Technologies and competences - The major activities of OHB Austria GmbH comprise the field of GNSS quality assurance and GNSS signal simulation, in particular precise positioning, reliable navigation, and applications in the satellite downstream market. We are specialists in the development and combination of navigation, telecommunications, and information technologies as well as services for a wide variety of applications in the context of satellite-based navigation systems. With the know-how of our team members, we develop solutions, services, and applications according to customer and market needs.ISO 9001:2015 Certificate
XPLORA
The GNSS Signal Simulation
Optimize your resources when it comes to R&D, quality testing and certification of GNSS-based equipment
GNSS equipment development requires testing under controlled conditions. Engineers, scientists, manufacturers, and system integrators involved in GNSS development must be able to control test conditions, repeat tests precisely, simulate new satellite constellations and signals in advance (before the systems and signals are even available), and perform realistic tests in GNSS denied environments (without a line of sight to the satellites).
Request a free 7-day trial of our XPLORA Core GNSS signal simulation software!
With XPLORA system integrators, GNSS equipment manufacturers and users, governmental authorities, and armed forces in a navigation warfare scenario can harden their GNSS-based infrastructure or equipment against interference.
GIDAS
The GNSS quality assurance for every need
Benefit from our versatile solutions for GNSS interference detection, alerts, localization, and statistical reports
Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) positioning and timing services form the backbone of many applications and markets. Civilian GNSS services are free of charge and globally available but insufficiently protected against unintentional and even intentional disturbances. OHB Austria has researched for more than 20 years on how to provide means to monitor and augment the GNSS services with GNSS quality assurance. For many applications, it’s not only precision that matters, but predominantly integrity too! Our knowledge and experience in GNSS quality assurance are available in many different forms in our GIDAS product family.
Jamming & Spoofing
GNSS is globally and freely available, but vulnerable to many threats. The signals transmitted from GNSS satellites orbiting the earth at approximately 20.000 km altitude above the earth’s surface are very weak with the transmission power of a 100W light bulb (depending on the constellation and satellite generation). The signals are received on the earth’s surface with a signal power below the thermal noise floor. These weak signals can be disturbed or degraded by many sources. The main classifications of local interferences are:
-
Out-of-band interference and unintentional interference:
This type of interference can be caused by services using neighboring frequency bands or environmental influences (e.g., GNSS multipath). It usually occurs in the vicinity of other infrastructure using radio frequency links.
-
Jamming
The intentional attempt to interrupt the GNSS service by broadcasting higher-powered signals. With the discontinuation of GNSS positioning, the onboard system must fall back to alternative navigation systems. Especially during challenging conditions, this can raise the likelihood of accidents.
-
Spoofing
The intentional attempt to force a GNSS receiver to a false position/course can be challenging to detect. Spoofed GNSS receivers output false position and timing information, exposing the chance of collisions with the ground or other objects.
The first step in protecting your GNSS-dependent applications or platforms is to monitor the GNSS signal health on-location in real-time. While systems such as space-based augmentation systems (SBAS) or country-wide monitoring systems are typically designed to monitor the constellation health status (orbit-, satellite-clock-, uplink-errors), local interference or local anomalies are not visible. Especially for safety-critical applications, it is vital to monitor the GNSS signals and services as close to the application as possible.
FAQs:
What is GNSS? GNSS stands for Global Navigation Satellite Systems. Every such system consists of several satellites (usually approximately 30), which are moving in precisely defined orbits around the earth, and continuously send radio signals to earth (in a frequency range of approximately 1,2 to 1,6 GHz. These signals can be received on earth and also above earth (for example, in airplanes). When receiving signals from at least four satellites the receiver can calculate a position and the time.There exist several GNSS in parallel: GPS (operated by the US), the European GALILEO, GLONASS (also known as “Russian GPS”), BEIDOU from China – all of them supplying global coverage. In addition there exist navigation satellite systems that use the same mechanisms like the aforementioned GNSS, but cover only specific regions on the globe, like the Japanese QZSS system and Navic from India.
What is a GNSS signal simulator? A GNSS signal simulator is a system that creates signals equal to real-life-GNSS-signals, based on mathematical models and inputs from users. Such systems can be merely software-based or can also create physical RF-signals. The signals created by a GNSS signal simulator correspond to those a GNSS-based device would receive in real life under the conditions defined in a specific test scenario.
What is the main purpose of a GNSS signal simulator? GNSS signals are used in extremely many different applications for the determination of position and or/time.They are used, for example, for navigation in automotive, maritime or aerospace industry, for precise timing in power distribution networks and finance industry, for surveying purposes, for tracking of valuable assets like cars and machinery, and many other purposes. All devices and systems which use GNSS technology for positioning and/or timing must be tested for ensuring a reliable, safe operation. Products and systems relying on GNSS technology for positioning and/or timing have to be tested thoroughly before putting them into operation. As the possibilities for comprehensive testing in real life are very limited, the use of a GNSS simulation system is the perfect option for ensuring a high coverage of test scenarios, efficient execution of many test cases, having in mind the requirement to standardize and repeat tests.
Why GNSS simulation is important? / What are the benefits of GNSS simulation? For systematic testing standardization and repeatability are key elements. These cannot be achieved in real life. A GNSS signal simulator can expose a GNSS-based device to a wide range of different environmetal conditions, like, for example, different atomspherical conditions, obstruction and refelction of GNSS signals in urban canyons, different visibility of satellites in different locations on the global at different points of time, etc. In addition to many natural factors, which have a significant influence on the quality of GNSS signals received on earth, there exist also intentional interferences which can seriously put at risk the quality of GNSS-signals, like jamming and spoofing. Test scenarios which include jamming and/or spoofing in real-life in most countries can be carried out only with specific licences by the corresponding authorities and/or only with specific, cost-intensive infrastructire (like, for example, anechoic chambers). Therefore tests for hardening GNSS-based equipment against such vulnerabilities is much more efficient when using a GNSS signal simulator. As a resume: GNSS signal simulators contribute to safety, security and reliability of GNSS-based equipment. And they do this in a fast, cost-effective way.