The Arctic Testbed – Experimentation Results on SBAS in the Arctic Region

P.E. Kvam, G.F. Serrano, Y.L. Andalsvik, A.M. Solberg, P. Thomas, M. Porretta, K. Urbanska, S. Schlüter

Abstract:	The Arctic is a new frontier that opens up new possibilities and industrial potential. However, the Arctic has a fragile marine environment with one of the world’s most fertile ecosystems. Therefore, taking into account the limitations in available infrastructure in general, there is a need for improved navigation services in this area. Large parts of the Arctic are presently not covered by SBAS services, so improving SBAS coverage would be a significant contribution. On this basis, the Arctic Testbed is a stand-alone SBAS prototype system set up to show how SBAS can support the users in the Arctic in obtaining safe navigation services. The testbed has been developed in the framework of the European GNSS Evolution Programme (EGEP) of the European Space Agency (ESA). The plans for Arctic Testbed, as well as simulation results, were presented at ION 2013 [1]. Now the system is completed and in use for experiments and demonstrations. The main objective of Arctic Testbed is to contribute to extending secure satellite navigation in the Arctic region. In particular, it will complement EGNOS in the north, targeting coverage up to a latitude of 85 degrees north. Further, it will extend coverage to the west, bridging the gap between EGNOS and WAAS in the northern Atlantic. This paper presents the results from experiments with this testbed. The Arctic Testbed, being a stand-alone prototype, allows making extensive experimentation without affecting operational users. The Arctic Testbed is built from the algorithms used in the EGNOS Central Processing Facility (CPF), but extended with additional functionalities. This allows investigating how these various enhancements affect EGNOS performance. More in detail, the following improvements are analysed: • The use of alternative means, other than geostationary satellites, to broadcast EGNOS corrections. These include Internet, Iridium and Automatic Identification System (AIS). As a result, users beyond the geostationary satellite coverage can still receive the differential corrections and calculate an augmented Position, Velocity and Timing (PVT) solution. • The calculation of differential corrections for a second constellation (GLONASS) further than GPS. This option provides more observables at both the system and the user levels. Therefore, the robustness of the PVT solution is potentially improved. • The user estimation of ionospheric delay from dual frequency observations, and then combined with clock/orbit corrections from SBAS. • The extension of the reference stations network, hence providing more observables to the system. • The combined use of EGNOS and WAAS in the region of overlapping coverage of the two systems (deviation from the DO229D methodology as required in aviation) The methodology is based on experiments which result in a navigation performance assessment at the user level. This is done for the complete service area, as well as for specific locations. These performance indicators are then compared to the current EGNOS system and to the simulated results. This approach allows concluding on whether the enhancements will have any impact on EGNOS, and allows verifying that the simulations are representative of the actual performance. The paper presents the performance of the different enhancements mentioned above. More in detail, for each option, the relevant performance is shown with coverage maps, Stanford plots, time-series plots and other statistical indicators. The paper shows how enhancements to EGNOS might benefit users in the Arctic region. However, it also demonstrates in a more generic sense the advantages of using an additional constellation and dual frequency observations. Therefore, the proposed assessment can be considered as representative of the performance which can be obtained in a future Dual Frequency Multiple Constellation system with GPS/Galileo/BeiDou/- GLONASS operating in dual frequency (L1/L5). The Arctic Testbed project is initiated by ESA. Kongsberg Seatex is assigned as prime contractor, heading a team of eight partners: GMV Aerospace and Defence, Thales Alenia Space France, CGI, Terma, Norwegian Mapping Authority, Technical University of Denmark, Septentrio and University of Calgary.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 29th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2016) September 12 - 16, 2016 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon
Pages:	3228 - 3248
Cite this article:	Kvam, P.E., Serrano, G.F., Andalsvik, Y.L., Solberg, A.M., Thomas, P., Porretta, M., Urbanska, K., Schlüter, S., "The Arctic Testbed – Experimentation Results on SBAS in the Arctic Region," Proceedings of the 29th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2016), Portland, Oregon, September 2016, pp. 3228-3248. https://doi.org/10.33012/2016.14741
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