Блог

GLONASS system what is it and how does it work?

GLONASS is a Russian development that provides precise positioning of an object in space with minimal error. To determine the coordinates, special equipment is used, which, with the support of ground infrastructure, communicates with a network of satellites placed in Earth orbit.

How the GLONASS system works in Russia

The system is designed to serve military and “civilian” users. For the operation of the global network, ground equipment and satellites are used - today there are 24 of them. They interact with end users through client devices - navigators, trackers, “beacons” and so on.
GLONASS satellites
The satellites used in GLONASS:
  • are located at an altitude of 19,400 kilometers;
  • are deployed on three orbital planes and tilted at 64.8 degrees - this is done for more complete coverage of the polar region, where much of the Russian Federation is located;
  • transmit a signal with a 38 degree directionality, circular polarization is right-handed.
To determine the geo-coordinates with a sufficient degree of accuracy, it is enough to connect with at least four satellites. The system sets the longitude and latitude, the altitude of the object and the time at which these parameters are taken, the message with the indicators is sent to the receiving client devices. They, comparing the time of sending and receiving, determine the distance to the satellites and, thanks to this - the location of the object on which they are installed. This is how the moving equipment is monitored and the coordinates are set. The measurement error differs by 10 or more meters, depending on climatic factors, safety restrictions, quality of reception equipment and other factors. User devices receive two types of signals - FDMA and CDMA. They, in turn, can be open and protected, particularly accurate, transmit messages in different signal formats.

How the system differs from GPS

GLONASS-monitoring on the principle of measurement is almost similar to the second global complex - GPS. However, there is a difference between them. First of all, it is the position of constellations. American Navistar satellites are located on six planes, their orbits are circular. Due to this in each point of the globe provided reception of at least 6 of the 24 devices, because of which they say about the greater accuracy of GPS. The specific indicator depends on many factors, so it is reasonable to use both systems to improve the quality of measurements.
  • lack of resonance of satellites - there is no synchronization, so the stability of the satellites is higher, they do not need to be corrected during the whole lifetime (but it is lower than that of the American system);
  • greater, in comparison with GPS, cheapness of equipment to support the system operation, which provides financial profitability for commercial users;
  • better protection against failures due to functioning on other frequencies and signal separation - this reduces the risk of signal loss and degradation due to natural, architectural and technical obstacles;
  • taking into account the needs of Russian users, current legislation of the Russian Federation and so on.

Where GLONASS monitoring is used

Tracking the location of stationary and moving objects is the main practical function of the system. It can be used to determine the location of users who are in places where cell phones do not work. Expenses for operation of devices supporting the GLONASS system are minimal - it is free of charge. Monitoring - control of the position and movement of moving objects - is used in the government, defense sector, as well as in business purposes, to optimize the work of transport of enterprises, companies, logistics and freight services. Devices for communication with GLONASS are installed on private and commercial vehicles. In the second case, the company-owner of the fleet gets access to a flexible and modern tool to optimize transport costs.
Montrans Analytics
The main functions of the monitoring business system: end-to-end tracking of vehicles moving along commercial routes - determination of location, deviations from the specified path, downtime determination of the technical condition of vehicles from the company's fleet and recording of fuel consumption in “real time” with the help of special sensors synchronized with the global system; organization of continuous dispatch control over the work of the fleet;  protection of vehicles from theft, improving the safety of passenger and cargo transportation, etc.