Hybridized-GNSS Approaches to Train Positioning: Challenges and Open Issues on Uncertainty

Abstract

In recent years, the development of advanced systems and applications has propelled the adoption of autonomous railway traffic and train positioning, with several ongoing initiatives and experimental testbeds aimed at proving the suitability and reliability of the Global Navigation Satellite System signals and services, in this specific application domain. To satisfy the strict safety and accuracy requirements aimed at assuring the position solution’s integrity, availability, accuracy and reliability, recent proposals suggest the hybridization of the Global Navigation Satellite System with other technologies. The integration with localization techniques that are expected to be available with the upcoming fifth generation mobile communication networks is among the most promising approaches. In this work, different approaches to the design of hybrid positioning solutions for the railway sector are examined, under the perspective of the uncertainty evaluation of the attained results and performance. In fact, the way the uncertainty associated to the positioning measurements performed by different studies is reported is often not consistent with the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement, and this makes it very difficult to fairly compare the different approaches in order to identify the best emerging solution. Under this perspective, the review provided by this work highlights a number of open issues that should drive future research activities in this field.