Research collaboration will lead to more accurate positioning services in Australia and New Zealand

The Australia and New Zealand CRC for Spatial Information (CRCSI) will lead the industry program which evaluates applications on a newly announced satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) testbed. CRCSI partners Geoscience Australia and Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) together with three global companies — GMV, Inmarsat and Lockheed Martin — will implement the SBAS testbed through a two-year project to evaluate three positioning signals for improved accuracy and integrity over Australia and New Zealand.

The three signals are the current offering provided in Europe and the US (L1 Legacy signal); a new dual-frequency signal to be tested for the first time in both Australia and New Zealand (L5 Dual-Frequency and Multi-Constellation Signal); and high-precision Precise Point Positioning (PPP) navigation corrections where decimetre level accuracies at user level are expected.

In simple terms, the SBAS satellite provides a cost-effective way to improve GPS signals from around 5 m in accuracy to less than 1 m.

Widespread adoption of improved positioning technology has the potential to generate $73 billion in value to Australia alone by 2030.

This research is supported by a $12 million investment from the Australian Government as announced in January and a further $2 million from the New Zealand Government.

“The SBAS testbed will trial a range of SBAS signals for the first time in Australia, one of which has been never tested before. The SBAS signals provide an opportunity for many users to more readily access higher accuracy satellite positioning over Australia and New Zealand,” said Dr Peter Woodgate, CEO, CRCSI.

“In March we will be seeking expressions of interest from our existing partners and other organisations to participate in trials in a number of sectors including agriculture, aviation, construction, maritime, mining, rail, road, spatial and utilities to participate in the SBAS testbed. Australian and New Zealand industry will be able to assess new and innovative positioning applications and build the case for further investment.”

The two-year testing will address specific accuracy and integrity requirements for each of up to nine application areas.

The adoption of the SBAS technology will bring Australia and New Zealand into line with the United States, Europe, China, Russia, India and Japan, who have already deployed SBAS technology and are driving new market applications at the interface of precise positioning, productivity and innovation.