The first consumer anti-jamming and anti-spoofing product

[Lyle Brotherton]

I have spoken before about the lack of R&D resource the big consumer satnav manufacturers, such a Garmin, Satmap and Tom Tom, each allocate, if anything at all, to protecting their units from the increasing threat of jamming and spoofing.

Enter stage-left Chemring Technology Solutions, a company based in Poole in Dorset, and a subsidiary of the Chemring Group, who manufacture EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) equipment, including counter-IED (Improvised Explosive Device) and detection.

They have developed a product called GINCAN, which sounds appropriately British and like something you would take to Ascot

GINCAN is available in the consumer market. It simply replaces your satnavs antenna to mitigate any jamming or spoofing and it works with GPS, GLONASS and Galileo. This is Practical with an in-built car satnav, but not so easy with a handheld satnav.

However, GINCAN is also available as a 6mm2 chip, which could be incorporated into a new consumer satnav. I wonder if the consumer satnav manufacturers are now going to act responsibly and adopt this technology?

I am going to see if I can obtain a unit to trial it.

[Sandy Sanderson]

Lyle, this really grabs my attention, due to my job and the work I conduct with fixed GPS units onboard.

Just had a look at the website, and I could not see the method they are using to stop the anti-jamming/spoofing.

After a bit of googling I found a presentation about the GINCAN. 

https://connect.innovateuk.org/documents/3347783/3709538/gnss_anti_jam_tech_jones.pdf/56097f6d-1055-4897-9236-a3dc7490d60d

Its seems they will be employing a Controlled Radiation Pattern Antenna (CRPA) set up. Which nulls sectors on the antenna nullifying the jamming signal to allow the relative weak (compared to the jamming signal) GPS signal through.

Which while effective in preventing anti-jamming it also decreases the accuracy of the GNSS unit due to the loss of sectors and therefore satellites.

The link below to a NOVATEL White paper from 2012 explains it in a lot more detail.

http://www.novatel.com/assets/gajt/pdf/gajt-white-paper.pdf

Dependant on the price, this will either take off brilliantly with the consumer or it will fail.  I cannot personally think of reason why I would need anti-jamming capabilities when out walking, biking etc.

[Lyle Brotherton]

Thanks for the link Sandy

Sandy wrote: "Its seems they will be employing a Controlled Radiation Pattern Antenna (CRPA) set up. Which nulls sectors on the antenna nullifying the jamming signal to allow the relative weak (compared to the jamming signal) GPS signal through."

The military anti-jamming GPS kit I have experience of uses directional antennas that can be pointed directly at the satellites, reducing the receiver's sensitivity to jammers. However, these antennas are too expensive for most commercial applications, so GINCAN, as you say, could be a real breakthrough.

Sandy wrote: "I cannot personally think of reason why I would need anti-jamming capabilities when out walking, biking etc."

The reason I believe the likes of GINCAN are important for us when we are out in the great outdoors, is that if we are using our handheld satnavs to navigate we will usually be unaware if they are being spoofed (giving a false reported location) or jammed, rendering them useless, and the occurrence of jamming and spoofing is rapidly increasing, plus some folk - read a lot - rely solely on the handheld satnavs Sandy

Back in 2011 a government funded study, called Sentinel, identified on one stretch of motorway over 60 separate incidents of jamming were detected over a 6 month period, and it is estimated that there are now thousands of ‘personal’ jammers in use.

Because the GNSS signals originating from the satellites are so weak, so called ‘personal’ jammers can affect a large area.

In 2010 an engineering firm worker in New Jersey had a GPS jammer in his truck so his bosses don't know where he was all the time. However, his route took him close to Newark Airport and his 'personal' jammer interfered with the airport's landing system, leading to disruptions and an investigation spanning several months.

Plus of course there is legitimate jamming & spoofing and again, unless somebody has read this thread Satnav (GPS) Jamming Notices they will most likely be unaware of it.