Many car owners use navigators in their cars. However, some of them do not know about the existence of two different satellite systems - the Russian GLONASS and the American GPS. From this article you will learn what their differences are and which one should be preferred.

How does the navigation system work?

The navigation system is mainly used to determine the location of an object (in this case a car) and its speed. Sometimes it is required to determine some other parameters, for example, altitude above sea level.

It calculates these parameters by establishing the distance between the navigator itself and each of several satellites located in Earth orbit. Typically, synchronization with four satellites is required for the system to operate effectively. By changing these distances, it determines the coordinates of the object and other characteristics of movement. GLONASS satellites are not synchronized with the rotation of the Earth, which ensures their stability over a long period of time.

Video: GloNaSS vs GPS

What is better GLONASS or GPS and what is their difference

Navigation systems were primarily intended to be used for military purposes, and only then became available to ordinary citizens. Obviously, the military needs to use the developments of their state, because a foreign navigation system can be turned off by the authorities of that country in the event of a conflict situation. Moreover, in Russia military and civil servants are encouraged to use the GLONASS system in everyday life.

In everyday life, an ordinary motorist should not worry at all about choosing a navigation system. Both GLONASS and provide navigation quality sufficient for everyday use. In the northern territories of Russia and other countries located at northern latitudes, GLONASS satellites work more efficiently due to the fact that their travel trajectories are higher above the Earth. That is, in the Arctic, in the Scandinavian countries, GLONASS is more effective, and the Swedes recognized this back in 2011. In other regions, GPS is slightly more accurate than GLONASS in determining location. According to the Russian system of differential correction and monitoring, GPS errors ranged from 2 to 8 meters, GLONASS errors from 4 to 8 meters. But for GPS to determine the location you need to catch from 6 to 11 satellites, GLONASS is enough for 6-7 satellites.

It should also be taken into account that the GPS system appeared 8 years earlier and took a significant lead in the 90s. And over the last decade, GLONASS has reduced this gap almost completely, and by 2020, the developers promise that GLONASS will not be inferior to GPS in any way.

Most modern ones are equipped with a combined system that supports both the Russian satellite system and the American one. It is these devices that are the most accurate and have the lowest error in determining the vehicle’s coordinates. The stability of received signals also increases, because such a device can “see” more satellites. On the other hand, prices for such navigators are much higher than their single-system counterparts. This is understandable - two chips are built into them, capable of receiving signals from each type of satellite.

Video: test of GPS and GPS+GLONASS receivers Redpower CarPad3

Thus, the most accurate and reliable navigators are dual-system devices. However, their advantages are associated with one significant drawback - cost. Therefore, when choosing, you need to think - is such high accuracy necessary in everyday use? Also, for a simple car enthusiast, it is not very important which navigation system to use - Russian or American. Neither GPS nor GLONASS will let you get lost and will take you to your desired destination.

Article about GLONASS and GPS systems: characteristics of satellite systems, their features and comparative analysis. At the end of the article there is a video about the principles of operation of GPS and GLONASS.

Now the spheres of influence are divided between the Russian GLONASS, the American GPS (Global Positioning System) and the Chinese BeiDou, which is gradually gaining momentum. The choice of a system for your own car may be determined by patriotic motives, or it may be based on a competent weighing of the advantages and disadvantages of these developments.

Basics of Satellite Communications

The purpose of each satellite system is to determine the exact location of any object. In the context of a car, this task is carried out through a special device that helps establish coordinates on the ground, known as a navigator.

Satellites interacting with a particular navigation system send it personal signals that are different from each other. To clearly determine spatial coordinates, the navigator only needs information from 4 satellites. Thus, this is not a simple automobile gadget, but one of the elements of a complex space positioning mechanism.

As the car moves, the coordinates continuously change. Therefore, the navigation system is designed in such a way that, at certain regular intervals, it updates the received data and recalculates the distance.

The advantage of modern systems is that they have the ability to remember the satellite layout even when turned off. This significantly increases the efficiency of the device, when there is no need to re-find the satellite’s orbit each time. For motorists who regularly access the navigator, the developers have provided a “hot start” function - the fastest possible connection between the device and the satellite. If you rarely use the navigator, the start will be “cold”, that is, in this case, the connection with the satellite will take longer, taking from 10 to 20 minutes.

Creation of systems

Although the first Earth satellite was a Soviet development, it was the American GPS. Scientists have noticed changes in satellite signals depending on its movement in orbit. Then they thought about a method for calculating not only the coordinates of the satellite itself, but also the earthly objects attached to it.

In 1964, an exclusively military navigation system called TRANZIT went into operation, becoming the world's first development of this level. It facilitated the launch of missiles from submarines, but calculated the accuracy of the location of the object only at a distance of 50 meters. In addition, this object had to remain absolutely motionless.

It became clear that the first and at that time only navigator in the world could not cope with the task of constantly determining coordinates. This was due to the fact that while passing in low orbit, the satellite could send signals to Earth only for an hour.

The next, modernized version appeared 3 years later, along with the new satellite Timation-1 and its brother Timation-2. Together they rose to a higher orbit and merged into a single system called Navstar. It started out as a military development, but then the decision was made to make it publicly available for the needs of the civilian population.

This system is still in operation, with 32 satellites in its arsenal, providing complete coverage of the Earth. Another 8 devices are in reserve for some unforeseen event. Moving at a significant distance from the planet in several orbits, the satellites complete their revolution in almost a day.

Above domestic GLONASS system began to work back in the days of the Union - a powerful power with outstanding scientific minds. The launch of an artificial satellite into orbit launched the design work of the positioning system.

The first Soviet satellite, born in 1967, was supposed to be the only one sufficient to calculate coordinates. But soon a whole system equipped with radio transmitters appeared in space, known to the population as the Cicada, the military called it the Cyclone. Its task was to identify objects in distress, which it did until the advent of GLONASS in 1982.

The Soviet Union was destroyed, the country was in dire straits and could not find reserves to bring the high-tech system to fruition. The entire system included 24 satellites, but due to financial difficulties, almost half of them did not function. Therefore, at that time, in the 90s, GLONASS could not even come close to competing with GPS.

Today, Russian developers intend to catch up and overtake their American colleagues, which already confirms the faster revolution of our satellites around the Earth. Although historically the Russian satellite system has lagged significantly behind the American one, this gap is shrinking from year to year.

Advantages and disadvantages

At what level are both systems now? Which one should the average person prefer for their everyday tasks?

By and large, many citizens do not care what kind of satellite navigation their equipment uses. They are both available without restrictions or fees to the entire civilian population, including for use in cars. If we look from a technical point of view, the Swedish satellite company has officially announced the merits of GLONASS, which operates much better in northern latitudes.

GPS satellites practically do not appear north of the 55th parallel, and in the southern hemisphere, accordingly, further south. Whereas, with an inclination angle of 65 degrees and an altitude of 19.4 thousand km, GLONASS satellites deliver excellent, stable signals to Moscow, Norway and Sweden, which is so appreciated by foreign experts.

Although both systems have a large number of satellites in all orbital planes, other experts still give the palm to GPS. Even with an active program to improve the Russian system, the Americans currently have 27 satellites versus 24 Russian ones, which gives greater clarity to their signals.

The reliability of GLONASS signals is 2.8 m compared to 1.8 m for GPS. However, this figure is quite average, because satellites can be lined up in orbit in such a way that the error rate increases several times. Moreover, such a situation can befall both satellite systems.

For this reason, manufacturers are trying to equip their devices with dual-system navigation that receives signals from both GPS and GLONASS.

An important role is played by the quality of ground equipment that receives and decrypts the received data.

If we talk about the identified shortcomings of both navigation systems, they can be distributed as follows:

GLONASS:

• changing celestial coordinates (ephemerides) leads to inaccuracy in determining coordinates, reaching 30 meters;
• fairly frequent, albeit short-term, interruption of the signal;
• tangible influence of relief features on the clarity of the obtained data.

GPS:

• receiving an erroneous signal due to multipath interference and atmospheric instability;
• a significant difference between the civilian version of the system, which has too limited capabilities compared to military development.

Two-system

In total, more than five dozen satellites of both world powers are constantly spinning in orbit. As already mentioned, to obtain reliable coordinates, a good “view” of 4 satellites is sufficient. On flat ground, in the steppe or in a field, any receiver will be able to simultaneously detect up to a dozen signals, while in a forest or mountainous area the connection quickly disappears.

Thus, the goal of the designers is to ensure that each receiving device is capable of communicating with as many satellites as possible. This again returns to the idea of ​​combining GLONASS and GPS, which is already practiced in America for rescue services. No matter how the relations between states develop, human life comes first, and a dual-system chip will determine the location of a person in trouble with greater speed and clarity.

Such a synthesis will also save motorists from the inability to find their way in unfamiliar areas due to the fact that the navigator is too slow to establish a connection and takes too long to process information. The reason for this is the loss of a satellite due to banal interference: a tall building, an overpass, or even a large truck in the neighborhood. But if the car navigator is equipped with a dual-system chip, the likelihood of it freezing will be significantly reduced.

When this practice becomes widespread, the navigator will not care about the country of origin of the system, because it will be able to simultaneously track up to 40 satellites, giving a fantastically accurate location determination.

Video about the principles of operation of GPS and GLONASS:

For a long time, the global geopositioning system GPS, created in the United States, was the only one available to ordinary users. But even taking into account the fact that the accuracy of civilian devices was initially lower compared to military analogues, it was sufficient for both navigation and tracking the coordinates of cars.

However, the Soviet Union developed its own coordinate determination system, known today as GLONASS. Despite the similar principle of operation (calculation of time intervals between signals from satellites is used), GLONASS has serious practical differences from GPS, due to both development conditions and practical implementation.

• GLONASS is more accurate in northern regions. This is explained by the fact that significant military groups of the USSR, and subsequently Russia, were located precisely in the north of the country. Therefore, the mechanics of GLONASS were calculated taking into account accuracy in such conditions.
• For uninterrupted operation of the GLONASS systemno correction stations required. To ensure the accuracy of GPS, whose satellites are stationary relative to the Earth, a chain of geostationary stations is needed to monitor inevitable deviations. In turn, GLONASS satellites are mobile relative to the Earth, so the problem of correcting coordinates is absent initially.

For civilian use, this difference is noticeable. For example, in Sweden 10 years ago, GLONASS was actively used, despite the large amount of already existing GPS equipment. A considerable part of the territory of this country lies at the latitudes of the Russian North, and the advantages of GLONASS in such conditions are obvious: the lower the satellite’s inclination to the horizon, the more accurately the coordinates and speed of movement can be calculated with equal accuracy in estimating the time intervals between their signals (set by the navigator equipment).

So which is better?

It is enough to evaluate the modern telematics systems market to get the correct answer to this question. By using a connection to GPS and GLONASS satellites simultaneously in a navigation or security system, three main advantages can be achieved.

• High accuracy. The system, analyzing current data, can select the most correct of the available ones. For example, at the latitude of Moscow, GPS now provides maximum accuracy, while in Murmansk GLONASS will become the leader in this parameter.
• Maximum reliability. Both systems operate on different channels, therefore, when faced with deliberate jamming or interference from outsiders in the GPS range (as in the more common one), the system will retain the ability to geoposition via the GLONASS network.
• Independence. Since both GPS and GLONASS are originally military systems, the user may face deprivation of access to one of the networks. To do this, the developer only needs to introduce software restrictions into the implementation of the communication protocol. For the Russian consumer, GLONASS becomes, to some extent, a backup method of operation in the event of GPS unavailability.

That is why the Caesar Satellite systems offered by us, in all modifications, use dual geopositioning, supplemented by tracking coordinates via cellular base stations.

How truly reliable geolocation works

Let's look at the operation of a reliable GPS/GLONASS tracking system using the Cesar Tracker A as an example.

The system is in sleep mode, not transmitting data to the cellular network and turning off GPS and GLONASS receivers. This is necessary to save the maximum possible resource of the built-in battery, respectively, to ensure the greatest autonomy of the system that protects your car. In most cases, the battery lasts for 2 years. If you need to locate your car, for example, if it is stolen, you need to contact the Caesar Satellite security center. Our employees switch the system to an active state and receive data about the location of the car.

During the transition to active mode, three independent processes occur simultaneously:

• The GPS receiver is triggered, analyzing the coordinates using its geopositioning program. If less than three satellites are detected within a given period of time, the system is considered unavailable. The coordinates are determined using the GLONASS channel in a similar way.
• The tracker compares data from both systems. If a sufficient number of satellites have been detected in each, the tracker selects the data that it considers more reliable and accurate. This is especially true in case of active electronic countermeasures - jamming or substitution of the GPS signal.
• The GSM module processes geopositioning data via LBS (cellular base stations). This method is considered the least accurate and is used only if both GPS and GLONASS are not available.

Thus, a modern tracking system has triple reliability, using three geopositioning systems separately. But, naturally, it is the GPS/GLONASS support in the tracker design that ensures maximum accuracy.

Application in monitoring systems

Unlike beacons, monitoring systems used in commercial vehicles constantly monitor the location of the vehicle and its current speed. With this application, the advantages of dual GPS/GLONASS geopositioning are revealed even more fully. Duplication of systems allows:

• support monitoring in case of short-term problems with signal reception from GPS or GLONASS;
• maintain high accuracy regardless of flight direction. Using a system like CS Logistic GLONASS PRO, you can confidently operate flights from Chukotka to Rostov-on-Don, maintaining full control over transport throughout the entire route;
• protect commercial vehicles from opening and theft. Caesar Satellite servers receive real-time information about the time and exact location of the car;
• effectively counteract hijackers. The system stores the maximum possible amount of data in internal memory even if the communication channel with the server is completely unavailable. Information begins to be transmitted at the slightest interruption of radio jamming.

By choosing a GPS/GLONASS system, you provide yourself with the best service and security capabilities in comparison with systems that use only one of the geopositioning methods.

It is still difficult to believe that in our age of “wild” commerce there is an absolutely free (if technical means are available) opportunity to determine your location anywhere in the world. This is one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century! This multi-billion-dollar system (today there are several of them) was conceived primarily in the interests of defense (and science), but very little time passed and almost every person began to use it every day. By GPS navigator we mean a special radio receiver for determining the geographic coordinates of the current location (positioning).

I was prompted to write this post by a phrase from a well-known tourist in narrow circles about the Garmin Etrex 30x navigator.
Here is a quote from his article: "Satellite system: GPS/GPS+Glonass/Demo mode. Doesn't it make you think that only Glonass can't be turned on? So it's not there. The instructions don't say anything about this. You can take the Garmin in one hand just for fun , and in another smartphone with Glonass, open the satellite display screen and try to find similar ones. This is just emulation, so it doesn’t matter whether you install GPS or GPS+GLONASS."
What do you think of this statement? Just don’t rush to check right away. Since the concepts “GPS”, “GLONASS” and “Garmin” appear here, we will have to cover the topic completely.

1 - GPS
The first global positioning system was the American NAVSTAR system, which dates back to 1973. Already in 1978, the first satellite was launched, which can be considered the beginning of the era of the Global Positioning System (GPS), and in 1993 the orbital constellation consisted of 24 spacecraft (SV), but only in 2000 (after the deactivation of the selective access mode) regular operation began for civilian users.
NAVSTAR satellites are located at an altitude of 20,200 km with an inclination of 55° (in six planes) and an orbital period of 11 hours 58 minutes. GPS uses the 1984 World Geodetic System (WGS-84), which has become the standard coordinate system for the entire world. ALL navigators determine the location (show coordinates) in this system by default.

The constellation currently consists of 32 satellites. The earliest in the system is from November 22, 1993, the latest (last) is December 9, 2015.


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2 - GLONASS
The domestic navigation system began with the Cicada system consisting of four satellites in 1979. The GLONASS system was put into trial operation in 1993. In 1995, a full orbital constellation was deployed (24 Glonass satellites of the first generation) and normal operation of the system began. Since 2004, new Glonass-M satellites have been launched, which broadcast two civil signals at frequencies L1 and L2.
GLONASS satellites are located at an altitude of 19,400 km with an inclination of 64.8° (in three planes) and a period of 11 hours 15 minutes.

The constellation currently consists of 24 satellites. The earliest in the system is from April 3, 2007, the latest (last) is October 16, 2017.


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Table with GLONASS satellite numbers. There is a GLONASS number and a COSMOS number. Our smartphones have completely different satellite numbers. From 1 this is GPS, from 68 - GLONASS.
Moreover, they are even different in the navigator and smartphone.

Now let's look at the Orbitron program. On the afternoon of April 4, 10 GLONASS satellites “flew” across the sky in Izhevsk.

Or in another view - on a map. There is all the data about each satellite.

The main difference between the two systems is the signal and its structure.
The GPS system uses code division. A standard precision coded signal (C/A code) transmitted in the L1 band (1575.42 MHz). The signals are modulated by pseudo-random sequences of two types: C/A code and P code. C/A - a publicly available code - is a PRN with a repetition period of 1023 cycles and a pulse repetition rate of 1.023 MHz.
In the GLONASS system, frequency division of channels. All satellites use the same pseudo-random code sequence to transmit clear signals, but each satellite transmits on a different frequency using a 15-channel frequency division. Navigation radio signals with frequency division in two bands: L1 (1.6 GHz) and L2 (1.25 GHz).
The structure of the signal is also different. To describe the motion of satellites in orbit, fundamentally different mathematical models are used. For GPS, this is a model in osculating elements. This model implies that the trajectory of the satellite is divided into sections in which the movements are described by the Keplerian model, the parameters of which change over time. The GLONASS system uses a differential motion model.
Now to the question of the possibility of combination. 2011 passed under the auspices of GLONASS support. When designing receivers, it was important to overcome the problems of incompatibility of hardware support for GLONASS and GPS. That is, the frequency-modulated GLONASS signal required a wider frequency band than the pulse-code modulation signals used by GPS, bandpass filters with different frequency centers and different transmission rates of signal elements. To save energy in navigators, it is recommended to enable the "GPS only" mode.

3 - Garmin
The American manufacturer of portable navigation devices has gained worldwide fame primarily thanks to tourist GPS navigators (GpsMap, eTrex, Oregon, Montana, Dakota series) and car navigators, sports watches and echo sounders. The headquarters is located in Olathe, Kansas. Since 2011, Garmin began selling GPSMAP 62stc navigators with the ability to receive and process signals from GPS and GLONASS satellites. However, information about the chip manufacturers used has become a trade secret.

The use of dual-system receivers helps improve the quality of navigation in real conditions, but dual-system does not affect the accuracy of coordinate determination. The insufficient signal from the satellites of one system in a given place and at a given time is compensated by the satellites of another system. The maximum number of “visible” satellites in the sky under ideal conditions: GPS - 13, GLONASS - 10. It is for this reason that most conventional (non-geodetic) receivers have 24 channels.

Here are the test results from 2016. For your information, NAP-4 and NAP-5 use navigation receivers from the Izhevsk radio plant MNP-M7 and MNP-M9.1, respectively.

Conclusions. The best results in positioning accuracy along the experiment route were shown by NAP-1, NAP-2, NAP-4. All NAPs have positioning accuracy sufficient for confident navigation in all modes. At the same time, the positioning accuracy in GPS mode and in combined mode is slightly better than in GLONASS mode.
The results of NAP-3 with experimental software in terms of horizontal positioning accuracy in all modes are worse than those of the same receiver with standard software (NAP-2). There is no such difference in height accuracy. The exception is large errors in the combined mode, caused by a one-time failure in the operation of the NAP, which led to strong deviations.
The results of NAP-5 are generally worse than those of the previous generation NAP from the same manufacturer (NAP-4). There was a slight improvement in horizontal positioning accuracy in GLONASS mode. ()

The navigator antenna receives satellite signals and transmits them to the receiver, which processes them. Chips for navigation devices that support GPS+Glonass are produced today by many companies: Qualcomm (SiRFatlas V, drol_links Garmin has a STA8088EXG receiver from one of the largest European companies STMicroelectronics.

Conclusions for Garmin navigator users:
1. In Garmin navigators and watches (after 2011), it became possible to select (turn on signal reception and processing) either GPS or GPS+GLONASS. GLONASS is not provided separately due to the fact that it is Garmin (how can the Americans only turn on something Russian?)
2. In ideal or close to ideal conditions (steppe, plain), the second system is not necessary. In the mountains, cities and northern latitudes - very desirable. But the energy consumption will be greater.
3. If smartphone manufacturers were able to cram this feature into their compact devices, then why didn’t Garmin do it?
Good luck!

Today it is difficult to find an area of ​​socio-economic development in which satellite navigation services could not be used. The most relevant application of GLONASS technologies remains in the transport industry, including sea and river navigation, air and land transport. At the same time, according to experts, about 80% of navigation equipment is used in road transport.

GROUND TRANSPORT

One of the main areas of application of satellite navigation is transport monitoring. This service is most important for industrial, construction, and transport enterprises. Navigation equipment that receives signals from the GLONASS system makes it possible to determine the location of the vehicle; the readings of measuring sensors can ensure both the safety of passenger transportation and the convenience and optimization of the operation of commercial vehicles, and eliminate its misuse. The implementation of the system allows fleet owners to reduce their maintenance costs by 20-30% in 4-6 months.

One of the technologies implemented in Russia based on satellite navigation is the Intelligent Transport System (ITS). It includes monitoring the transportation of dangerous, large and heavy cargo, monitoring the work and rest schedule of drivers, managing and dispatching passenger transportation, and informing urban transport passengers.

The effectiveness of using satellite navigation services in ground transport can be assessed according to the following criteria:

• reduction in the number of road accidents, as well as deaths and injuries in road accidents, reduction in response time to road accidents;
• reducing travel time, increasing the attractiveness of public transport;
• improving the quality of spending budget funds.

According to experts, due to the introduction of intelligent transport systems, Russia’s GDP growth could reach 4-5% per year.

Municipal and public transport of the Altai, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Stavropol, Khabarovsk territories, Astrakhan, Belgorod, Vologda, Kaluga, Kurgan, Magadan, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Penza, Rostov, Samara are equipped with monitoring and navigation and information technologies based on the services of the GLONASS system , Saratov, Tambov, Tyumen regions, Moscow, the republics of Mordovia, Tatarstan, Chuvashia. In Russia as a whole, ITS elements have been implemented and are operating effectively in more than 100 cities.

SEARCH AND RESCUE

Equipment that receives signals from navigation satellites is installed on ambulances, as well as vehicles of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Coordinate-time support based on satellite data allows teams of doctors and rescuers to arrive at emergency sites more quickly to provide assistance to victims. Using GLONASS, the location and movement of groups of firefighters is tracked.

One of the illustrative examples of the use of global satellite navigation in the interests of saving human lives is the ERA-GLONASS system (emergency response in case of accidents). Its main task is to determine the fact of a traffic accident and transmit data to the response server. If a car crashes, the navigation and telecommunications terminal installed on it automatically determines the coordinates, establishes a connection with the server center of the monitoring system and transmits data about the accident via cellular communication channels to the operator. These data make it possible to determine the nature and severity of an accident and carry out an immediate response by ambulances. The use of Global Navigation Satellite System data via ERA-GLONASS can significantly reduce the mortality rate from injuries resulting from road accidents.

Another area of ​​application of GLONASS in the interests of saving human lives is the combination of global satellite navigation with the COSPAS-SARSAT International Search and Rescue System. This function is provided on the latest generation Glonass-K navigation spacecraft. Already at the stage of flight testing, the Glonass-K satellite No. 11 in March 2012, through a repeater of this system, transmitted a distress signal about a crashed Canadian helicopter, thanks to which the crew was saved.

PERSONAL NAVIGATION

Chipsets with GLONASS navigation receivers are used in smartphones, tablets, digital cameras, fitness devices, wearable trackers, laptop computers, navigators, watches, glasses and other devices. Personal navigation is becoming the main application area for satellite navigation technologies.

The use of GNSS technologies has contributed to the emergence of completely new sports and outdoor activities. An example of this is geocaching - a tourist game using satellite navigation systems, the point of which is to find caches hidden by other participants in the game. Another new sport of geotagging is cross-country racing using predetermined satellite coordinates.

A promising area for the use of GLONASS technologies are social systems that provide assistance to people with disabilities or young children. Using navigation equipment with a voice interface, a blind person can determine his way to a store, clinic, etc. Owners of such devices can, in the event of danger or a sharp deterioration in health, call for emergency help by pressing the panic button. A personal satellite tracker can help parents track their child's location online to monitor their safety.

AVIATION

In aviation, navigation receivers are integrated into on-board air navigation systems that provide route navigation and landing approaches in difficult weather conditions. Satellite navigation is of great importance for ensuring the landing of small aircraft at unequipped airfields. GLONASS-based navigation systems increase the safety of helicopter navigation and increase the accuracy of navigation of unmanned aerial vehicles.

WATER TRANSPORT

The use of GNSS technologies for marine/river purposes in Russia is approaching 100%. The capacity of the Russian market is estimated at 18,560 units of water transport, including cargo and passenger river and sea vessels. GLONASS technologies are used in navigation when guiding vessels and maneuvering in difficult conditions (locks, ports, canals, straits, ice conditions), navigation on inland waterways, monitoring and accounting of the fleet, and rescue operations.

The growth in traffic along the Northern Sea Route, which can significantly reduce the delivery time of goods from the Asia-Pacific region to Europe, leads to an increase in the intensity of shipping in an area with extremely harsh climatic conditions. In conditions of storms and dense fog, it is difficult to ensure the safety of ship traffic without satellite navigation.

GEODESY AND CARTOGRAPHY

GLONASS technologies are used in city and land cadastre, planning and management of territorial development, and for updating topographic maps. The use of GLONASS technologies speeds up and reduces the cost of creating maps and updating them - in some cases, there is no need for expensive aerial photography or labor-intensive topographic surveys. In the Russian Federation, the current market volume of geodetic equipment based on GNSS is estimated at 2.3 thousand units.

ENVIRONMENT

The scientific community actively uses navigation data for Earth observations and research. GLONASS promotes the development of methods and tools designed to solve fundamental problems of geodynamics, the formation of the Earth's coordinate system, building a model of the Earth, measuring tides, currents and sea level, determining and synchronizing time, localizing oil spills, and reclaiming land after hazardous waste disposal.

Navigation signals from GLONASS spacecraft play an important role in the study of seismic processes. Using satellite data, it is possible to record the processes of displacement of tectonic plates more accurately than through ground-based equipment. In addition, disturbances in the ionosphere, recorded using navigation satellites, provide scientists with data about approaching movements of the earth's crust. Thus, global satellite navigation makes it possible to predict earthquakes and minimize their consequences for humans. GLONASS-based technologies also help monitor roads and railways in avalanche-prone areas in mountainous areas.

SPACE NAVIGATION

In the space industry, GLONASS technologies are used to track launch vehicles, highly accurately determine the orbits of spacecraft, determine the orientation of a spacecraft relative to the Sun, and for precise observation, control and target designation of missile defense systems.

In particular, the following equipment is equipped with GLONASS or GLONASS/GPS satellite navigation equipment: the Proton-M launch vehicle, the Soyuz launch vehicle, the Breeze, Fregat, DM upper stages, and the Meteor-M spacecraft. , “Ionosphere”, “Canopus-ST”, “Condor-E”, “Bars-M”, “Lomonosov”, as well as railway mobile complexes used for transporting launch vehicles and rocket fuel components.

In the space industry, a large number of projects require high-precision knowledge of spacecraft orbits when solving problems of remote sensing of the Earth, reconnaissance, mapping, monitoring of ice conditions, emergency situations, as well as in the field of studying the Earth and the world ocean, building a high-precision dynamic model of the geoid, high-precision dynamic models of the ionosphere and atmosphere. At the same time, the accuracy of knowledge of the position of objects is required at the level of several centimeters; special methods for processing measurements of the GLONASS system from receivers located on board the spacecraft can successfully solve this problem.

CONSTRUCTION

In Russia, GLONASS technologies are used in monitoring construction equipment, as well as monitoring the displacement of the roadway, monitoring deformations of linear stationary objects, and in control systems for road construction equipment.

Satellite navigation services help in determining the location of geographic objects with centimeter accuracy when laying oil and gas pipelines, power lines, and clarifying terrain parameters during the construction of buildings and structures, and road construction. According to domestic and foreign experts, the use of GLONASS increases the efficiency of construction and cadastral work by 30-40%.

The use of GLONASS services allows you to quickly transmit information about the condition of complex engineering structures and potentially dangerous objects, such as dams, bridges, tunnels, industrial enterprises, and nuclear power plants. With the help of satellite monitoring, specialists receive timely information about the need for additional diagnostics of these structures and their repair.

COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

GLONASS is used for temporary logging of monetary transactions in stock, currency and commodity dealing. A continuous and accurate way of recording transfers and the ability to trace them is the basis of the operation of international trading systems for interbank trading. The largest investment banks use GLONASS to synchronize the computer networks of their divisions throughout Russia. The united MICEX-RTS exchange uses GLONASS time signals to accurately record quotes when making transactions. GLONASS equipment, used in the interests of telecommunications infrastructure, provides solutions to the problems of synchronization of communication networks.

WEAPONS

The GLONASS system is of particular importance for the efficiency of problem solving by the Armed Forces and special users. The system is used to solve problems of coordinate-time support for all types and branches of troops, including to increase the efficiency of the use of high-precision weapons, unmanned aircraft, and operational command and control of troops.