GAARDIAN - GNSS Availability, Accuracy, Reliability anD Integrity Assessment for timing and Navigation

Critical infrastructure applications (e.g. transport, telecoms, utilities, security and maritime) require real-time and continuous localised knowledge of the reliability and quality (integrity) of PNT data in the vicinity of use - this is not available today. GAARDIAN proposes to develop novel methods for real-time, autonomous, continuous and accurate gathering and filtering of 3 independent enormous sets of Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) data nationally and in complex/difficult environments, to enable robust, real-time and continuous quality (integrity) assurance of PNT data. Both the built and marine environments are complex and offer significant challenges to the seamless capture of spatio-temporally referenced PNT sensor data due to weather, building shadow, radio interference, platform instability and inaccessibility. In addition, real-time monitoring of continuous PNT quality data from multiple sources creates far too much data to be communicated cost-effectively to, and be managed by, a central database. Hence, novel data reduction methods must be created. The project will develop new methods for intelligent, adaptive localised data gathering (including learning normal data signatures and adjusting thresholds autonomously), storage and filtering - critical to the markets identified. Reduced data will be communicated back to a central server to allow user access for PNT quality monitoring. Reliable PNT integrity assurance at point of use requires 3 independent timing or navigation data references to identify and mitigate the presence of interference or jamming of the PNT signals. The project will investigate the use of eLoran, GNSS and timing signals for this purpose, to gather precise and unambiguous data. GAARDIAN will enable users to reliably make critical operational decisions based on unambiguous localised PNT integrity (quality) knowledge.