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Area-wide high-precision GNSS position data even in regions with patchy mobile radio coverage? The software and system solutions successfully developed and tested in the SSRoverDAB+ research project for the transmission of precise GNSS correction data via digital radio DAB+ make it possible! On 29 June 2023, the project consortium consisting of Alberding GmbH (consortium leader), Geo++ GmbH, inPosition gmbh and the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS presented the project results in a video conference. More than 60 interested parties followed the online presentation and the subsequent interactive Q&A session.

Detailed information on the project results can be found here:

• Press release on the conclusion of the project
• Final presentation
.

In June, the ESA-funded SSRoverDAB+ project came to an end. The Inside GNSS magazine website reported on the project's goals and results in an article on 02 July 2023. You can find the article here.

New digitization and automation applications in agriculture and automotive require precise GNSS position data in real time, anywhere, anytime. For 14 months, partners from industry and science have developed and tested software and system solutions for the transmission of precise GNSS correction data via DAB+. Now the NAVISP-funded project SSRoverDAB+ with the project partners Alberding GmbH (Wildau), Geo++ GmbH (Garbsen), inPosition gmbH (Heerbrugg/Switzerland) and Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS (Nuremberg site) as well as the associated partners Bavarian State Office for Digitalization, Broadband Internet and Surveying (LDBV), Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG) and BayWa AG Munich is coming to an end.

A public webinar with a final presentation will be held on 29 June 2023 from 10:00 - 11:30 a.m.

We would like to invite you to participate in the final presentation. Here you can register for the online event: Agenda and Registration

On 31 May 2023, a further agricultural field test took place around the Möschenfeld Manor in Grasbrunn to test and evaluate the performance and added value of the SSRoverDAB+ prototype on a larger scale. The field test was again organised by our practical partner BayWa. The test showed that the hardware prototype developed during the project contains all the necessary components to receive the SSRZ data format over DAB+, convert the data to the RTCM-MSM standard and pass this information on to another RTK system. This solution can replace an NTRIP-based correction data modem and provide DAB+-based corrections in areas without network connectivity. However, in order to be ready for the market, the software needs to be further developed in terms of stability and high availability.

On 14 February 2023, a first live test of the SSRoverDAB+ prototype took place at our practical partner BayWa Technik in Feldkirchen. For this purpose, the test equipment was installed on a Fendt tractor. The aim was to test the suitability of different DAB+ receiving antennas as well as the correct transmission of PPP/RTK correction data via the DAB+ channel for precise RTK positioning of the GNSS sensor installed in the steering system. The positioning solution of the Alberding DAB+/GNSS prototype system served as the correction data source for the steering system. The conversion of the data was successfully tested. The Fendt steering system accepted the correction data transmitted and converted via DAB+ as RTK input data. The test runs showed that the tracks could be reproduced with high accuracy. The analog folding rule served as a benchmark for the accuracy of the steering system. Further intensive testing will take place in the coming months.

The SSRoverDAB+ consortium has successfully passed a further milestone meeting. The focus of the online meeting on 13 February 2023 was on the results and challenges achieved in the third project quarter. The overall project plan was critically reviewed again and steps for the next project quarter were determined. "Overall, we are on the finish line. However, the coming months will once again be a challenging time for all project partners, as the next milestone meeting is also to be the final meeting. Until then, it is important to successfully prove the practical suitability of our overall solution in field tests," says project manager Jürgen Alberding.

Every three months, the SSRoverDAB+ consortium meets for a milestone meeting. The meeting on 3 November 2022 in Wildau also served as a midterm review. Together with the ESA Technical Officer, the project partners discussed and evaluated the achievements of the second quarter as well as the overall progress of the first six months of the project. In general, the project funding agency was very satisfied with the project results. Given the positive feedback, the consortium partners are looking forward to the next project phase. The third milestone meeting will take place in February 2023.

Within the project SSRoverDAB+ key components are developed to utilize the digital radio DAB+ as transmission channel of the Working Committee of the Surveyin Authorities of the Laender of the Federal Republic of Germany (AdV) PPP-RTK service. On 18 October 2022, Martin Freitag, head of the "PPP" project group of the AdV's spatial reference working group and associated project partner of SSRoverDAB+, gave a presentation on the current status of the AdV's PPP RTK service at the well-known INTERGEO 2022 in Essen. Currently, within a PPP-RTK project phase (2022-2024), the AdV is establishing server instances to generate German-wide PPP-RTK corrections, both at the Central Office SAPOS (ZSS) and the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG). Thereby, the feasability and practicability of a German-wide PPP-RTK service equivalent to SAPOS HEPS shall be proven until 2024. Digital Radio DAB+ is intensely investigated as transmission channel. Therefor, the AdV's working group "spacial reference" has carried out German-wide reception tests. The applicability of Germany's First DAB+ Multiplex (Channel 5C) and AdV's subchannel 32 ("PPP-RTK-AdV") has been verified. Especially in rural areas and mountainous regions DAB+ offers added value compared to mobile radio.

You will find the presentation here.

On October 4, the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy organized an in-person information event on ESA's Navigation Innovation and Support Programme in Munich (NAVISP), which also supports the SSRoverDAB+ project. NAVISP aims to support European industry in the development and commercialization of positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) technologies to foster innovation and competitiveness. The aim of the event was to present the preparation of Phase 3 of NAVISP, the activities and the status of the programme in Germany towards the ESA Ministerial Council and to show the opportunities that the programme can offer to a wide range of industrial players. Jürgen Alberding, Managing Director of Alberding GmbH and consortium leader of SSRoverDAB+, was a guest speaker and presented the vision, topics and challenges of the joint project.

You will find the presentation here.

Three months after the project start, the first SSRoverDAB+ milestone meeting took place on 11 August 2022. In the online event, which was also attended by a representative of the project executing agency ESA, the project partners gave an overview about the tasks, special challenges and achieved results in the first project quarter. They reviewed the project goals and the project schedule and discussed the tasks for the next project phase. In particular, they focused on the interfaces between the partners.Consortium leader Jürgen Alberding and ESA representative Hugo Sobreira were pleased about the results. The project is progressing according to plan. All work packages have been started. The work of the first quarter was completed on time and the results were made available to the funding agency.Accordingly, the project partners are optimistic about the next stage. Further challenging tasks await them until the next milestone meeting in November.

At the beginning of May, the ESA project SSRoverDAB+ officially started with a digital kick-off meeting. Now the project partners met for the first time in presence at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS in Nuremberg to get to know each other personally, present the work progress, discuss particular challenges and outline joint approaches to solutions. "The project is on the right track. Numerous technical points were clarified and the next work steps were agreed upon. Many thanks to all partners for the exciting presentations and to Fraunhofer IIS in Nuremberg for the organisation and hospitality on site," says consortium leader Jürgen Alberding.

Modern digitisation and automation applications in agriculture and the automotive industry require continuous, high-accuracy GNSS position data in real time. GNSS correction data required for this is often not available to users over a wide area due to mobile internet dead spots. The parallel provision of GNSS correction data via mobile internet and digital radio DAB+ should remedy the situation. In the ESA project "SSRoverDAB+", four partners from industry and science will develop and test software and system solutions for the transmission of precise GNSS correction data via DAB+ over the next twelve months. The project is led by Alberding GmbH from Wildau. Project partners are the companies Geo++ GmbH (Garbsen) and inPosition GmbH (Switzerland) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS (Nuremberg base).

You can find the full press release about the project launch here.