MAGICA project: development of a Multi-frequency Automotive GNSS Integrated Cost effective Antenna

The present work describes the Multi-frequency Automotive GNSS Integrated Cost-effective Antenna (MAGICA) project and the first results. This is a two years project that started in August 2020 under the sponsorship of the European GNSS Agency (GSA) and within the framework of Fundamental Elements. The main objective of the project is to go beyond the state of the art. For the first time, it will provide a cost-effective high precision positioning antenna providing multi-frequency (L1/E1, L5/E5a/E5b & E6), multi-constellation (Galileo, GPS, BeiDou & GLONASS) characteristics, and phase stability as the most relevant performance features. Moreover, the antenna will be commercially ready to be integrated into a vehicle for Autonomous Driving operation. The proposed antenna will increase the number of frequency bands that are offered to the GNSS receivers of the vehicles today. It will include the E6 band of Galileo, providing, in this manner, not only more accurate but also safer positioning due to the authentication service.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version