R-Mode Baltic 2

R-Mode Baltic 2 improved the earlier introduced alternative to satellite navigation systems and helped shippers navigate safer in the Baltic Sea.

Project summary

As the Baltic Sea is known for frequent shipping accidents like groundings, collisions and other types of accidents, the challenge was to prevent and minimise the accidents´ frequency. The causes of the accidents are partly related to human-driven failures and partly to technical inefficiencies. The maritime users expressed their need in more optimal solutions to ensure more accurate positioning, navigation, and time information.

While navigating, the ships need to ensure safety when the established Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) fail due to interference or jamming. A technical system that would allow for safe ship navigation under these conditions was lacking. Signal disturbances would cause wrong positioning or temporary outages of the GNSS positioning equipment. The forerunner project R-Mode Baltic tackled the challenges related to disturbances and developed a new independent of GNSS system that would allow a safe and more accurate positioning.

R-Mode Baltic 2 launched a long-term evaluation of the test bed for a terrestrial positioning system called ranging mode (R-Mode), and to this end equipped ships with R-Mode ready receivers and maritime applications from the R-Mode Baltic project.

Budgets

R-Mode Baltic 2
in numbers

0.70

Million

Total
0.47

Million

Erdf
0.00

Million

Eni + Russia
0.05

Million

Norway

Achievements

The navigation in the Southern Baltic Sea is safer and more reliable thanks to the R-Mode (Ranging Mode) test bed and its extension in the R-Mode Baltic 2 project. During the 9-month project duration, the project team developed its R-Mode research receiver platforms further so that it meets the requirements of national maritime administrations for the monitoring of the R-Mode transmitters. It will enable real-time calibration of an R-Mode station and supports experiments for self-synchronisation.

Furthermore, the first step from a contingency towards a backup system was put into practice, completely independent of GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) operation. Static and dynamic measurements were used to evaluate the R-Mode system and service performance over several months by the project. With these results, a further evaluation of the R-Mode system performance can take place, which would allow for its increased accuracy and independence from GNSS.

Outputs

Report on R-Mode Baltic testbed extension, evaluation, synchronisation and standardisation

The report describes the current status of the R-Mode Baltic test bed. It contains the results of the long-term test bed evaluation and its capabilities, which can be used further by the national maritime administrations in the Baltic Sea region as a reference for the R-Mode implementation. The report also brings information about the R-Mode system development to manufacturers of navigation-related technologies and timing solutions. The document includes important guidance on the overview of possible problems and necessary maintenance. It can be used as a reference for the further development of operational systems. Besides, it provides valuable considerations for maritime agencies of the countries in the region, that can be applied while planning their national strategies for safer and cleaner seafaring.

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Monitor stations for R-Mode transmitter

In the course of project activities, the partnership also worked on the overall extension of the R-Mode system consisting of transmitters and monitors. As the R-Mode Baltic project mainly addressed the transmitters component, R-Mode Baltic 2 was focusing on testing the monitors. Permanent monitor sites were installed in Sweden (Holmsjö, Hoburg), and Germany (Groß Mohdorf, Großkönigsförde/Zecherin). Furthermore, temporary monitors were installed for research reasons in Neustrelitz (Germany) and Jastania (Poland). All stations were able to monitor the R-Mode signals. The R-Mode monitors are an essential part of the R-Mode test bed which is planned to be moved to an operational system in the future. The monitoring stations concept will be used as input for the R-Mode standardisation.

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