AIR Unveils Innovative BeiDou Navigation and Remote Sensing Platform to Revolutionize Industry Solutions

The Aerospace Information Research Institute (AIR) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences officially launched an advanced BeiDou Navigation and High-Resolution Remote Sensing Comprehensive Service Platform on September 21 during the inaugural Aerospace Information Technology Conference in Jinan, Shandong Province. 

Developed in collaboration with over 10 leading organizations, this cutting-edge platform combines the highly precise PPP-RTK （Precise Point Positioning - Real-Time Kinematic）technology of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) with advanced remote sensing capabilities. It promises to deliver highly accurate spatio-temporal data services to a wide range of industries, addressing the growing demand for more integrated, precise, and effective solutions.

Traditionally, satellites have focused on singular tasks, such as communication, navigation, or remote sensing. However, in today’s complex economies and societies, there is an increasing need for integrated solutions that go beyond single-function capabilities. Recognizing these challenges, the newly launched platform bridges gaps in existing technologies, by integrating "positioning-navigation-control-operation" with "observation-inversion-model-decision," while responding to real-world application needs.

The platform’s three-layer structure—data, information, and applications—caters to diverse industry requirements. It not only delivers precise BeiDou positioning services but also offers a comprehensive remote sensing data and information system, serving as a solid foundation for aerospace information services across various sectors.

A standout feature of this platform is its full-chain navigation integrity monitoring and early warning capabilities. Users, upon registration, can access these high-precision positioning services either through cloud-based systems or specialized positioning modules, ensuring reliable general positioning solutions for multiple applications.

In terms of remote sensing, the platform offers a "space-air integrated" data system by combining information from satellites, aircraft, and low-altitude sources.. This results in a multi-dimensional information framework, enabling detailed data analysis and offering customized remote sensing data tailored to user-specific needs.

Moreover, the platform consolidates specialized data from industries like agriculture, marine, and ecology, including essential information like soil moisture, marine buoy readings, and ecological indicators. It supports a variety of applications, from unmanned farming and precision agriculture, marine ranching and river-sea ecosystem management, delivering valuable insights and references for professionals and end-users alike.

LI Zishen, a researcher at AIR and head of the platform development team, highlighted the significance of the initiative: "We have brought together BeiDou’s high-precision navigation services, remote sensing data, industry-specific information, and hardware into one unified platform. This not only makes navigation and remote sensing services more accessible and cost-effective but also enhances production efficiency. By offering data tailored to specific industries, we aim to create integrated solutions that drive innovation and industrial integration in aerospace information technology."

The launch of this platform marks a significant leap forward in providing powerful, integrated navigation and remote sensing services, which are expected to enhance operational efficiency and support informed decision-making across industries.