Commercial Opportunities to Use GPS for Sustainable

DevelopmentJason Y. Kim, Senior Advisor

Global Space Technology ForumAbu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

December 7, 2009

The Global Positioning System• Baseline 24 satellite constellation in medium earth orbit

– 31 satellites currently available to users (as of Dec 3, 2009)• Global coverage, 24 hours a day, all weather conditions

– Civil service performance commitment met continuously since 1993

• Satellites broadcast precise time and orbit information on L-band radio frequencies

• Two types of service:– Standard (free of direct user fees)– Precise (U.S. and Allied military)

• Owned and operated by U.S. Government– Paid for by U.S. taxpayers– Acquired and operated by Air Force– Guided at national level by civilian and military leadership

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National-Level Attention to GPSWHITE HOUSE

ADVISORY BOARD

Sponsor: NASA

NATIONALEXECUTIVE COMMITTEEFOR SPACE-BASED PNTExecutive Steering Group

Co-Chairs: Defense, Transportation

NATIONAL COORDINATION OFFICE

Host: Commerce

GPS International Working Group

Chair: State

Engineering ForumCo-Chairs: Defense,

Transportation

Ad HocWorking Groups

DefenseTransportation

StateInterior

AgricultureCommerce

Homeland SecurityJoint Chiefs of Staff

NASA

U.S. Policy Promotes Global Use of GPS Technology

• No direct user fees for civil GPS services– Provided on a continuous, worldwide basis

• Open, free access to information necessary to use civil GPS and augmentations– Anyone can develop applications, user equipment, and value-added services– Encourages market-driven competition

• Global compatibility and interoperability with GPS• Service improvements for civil, commercial, and scientific users worldwide• Protection of radionavigation spectrum from disruption and interference

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U.S. policy on civil GPS access has been stable and consistent for 25+ years

GPS is a Critical Component of the Global Information Infrastructure

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SatelliteOperations

Power Grids

Personal Navigation

Communications

Aviation

Fishing & BoatingOil Exploration

Trucking & Shipping

Surveying & Mapping

Precision Agriculture

Disease Control

GPS Offers Enormous Valueto Developing Nations

• Obviates need to develop local infrastructure for positioning, navigation, and timing– Example: Availability of GPS time eliminates need

to build terrestrial time distribution networks• Supports a wide range of sustainable

development activities including:– Surveying, mapping, GIS– Construction, mining– Agriculture– Timing for telecom, banking, power grid

management– Disaster management– Environmental stewardship

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Surveying, Mapping, GIS• Surveying is essential to

any new development– Electrification– Telecom tower placement– Pipeline installation– Dam construction– Port dredging

• GPS enables 2-5 cm real-time positioning accuracy– Mm-level accuracy possible

with post-mission data processing

• 100%-300% savings in time, cost, labor– Stakeless, paperless surveys

Construction, Mining• Faster site preparation• Enhanced management of assets, equipment

– More efficient asset utilization– Less idling of workers, machinery

• Precise machine control– Up to 70% increased job site productivity– Saves time, fuel, and emissions– Reduces maintenance– Prevents accidents

• Automated, wireless job tasking– Smaller, more empowered workforce – no foreman– Real-time progress tracked remotely

Agriculture• Improved management of land, machinery, personnel, time

– Optimized placement of crop rows, seeds– Enhanced monitoring of crop yields, soil quality, problems– Automated, 24-hour operations using lighter equipment, less fuel, less labor

• Plant-specific applications of water, fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides– Up to 80% increase in efficiency

• Greater crop yields, profit margins• Environmental benefits

– Reduced chemical use– Precise leveling of fields reduces runoff– Strip tillage/no tillage releases less CO2– Reduced CO2 emissions from lighter, more efficient machinery

Timing• GPS offers an inexpensive alternative to high-maintenance timing equipment, networks• Synchronization, management of communication networks

– Phones, pagers, wireless systems– LANs, WANs, Internet, satellites– Cell phone tower handoffs– Digital TV

• Financial transactions– Stock exchanges– ATMs– E-commerce

• Power grid management– Load balancing– Fault detection, location

Disaster Management• Assists in disaster planning

efforts such as flood plain mapping

• Helps relief workers navigate disaster areas devoid of landmarks

• Facilitates containment and management of wildfires

• Enables disaster warning systems– GPS-equipped buoys for tsunami

warnings– GPS ground networks monitor

crustal motion, earthquakes11

Environmental Stewardship• Climate monitoring

– Sea level rise measurements– Ice sheet change observations– Atmospheric moisture profiles

• Reduced greenhouse gas emissions– Efficient routing of aircraft, trucks, and other vehicles– Reduction of vehicle fleet idle times

• Oil and chemical spill cleanup– Positioning, modeling of spills to guide remediation efforts

• Commercial fishing– Enforcement of fishery boundaries

• Forestry– Monitoring of illegal deforestation

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New Applications Appear Every Day• Mobile applications

– Location based services• Localized GIS datasets• Personal, pet safety• GPS radio occultation• Road use taxation

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Emerging Market Opportunities

• Use of new civil GPS capabilities• Combined use of GPS and

international systems• Integration of GPS with other

positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) capabilities

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New Civil GPS Capabilities

• Ongoing modernization program is adding three new civil GPS signals– L2C, L5, L1C -- in addition to existing L1 C/A– Technical documentation available online, free

• Availability of new GPS capabilities will drive user equipment sales, upgrades• New signal designs and signal combinations will spur new applications, markets

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New Civil GPS Capabilities:Second Civil Signal (L2C)

• Designed to meet commercial needs– Higher accuracy via ionospheric correction– Eliminates need for “semi-codeless” GPS

technology, which is being phased out by 2020

– Required upgrades will drive equipment sales• Expected to generate over $5 billion in

user productivity benefits• Currently available on 7 operational

satellites– On 24 satellites by 2016

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Increases accuracyfor consumers

Supports miniaturization, possible indoor use

Benefits existing professional receivers

New Civil GPS Capabilities:Third Civil Signal (L5)

• Designed to meet demanding requirements for transport safety– Uses highly protected Aeronautical

Radionavigation Service (ARNS) band– Will lead to new sales of dual-

frequency equipment for aircraft, other vehicles

• Commercial innovation expected from availability of triple-frequency GPS– Sub-meter, standalone positioning

• Opportunity for international interoperability

• Demo signal activated in April 2009– GPS IIF satellites with L5 begin

launching in June 2010– 24 satellites by 2018

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New Civil GPS Capabilities:Fourth Civil Signal (L1C)

• Designed with international partners for interoperability

• Modernized civil signal at L1 frequency– More robust navigation across a

broad range of user applications– Improved performance in challenged

tracking environments– Original signal retained for

backward compatibility• Launches with GPS III in 2014

– On 24 satellites by ~2021

Under trees

Inside cities

Combined Use of GPS andInternational Systems

• Many nations are developing GPS augmentations and/or independent satellite navigation systems– Europe (Galileo, EGNOS), Russia (Glonass, SDCM), China

(Compass), Japan (QZSS, MSAS), India (IRNSS, GAGAN)• USG is consulting with all of them to promote GPS

compatibility and interoperability– Ideally, this will allow seamless, combined use of

multiple systems for improved performance– Future users will want to use all available systems,

driving new equipment sales and applications -- significant commercial opportunities, BUT:

• Must maintain level playing field in global marketplace– Equal access to signals, information, and user markets– No mandated use of one system over another

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Integration of GPS withOther PNT Capabilities

• Growing dependence on GPS for critical applications creates potential vulnerabilities– GPS signal is susceptible to interference

• Integration of GPS technology with complementary or backup capabilities has begun– Cell-based positioning, WiFi hotspot location,

digital compasses, accelerometers, inertial sensors, etc.

– Future technologies may include eLoran, chip-scale atomic clocks

• As users recognize limitations of GPS, demand for integrated PNT capabilities may increase – creating market opportunities

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Summary• U.S. policy promotes global use of GPS

technology• GPS offers enormous value to developing

nations– Supports a wide range of sustainable

development activities• New commercial markets will open as:

– GPS modernization occurs– International systems emerge– Users seek more robust PNT services

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For Additional Information

GPS.gov PNT.gov

6822 Herbert C. Hoover Building14th & Constitution Ave., NWWashington, D.C. 20230Tel: +1 (202) 482-5809Email: PNT.office@PNT.gov