GAUSS - GNSS Assurance Using Synthetic Signals

Broadcasters, telecoms, banks and many other industries rely on time, precise to billionths of a second, to synchronise their digital signals. This timing comes from GPS receivers like those that locate our satnavs and smart-phones. But the signals they pick up from the GPS satellites are exceptionally weak. They are occasionally disrupted by solar storms, radio interference, intentional jamming and denial of service, threatening the security of our critical national infrastructure. Alternative sources of precise timing now being developed include terrestrial eLoran transmissions, Global Navigation Satellite Systems like Europe’s Galileo, and exotic Quantum Clocks. This research programme (GAUSS: GNSS Assurance Using Synthetic Signals) will deliver robust synthetic signals to replace the vulnerable GPS radio waves. It will let organisations that rely on GPS timing take advantage of these new backups without replacing their equipment. GAUSS is a joint venture by Chronos Technology Ltd and Spirent Communications plc. These are UK companies with world-wide sales and reputations: Chronos specialise in precise timing while Spirent supply the signal simulators used to develop satellite navigation receivers. Together they are proposing this world-first innovation.