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Research Focus

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Stanford is widely considered by many as the world’s leading institution performing GPS and PNT research today. It all started in the early 1990’s. The early research included:

  • Use of GPS for Spacecraft Attitude and Translation Control

  • Autonomous Aircraft

  • Airplane Navigation, Takeoffs & Landings

  • Precision Farming / Agriculture

  • En-route Flight Safety

  • GPS Augmentation Systems (WAAS and LAAS)

In the last 10+ years the research includes:

  • WAAS and SBAS Augmentation Systems

  • Cyber Safety for Transportation including anti-spoofing & jamming

  • Alternative PNT

  • Time and Time Transfer

  • IMU Development & Testing

  • Multi-Constellation GNSS

  • GNSS Software Receiver

… and more recently:

  • Marine Animals Tracking

  • Positive Train Control

Today there are over 3 billion users of GPS.  GPS, GNSS and PNT have become a de facto utility. We expect the Lab's PNT research to continue to evolve as demand for accurate position location and time is desired and/or required in more-and-more applications worldwide.

The Current and Continuing GPS/PNT Research pages in this section describe the various new and ongoing research projects in the GPS Lab.

The Early GPS/PNT Research pages in this section describe research projects from the formative years of the GPS Lab in the decades of 1990 and 2000.