Positioning data is now fundamental to a range of applications and businesses worldwide. It increases our productivity, secures our safety and propels innovation. It enables GPS on smartphones, provides safety-of-life navigation on aircraft, increases water efficiency on farms, helps to locate vessels in distress at sea, and supports intelligent navigation tools and advanced transport management systems that connect cities and regions.
SBAS Project
Geoscience Australia received $160.9 million in the 2018-19 Federal Budget to support the development of an operational Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS) over four years.
The Australian SBAS will augment Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals to deliver a satellite positioning capability across all of Australia and its maritime zones with decimetre accuracy. It will also support the aviation, maritime and road transport sectors which have a requirement for high-integrity positioning-guaranteed performance with metre level accuracy.
An Australian SBAS will overcome the current gaps in mobile and radio communications and, when combined with on-ground operational infrastructure and services, will ensure that accurate positioning information can be received anytime and anywhere within Australia and New Zealand.
The project will see Australia and New Zealand join countries such as the United States, Europe, Russia, India and Japan, which have all invested in capability that delivers satellite-based corrections via an SBAS.
SBAS test-bed
Geoscience Australia is also leading a separate initiative to test a SBAS for Australia and New Zealand. This two-year project, funded in the 2016-17 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook, is scheduled for completion in January 2019. It is testing two new satellite positioning technologies including next generation SBAS and Precise Point Positioning, which are providing positioning accuracies of several decimetres and one decimetre respectively.
A SBAS has not been previously tested in Australia or New Zealand, although the technology is employed in countries around the world, including the United States, Europe, China, Russia, India and Japan. This test-bed is assessing the application of SBAS technology and its safety, productivity, efficiency and innovation benefits to Australian and New Zealand industry and research sectors.
Testing will continue until 31 January 2019 and will evaluate the effectiveness and application of SBAS in ten main sectors: agriculture, aviation, construction, maritime, mining, rail, road, spatial, utilities and consumer. The test-bed will address the specific requirements (including accuracy, integrity, availability) in applications areas in each of these industry sectors.
The SBAS test-bed is being delivered by a consortium including Geoscience Australia, Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), Lockheed Martin, GMV, Inmarsat and FrontierSI (the successor entity of the CRC for Spatial Information).
An economic analysis of the benefits of SBAS is being provided by EY.
Components of the test-bed include:
1. A L-Band satellite transmitter operated by Inmarsat;
2. The operations of a satellite uplink capability at Uralla NSW by Lockheed Martin;
3. A positioning correction service operated by GMV and Geoscience Australia;
4. A GNSS ground tracking infrastructure operated by Geoscience Australia and LINZ;
5. The development and execution of a testing program, delivered in partnership by Geoscience Australia and FrontierSI;
6. LINZ overseeing the SBAS test-bed program in New Zealand.
Geoscience Australia is collaborating with Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) on the SBAS test-bed to improve the positioning capability of both countries. Geoscience Australia and LINZ are working closely with FrontierSI who are overseeing the evaluation of the effectiveness of a SBAS for the region, and building expertise within government and industry.
FrontierSI (the successor entity of the CRC for Spatial Information) has called for organisations from across the aviation, road, rail, maritime, spatial, construction, mining, utilities and agriculture sectors to participate in the test-bed. Information is available via the FrontierSI website. To keep informed of the progress of the SBAS test-bed, sign up to the NPI newsletter.
Source:
http://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/positioning-navigation/positioning-for-the-future/satellite-based-augmentation-system
Project Cost Description
Geoscience Australia received $160.9 million in the 2018-19 Federal Budget to support the development of an operational Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS) over four years.