Assessing SATNAV Performance Using the Navigation Tool Kit

John W. Lavrakas, Ted Driver, Rob Conley, Seth A. Hieronymus and D. Knezha

Abstract:	As increasing numbers of users depend on satellite navigation services, it is critical that service organizations have visibility into satellite navigation performance. To date, a number of organizations have developed capabilities to do these capabilities, including monitoring networks, analytical tools, and service centers. These capabilities, however, are limited in scope, often proprietary, expensive, or inadequate for overall system assessment and monitoring. Capitalizing on experience gained from assessing precise positioning service (PPS) and standard positioning service (SPS) performance for the DoD´s GPS Support Center and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), respectively, the authors have supported the development of an integrated tool that formalizes this understanding and meets the broader needs of the user community. This tool is called the Navigation Tool Kit™. This paper describes the tool’s applications and benefits. It was developed to meet the following objectives: • Assess past satellite navigation performance • Assess and monitor current satellite navigation performance • Predict short and long term satellite navigation performance • Assess time transfer performance • Apply assessments to sites, regions, and positions along navigational routes for air, land, and sea operations • Incorporate the effects of electromagnetic threats or electromagnetic interference to facilitate mitigation and remediation of GPS interference • Provide assessments of how satellite navigation supports a wide range of user applications • Provide visualization of spatial and time-based performance data using overlays onto map data and imagery The Navigation Tool Kit™ can be used by satellite navigation users to assess current performance, by satellite operators to support management of the service, by military mission planners for predicting and assessing satellite navigation service in a variety of threat environments, by commercial aviation operations to predict and assess satellite navigation performance, and by satellite acquisition and engineering organizations and companies in experimenting with various constellation configurations and user equipment capabilities. Navigation Tool Kit™ is a trademark of Analytical Graphics, Inc. (AGI)
Published in:	Proceedings of the 17th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS 2004) September 21 - 24, 2004 Long Beach Convention Center Long Beach, CA
Pages:	2104 - 2112
Cite this article:	Lavrakas, John W., Driver, Ted, Conley, Rob, Hieronymus, Seth A., Knezha, D., "Assessing SATNAV Performance Using the Navigation Tool Kit," Proceedings of the 17th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS 2004), Long Beach, CA, September 2004, pp. 2104-2112.
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