GREAT

Next Generation GNSS REference stATions

Currently, GNSS reference networks are expensive infrastructures requiring specialised equipment and high installation and maintenance costs. For this reason, most of the public and private GNSS networks are not very dense in the European territory and even less so worldwide. At the same time, a large number of new applications, demanding in terms of positioning accuracy, need to receive real-time differential corrections from reference stations that are 15 km or less far away. In this context, the density of GNSS networks is becoming a key factor for the development of innovative services, ranging from mass market (e.g., for high precision positioning/navigation on new generation smartphones where raw GNSS measurements are available) to more specialised application domains (e.g., for GNSS-based real-time structural and geophysical monitoring). 

Also, new safe-sensitive applications such as autonomous driving and drones’ navigation need reliable networks of reference stations that shall be redundant and resilient not only to local spoofing and jamming attacks, but also to cyber-attacks and emergency situations (e.g., natural disasters). 

Addressing such needs, the GREAT (Next Generation GNSS REference stATions) project developed  low-cost GNSS reference stations.

The purpose of the GREAT project is the development, test and demonstration of the next generation of low-cost GNSS reference stations, which guarantee performance comparable to the ones of current geodetic grade receivers but with costs - in terms of equipment, setup and maintenance - up to one order of magnitude lower than the present standards.

The final goal of the project is the realisation of infrastructure bringing the advantages of differential GNSS processing (both real-time and post-processing), in terms of precision and accuracy ranging from sub-metre (DGNSS technique) up to millimetre level (static differential processing), to the widest community of end-users as possible.

Challenge and technical solution

Among the key challenges addressed in the GREAT project are:

• Cost-effectiveness of components, combining good performance and a highly competitive price
• Fully autonomous and infrastructure-less solution, with no need of wired power and/or wired communication 
• OSNMA anti spoofing capabilities in the receiver
• Blockchain-based secure and traceable data flow
• IMU hybridisation for the detection of abnormal movements, the monitoring of vibration and to further improve anti-spoofing capabilities.