The System: eLoran Gets Trials, Possibly a New Life
April 1, 2012
eLoran Gets Trials, Possibly a New Life As result of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between […]
Read More
eLoran Gets Trials, Possibly a New Life As result of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between […]
Accord Technology LLC was recently authorized TSO-C145c for its latest receiver/sensor in the NextNav product family, the NextNav MAX GPS WAAS Class Beta-1, -2, -3. This successful GPS development is a key solution in a series of Accord Technology’s affordable civil aviation GPS receivers and sensor, the company said.
An alternative precision GPS architecture, Precision RELNAV, enables an airborne tanker plane and a Navy unmanned combat aircraft to navigate independently to a high degree of precision without requiring carrier-cycle ambiguity resolution using precision GPS ephemeris updates to a tightly coupled GPS/inertial solution onboard each aircraft. The solution rivals that of conventional relative kinematic techniques while providing more robust positioning that reduces message traffic between aircraft and does not require a long filtering time.
As the GNSS world starts to appreciate the era of multiple global constellations, it’s probably worth considering the impact on aircraft navigation, GNSS airborne receivers and what these changes might soon bring to those who develop and use GNSS for airborne en-route navigation and approaches. Design and manufacture of new breeds of receivers are only the first of many steps along the road to full-fledged use of new capabilities. In aviation in particular, and in other high-precision fields to a lesser extent, many stages of study, regulation, development, test, and certification must be undertaken to eventually reach the promised land. The following capsule history of our progress to date also sheds light on what we may have to undertake in the future.
“A large number of companies and engineers have thrown billions of dollars at trying to improve GPS in urban and indoor applications,” states Locata Corporation co-founder Nunzio Gambale. “From a technological perspective, Locata has created something completely new: the capability to autonomously create a GPS-style system on the ground.”
Members of the GNSS community can see for themselves at Locata’s coming-out party at ION-GNSS 2011, including release of a Locata signal interface control document (ICD). GPS World took an advance look at the technology in a June trial of the demo that all ION attendees can see. This article presents these reports.
Non-aviation users of satellite- and ground-based augmentation systems do not require the conservative level of integrity built into these systems for aviation users. Removing it can produce substantial benefits in terms of smaller error bounds and improved availability.
Landing airplanes with GPS is not a new concept. People were demonstrating the feasibility back in the early 1990s. But landing transport airplanes in commercial airline service is something that’s only just getting to be a regular occurrence. Before we go on, maybe we need a short side trip into Local Area Augmentation Systems (LAAS) and Wide Area Augmentation Systems (WAAS): both highly effective — and now both certified — means for getting aircraft “wheels on runways.” (Shucks, maybe we need even a further side trip into what constitutes “certified”…)
The European GNSS Agency (GSA) has published a 2010 GNSS Market Monitoring report, providing key information in support of entrepreneurship in the satellite navigation sector.
Follow Us