The Role of Simulation in Galileo

Ricardo Píriz, Angel Gavín-Alarcón and Alvaro Mozo-García

Abstract:	The design and development of complex systems like EGNOS and GALILEO requires a very solid experimental basis. Simulation and real data analysis have turned out to be crucial during the design and implementation phases of EGNOS: validating the high level as well as the low level specifications, studying design optimisation and analysing critical design issues, being used in system validation, monitoring performances, supporting maintenance and demonstrating the real operation. Now that Europe is facing the design and development of Galileo, and considering the synergies between both programmes, the lessons learnt in EGNOS should be taken into consideration. With these purposes, GMV works in the development and deployment of EGNOS and GALILEO providing, among other contributions, simulators and real data analysis tools. Service Volume simulators have played a crucial role during Galileo initial phases. In addition to performance assessment, Service Volume simulators have allowed the analysis of the stability of navigation performances over time, constellation maintenance, in-orbit control strategy and constellation optimisation. Inside Service Volume Simulators a new software tool named Polaris, is coming on the scene of the Galileo programme. Polaris has been developed under the leadership of GMV in the frame of EC 5th Framework Programme. Polaris allows rapid performance assessment of navigation systems and sensors in low-cost platforms to support application and system design. Applications being evaluated can include not only GNSS systems, but also regional and local augmentations (SBAS, DGNSS, pseudolites and GSM/GPRS/UMTS positioning) and sensors (odometers, gyroscopes, etc.). Whilst current simulators are focusing on the GNSS global component, they do not allow simulating regional and local component contributions, not to mention the different sensors (like odometers) that can be frequently found in many mass-market and professional applications. During Galileo phase C/D, algorithm designers will need realistic GNSS measurements to develop and test their algorithms (orbit determination, integrity, user receivers). The availability of this kind of tools will be crucial during this phase for the Galileo programme to succeed. In the frame of EGNOS system operational elements, GMV is developing the ASQF (Application Specific Qualification Facility), a facility composed of a set of tools for the validation of the EGNOS operation and for the qualification of EGNOS applications, combining simulation and real data analysis. Besides this EGNOS system operational tool, GMV has developed other analysis tools that are supporting the EGNOS user navigation performances assessment and the demonstration of the possibilities of the GNSS applications. An Example of these tools is ECLAYR. The paper will present each of these tools: Polaris, ASQF and ECLAYR with an overview of their main goals, functionalities, architecture and capacity for making analyses.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 18th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS 2005) September 13 - 16, 2005 Long Beach Convention Center Long Beach, CA
Pages:	902 - 913
Cite this article:	Píriz, Ricardo, Gavín-Alarcón, Angel, Mozo-García, Alvaro, "The Role of Simulation in Galileo," Proceedings of the 18th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS 2005), Long Beach, CA, September 2005, pp. 902-913.
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