SPARTN
Secure Position Augmentation for Real Time Navigation
The SPARTN format is an industry-driven standard for communication of GNSS high accuracy correction data between service providers and end users
Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are satellite-based positioning systems that are currently providing global service 24 hours each day. Systems within GNSS include the Global Positioning System (GPS), the Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), Galileo Satellite System, the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), and the Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS). Many types of correction services exist to improve the accuracy of these systems. Among these are techniques that emerged from precise positioning approaches that do not require that the end user also set up some reference GNSS station or network. These positioning systems rely on service providers to gather and process information from numerous real-time sources and then broadcast the resulting correction data to the end user. The correction data is then used with the GNSS receiver measurements to allow accurate positioning/navigation with high reliability.
Until SPARTN there has not been an industry recognized standard that supports wide and global area broadcasts and other performance requirements. Modern positioning systems require a combination of low bandwidth, accuracy, availability, reliability, and integrity for safety of life applications. The SPARTN message format has been developed meeting these requirements. As a result, the SPARTN message format is an evolution of other legacy state space representation (SSR) formats that have been made available by different players in the GNSS industry. This evolution combines the advantages of state representation with state-of-art communication protocol fundamentals for GNSS corrections.
History
The SPARTN format was originally concepted under the name SAPA by Sapcorda Services in collaboration with member companies of the Sapcorda joint venture. Over time the format design evolved based upon collaboration and interoperability testing with other key companies in the industry.
Versions development and Roadmap
| Version | Description | Release | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Initial release of Orbit/Clock/Bias for GPS and GLONASS | March 2019 | Deprecated |
| 1.6.2 | High Precision Atmosphere Correction (HPAC) Messages Area Definitions | June 2019 | Deprecated |
| 1.8 | Encryption/Decryption of Messages Definition of Dynamic Key Messages Message Authentication Definition Basic Precision Atmosphere Correction (BPAC) Messages | December 2019 | Deprecated |
| 2.0 | Support to Galiileo, BeiDou, and QZSS Support to proprietary messages Redefinition of the standard name with “Secure” replacing “Safe” | June 2021 | Deprecated |
| 2.0.1 | Added note to indicate minimum implementation of the SPARTN format in section 6 Other minor editorial changes | September 2021 | Deprecated |
| 2.02 | Extended BDS signal types for code and phase biases with BeiDou 3 signals | February 2022 | Current version available through link below |
The SPARTN format is available to anyone
for download and distribution free of charge.
Reference material
Publications about SPARTN
- Vana, S. et al. (2019) “Analysis of GNSS Correction Data Standards for the Automotive Market“,
Journal of Navigation
Publications referring to SPARTN
- Seepersad, G. et al. (2019) “Assessing the Performance of GNSS Receivers with Legacy and Mass Market State Space Correction Services”, Proc of ION GNSS 2019, Miami, Florida
- Urquhart, L. et al. (2019) “Integrity for High Accuracy GNSS Correction Services“, Proc of the 2019 ITM, Reston, Virginia
- Volckaert, M. et al (2019) “Integrity of an RTK-INS Positioning System Using SSR Corrections for Safety-critical Automotive Applications”, Proc of the 2019 ION GNSS 2019, Miami, Florida
Companies/Organizations supporting SPARTN
- Bosch
- Geo++
- Mitsubishi Electric
- Sapcorda Services
- Septentrio
- u-blox