General Information

If I am interested in participating in the testbed, but I did not submit an EOI, how can I be involved?
The first call for EOIs closed in April 2017 and the second call closed in September 2017. EOIs for the SBAS testbed demonstrator projects have now been closed.

If you are interested in participating in the testbed, please get in touch with our team. Additionally, if you are interested in conducting your own project using your existing GNSS receiver hardware to utilise the SBAS Legacy L1 signal, please get in touch with us.

What criteria will be used to select successful projects?
Projects will be evaluated by a panel of experts based on criteria such as alignment with the objectives of the SBAS testbed, experience and track record of the project team, realistic timeframe and budget, degree of innovation and more. For a full list of evaluation criteria see the EOI form for the second call for projects here.

What is the timeframe for the testing?
Testing will be carried out between June 2017 and January 2019. Early participation and result provision is encouraged.

How much funding will be available for each project?
Available funding will vary based on the scope and requirements of the project. Provisional funding of $400,000 has been allocated to each of the nine industry sectors. One or more projects per sector may share this provisional funding.

Must demonstrator projects be conducted in Australia and/or New Zealand?
Other countries in the Asia-Pacific region are welcome to express interest in joining the testbed. However, such countries would be expected to contribute funds to support their involvement and cover the cost of projects outside Australia/New Zealand.

What technical support will be provided during the projects?
The CRCSI will provide equipment and training to the successful demonstrator projects. Phone and email support and, if necessary, on-ground technical support will also be provided during the projects.

Technical Information

What equipment will be provided for the testing phase?
GNSS equipment as well as a SBAS-specific software receiver with a frontend will be made available for testing. Additionally tablets with field software will be provided. For a detailed description of the hardware requirements, download the Technical Specifications document here.

Can I use my existing SBAS-capable GNSS equipment for testing?
For L1 Legacy testing, existing GNSS equipment can be used, provided it is compliant with the DO-229D Minimum Operational Performance Standards for Global Positioning System/Wide Area Augmentation System Airborne Equipment standard. However, for DFMC and PPP testing, additional equipment and software will be required to decode the new signals. This additional equipment will be provided.

Will the PPP signal be transmitted on L5 only or on both L1 and L5?
The PPP signal will be transmitted through the L1 from August 2017 and also through L5 from October 2017. The PPP signal is now being transmitted through the L1 and L5 frequencies. It will in both cases be a dual-frequency PPP message. 

What will be the PRN number of the new SBAS Service?
PRN 122 will be used for the SBAS service throughout the period of the testbed.

Can my existing WAAS/EGNOS enabled receiver be used with the new SBAS services?
For the L1 legacy service existing SBAS-capable equipment can be used, however a firmware upgrade might be required.

Which devices can be used to track the L1 Legacy Service?
Most GNSS chipsets out there should be able to track the L1 legacy SBAS, including those in the latest Android and iOS smartphones, trackers, GPS watches and more. Refer to the technical specifications of your device to see whether SBAS capability is mentioned.

What messages will be used to transmit the SBAS signals?
SBAS Legacy signal to be transmitted over L1 will follow MOPS RTCA DO 229D standard:

  • Document Number: DO-229D
  • Issue Date: 12/13/2006
  • Committee: SC-159
  • Category: Global Positioning System (GPS)
  • Currently available until 31 January 2019

DFMC signal to be broadcast over L5 will use messages types defined in the following DFMC draft ICD:

  • Reference GNSS-EV3-ST-ESA-X-00120
  • Issue 1
  • Revision 4 draft 005
  • Date of Issue 23/02/2017
  • Currently available until 31 January 2019

PPP messages will be sent using available space on the L1 legacy message and DFMC draft ICD message, for which there is no agreed standard.

Is it possible to log raw GNSS and SBAS data for post-processing?
Two pieces of software will be available for the testing – magicGEMINI for SBAS and magicAPK for PPP. magicGEMINI allows recording of raw GNSS data and the SBAS correction messages. In post-processing mode, magicGEMINI can then combine the raw measurements with the SBAS data to provide performances of the GPS only, GPS+ Galileo, GPS+Gal+SBAS solution, among others. magicAPK only works in real-time mode, but it also allows the raw GNSS data to be recorded

For the UAV testing, does the additional hardware (tablet and frontend) need to be put on the UAV?
For UAV deployment, one option would be to do the test in real-time by attaching the tablet to the UAV. For practical reasons, this may not be the preferred approach. An alternative is to record the dual frequency GNSS data and then compute the solution and performance statistics using post-processing in magicGEMINI.

Will the users be able to use their own GNSS receiver and antenna or is there a requirement to use the ones provided under the project?
Users can use their own receivers and antennas, provided they can track all the required signals.

Is the project team responsible for the validation of results and the realisation of the ground truth?
Yes, it is up to the project team to establish the methodology for the validation of SBAS testing results and the realisation of the ground truth. CRCSI can provide technical advice if necessary.

Will the satellite transmit a ranging signal like a normal SBAS?
SBAS Testbed signal in space (SIS) will not be usable for ranging and will serve as message link only. There are no corrections generation for the user-derived range error (UDRE) that would be associated with the GEO satellite. More importantly, the SIS generation software in the Signal Generation Subsystem does not have the requisite control capability to support a ranging capability on either the L1 or L5 signal.