Final Presentation LEOPEST

Last Updated: 04/05/2026 07:29     Created at: 04/05/2026 07:28

On April 8, 2026, GMV presented the results of the NAVISP Element 2 project EL2‑180 “LEO PNT Engineering Support Tools (LEOPEST)”.

The project aimed to develop a flexible and end‑to‑end engineering toolchain to support the design, validation, and performance assessment of LEO‑based PNT systems, covering signal generation, transmission, processing, and PVT‑level analysis. LEOPEST was conceived to accelerate early‑stage system design and enable reproducible, high‑fidelity testing of combined GNSS + LEO navigation concepts.

The system was designed, integrated, and validated through an extensive test campaign, including:

• Development of a configurable architecture for LEO and GNSS signal generation, leveraging Skydel, SDXPAND, and custom constellation definitions
• RF transmission and recording using high‑grade and mass‑market front ends (Ettus N310 and B205mini‑i)
• Signal processing using GMV’s experimental XRC receiver, benchmarked against a COTS receiver
• Comprehensive performance analysis at tracking and PVT level, including CN₀, code and carrier jitter, acquisition time, availability, and computational load
• Definition and execution of incremental test cases, from GNSS‑only baselines to multi‑frequency, mixed GNSS+LEO scenarios in L‑ and S‑bands

Key results include:

• Successful generation, transmission, and processing of GNSS and LEO signals across E1, E5, and S bands, including FDMA and non‑FDMA modulations
• Validation of receiver coherency between IQ‑based and RF‑recorded signals, enabled by tight integration of the PVT engine
• Robust tracking performance under high dynamics, cold start conditions, and injected multipath, with results consistent across modulation types
• Demonstrated coexistence of multiple frequencies and up to seven simultaneous modulations without degradation of observables
• Predictable scalability of computational performance, with even the most complex scenarios remaining feasible for offline processing
• Verification that GMV’s experimental receiver performance is in line with COTS benchmarks, confirming suitability for advanced LEO PNT assessment

The project also defined clear next steps, including extension to additional frequency bands, integration of full LEO ICD signals, enhanced multipath modelling, and further optimisation of real‑time RF processing.

The project was co‑funded by NAVISP Element 2, which supports the competitiveness of European PNT technologies through close collaboration with industry. The slides of the final presentation can be found here.