BAE Systems has developed a navigation system intended to complement the Global Positioning System (GPS), and which could also potentially replace the US-controlled satellite technology.
Unlike GPS and rival navigation systems under development in Russia, China and the EU, BAE Systems’ Navigation via Signals of Opportunity (Navsop) doesn’t rely on any single satellite infrastructure.
Instead, the system picks up signals from existing wireless systems, including television, radio, Wi-Fi and mobile phone networks, and uses these to gradually identify the user’s position within a few metres.
Dr Ramsey Faragher, a principal scientist from BAE Systems’ Advanced Technology Centre in Chelmsford, pointed out that in spite of European society’s dependence on GPS, it is relatively prone to disruption by natural events such as solar flares or criminals with jamming equipment.
“The potential applications of this technology are already generating huge excitement in both civilian and military circles,” Dr. Faragher said. BAE Systems did not disclose when it expects the technology to go on the market commercially.
Last year a military exercise was forced to stop using GPS jamming technology due to safety fears for local fishermen, illustrating the UK society’s dependence on the American technology.
The technology can operate in areas that GPS can’t reach, such as dense urban areas and deep inside buildings, and can use signals from low Earth orbit satellites and other civilian signals to function in remote areas such as the Arctic.
Uses could include aiding soldiers in remote or dense urban areas or helping unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) resist jamming attempts.
On the civilian side BAE Systems said the technology could help fire and rescue services to navigate or improve the safety of lone workers and security staff.
While the end user devices are still at the prototype stage – including an in-car system and a handheld device – the infrastructure to make Navsop work is already available, BAE Systems said.
The EU is separately working on the Galileo system, which is a direct counterpart to GPS, with the first two Galileo satellites launched aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket in French Guiana last autumn.
Earlier this year Sony revealed that its Xperia S smartphone will be able to use the Russian-based satellite navigation system GLONASS in addition to GPS.
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This is an outstanding achievement, however one must note that when a UAV is close to a cell phone tower, because of CDMA, other towers signals may be rejected. Also, use of microwave and IMU causes errors to accumulate over time. To learn more about other navigation systems that do not require satellite navigation and the technical basics of UAVs, take the online UAV Executive Certificate Course at Unmanned Vehicle University. The course starts July 17. Visit http://www.uxvuniversity.com