Integrated Navigation System-of-Systems PNT Integrity for Resilience

Last Updated: 26/06/2024 07:20     Created at: 26/06/2024 07:18

Final Presentation of NAVISP Project EL3-020 now available:

On Tuesday, June 11th, 2024, Taylor Airey Limited together with NLA International Ltd, London Economics, GLA Research and Development (GRAD), KTN, CGI UK Ltd, GMV NSL Ltd, and  Imperial College London presented the results of the NAVISP EL3-020 project "Integrated Navigation System-of-Systems PNT Integrity for Resilience (INSPIRe)"

Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) systems are essential for providing precise location and timing information, critical to navigation, safety, and operational efficiency in industries like transportation, defence, and emergency response. Key parameters—accuracy, integrity, availability, and continuity—determine the reliability of PNT systems, ensuring uninterrupted service in applications where errors can be highly consequential.

The INSPIRe project aimed to define the practical measures that could be implemented to indicate the level of confidence a user should have in their PNT solution, with a specific focus on maritime applications in the UK and its coastal areas. More specifically, the objective was to establish resilient PNT solutions that maintain high standards of integrity, thereby enhancing safety, operational efficiency, and navigational reliability in maritime environments. These efforts are part of broader strategies aimed at safeguarding and optimizing PNT capabilities across the UK, ensuring they remain robust and dependable amidst operational challenges and potential disruptions. This activity built upon the previous MarRINav project, which aimed to enhance resilience and integrity in UK maritime PNT systems by proposing a system-of-systems architecture centered on global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). 

Its successor, the here presented INSPIRe project, focused on developing integrity solutions using advanced GNSS technologies and onboard systems, and explored crowd-sourced data integration for maritime navigation services. The INSPIRe project focused on several specific objectives aimed at enhancing autonomous user-level integrity monitoring and system-level integrity in PNT systems. It investigated, developed, and bench-tested techniques and algorithms using dual-frequency multi-constellation GNSS, EGNOS for error characterization, and inertial (dead reckoning) systems. The project also aimed to develop equipment for receiver autonomous integrity monitoring (RAIM) availability prediction and terrestrial monitoring of system-level integrity. Additionally, INSPIRe undertook the task of developing a prototype for EGNOS performance monitoring to ensure Safety-of-Life (SoL) services. It explored the feasibility, designed functionality, and defined development and deployment plans for an e-Navigation service. This service was intended to provide supplementary integrity data to maritime vessels, utilizing GNSS terrestrial integrity monitoring, crowd-sourced data from maritime users, and potentially expanding to other user sectors.

At the end of the project, INSPIRe demonstrated how integrity can be achieved, emphasizing the necessity for ongoing collaboration and national service development to fully realize its benefits. INSPIRe has developed and bench-tested user-level solutions for GNSS integrity, outlined approaches for system-level solutions, and established a development pathway to mature and assure these solutions. The project highlights the opportunity to align maritime standards with integrity considerations, which is crucial for autonomy and enhanced safety. Moreover, education is identified as a key requirement, and cross-sector collaboration is seen as having significant potential for further benefits.

The project was part of NAVISP Element 3, aiming to support national PNT strategies by providing support per country and possibly per domain for the development and promotion of products, applications and services based on PNT systems to foster national and international cooperation.

The slides are accessible here.

Please also be invited to visit the project website.