positioning performance.

    As the project’s leader, GMV will be responsible for core project activities such as the provision of the algorithms for the computation of the high-accuracy corrections, which rely on GMV’s MagicPPP software suite for precise point positioning. GMV is supported by SIDERTIA in the area of cybersecurity.

    The specification , design  and development phases have already been completed, and the project is progressing toward qualification of the system that will enable the execution of the necessary validation activities prior to the HAS initial service declaration, which is expected in 2022.

    GMV presented the first version of MagicGNSS in 2008.