A performance analysis of future global navigation satellite systems

For an increasing number of applications, the performance characteristics of current generation Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) cannot meet full availability, accuracy, reliability, integrity and vulnerability requirements. It is anticipated however that around 2010 the next generation of GNSS will offer around one hundred satellites for positioning and navigation. This includes constellations from the US modernised Global Positioning System, the Russian Glonass, the European Galileo, the Japanese Quasi-Zenith Satellite System and the Chinese Beidou. It is predicted that the performance characteristics of GNSS will be significantly improved. To maximise the potential utility offered by this integrated infrastructure, this paper presents an approach adopted in Australia to quantify the performance improvements that will be available in the future. It presents the design of a GNSS simulation toolkit developed in Australia and the performance expectations of future GNSS for a number of important applications within the Asia Pacific region. In quantifying the improvement in performance realised by combined systems, this paper proposes a practical approach to facilitate the development of innovative applications based on future GNSS.