Image: Spirent Labs
What’s New: Article about the importance of simulation, especially for new GNSS and other PNT systems, before deployment. Spirent’s work with Xona is used as an example.
Why It’s Important:
- Technical – Helping ensure things will work as the engineers think they will.
- Business – Convincing investors!
What to Know:
- Full disclosure – Spirent is a corporate member & supporter of the RNT Foundation.
PNT by Other Means: Spirent
An exclusive interview with Paul Crampton, Senior Solutions Architect, Spirent Federal and Jan Ackermann, Director, Product Line Management, Spirent Communications. For more exclusive interviews from this cover story, click here.
Jan, what is the role of simulation in building a new GNSS with a very different constellation and very different orbits than existing ones?
J.A.: Before the Xona constellation or any other emerging constellation has deployed any satellites, simulation is the only way for any potential end-user or receiver OEM to assess its benefits. Before you can do live sky testing, a key part of enabling investment decisions — both for the end users as well as the receiver manufacturers, and everybody else — is to establish the benefits of an additional signal through simulation. Once it’s all up there and running, there are still benefits to simulation, but then there’s an alternative. Right now, there really isn’t an alternative to simulation.
