ISRO Developing New Navigation System Using Ground-Based ‘Pseudolites’ For Aircraft

Following in the wake of its success in launching the satellite-based Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, which is now known as the Navigation Indian Constellation (NavIC), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is looking to create a Pseudolite Based Navigation System (PBNS) which is intended to aid navigation for the aerospace industry, reports The New Indian Express.

PBNS will comprise of Pseudolites, short for pseudo satellites. These are ground-based devices which perform the same functions as a conventional satellite.

After the project is successfully concluded, PBNS will be able to give coordinates to aircraft and drones to aid them in navigation.

As per former ISRO chairman A S Kiran Kumar, who was addressing the ‘Indian Space Programme and Future Technologies Needed to Grounded Aerospace Activities’ conference, tests are presently ongoing to set up the system at major airports throughout the country.

He explained that PBNS would generate on-ground reference signals which could be picked up by any aircraft going through Indian airspace.

He added that ISRO is collaborating with the Aeronautical Society of India and private sector partners to develop the technology at a quick pace.

He also commented on NavIC, revealing that there was already a phone available in the market which was using the system for navigation. He predicted that in the future the system’s services would be accessible from any phone.