Q: To start, can you explain why GNSS has become so critical for civil applications today?

A: GNSS really sits at the heart of many civil applications today. It’s no longer just about navigation – it also underpins precise timing, synchronization, automation, and a wide range of safety-critical functions. Industries such as aviation, automotive, smart mobility, telecommunications, energy, and agriculture all depend heavily on GNSS – whether it be legacy or LEO signals. As that dependence increases, ensuring systems continue to perform reliably in all operating conditions has become a key concern for civil sector users.

Q: In this context, what role does GNSS signal simulation play for civil applications?

A: What simulation brings, first and foremost, is control. It allows engineers to test and validate GNSS-based systems in realistic environments, but without relying on live signals. With simulation, you can reproduce complex or degraded conditions – challenging vehicle dynamics, interference, difficult environments, constellation changes – in a fully repeatable way. This is extremely valuable for development, validation, and certification, as it helps teams identify issues early, reduce field testing, and ultimately shorten development cycles.

Q: What are the key technological characteristics of modern GNSS simulators?

A: Modern GNSS simulators can generate highly realistic RF GNSS signals in real time. This means accurately modeling satellite constellations (both MEO and LEO), signal structures, navigation messages, and timing behavior across multiple constellations and frequencies at once. High iteration rates and low latency are especially important when you want to reflect real-world dynamics or run hardware-in-the-loop tests.

Safran’s Skydel-powered simulators, like the GSG-7, provides users a great deal of flexibility. Scenarios can be easily configured or automated, and a fully-documented API (Application Programming Interface) makes it straightforward to integrate simulations into lab, validation, or even production test environments. For civil users, this translates into faster testing, more realistic scenarios, and very consistent results.

Q: What are the concrete benefits of Skydel-based simulators for civil-sector users, and can you share an example from precision agriculture?

A: In practical terms, Skydel-based simulators (like the GSG-7 or GSG-8 Gen2) help civil-sector users test GNSS-based systems in a safe, repeatable, and cost-effective way. It reduces reliance on field trials and allows performance to be accurately assessed under controlled conditions before deployment.

Precision agriculture is a great example of how a GNSS simulator can vastly improve the accuracy and reliability of applications such as automated guidance, section control, and variable-rate operations. In addition, a Skydel simulator like the GSG-8 Gen2 with dual antenna capabilities is ideal for  simulating the high-accuracy techniques often used in precision agriculture such as RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) or PPP (Precise-Point Positioning) — including correction streams, convergence behavior, vehicle dynamics, and satellite geometry. This makes it possible to evaluate guidance accuracy at the 2-3 cm level, check pass-to-pass repeatability within a few centimeters, and study PPP convergence times ranging from a few minutes to several tens of minutes, depending on the PA scenario.

The result is greater confidence that equipment will deliver reliable, centimeter-level precision once it’s in the field, helping farmers improve efficiency and productivity.