NEXESS

The strategic context of the NEXESS project involves addressing the current geopolitical landscape and ensuring Europe maintains critical knowledge and benefits from technological advancements. The motivation is to strengthen Europe’s position in the semiconductor market by developing an EU based supply chain and focusing on loT edge technology. This project aims to enhance the robustness and security of GNSS technologies by integrating the Open Signal Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA) service. This integration protects against GNSS signal falsification, improving resilience against spoofing. By ensuring secure GNSS signals for precision farming and forestry management, there will be improves in efficiency and reducing environmental impact. For Infrastructure Monitoring, accurate GNSS data from NEXESS will enhance the stability and safety of critical structures like bridges and dams through secure monitoring. About Environmental Monitoring, a trustworthy GNSS data is crucial for tracking environmental changes and managing natural resources, aiding in conservation and sustainability efforts. For Asset Tracking, NEXESS provides a more secure location data in logistics and supply chains, preventing disruptions and improving efficiency. Through these efforts, the NEXESS project addresses current challenges in GNSS technology and lays the groundwork for future advancements. By securing the semiconductor supply chain and enhancing GNSS functionalities, the project positions Europe as a leader in both the semiconductor industry and loT edge technology.

The NEXESS project aims to integrate and demonstrate the OSNMA service within the Qualinx Kratos chip, an ultra-low power GNSS core. This integration enhances GNSS robustness and security, addressing threats of signal falsification and spoofing. The project involves developing algorithms to seamlessly incorporate OSNMA, ensuring real-time signal authentication and reliable defense against interference. Extensive testing and validation phases will simulate various conditions to ensure the chip's reliability for modern GNSS applications. In summary, the NEXESS project focuses on integrating and demonstrating OSNMA within the Kratos chip, enhancing GNSS signal reliability and security for various applications.

Challenge and technical solution

The main challenges addressed include GNSS signal falsification, power consumption issues in GNSS integration, and ensuring the reliability of location data in loT devices. The technical solution involves developing and gualifying the Kratos chip with OSNMA functionality, leveraging single-chip its architecture to facilitate the development of embedded code. This solution targets both short-range and wide-area loT applications, enhancing GNSS signal robustness and reliability through cryptographic defenses and the TESLA authentication.