MUMBAI :When we think about navigation, what comes to mind is GPS, Google Maps, etc. Most navigations apps use the common GPS (Global Positioning System) to navigate and track distance and places. But many countries have worked on their own advanced and personal satellite navigation systems that make navigation easier and smoother. And now, even India has joined the bandwagon with its elite navigation system called NavIC developed by ISRO.
After 7 years of development and testing, it has finally been commercialised and can be found on smartphones, wearables, navigation systems and vehicles. It is all set to replace the standard GPS system and will prove to be more effective for the Indian subcontinent and its neighbours.
The project Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), better known as Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC), is an autonomous regional navigation satellite system that will provide accurate real-time positioning, timing services, and messaging. It covers the area of India and a region extending 1,500 km around it, and there are plans to extend its range.
The NavIC is designed with a constellation or network of 7 satellites stationed high up at an approximate altitude of 35 km from the earth’s surface, and a network of ground stations, consisting of the control centre, precise timing facility, range and integrity monitoring stations, two-way ranging stations, etc. ISRO maintains a line of sight with the satellites by rotating them at a fixed velocity. The satellites complete one entire rotation in 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds; exactly the same as that of Earth’s orbital period.
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Each satellite comes built with three Rubidium Atomic clocks that helps one calculate distance, time, and the precise position on the Earth using radio frequencies.
NavIC offers two different services: Standard Position Services (SPS) for civilians that uses L5 frequency to locate devices, smartphones, and some vehicles, and the Restricted Service (RS) for strategic users and the military that provides S-Band frequency which is encrypted and not for public use. ISRO is planning to add the L1 band frequency to the SPS system soon. NavIC has a position accuracy of 5-20 metres for L1 and L5 frequencies, and 0.5 metres for S-Band frequencies which is an amazing leap, and GPS does not come close.
Without a shadow of a doubt, NavIC is more accurate than the GPS, and the main reason is because of the direct line of sight that is maintained between India and the satellites all the time. Comparatively, the GPS has 31 satellites that rotate around the Earth at various degrees of inclination, so the signal takes time to reach a satellite, plus it keeps latching on to one satellite and then another (because GPS satellites complete a rotation faster, in 11 hours), which affects the accuracy. So India’s vast terrain won’t hinder the system because the satellites are directly above and faster.
What do you think about the NavIC system? If you have used the system, what is your experience of it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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