Evaluation of NavIC L5/S-band signals, using

high-end NTLab’s GNSS receivers

Presented by: Alexei Zinoviev, Chair of RTCM SC-104 IRNSS(NavIC) Working Group

ICG-14, Bengaluru, December 11th, 2019

 Contents
1. NavIC L5/S-band signals: evaluation of measurement precision.

2. Standardization of NavIC L5/S-band signals: RINEX and RTCM SC-104 3.X

version.

3. High-end NTLab’s GNSS receivers as a tool for evaluation and using NavIC
signals: a review. Technology of the key components of NTLab’s GNSS
receivers.

4. Measurement precision of other GNSS signals: estimations obtained from

GNSS simulator and “live” signals.

5. Concepts of Open Architecture and Open Platform as perfect bridge

between initial evaluation and full practical usage.

6. Demonstration of positioning accuracy in RTK, PPP and heading/pitch

determination modes.

7. Proposals on PPP Regional Positioning Service using NavIC L5/S-band

signals.

8. Outputs
ICG-14, Bengaluru, December 11th, 2019
 NavIC L5/S-band signals: overview

• There are four NavIC’s signals (L5 SPS, L5 RS, S-band SPS, S-band RS) in two
frequency bands:
➢ L5: occupies the same frequency band as GPS L5 and Galileo E5a.
➢ S-band: the only GNSS signal in S-band.

• SPS (Standard Positioning Service): a full set of information is available in

IRNSS ICD (version 1.1, August 2017).

• RS (Restricted Service): information is available for authorized users only.

• Availability of S-band signal puts special requirements on GNSS antenna design

and RF front-ends.

• To get a full usage of NavIC signals, these signals as well as NavIC itself have
to be supported by international standards associated with GNSS positioning:
RTCM SC-104, RINEX, NMEA-0183 and others.

ICG-14, Bengaluru, December 11th, 2019

NavIC S-band signal (2492.028 MHz): evaluation
of measurement precision

Zero baseline, NTL105

November 19th, 2019,
Minsk

Measurement precision:
0.6 мм (RMS)

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NavIC L5 (1176.45 MHz) and S-band (2492.028 MHz) signals

Zero baseline, NTL105

November 19th, 2019, Minsk

Carrier phase noise:

0.6 мм (S-band) vs. 0.9 мм (L5)

NavIC signals:

✓ Measurement precision corresponds to

high accurate positioning.
✓ Lower noise of S-band carrier phase
observables compared with other GNSS
signals.
✓ Possible interoperability of NavIC L5
signals with GPS L5 and Galileo E5a
signals: to be investigated.
✓ Better estimation of ionospheric delay
because of greater difference between
L5 and S-band frequencies.

All such factors allow efficient usage of NavIC signals for high accurate positioning

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Standardization of NavIC L5/S-band signals: RINEX and
RTCM SC-104 3.X version.
• RINEX: supports scientific and research applications, de-facto standard in IGS network.

• RTCM SC-104 3.X version: can be used for scientific and research applications. Also, the
important task of RTCM SC-104 standard is to provide interoperability between GNSS
receivers of different manufacturers. RTCM SC-104 3.X version is the de-facto standard for
high accurate real-time positioning.

Currently (December 2019), RINEX 3.04 version fully supports NavIC L5/S-band signals,
including Restricted Service signals.

The mandatory requirement for inclusion NavIC signals into RTCM standard is the performing
of Interoperability testing among receivers of different manufacturers. At the time being,
NavIC L5 SPS Interoperability testing has been completed. However, S-band SPS
Interoperability testing cannot be started because there is only one manufacturer of high-end
receivers that declares the support of S-band SPS signal: NTLab.

Concepts of Open Architecture and Open Platform (in a few slides) can help in standardization
of S-band signal along with the full use of RS signals. Before that, information about NTLab’s
GNSS receivers and obtained results in measurement precision and RTK/PPP positioning
domains is provided.
ICG-14, Bengaluru, December 11th, 2019
OEM GNSS receivers of Helios family: general information
• Multi-constellation: GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, NavIC, QZSS, SBAS
(WAAS, EGNOS, GAGAN, MSAS, SDCM)
• Multi-frequency: GPS L1/L2C/L5, GLONASS G1/G2, Galileo E1/E5a/E5b,
BeiDou B1/B2, NavIC L5/S-band, QZSS L1/L2C/L5, SBAS L1/L5.
• Positioning modes: stand-alone (absolute), code differential (DGNSS),
code regional (SBAS), carrier phase differential (RTK), carrier phase
global (PPP), carrier phase regional (PPP-AR: under development).
• Measurement precision of carrier phase and pseudorange observables
corresponds to geodetic level of positioning accuracy.
• Dual-antenna GNSS modules (Heading, Pitch/Roll).
• MEMS-based IMU sensor on board for loosely-coupled GNSS/INS
integration.
• Raw measurements are available for user’s secondary processing. The
user can develop his/her own algorithms (source code) for specific
application running inside STM32H7 microcontroller (Open Architecture).
• Availability of powerful SMARC platform connected to GNSS receivers
(Windows/Android/Linux OS, LoRa, NB-IoT, GSM, Wi-Fi, BlueTooth).
• Communication interfaces: UART, CAN, USB, Ethernet.
• Operating temperature is complaint with Industrial grade.
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GNSS modules of Helios family: specification
NTL104 NTL105
NTL101 Master Slave Master Slave NTL106
antenna antenna antenna antenna
GPS L1, L2 L1, L2, L5 L1, L2 L1,L2,L5 L1, L2 L1, L2
GLONASS L1, L2 L1, L2 L1, L2 L1, L2 L1, L2 L1, L2
Galileo E1, E5b E1, E5a E1 E1, E5a, E5b E1, E5b E1, E5b
BeiDou B1, B2 B1, B2 B1 B1, B2 B1, B2 B1, B2
NavIC - L5, S-band - L5 -
SBAS L1 L1, L5 - L1, L5 -
Heading determination (RMS)**,***
Yaw 2° 0.1° 0.1° 2°
Pitch 2° 0.2° 0.2° 2°
Roll 2° 0.2° 0.2° 2°
RTK mode accuracy
Horizontal 5 мм + 0.5 мм/км
Vertical 8 мм + 1.0 мм/км
Other parameters
Interfaces 2 x UART, 3 x UART (or 2 x UART + 1 x CAN),
1 x USB 1 x Ethernet, 1 x USB
Interface RTCM 3.X, Novatel OEM, NMEA-0183, NTL Binary
protocols
Size 71 x 46 x 10 мм
Power < 0.9 W < 1.8 W < 1.6 W
consumption

* List of signals depends of settings

** 2 meters baseline (NTL104 and NTL105)
*** NTL101 and NTL106 implement heading/pitch/roll determination, using loosely-coupled
algorithms with MEMS-based IMU

ICG-14, Bengaluru, December 11th, 2019

GNSS receivers of Helios family: block diagram

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 Key technology designed by NTLab
All key components are designed by NTLab

• RFICs: NT1065, NT1066, NT1068. These are

four-channels RF front-ends for simultaneous
reception of GPS/GLONASS/Galileo/BeiDou/
IRNSS/QZSS signals. The unique feature of
NT1066/1068 is the support of NavIC S-band
signal.
• ASIC: NT1058 includes correlators and a
separate processor.
• PCB schematic.
• Firmware for GNSS signal tracking.
• Positioning algorithms.
• Software for supporting Open Architecture,
Open Platform concepts.

Also:
• Windows client for controlling GNSS modules’
settings.
• RINEX converter.
RFIC NT1066

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Tests with Spirent GSS6700 simulator and temperature
chamber (capable of -40 - +85 ºС temperature range)

• Evaluation of GNSS signals’ measurement precision (noise) under pre-defined

environment (multipath, ionospheric/tropospheric errors etc.).
• Evaluation of signal tracking stability under high dynamics or challenging environment.
• Evaluation of stability of different types of quartz oscillators, using second derivative of
carrier phase observables as a function of temperature (example).
• Evaluation of GLONASS code biases for FDMA signals.

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 Spirent GNSS simulator: carrier phase
noise of GPS L1 C/A signal (PRN 14, 15)

Receiver: NTL105, Master antenna.

Carrier phase noise: 0.07 mm (RMS)
Similar performances are demonstrated for GLONASS G1SP and
Galileo E1 signals
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Antenna setups for GNSS researches and testing

• Two antennas Trimble Zephyr Base 3

• Two antennas Topcon PG-F1
• About 2 meters and 20 meters baselines for evaluation
GNSS signals’ measurement precision, RTK/PPP accuracy,
accuracy of heading and pitch/roll determination

Permanently working antenna setups for

researches in high accurate GNSS positioning

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GPS L1 C/A, Galileo E5b, NavIC L5 signals:
evaluation of measurement precision

Zero baseline, NTL105

April 2019, Skolkovo

Measurement precision
for all signals <0.8 мм
(RMS)

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 Noise of smoothed pseudoranges
(Galileo E5b signal as an example)

Zero baseline, NTL105

February 19th, 2019,
Skolkovo

Transition process can be

seen. When the smoothing
filters are settled, there is a
very good correspondence
between smoothed
pseudoranges of two NTL105
modules

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Open Architecture concept for Helios family of receivers

Helios family of receivers are GPS/GLONASS/Galileo/BeiDou/NavIC/QZSS/SBAS high-end GNSS OEM

receivers with Open Architecture. Modules maintain the industrial standard form-factor (28 pins). GNSS
raw measurements are available for developers as well as API functions to control the baseband chip.
Customers could use NTLab firmware or develop their own proprietary firmware (or use third-party
firmware) for on-board MCU (STM32H7) to implement positioning processing (RTK, PPP, etc.).

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Open Architecture concept for NavIC RS (preliminary)

New feature - additional decoder

based on FPGA (or ASIC) allows
user to develop
embedded software to support
receiving of NavIC’s Restricted
Service signals along with Open
Service ones.

New NTLab anti-jamming OEM

module with FPGA (ASIC) on
board allows user to
create solutions for anti-jamming
and baseband processing,
including Restricted Service
signals supporting.

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 Open Platform concept for Helios family of receivers
(e.g., GNSS reference station capable of working in IGS network)

The open platform is based on the high precision OEM GNSS receiver
modules of Helios family and SMARC-based computer platform. The
addition of SMARC computer to OEM NTL10X modules allows using
extended set of GNSS applications along with the use of additional
communication protocols. Customers can use the platform for
development their own proprietary SW or use a third-party SW to create
an effective solution for each specific case, using on-board Computer-on-
Module Platform with Windows/Android/Linux OS.

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 RTK accuracy at zero baseline (Trimble BD930 as a base)

Setup:
• Zero baseline, GPS-only, April 9th, 2019
• BD930 (Trimble) as a reference station
• Two NTL105 modules as rover receivers
• Antenna Trimble Zephyr 3 Base
• RTCM 3.X messages
ID / Par. Lat Lon Hor. (2D) Alt (Ver.) 3D
0728-M 0.0012 0.0018 0.0022 0.0046 0.0051
0726-M 0.0012 0.0018 0.0022 0.0047 0.0051

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 RTK accuracy at zero baseline (NTL105 as a base)

Setup:
• Zero baseline, GPS-only, April 11th, 2019
• NTL105 as a reference station
• Two NTL105 modules as rover receivers
• Antenna Trimble Zephyr 3 Base
• RTCM 3.X messages

ID / Par. Lat Lon Hor. (2D) Alt (Ver.) 3D

0728-M 0.0011 0.0015 0.0019 0.0040 0.0044
0726-M 0.0011 0.0015 0.0019 0.0039 0.0043

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 RTK accuracy at 20-meters baseline (NTL105 as a base)

Setup:
• Baseline about 20 meters, GPS+GLONASS,
November 19th, 2019
• NTL105 as a reference station
• Two NTL105 modules as rover receivers
• Antenna Trimble Zephyr 3 Base
• RTCM 3.X messages

ID / Par. Lat Lon Hor. (2D) Alt (Ver.) 3D

0698-M 0.0027 0.0036 0.0045 0.0072 0.0085

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 Heading and pitch at 2.20 meters baseline

Setup: Heading (RMS) : <0.07°

• Baseline 2.20 meters, GPS+GLONASS, Pitch (RMS): <0.19°
November 19th, 2019
• Two NTL105 modules working 45 hours (about 2
days) ID / Par. Heading Pitch
• Antenna Trimble Zephyr 3 Base (master) and 0705-M 0.0693° 0.1868°
Topcon PG-F1 (slave) 0698-M 0.0680° 0.1845°

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 Heading and pitch at 25 meters baseline

Setup: Heading (RMS) : <0.007°

• Baseline 25 meters, GPS+GLONASS, Pitch (RMS): <0.014°
December 5th, 2019
• NTL105 module working 5.5 hours
• Antenna Trimble Zephyr 3 Base (master) and ID / Par. Heading Pitch
Trimble Zephyr 3 Base (slave) 0698-M 0.0069° 0.0132°

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PPP accuracy (IGS ALGO station, Final IGS orbits/clocks)

Current implementation of NTLab’s PPP algorithms

allows reaching 10 cm (RMS, 3D) accuracy within
about 10 minutes and 5 cm accuracy within 20
minutes (no tropospheric or ionospheric corrections
used) with respect to exact ITRF2014 coordinates.
Verified, using IGS data with Final orbits.

Accuracy on the order of 2 cm is reached in a few

hours.

PPP algorithms for NTLab modules are under

development:
• experiments with IGS data and SP3 files.
• evaluation of public and proprietary sources of PPP
real-time corrections.
• “fine tuning” of PPP algorithms.

Expected to be released in spring 2020.

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 General scheme of PPP/PPP-AR processing

Ground infrastructure:

• Network of the reference receivers.

• More dense network for computing
tropospheric/ionospheric corrections.
• Communication channels for connection to
the server in real-time mode.

Processing center:

• PPP software, running in the server

(computation of corrections to broadcast
orbits and clocks, tropospheric/ionospheric
corrections).
• Organizing data stream for sending PPP
corrections to the rover receivers (e.g.,
RTCM SSR messages) via available
communication channels (L-band, Ethernet,
GSM etc.).
RTK level of positioning accuracy can be reached within typical
for RTK positioning time frames (from seconds to up to a few
Rover receivers:
minutes, depending on environment, total number of satellites
and signals etc.) if, in addition to orbit/clock corrections,
• State-of-the-art PPP/PPP-AR algorithms
tropospheric and ionospheric corrections are available.
for computing precise positions.
Otherwise, convergence time can be on the order of a few tens
of minutes to reach 5 cm horizontal accuracy.

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Proposal on PPP Regional Service using NavIC L5/S-band signals
As it was noted, NavIC L5/S-band signals have got a big potential for high accurate positioning. This
potential should be investigated and exploited “in full”. As its implementation, Regional PPP Service
using NavIC L5/S-band signals can be considered with the following components:

• Network of reference stations capable of tracking NavIC L5/S-band signals with sufficient precision.
• More dense network will be required for generating tropospheric and ionospheric PPP corrections.
• Communication channels for connection to the server.
• Algorithms capable of computing orbit/clock corrections at the server. The next step would include the support of
PPP-AR mode.
• Generating of appropriate data stream in pre-defined format (e.g., RTCM SSR messages). (Standardization of RTCM
SSR for unified PPP-AR mode is not finished yet).
• Rover receivers capable of NavIC L5/S-band signals with PPP engine inside.

NTLab can contribute to development of all components of PPP Regional Service based on NaviC L5/S-
band signals and is open for cooperation.

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 Outputs
• NTLab’s high-end GNSS receivers working at geodetic (highest) level of positioning accuracy can
be used for evaluation and usage NavIC L5/S-band signals for wide spectrum of applications.

• There is a possibility for evaluation both SPS and RS NavIC signals.

• Performances of NTLab’s modules are verified, using Spirent simulator and “live” signals.
Measurement precision of carrier phase observables is equal or less than 0.8 mm.

• NavIC L5/S-band observables have got a high potential for using in RTK/PPP positioning.

• Full flexibility (from scientific researches to up to commercial usage) in using the full set of NavIC
signals, including RS signals, has been provided by Open Architecture / Open Platform
concepts.

• There are no black boxes in NTLab’s technology: signal processing is under full control of
the researchers.

• Real-time results in positioning domain confirm high quality of GNSS observables generated by
NTLab’s modules. RTK accuracy at zero baseline is: <2 mm. For non-zero baselines, RTK
accuracy is 5 mm + 0.5 mm/km and 8 mm + 1.0 mm/km (horizontal and vertical
components, respectively).

• Regional PPP Service would be perfect implementation of big potential of NavIC L5/S-band
signals for high accurate positioning.

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Thank you for your attention
Alexei Zinoviev
[email protected]

ICG-14, Bengaluru, December 11th, 2019