Demand for drone technology has grown by leaps and bounds, be it for commercial use or military use. The Russian-Ukraine war has revealed the growing dependency of drones in warzones.
On the other hand, the developing countries are fast milking revenues from drone service market, through services like drone repair, drone training courses, package delivery by drones, drone advertising and marketing, drones for aerial photography, remote sensing, inspections and surveys.
Drone technology rely heavily on positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) for their services, making them vulnerable to jamming and spoofing. Once maneuvered, they can pose security threats and cause huge havoc on the defenseless places like border areas, war torn areas, and crashing on a critical facility or populated area.
Apart from that data theft is another area of concern for government institutions. Certain elements in society are always on the lookout for such opportunities, thus making them jam-proof is of utmost importance.
According to the ReportLinker, the global delivery drone services market grew from $3.49 billion in 2022 to $5.36 billion in 2023 at a CAGR of 53.5%. The delivery drone services market is expected to grow to $28.9 billion in 2027 at a CAGR of 52.4%.
In 2022, Asia-Pacific was the largest region in the delivery drone service market followed by Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America and Middle East and Africa.
“As drone jamming and spoofing are becoming daily events, militaries and global aviation regulatory agencies are toughening their requirements on navigational robustness,” states David Harel, CEO, Asio Technologies.
Asio Technologies is one of the leading developer and manufacturer of geospatial position systems encompassing navigation, positioning, mission planning, and mission management, for the defense and paramilitary markets.
Resilient PNT in drone operations
Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) is undoubtedly a critical element of tactical drone operations, as it gives the drone the data it needs to navigate and function properly. Without correct PNT data, the drone might be unable to use its real location, which, in turn, could cause problems with navigation, timing, and general performance and even lead to crashing.
Harel points out numerous ways to increase the resilience of PNT systems:
1. Utilizing various GNSS sources: E.g., a drone can be made more resistant to specific PNT failures or outages by utilizing different GNSS sources, such as GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou.
2. Using other/additional sensors: Drones might include extra sensors, including inertial navigation systems (INS) or barometric altimeters, to offer extra PNT data and boost the system’s overall robustness. Nevertheless, accuracy may drift over time due to the nature of those solutions.
3. Drones may add Optical – GEO Referencing navigation capabilities that do not drift and provide a robust alternative to GNSS navigation.
4. Incorporating redundant systems may ensure that a backup system can be used in the event of a system failure.
5. Including protection measures: To protect the GNSS signals from malicious or unintentional interference, techniques like encryption and jammer protection might be included. Nevertheless, those measures are effective to some degree and might always be interfered if the other side makes enough effort.
Harel says, “It’s vital to remember that the precise method for boosting PNT resilience will depend on the demands and limitations (for example, its load capabilities) unique to the drone system and any potential dangers and threats.”
Advent of VPS and other technologies
The recent development of VPS and other navigation technologies is transforming the world of drone positioning services, driven by factors such as limitations of GPS, increasing demand for precise positioning, and advancements in related technologies.
Those are required by both the military as well as civil requirements. However, GPS is still likely to remain an important component of PNT systems for the foreseeable future as it is cost-affordable for various civil applications.
For military usage, GNSS systems are likely to be augmented with redundant position capabilities to secure mission success. Over the years, numerous advances in PNT innovation have been made, including improvements in GPS technology, the development of new GNSS constellations, and the introduction of complementary positioning technologies like VPS, Optical Flow, INS, and SLAM.
Drawbacks/ operational constraints of GPS
“The restriction can be divided mainly into two factors: Man-made factors and natural ones,” adds Harel.
The main Man-made factors are Jamming and spoofing, which can compromise the drone operation, kidnap it, or even crash it. Since jammers can be found on the internet for less than 100 USD, it is pretty affordable and available.
Natural restrictions are disruptions caused by different environment-related conditions. For example, in urban canyons and densely populated or metropolitan regions, GPS signals may influence its accuracy and availability due to reflection and scattering, in which GPS scatter by buildings and other structures, leading to phase and amplitude distortions as well as multipath interference.
The workaround to overcome this problem is mainly to incorporate redundant navigation capabilities, particularly reliable Optical – Geo Referencing capabilities that do not rely on external signal and do not drift over time.
https://www.geospatialworld.net/prime/drones-navigation-solutions-defense-paramilitary/
