Spirent Communications, the leader in navigation and positioning test solutions, today announced the availability of test systems with support for China’s BeiDou-2 (also known as Compass) Navigation Satellite System in addition to GPS, Glonass and Galileo.
Spirent has been shipping BeiDou-2-ready test systems to customers since 2012. The solution will now be upgraded to full BeiDou-2 capability using the information from the recently-released first full issue of the BeiDou-2 Signal-In-Space Interface Control Document (ICD).
“Spirent has successfully demonstrated BeiDou-2 in simulation systems at its offices in Beijing, China,” said Stuart Smith, product manager for Spirent’s positioning and navigation group. “Prior to the ICD release we used recorded navigation data to enable our systems to drive a full BeiDou-2 receiver and qualify the implementation. With the release of ICD information, navigation data is generated automatically, as with the other constellations that the system simulates.”
Spirent’s BeiDou-2 system includes testing for Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) – GPS, Glonass and Galileo, as well as IRNSS, QZSS and SBAS along with options such as interference generation, MEMS sensor simulation and systems targeted at transport segments.
BeiDou system
The BeiDou navigation system, sometimes known as Compass, is a project by China that is being deployed in three phases. BeiDou-2 (the second phase) supports regional operation from a network of geostationary, medium earth orbit and inclined orbit satellites. BeiDou-2 adds to the benefits from “Multi-GNSS” where increased accuracy, availability and integrity are possible from using separate, but inter-operable GNSS systems.
As with any other GNSS, systems using BeiDou require testing. As well as testing the BeiDou stand-alone operation, Spirent’s