GINAN – ON POINT FOR PRECISE POINT POSITIONING

FrontierSI is very pleased to continue to support the work of Geoscience Australia in the development of the Ginan software toolkit and correction service. The Ginan team is a successful collaboration between several of Australia’s leading spatial organisations and is on track to deliver version 2.0 of the software by the middle of 2023.

Ginan version 2.0 is significant in that it will deliver real-time processing of observations from all the GNSS constellations without differencing or combining the code and carrier wave data.

Version 1.5.3 of Ginan is available now from the Geoscience Australia Ginan GitHub repository. The improvements that will be delivered by version 2.0 include:

• Unified User and Network operation modes (One Observation Model & Filter),
• Full Multi-Constellation capability,
• Better internal frequency indexing (complete multi-frequency capability),
• UnCombined / UnDifferenced (UDUC) processing (v1.5.3 is Ionosphere-free only),
• Integrated and coupled Precise Orbit Determination capability (POD),
• More robust data handling in the filter for cycle slip and outlier detection and removal,
• Complete RTCM3 phase 1 and Phase 2 message decoding and encoding,
• Satellite Laser Ranging data handling fully implemented,
• Performance improvements,
• Numerous bug fixes.

GINAN AND THE NATIONAL POSITIONING INFRASTRUCTURE CAPABILITY (NPIC)

NPIC provides a unified approach to the management of the nation’s positioning infrastructure. This ensures that consistent, fit-for-purpose data and services are available to government, business and academia.

Through NPIC:

• Everyone has access to high-quality data and services from certified reference stations,
• Coverage of positioning services is consistent between providers,
• Service costs can be lowered due to free and open data,
• Service providers have increased flexibility to tailor offerings to different industry sectors,
• Station operators are supported in the establishment, operation and sharing of their infrastructure.

Ginan is a kit of open-source tools that are used to analyse GNSS data in real-time and generate products that support precise positioning solutions. Within the NPIC ecosystem, Ginan is being used to validate and verify the quality of data coming from the NPIC network, ensuring that consumers are only accessing data that can be trusted.

Ginan is also being used to generate models of error sources in real-time that are broadcast over the internet as an openly accessible correction service – available for research and innovation. Other potential use cases for Ginan are given in the figure below:

GEOSCIENCE AUSTRALIA’S POSITIONING AUSTRALIA PROGRAM

Geoscience Australia is bringing the benefits of space-based technology down to earth, through its Positioning Australia program.  Geoscience Australia’s Positioning Australia program is accelerating the adoption and development of positioning technology and applications in Australia. By enhancing the accuracy and reliability of positioning in Australia, it is enabling innovative technologies across a range of industries that accelerate economic growth.

The program enables government, industry and the community to draw on Geoscience Australia’s trusted positioning data to support innovation, improve workplace and community safety, increase productivity and accelerate economic growth for our nation.

In time, Positioning Australia will improve positioning accuracy from 5 to 10 metres, to 3 to 5 centimetres in areas with mobile phone and internet coverage that can deliver the Geoscience Australia position correction data.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Ginan is named after the fifth-brightest star in the Southern Cross. Geoscience Australia’s National Positioning Infrastructure Branch Head Dr Martine Woolf said that the software name is a gift from the Wardaman people of the Northern Territory. Ginan is a Wardaman word and the star is an important star in Wardaman culture as it represents a red dilly-bag full of songs and knowledge.

The software can be accessed at the Geoscience Australia Ginan GitHub repository.

More information is available from Ginan.au.

Contact FrontierSI at contact@frontiersi.com.au, or connect with Geoscience Australia, either through Positioning Australia – the Director, GNSS Analysis, Dr Anna Riddell and Technical Lead, Dr Simon McClusky, at positioningaustralia@ga.gov.au.