The introduction of Galileo High Accuracy Service (HAS) is one of the most remarkable innovations that the Galileo system currently provides in the context of GNSS. Galileo HAS is a global positioning enhancement service that dramatically improves positioning accuracy for a wide range of users and industries, compared to most public GNSS services.
In essence, Galileo HAS enhances the already precise positioning, velocity and timing (PVT) capabilities of Galileo by providing real-time corrections for satellite orbits, clocks and biases through the E6-B signal. This means Galileo HAS-capable receivers can achieve horizontal accuracies of around 20 cm (95%) and vertical accuracies of about 40 cm (95%) in nominal conditions, far beyond the meter-level precision offered by standard GNSS services. Galileo HAS corrections are not only broadcast directly through Galileo satellite signals, but can also be accessed over the internet, giving users flexibility in how they receive improved positioning data.
The introduction of Galileo HAS offers advantages in a set of use cases that were previously reserved for private Precise Point Positioning (PPP) services, Differential GNSS (DGNSS) and other systems beyond standalone GNSS. These new use cases span a large number of industries, from agriculture to drones, logistics or, in ISLET’s case, maritime and IWW navigation. GNSS has been widely used in the Maritime and IWW industries for many years now. While baseline Galileo services can provide a valid positioning option for many applications, there are certain use cases that require higher accuracy than what the baseline services can provide. Although there are many reliable alternatives for this kind of service, most of them make use of a combination of one or more GNSS constellations plus an additional system, which may be paid services or a separate infrastructure, unlike Galileo with its High Accuracy System.
Galileo HAS can significantly outperform many baseline GNSS receivers at a fraction of the cost and difficulty of implementation of other high accuracy alternatives, while offering worldwide coverage. These features make Galileo HAS a great option for the use cases that will be tested throughout the ISLET project.
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