It’s a satellite based nav system. This would be a new development that is presumably ground based.
Comment on Without GPS: EU researchers develop satellite-independent navigation system
Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 week ago
And what is Galileo supposed to be then?
dogslayeggs@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Cheradenine@sh.itjust.works 1 week ago
It’s the same as GPS (American) or Glonass (Russian). Satellite based positioning, which is vulnerable to jamming. It could also be turned off, just like the others, hence the need for an alternative.
tal@lemmy.today 1 week ago
This has, in fact, been a serious problem in the Baltic region, as Russia’s military has been jamming GPS there for some time, and it dicks up navigation for ships and aircraft there.
Cheradenine@sh.itjust.works 1 week ago
Yes, a search for ‘GPS jamming Baltic’ turns up hits from everything from DW to the Financial Times.
It’s a problem for maritime and aviation navigation, and a problem for both sides in the war in Ukraine. Some drones are now using fiber optic tethers to get around the jamming, that’s not much of an option for civilian traffic though.
tal@lemmy.today 1 week ago
Upon actually investigating the article, it appears to mention it as well. :-)
photonic_sorcerer@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 week ago
Is this new system, R-Mode, invulnerable to jamming? It uses radio spectrum, so I’d think not, but it’s not mentioned in the article.
tal@lemmy.today 1 week ago
I’m sure not, but even without looking at any technical details, it will have at least a couple benefits:
First, it’s short range. GPS satellites are in geosynchronous orbit, which is a pretty high orbit. Wikipedia says about 22,000 miles away. For GPS, the jammer is going to be far closer than the legitimate signal.
Second, I’m guessing — though we’ll see — that this is going to be a civilian system, and I suppose that they could even try to mandate that militaries not use it. GPS was, from the beginning, a military system, and there are weapons being used in Ukraine that use it for guidance. Unless you’re solely out to be a dick — which isn’t impossible — probably not a lot of benefit to stomping on civilian-only frequencies.