Global Navigation Satellite Systems

—This paper presents a B-spline based path planning approach for agricultural guidance applications which is able to handle successively generated trajectories. Additionally, the lateral controller which was used to calculate the steering angle is described and the method by which the required parameters were determined is introduced. We explain stepwise how the output of a perception system is used to determine the control points for the planner and why B-splines and Bézier curves are used to model the trajectory. Moreover, it is shown how the inputs for the path tracker are derived from the B-splines. The approach was implemented on two different farm machines where the performance of the planning and control approach were evaluated. Furthermore, both algorithms were used to build a windrow guidance demonstrator.

Significant advances in sensor technology, along with economies of scale due to large production volumes have supported the miniaturization of navigation sensors, allowing widespread low-cost integration on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). In small-size UAS applications, standalone sensors are not a viable option since the reduction in navigation sensor form-factor, weight and cost typically results in lowered accuracy and precision. Fusion of multiple sensor measurements in UAS navigation systems can support greater accuracy, integrity and update rates than is achievable employing individual sensors. This chapter introduces the fundamentals of state-estimation methods employed on UAS and presents different sensor integration architectures, along with an assessment of their advantages and trade-offs. Attention is devoted primarily to recursive optimal estimation algorithms such as the Kalman Filter and its variants owing to its prolific employment in various classes of UAS. The need to support robust navigation performance in Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) denied environments, and the proliferation of visual sensors has led to the development of numerous methods for integrating visual sensor measurements (primarily) with inertial sensors. Therefore, the reader is introduced to the most popular system architectures for visual-inertial sensor integration, in order to provide an understanding of the current state-of-the-art and to support the identification of future research pathways.

One of the satellite systems that have great importance and whose full range of  applications have not yet been revealed to the general public, is the system of navigation satellites NAVSTAR GPS (NAVigation Satellite Timing And Ranging / Global Positioning System), which is expected that it will bring a real revolution. High accuracy, global, continuous and regardless of weather conditions will provide information that  promise to significantly improve navigation along with the precision that affects targeting weapons systems and many other military activities. https://bit.ly/31OhiKj

We would like to invite you to join this exciting new project as a chapter contributor. Since this is a textbook, a great deal of this chapter entails a survey on the topic under the paradigm of cyber-physical systems, what can be done onboard and remotely, the distributed nature of the system and some exercises on futurology (anticipating trends can shed some light on upcoming designs). IET will bring great visibility to your work. You are welcome to suggest another topic/chapter title if you feel it would be more suitable. Each chapter should be around 20-25 pages each and can be submitted as a Word or Latex File. The IET will send you additional information (formatting, permission form, etc.) with the contributor's agreement once you have agreed to contribute to the book. Visit http:// www.theiet.org/resources/author-hub/books/index.cfm to get all information you need as a contributor to an IET research-level book. Each book is expected to have a total number of 500 printed pages (based on approximately 550 words per page with a 20% allowance for figures and tables). We have included a tentative schedule and list of topics below. If this is something you would consider, please send me the title of your chapter, a short description/abstract of the chapter content, and your full contact details. We will expect original content and new results for this book. You can, of course, reuse published material but the percentage of material reuse for the chapter should be less than 40%. The IET will run a piracy software on the full manuscript to control that you are including original material and will reject chapters who contain a large amount of already-published material so please do take this into consideration.

International Journal of Computer Science, Engineering and Applications (IJCSEA) is an open access peer-reviewed journal that publishes articles which contribute new results in all areas of the computer science, Engineering and Applications. The journal is devoted to the publication of high quality papers on theoretical and practical aspects of computer science, Engineering and Applications.

Sight distance analysis of highway is important factor in the traffic safety in case of sudden stop, cross another vehicle or intersection design. In case of uncontrolled intersection proper sight distance is necessary to reduce the vehicle collision at conflict points, for calculating sight distance many techniques are used under the homogeneous traffic condition such as evaluate ASD on the basis of 3D GIS evaluation for urban roads. Use of MMS for photogrammetric plotting to define position of the object, software for evaluate sight distance using GIS with GNSS receiver , model for sight distance and 3D alignment evaluation of highways , Estimation of V85 profile of road section under evaluation, To overcome limitations new concept can be developed when the information combine with safety assessment. To reduce the accident which is to be caused due to improper visibility we compare calculated and available sight distance value and give the measures which can be adopted.

Способите и методите, които са използвани в навигацията през вековете са се променяли, както и съответно целите които обслужват. Един от тези методи е инерциалната навигация. В днешни времена инерциалната навигация предлага много преимущества пред другите типове навигация. Основно преимущество е липсата на зависимост от външни за системата предаватели или други устройства, което означава независимост на системата. С развиването на новите технологии точността на тези системи се увеличава, което увеличава областта им на приложимост. Важен аспект е и намаляването на цената на сензорите, което е предпоставка за приложението им в нови области, където до сега не са били предлагани.

In the spirit of the Workshop, a survey is given on some useful math modelling recipes, especially considering the issues of clocks, time, relativity; there are, in fact, questions which are related to satellite radio-assisted navigation but often not detailed in a comprehensive and hopefully simple overview. Thus, focus is here on some fundamental but "less common" subjects, at least not frequently presented in the same work, whilst other arguments that are usually well documented and often debated (e.g.: ionospheric delays), indeed important, are just mentioned.

Navigation assistance systems are aiming to improve safety and provide traffic optimization and have become more and more popular in a modern vehicular technology. The reason is given by the significant traffic increase and numerous congestion events in large cities, large complexity of road infrastructure, and unexpected or hazardous conditions that can be found on roads. This paper proposes an innovative navigation system solution that intelligently gathers traffic data provided by integrated car sensors and/or onboard security systems and uses it to warn other participants. System concepts, architecture, design, implementation, and performance evaluation aspects are presented, and tasks organization for an embedded cost‐effective implementation using a real‐time kernel is illustrated.

This Impact Report identifies and summarises the diverse impacts, resulting from the £500m of UK funding of Science and Technology in 2013, using numerous quantitative metrics and short case study extracts.  It shows how the varied impacts of a national science and technology organization and its many funded programmes can be annually identified, captured, tracked, and summarised in a public document.

The report was produced for, and by, the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) -  the UK Research Council responsible for funding: (1) all UK astronomy, particle and nuclear physics research, (2) related UK science and technology facilities (e.g. as Harwell and Daresbury), (3) the UK contribution to international science (e.g. CERN, international telescopes and space missions), (4) innovation and business spin-off programmes, and (5) UK public engagement activities.

The Report was co-researched and co-authored by the STFC Impact Team, including myself while Impact Evaluation Manager in 2013, with Dr. Claire Dougan-McCallie (lead author/Head of Impact) and Jenny Beard, with additional input from senior managers, and many data and case study contributions from other key managers across STFC.

Varied key impacts are identified and reported including:

• Research amongst the best (by citation impact) in astronomy, nuclear and particle physics.
• Supported research of 226 Principal Investigators in 70 universities, led to 1,100 peer-reviewed papers in 2012.
• Facilities (the Diamond Light Source, ISIS and CLF) were used in 2012/13 by over 4,200 unique users , in over 2,400 experiments, producing over 1,000 papers in peer-reviewed journals.

• Technology from CERN benefited the UK economy by over £100 billion every year.
• Funding the development of the UK’s space, internet and computer animation industries, returned over £500 billion to the UK economy per annum.
• Funded Innovation Campuses hosted over 230 enterprises and supported over 5,000 jobs.
• UK industry won £43 million in contracts from the international subscriptions funded, and had accumulated a total of £150 million since 2005.

• Funded research inspired future generations to study STEM subjects, attracting 90% of UK undergraduates to study physics, funded 782 PhD students  and 16,800 student training days.
• Between 2009 to 2012 public engagement programmes engaged people on 58 million occasions, with 2 million people engaged in face-to-face activities in 2013 alone.

There are many applications for outdoor navigation but still less application for indoor navigation are available. In complex unknown indoor environments such as public buildings, railway stations, airports, hospitals, is difficult and time consuming to find the destination. In this paper, we design a mixed reality based indoor navigation system to assist people to navigate in an unknown indoor environment. We use mixed reality head mounted display HoloLens for this prototype. HoloLens scan the environment, find user position in the environment and show the shortest path to the target area. User can select their destination by the graphical user interface display in the HoloLens and also via voice command. Then our system shows the visual augmented path to the user. We use A* pathfinding algorithm for finding the shortest path from the user to the destination.

GNSSs’ position determination depends on the stability and accuracy of the measured time. However, since SVs travel at velocities significantly larger than the receivers and, more importantly, the electromagnetic impulses propagate through changing gravitational potentials, enormous errors stemming from relativity-based clock offsets would cause the position mistake of about 11 km accumulated after one day. Basing on the premise of the constancy of light two major relativistic effects are described: time dilation and gravitational frequency shift. Following the individual interests of the author formulas of both are scrupulously derived from general and special relativity theories’ principles; moreover in the last but one section the equations are used to calculate author’s own numerical values of studied parameters for various GNSS and one LNSS.

The internal roadmap for deep space exploration proposed by the International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG) clearly identifies the Moon as the first step towards a larger solar system exploration. In this context, the use of Earth Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals at Moon altitude has been extensively studied in the past, within and outside the European Space Agency (ESA). This interest has been reflected in "The Interoperable Global Navigation Satellite Systems Space Service Volume" booklet issued by the International Committee on GNSS (ICG). NASA, with their Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS) mission, has recently demonstrated the reception of GPS signals at a distance which is about halfway between Earth and Moon, marking an important step towards the use of this technology in future lunar operational missions. The very weak signals received in cislunar space and the particular unfavourable geometry with all the signal coming from a similar region of the sky (i.e. high Dilution Of Precision, DOP, values), requires the development of advanced techniques as part of the spaceborne GNSS receiver, both at signal processing level (higher sensitivity) and at navigation filter level. The current approach for deep space Orbit Determination and Time Synchronization (ODTS) relies on-ground-based solutions such as radiometric measurements via Telemetry, Tracking and Command (TTC) link or advanced solutions such as optical links (e.g. laser ranging and optical time transfer) or Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) techniques. The ground-based approaches suffer from relatively high cost, complexity in the sharing of spare ground resources (e.g. access to deep space network, DSN) and poor performances for real-time on-board ODTS (often in orders of kilometres or tens of kilometres). Based on ESA and NASA analysis presented in several publications, a lunar mission using a spaceborne GNSS receiver could achieve performances around 50-100 m 3D RMS orbit determination and microsecond level time synchronization accuracy with high availability in real time on-board, without the need of frequency ground contact. In this context, ESA is developing a spaceborne receiver that is expected to provide outstanding performances in cislunar space missions and plans to demonstrate this technology as part of the Lunar 1 Paper ID: 64095 oral Pathfinder mission planned to be launched in 2024. To the ESA knowledge, this could become the first ever demonstration of GNSS reception by a satellite in lunar orbit. The present contribution provides details of the experiment (including concept of operations, duration, etc.), the GNSS antenna and GNSS receiver and expected performances, potentially including real hardware in the loop tests with radio frequency constellation simulators and the engineering model of the GNSS receiver.

Taking the move from our recent research on GNSS Avionics Based Integrity Augmentation (ABIA), this article investigates the synergies of ABIA with a novel Detect-and-Avoid (DAA) architecture for Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS).  Based on simulation and experimental data collected on a variety of manned and unmanned aircraft, it was observed that the integration of ABIA with DAA has the potential to provide an integrity-augmented DAA for both cooperative and non-cooperative applications. The candidate DAA system uses various Forward-Looking Sensors (FLS) for the non-cooperative case and Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) in addition to TCAS/ASAS for the cooperative case. Both in the cooperative and non-cooperative cases, the risk of collision is evaluated by setting a threshold on the Probability Density Function (PDF) of a Near Mid-Air Collision (NMAC) event over the separation area. So, if the specified threshold is exceeded, an avoidance manoeuvre is performed based on a heading-based Differential Geometry (DG) algorithm and optimized utilizing a cost function with minimum time constraints and fuel penalty criteria weighted as a function of separation distance. Additionally, the optimised avoidance trajectory considers the constraints imposed by the ABIA in terms of RPAS platform dynamics and GNSS constellation satellite elevation angles, preventing degradation or losses of navigation data during the whole DAA loop. This integration scheme allows real-time trajectory corrections to re-establish the Required Navigation Performance (RNP) when actual GNSS accuracy degradations and/or data losses take place (e.g., due to aircraft-satellite relative geometry, GNSS receiver tracking, interference, jamming or other external factors).  Cooperative and non-cooperative simulation case studies were accomplished to evaluate the performance of this Integrity-Augmented DAA (IAS) architecture.  The selected host platform was the AEROSONDE RPAS and the simulation cases were performed in a representative cross-section of the RPAS operational flight envelope. The simulation results show that the proposed IAS architecture is capable of performing high-integrity conflict detection and resolution when GNSS is the primary source of navigation data.

In present study, we measured the Total Electron Content (TEC) variation in the ionosphere from Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data which might have been induced by earthquakes in the Hima-layan region. The results were analysed with other inducing factors (geomagnetic storm and solar flare) affecting TEC in order to constraint the causative factor. The study has been performed to understand a relationship between ionospheric electron content and earthquakes occurrences with special emphasis on Himalayan region and provides information on spatio-temporal variation of TEC from GNSS observation stations visa -vis prominent earthquakes of the region. The results indicate that the ground based GNSS (GPS) observations show the deviation in vertical total electron content (vTEC) in ionosphere few days prior to the seismic event as evident from our two continuously operating reference stations (CORS) as well as from CORS of UNAVCO data centre. Ionospheric perturbation has also been observed in case of low magnitude earthquakes (Mw 4.9 in present study) whenever recording station lies very close to the epicentre. TEC variation is found to increase as the epicentre distances decreases. In case of Mw 7.8, 2015 Nepal earthquake the TEC variation is found to increase by 15e20 TEC unit recorded at station separated by 60 km apart. This may provide us the avenue for epicentre detection as TEC concentration was found to increase as we move closer to the epicentre. TEC variations (mostly high TEC) have been observed during a period of 0e8 days prior to 4 earthquakes: 1st April 2015 Pipalkoti earthquake (4.9Mw), 25th April 2015 Nepal earthquake (7.8Mw), 26 April 2015 (6.7Mw) and 12th May 2015 (7.3Mw) Nepal earthquakes. Significant low TEC values were also observed before 13e14 days prior to first two earthquake events. Overall the study has revealed that low TEC followed by couple of high TEC values correlate well with the seismic events in Himalayan region.

Les GNSS (global navigation satellite system) parmi lesquels le système américain GPS (global positioning system) ont tous  pour principal objectif de donner la position et la vitesse d’un mobile à tout instant, en tout lieu et dans un référentiel global. Comme tout système basé sur des satellites, il est structuré en trois composantes qui seront détaillées afin de mieux appréhender les principes de la géolocalisation : le segment
spatial (les satellites), le segment de contrôle (les stations au sol) et le segment utilisateur (le récepteur mobile).
Le calcul du géopositionnement peut être basé sur deux mesures : (1) soit la mesure du temps qu’ont mis les
signaux émis par au moins quatre satellites pour parcourir la distance les séparant du mobile, (2) soit le décalage
de phase des signaux auquel cas un appareillage très sophistiqué doit lever des ambiguïtés (nombre des oscillations
entre l’émission du signal par le satellite et la réception par le mobile). Théoriquement (1) doit donner une précision
décimétrique et (2) millimétrique mais des sources d’erreur viennent la parasiter. Pour améliorer la qualité du
géopositionnement il existe d’autres systèmes satellitaires (SBAS - satellite based augmentation system) et
également des réseaux de stations au sol (GBAS - ground based augmentation system) pour transmettre des
corrections de positionnement. les algorithmes de repositionnement peuvent être utilisés en direct (correction
différentielle en temps réel « DGPS ») ou en différé (post-traitement) pour atteindre une précision centimétrique à
condition d’avoir le matériel approprié. Sur la base des principes de la géolocalisation il sera présenté les bonnes
pratiques à adopter sur le terrain : bien choisir son matériel, préparer ses levées et bien mesurer les géopositionnements.

A significant growth in Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) operations has been observed over the past decade, largely driven by the emergence of new commercial opportunities and use-cases. This has posed new technological and regulatory challenges in order to address the complex safety, efficiency and sustainability requirements associated with UAS operations in an increasingly congested airspace. The growing need for trusted autonomy in UAS operations imposes demanding performance requirements on Navigation and Guidance Systems (NGS), both in terms of accuracy, integrity, continuity and availability. In most current NGS implementations, system autonomy is tightly constrained within a specified set of operational and environmental conditions through a large number of explicit rules. Recent breakthroughs in Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based methods and the emergence of highly-parallelized processor boards with low form-factor has led to the opportunity to employ Machine Learning (ML) techniques to enhance navigation system performance, particularly for small UAS (sUAS), which account for the majority of current and future unmanned aircraft use-cases. sUAS navigation systems typically employ diverse low Size, Weight, Power and Cost (SWaP-C) sensors such as Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers, MEMS-IMUs, magnetometers, cameras and Lidars for localization, obstacle detection and avoidance. This paper presents a comprehensive review of conventional sUAS navigation systems, including aspects such as system architecture, sensing modalities and data-fusion algorithms. Additionally, performance monitoring and augmentation strategies are critically reviewed and assessed against current and future UAS Traffic Management (UTM) requirements. The primary focus is on the identification of key gaps in the literature where the use of AI-based methods can potentially enhance navigation performance. A critical review of AI-based methods and their application to sUAS navigation is conducted, along with an assessment of the performance benefits they provide over conventional navigation systems. Reviewed methods include but are not restricted to Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) such as Convolutional and Recurrent Neural Networks (CNN and RNN), Support Vector Machines (SVM) and ensemble techniques. The key challenges associated with adapting these methods to address sUAS operational objectives are clearly identified. The review also covers the assurance of predictable, deterministic system behaviour which is a key requirement to support system certification. The review and analysis will inform the reader of the applicability of various AI/ML methods to sUAS navigation and autonomous system integrity monitoring, and its likely role in the ongoing UTM evolution.

"This book provides several flight-validated formulations and algorithms, fortified by thousands of hours working with real GPS and inertial data.  The material, not yet widely used only due to its originality, is beginning to appear in classrooms and (soon) in operational systems.  Considerable improvement is offered in multiple areas, including:
• transition from pre-GNSS nmi/hr to today's cm/sec for inertial
  navigation
• full usage for “fractured” (intermittent and permanently
  ambiguous) carrier phase
• rigorous integrity for separate SVs, with integrity validation
  extended in several ways
• unprecedented robustness and situation awareness
• state-of-the-art performance with low cost IMUs
• usage of raw data from GPS (carrier phase and pseudorange)
  & from IMU (gyro and accelerometer increments)
• "cookbook" steps to obtain nav (position/velocity/attitude)
  estimates in all three dimensions from raw data
• user empowerment – complete flexibility and capability for
  versatile operation
• new interoperability features, readily mixing observables from
  any channel on any constellation (GPS, GLONASS, etc.)
• new insights for much easier implementation.
• formulations for an extensive set of tracking applications
  and supporting operations"

The existence of a Space Rest Frame is discussed. In the past the existence of a stationary luminiferous aether was proposed as the medium for the propagation of light. This idea was discarded when the Michelson-Morley experiment was completed and Special Relativity was founded on the assumption that there is no special frame of reference. Now following the LIGO experiment observing the merger of neutron stars it was observed that the speed of light and the speed of gravitational waves is exactly the same even over 130 million light years of expanding space. This strongly suggests that the medium for the transmission of light is Spacetime. With this in mind, the question of a Space Rest Frame is considered.

Global Navigation Satellite Systems provide accurate and reliable positioning
solutions in open field environments. However, the positioning performance is not the same in dense urban areas, where satellite signals are blocked or reflected by tall buildings.
The main objective of the research is to assess GNSS user positioning in challenging environments, in particular in urban environments. A 3D city model, 'Urban Trench', is introduced to simulate blockage and reflection of GNSS signals. The 'Urban Trench' model assesses the reflection environment of the city and the non-light-of-sight (NLOS) ranging errors are corrected, based on satellite elevation and a 3D surface model. Subsequently, the metric of NLOS signal exclusion using an elevation-enhanced map is developed and tested using real vehicular data in the test urban network of Nantes. A GPS&GLONASS-constellation single-frequency receiver is used during the experiment. Two methods are applied for the data processing. The first is the standard method, which uses ordinary least squares and considers all the satellites available per epoch to estimate user position. And the other one is the 'Urban Trench' model, which introduces information of the street geometry by a 3D city model and removes NLOS satellites. The performance of both systems, stand alone and in combination as dual-constellation, are presented, compared and evaluated, with and without 'Urban Trench' model implementation. The results are compared with a 'ground truth' trajectory. Additionally, a fault detection and exclusion test is applied, to check, compute the protection levels and enhance the accuracy of the output. The Stanford diagram is used to check and illustrate, in a clear way, the reliability of the final results.
It is expected that 'Urban Trench' model in combination with fault detection and exclusion test implementation, in multi-constellation observation data is very efficient technique in terms of accuracy and reliability in the challenging urban environment.

The AIRCC's International Journal of Computer Science and Engineering Survey (IJCSES) is devoted to fields of Computer Science and Engineering surveys, tutorials and overviews. The IJCSES is a peer-reviewed, open access scientific journal published in electronic form as well as print form. The journal will publish research surveys, tutorials and expository overviews in computer science and engineering. Articles from supplementary fields are welcome, as long as they are relevant to computer science and engineering.

Modern Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) employ a variety of sensors and multi-sensor data fusion techniques to provide advanced operational capabilities and trusted autonomy (i.e., required levels of safety, integrity, security and interoperability), when sharing the airspace with other manned and unmanned platforms. Low-cost and high-performance Navigation and Guidance Systems (NGS) for UAS have been developed at RMIT University by employing a combination of compact and lightweight sensors to satisfy the Required Navigation Performance (RNP) in all flight phases. Additionally, recent research at RMIT has focused on the development of a unified approach to separation assurance and collision avoidance suitable for UAS cooperative/non-cooperative sensor architectures and allowing for an extended range of operations both in mission-essential and safety-critical tasks. The Sense-and-Avoid Unified Method (SUM) developed at RMIT provides an innovative analytical framework to combine real-time measurements (and associated uncertainties) of navigation states, platform dynamics and tracking observables to produce high-fidelity dynamic geo-fences suitable for integration in future avionics, Air Traffic Management (ATM) and defense decision support tools.

The positioning by GNSS is based on solving a mathematical problem involving the observation of the ranges from the user to a set of satellites with known coordinates. The position can be computed in absolute or in relative mode. The absolute positioning relies solely on a single receiver for the position determination. The relative positioning, however, depends on reference stations and involves the use of more receivers other than the one belonging to the user himself. Thus, the methods used in determining the position of a mobile platform, with accuracy in the order of centimetres, are based on this latter type of positioning. However, they have the disadvantage of being dependent on reference stations, with a limited range and they also require simultaneous observations of the same satellites by the reference station and the receiver. A new GNSS absolute positioning method was developed by computing or completely removing most of the errors associated with each component of the observation equations, using precise ephemeris and clock corrections for the satellites. This method is known as Precise Point Positioning (PPP) and allows the user to achieve an accuracy equivalent to relative positioning systems.

In this work, after a thorough research on this subject, a PPP application was developed for academic purposes, to process GNSS data using the GPS Toolkit C++ class library, which allows to compute the position and speed of the receiver in kinematic mode and in real time. This was tested using observation data from a static station (processed in kinematic mode) and from the Portuguese Navy’s survey ship NRP Auriga. The results showed a precision at decimetre level for the position and at cm/s for the velocity.

Urban Infrastructure plays vital role in the development of nation. Infrastructure investment is expected to increase 300 percent in the next five years, so attention should be paid to develop infrastructure most effectively and efficiently. This is one of the most challenging tasks. Looking at the present scenario and to meet the demand of the market, coming urban infrastructure projects and projects already undertaken should be completed within a short period of time. It is next to impossible to meet the market demand with old age technology. Advanced technology must be implemented for the development of urban infrastructure. The goal of any infrastructure project is to meet required level of service in most cost effective manner. For any civil infrastructure; data and its derivatives must be valuable, effective, reliable, but time and cost effective. Global Position System (GPS) is one of the most proficient methods for data collection. The GPS is satellite based navigation and surveying system for determination of precise position and time, using radio signals from satellites, in real time or post processing mode. It is one of the most widely used space geodetic techniques in surveying. GPS is being used all over the world for numerous applications including navigation on land, in air and on sea, earth quake studies, land slide monitoring, deformation studies, vehicle guidance including development of urban infrastructure. GPS offers advantages over conventional methods because it is highly competitive in geodetic fields, it is likely to replace most of the techniques currently in use for determining precise positions of point more than few tens of km apart. GPS gives position accuracy from meter level to mm level, depending upon the types of receiver used. Indian Institute of technology Bombay (IITB) has under taken few projects under the guidance of second author, which could be useful for infrastructure development. Two case studies on how GPS can be used effectively for urban infrastructure development will be discussed in this present paper. The results of both the case studies will be highlighted.

The introduction of autonomous vehicles can potentially lead to enhanced situational awareness and safety for road transport. However, the performance required for autonomous operations places stringent requirements on the vehicle navigation systems design. Relevant performance measures include not only the accuracy of the system but also its ability to detect sensor faults within a specified Time-to-Alert (TTA) and without generating an excessive number of false alarms. A new integrated navigation system architecture is proposed which utilizes Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), low-cost Inertial Navigation Systems (INS), visual odometry and Vehicle Dynamic Models (VDM). The system design is based on various navigation modes, each with independent failure mechanisms and fault-detection capabilities. A two-step data fusion approach is adopted to optimize the system accuracy and integrity performance. This includes a Knowledge-Based Module (KBM) performing a detailed sensor integrity analysis followed by a conventional Extended Kalman Filer (EKF). CAV navigation integrity requirement (i.e., alert limits and time-to-alert) are considered in the KBM where fault detection probabilities are calculated for each mode and translated to protection levels. A simulation case study is executed to verify the performance of each navigation mode in the presence of faults affecting the individual navigation sensors. Results confirm that the required CAV integrity performances are met, while the inclusion of visual odometry and VDM data provides significant performance enhancements both in terms of accuracy and integrity over existing INS/GNSS systems.

Role of urban planning and management in Hyderabad is becoming more and more crucial due to the dramatic increase in urban population and allied urban problems. Hyderabad is experiencing a rapid urbanization rate. Urbanization contributes many advantages in terms of economics, but if uncontrolled, would produce negative consequences to the physical, social and natural environment. With the advancement of GIS, which considerably influenced the dynamic nature of urban and regional planning, incorporation of GIS becomes imperative for better and improved decision-making in urban planning and management. It offers a solution to the urban problems and decision-making, which is more reliant to the real-time spatial modelling.
The integration of Geographical Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing has provided a tool, which can contribute to much clearer understanding of real planning problems as well as prescriptive planning scenarios to enhance the quality of urban planning and management.""""

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) can support the development of low-cost and high performance navigation and guidance architectures for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and, in conjunction with suitable data link technologies, the provision of Automated Dependent Surveillance (ADS) functionalities for cooperative Sense-and-Avoid (SAA). In non-cooperative SAA, the adoption of GNSS can also provide the key positioning and, in some cases, attitude data (using multiple antennas) required for automated collision avoidance. A key limitation of GNSS for both cooperative (ADS) and non-cooperative applications is represented by the achievable levels of integrity. Therefore, an Avionics Based Integrity Augmentation (ABIA) solution is proposed to support the development of an Integrity-Augmented SAA (IAS) architecture suitable for both cooperative and non-cooperative scenarios. The performances of this IAS architecture were investigated in representative simulation case studies by testing the ability of the SAA system to exploit the predictive (caution) and reactive (warning) integrity flags generated by ABIA. Additionally, the ABIA False Alarm Rate (FAR) and Detection Probability (DP) performances were examined and an initial evaluation of the complementarity with Space-Based and Ground-Based Augmentation Systems (SBAS/GBAS) was accomplished. Simulation results show that the proposed IAS architecture is capable of performing high-integrity conflict detection and resolution when GNSS is used as the primary source of navigation data and there is a clear synergy with state-of-the art SBAS/GBAS in all applicable flight phases.

Lo sviluppo attuale delle competenze spaziali dell'Unione Europea si fonda sull'eredità costituita dai successi e dalle esperienze maturate dagli Stati membri e dall'Agenzia spaziale europea.
Nella presente epoca di crisi economica, queste attività sono essenziali per la crescita e lo sviluppo perché, tramite la politica spaziale, l’UE può ottenere benefici sociali, economici, e strategici.
L’Unione, a seguito del trattato di Lisbona, attua tale politica in stretta collaborazione con l'Agenzia spaziale europea (ESA) e gli Stati membri, esercitando un’espressa competenza in materia spaziale (art.189 del TFUE), parallelamente agli Stati membri, per affrontare alcune priorità nel settore satellitare come i programmi europei di radionavigazione satellitare globale (GNSS - Global Navigation Satellite Systems) EGNOS e GALILEO, e quello per l’osservazione terrestre GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security), oggi COPERNICUS.

In tale contesto l’UE ravvisa una forte esigenza di rafforzare la cooperazione tra gli Stati membri e di far evolvere i rapporti con l’ESA, la quale, pur difendendo il metodo intergovernativo ed i propri criteri di politica industriale, ha recentemente attuato alcune riforme nella direzione della compatibilità con il diritto dell’Unione Europea (concorrenza, appalti, finanziamenti pubblici), lasciando sperare in un graduale cedimento verso una dimensione sovranazionale dello spazio.

Lo stimolo di queste evoluzioni si deve, in particolare, al programma GALILEO. Un sistema che garantirà all'Unione una strategica indipendenza costituendo la prima grande infrastruttura spaziale di proprietà e gestione esclusiva dell'Unione. In ragione di ciò, è verosimile attendersi un rafforzamento del ruolo dell’Unione nella cooperazione internazionale e nella promozione di un uso pacifico e responsabile dello spazio ultra-terrestre (come avvenuto nel caso della proposta di un “codice di condotta internazionale delle attività extra-atmosferiche”).

L’analisi giuridica riguardante le sfide tecnologiche e politiche del GNSS europeo, oltre ad alcuni temi classici del Diritto internazionale dello spazio, riguarda anche le evidenti ricadute sul diritto pubblico, sul commercio internazionale, nonché, sulla sicurezza, sulla difesa e sulle istituzioni dell’Unione. In particolare, vengono analizzati: le norme dei Trattati che stabiliscono la ripartizione delle competenze tra UE e Stati membri, la normativa interna dell’Agenzia Spaziale europea e di quella italiana, gli atti dell’UE istitutivi degli organismi di gestione e vigilanza del GNSS GALILEO e quelli disciplinanti l’accesso al servizio pubblico regolamentato offerto dallo stesso; l’interoperabilità di GALILEO con i GNSS stranieri; la cooperazione in ambito di Politica di Sicurezza e Difesa Comune; la futura regolamentazione di alcuni specifici settori che saranno - direttamente o indirettamente - interessati dalle innovazioni connesse all'operatività di GALILEO.

Nelle conclusioni, riprendendo la riflessione iniziale sul contributo del settore spaziale al processo di integrazione europea, si propone una lettura delle menzionate evoluzioni che guarda al programma GALILEO come grande opportunità per forgiare un’identità europea, in particolare, perché induce l’accentramento in favore della Commissione UE e forza la cooperazione tra gli Stati membri in settori tradizionalmente difesi dalle sovranità nazionali.
L’obiettivo ultimo di questo lavoro è di prospettare le possibili proiezioni istituzionali, giuridiche e geopolitiche del sistema europeo di GNSS, con particolare riferimento al futuro del rapporto UE-ESA, agli effetti dell’esercizio della competenza sullo spazio da parte dell’Unione, stabilita all'art. 189 TFUE, sulla capacità che i programmi spaziali di bandiera dell’UE potranno dimostrare, in caso di successo s’ intende, per forgiare un’identità europea proprio nei settori in cui finora si sono registrati i maggiori fallimenti da questo punto di vista, come la politica estera e di difesa.

Alaknanda basin in the Garhwal Himalaya, India, is a tectonically active region owing to ongoing crustal deformation , erosion, and depositional processes active in the region. Active tectonics in this region have greatly affected the drainage system and geomorphic expression of topography and provide an ideal natural set up to investigate the influence of tectonic activity resulting from the India-Eurasia collision. We evaluated active tectonics by using high resolution digital elevation model (DEM) based on eight geomorphic indices (stream length gradient index, valley floor width-to-height ratio, hypsometric integral, drainage basin asymmetry, transverse topography symmetry factor, mountain front sinousity index, bifurcation ratio, and basin shape index) and seismicity in eight subbasins of Alaknanda basin. The integrated product, relative tectonic activity index (TAI) map, was classified into three classes such as: 'highly active' with values ranging up to 2.0; 'moderately active' with values ranging from 2.0 to 2.25; and 'less active' with values N2.25. Further, the results were compared with relatively high crust-al movement rate of 41.10 mm/y computed through high precession Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) based continuous operating reference station (CORS) data. Thus, we concluded that this new quantitative approach can be used for better characterization and assessment of active seismotectonic regions of the Himalaya and elsewhere.

The world’s first geosynchronous communications satellite was launched by NASA as Syncom-2 in 1963, followed by Syncom-3 in 1964, which was the world’s first geostationary communications satellite. The Syncom Satellite program sought to add value to the first man-made Russian satellite called SPUTNIK, which was launched on 4th October, 1957; this initiated the development of communication satellite technologies that have evolved and blossomed over the subsequent decades. Some important advances are noted: the transition from analogue to digital transmissions; enhanced coding schemes and error correction measures; the use of higher frequency spectrum windows, such as the Ku and Ka band and multi-spot beams ushered in High Throughput Satellites (HTS), which compete favourably with terrestrial broadband technologies as well as addressing the cost of acquisition sustainably using the very small aperture terminal (VSAT) as the essential customer premises equipment (CPE) together with associated technologies. Digital video broadcasting (DVB) was a paradigm shift for the important role that communications satellites play in today’s: broadcasting, telecommunications and mobile communications market. The convergence of voice, video and data as well as terrestrial telecommunications technologies has also redefined the market.
This paper examines the strategic advantages bestowed by modern communications satellites, satellite communication techniques and innovations in addressing effective universal access goals and digital inclusion without exclusivity. It raises the ICT Development Index (IDI) of nations with inadequate terrestrial ICT infrastructure, especially nations that lack the last mile infrastructure such as: inter-city and intra-city metro-ring optical fibres, which facilitate broadband penetration. Communication Satellites remain the “low hanging fruit” that drives and accelerates cross border connectivity in the African hinterlands and landlocked countries to meet the short and medium term goals of providing broadcasting, Internet access and other value added services to overcome the terrestrial limitations in a timely and effective manner; thus permitting such nations to engage with the global economy and worldwide communications network growth. COMSATs are also strategic and critical ICT infrastructure in facilitating timely disaster management in all its phases including network recovery.

This document presents the state of the art of the space sector organisation in Italy. The main objective is to give a comprehensive overview of the Italian governance of the space economy. Focusing on the Lazio Region, the report analyses the concrete possibilities and opportunities to further develop projects and services based on space technologies.

Starting from the identification of the involved institutions at national level, the primary aim is to evaluate their interaction and cooperation. The key elements to support and coordinate the entry of Regions and SMEs into the space technologies and satellite based services market are also examined. The report introduces some good practices of Italian public and private organisations to describe their motivations to use satellite-based services. It allows evaluating the efforts needed to their adoption and to assessing the benefits and challenges faced by these organisations.

This paper explores the synergies between a novel Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Avionics-Based Integrity Augmentation (ABIA) system and current Space and Ground Based Augmentation Systems (SBAS and GBAS). The ABIA Integrity Flag Generator (IFG) is designed to provide caution and warning integrity flags (in accordance with the specified time-to-caution and time-to-warning requirements) in all relevant flight phases. The ABIA IFG performances are assessed and compared with the SBAS and GBAS integrity flag generation capability. Simulation case studies are presented using the TORNADO-IDS platform and they provide insights on possible mutual benefits attainable by integrating ABIA with SBAS and GBAS systems. The results show that the proposed integrated scheme is capable of performing high-integrity tasks when GNSS is used as the primary source of navigation data. Furthermore, it is evident that there is a clear synergy of ABIA with SBAS and GBAS in providing suitable (predictive and reactive) integrity flags in all flight phases. The integration is thus a clear opportunity for future research towards the development of a Space-Ground-Avionics Augmentation Network (SGAAN) for a number of safety-critical aviation applications.

IET indexes its books and journal in SCOPUS and IEEE Xplore.
Computer Vision (CV) and Sensors play a decisive role in the operation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), but there exists a void when it comes to analysing the extent of their impact on the entire UAV system. In general, the fact that a UAV is a Cyber-Physical System (CPS) is not taken into account. In this proposal, we propose to expand on earlier books covering the use of CV and sensing in UAVs. Among other things, an entirely autonomous UAV can help to (i) obtain information about the environment, (ii) work for an extended period of time without human interference, (iii) move either all or part of itself all over its operating location devoid of human help and (iv) stay away from dangerous situations for people and their possessions. A Vision System (VS) entails the way CV data will be utilized, the appropriate architecture for total avionics integration, the control interfaces, and the UAV operation. Since the VS core is its sensors and cameras, multi-sensor fusion, navigation, hazard detection, and ground correlation in real time are important operational aspects that can benefit from CV knowledge and technology. This book will aim to collect and shed some light on the existing information on CV software and hardware for UAVs as well as pinpoint aspects that need additional thinking. It will list standards and a set of prerequisites (or lack of them thereof) when it comes to CV deployment in UAVs. The issue of data fusion takes a centre place when the book explores ways to deal with sensor data and images as well as their integration and display. The best practices to fuse image and sensor information to enhance UAV performance by means of CV can greatly improve all aspects of the corresponding CPS. The CPS viewpoint can improve the way UAVs interact with the Internet of Things (IoT), use cloud computing, meet communications requirements, implement hardware/software paradigms necessary to handle video streaming, incorporate satellite data, and combine CV with Virtual/Augmented Realities.

VOLUME 1-CONTROL AND PERFORMANCE: This tome explores how sensors and computer vision technologies are used in unmanned aerial vehicles for the navigation, control, stability, reliability, guidance, fault detection, self-maintenance, strategic replanning and reconfiguration of the entire system. It helps analyse the manner UAVs interact with the Internet of Things (IoT), use cloud computing, meet communications requirements, implement hardware/software paradigms necessary to handle still imagery, video streaming, incorporate satellite data, and combine computer vision with virtual/augmented realities (VR/AR).NB: This is planned to be the companion volume of Estrela, Hemanth, Saotome (Eds) / Imaging and Sensing for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Volume 2-Deployment and Applications

A location and tracking system becomes very important to our future world of pervasive computing, where information is all around us. Location is one of the most needed information for emerging and future applications. Since the public use of GPS satellite is allowed, several state-of-the-art devices become part of our life, e.g. a car navigator and a mobile phone with a built-in GPS receiver. However, location information for indoor environments is still very limited. Several techniques are proposed to get location information in buildings such as using a radio signal triangulation, a radio signal (beacon) emitter, or signal fingerprinting. Using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags is a new way of giving location information to users. Due to its passive communication circuit, RFID tags can be embedded almost anywhere without an energy source. The tag stores location information and gives it to any reader that is within a proximity range which can be up to 10-15 meters for UHF RFID systems. We propose an RFID-based system for navigation in a building for blind people or visually impaired. The system relies on the location information on the tag, a user's destination, and a routing server where the shortest route from the user's current location to the destination. The navigation device communicates with the routing server using GPRS networks. We build a prototype based on our design and show some results. We found that there are some delay problems in the devices which are the communication delay due to the cold start cycle of a GPRS modem and the voice delay due to the file transfer delay from MMC module.