GLONASS Signals Research Articles

EVALUATION OF THE PERFORMANCE OF MULTI-GNSS ADVANCED ORBIT AND CLOCK AUGMENTATION – PRECISE POINT POSITIONING (MADOCA-PPP) IN JAPAN REGION

For users of Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Multi-GNSS Advanced Orbit and Clock Augmentation PPP signals provide corrective data. When using the PPP approach and/or PPP-Ambiguity Resolution (AR) method, the QZSS signal provides globally applicable error corrections on satellite orbit, clock offset, and code/phase biases. In addition, from FY2024, as a part of the MADOCA-PPP technology demonstration, wide-area ionospheric correction data will be provided for the Asia-Oceania region. A software estimator of precise satellite information developed by JAXA, Multi-GNSS Advanced Demonstration Tool for Orbit and Clock Analysis (MADOCA), allows u-blox CO99-ZED-F9P and MSJ 3008-GM4-QZS utilizing MADOCA-PPP to be used in GNSS applications that need sub-decimetre precision but don’t have to be expensive. Errors caused by positioning satellites are computed by using observation data from domestic and overseas GNSS monitoring station networks such as IGS and MIRAI, and obtained correction data is transmitted from QZSS signal to provide highly precise positioning augmentation services that can be used in the Asia-Oceania Region. Users may utilize the PPP technique for high-precision locating by employing a GNSS receiver that supports the QZSS signals. This paper describes an experiment carried out with the static method to combine GPS, GLONASS, and QZSS signals in the project site (ISHI, USUD and MIZU stations in Japan). This paper examines the GPS/GLONASS/QZSS obtainable accuracy. These obtained results indicate that integrating GPS system with GLONASS and QZSS is favoured for surveying applications. It appears that integrating GPS/GLONASS/QZSS (MADOCA precise ephemeris file) static measurements in the study area between 0–4 millimetres accuracy can be guaranteed on all occasions.

Disturbances of GLONASS and GPS signals during magnetic storm on March 23—24, 2023, according to observations on the Kola peninsula

The growth of scintillations of GLONASS and GPS satellite signals using the Septentrio GNSS receiver installed in the city of Apatity during a strong magnetic storm on March 23—24, 2023, is analyzed. According to the ionosonde data at the Lovozero station and the data of the EISCAT radar in Tromsø, it was shown that the growth of phase scintillations is caused by an increase in the plasma concentration mainly in the E-layer of the ionosphere. The growth of phase scintillations is accompanied by the appearance of discrete forms of auroras.

Detection of GNSS ionospheric scintillations in multiple directions over a low latitude station

Abstract Analysis of huge data and detection of scintillation events by human visualization is expensive and time consuming process and also unfeasible in real time. In this paper, classical approaches namely Hard, Semi-Hard and Manual annotation rules are used for detection of the scintillations. For this, one week data is acquired from Septentrio PoLaRx5S GNSS scintillation monitoring Receiver corresponding to various constellations. Seven constellations namely GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, SBAS, BeiDou, QZSS and IRNSS-L5 signals during pre-sunset and post sunset hours are considered. The occurrence of scintillations due to pre-sunset and post sunset period by using hard and semi hard detection rules are analysed. It is observed that the occurrence of scintillations is more in post-sunset hours as compared to pre-sunset hours in all constellations. The performances of Semi Hard and Hard detection rules are compared with manual annotation by using confusion matrices statistical parameters namely accuracy, misclassification and precision. Identified scintillation signals coming from the least and worst affected directions. These results would be useful for early detection of scintillation without human inspection of scintillation events.

Multi-constellation GNSS interferometric reflectometry for tidal analysis: mitigations for K1 and K2 biases due to GPS geometrical errors

It has been observed that when using sea levels derived from GPS (Global Positioning System) signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) data to perform tidal analysis, the luni-solar semidiurnal (K2) and the luni-solar diurnal (K1) constituents are biased due to geometrical errors in the reflection data, which result from their periods coinciding with the GPS orbital period and revisit period. In this work, we use 18 months of GNSS SNR data from multiple frequencies and multiple constellations at three sites to further investigate the biases and how to mitigate them. We first estimate sea levels using SNR data from the GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo signals, both individually and by combination. Secondly, we conduct tidal harmonic analysis using these sea-level estimates. By comparing the eight major tidal constituents estimated from SNR data with those estimated from the co-located tide-gauge records, we find that the biases in the K1 and K2 amplitudes from GPS S1C, S2X and S5X SNR data can reach 5 cm, and they can be mitigated by supplementing GLONASS- and Galileo-based sea-level estimates. With a proper combination of sea-level estimates from GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo, SNR-based tidal constituents can reach agreement at the millimeter level with those from tide gauges.

TESTING THE CONTRIBUTION, ACCURACY AND PERFORMANCE OF MGEX (GNSS (GPS+GLONASS+GALILEO+BEIDOU+QZSS)) POSITIONING IN THE STUDY REGION

The European Commission (EC) originally proposed ideas for a European Galileo satellite navigation system in 1999. A four-phase development is planned, involving investment from both the public and commercial sectors. Galileo is intended for both public and government use; the system is administered and operated by civil administration. Galileo will consist of a constellation of 30 satellites, a number of globally situated ground stations, and a ground control and monitoring system – all of which are quite similar to the structure, format, and layout of GPS. This document discusses an experiment at the project site that used the static approach to integrate GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, Beidou, and QZSS signals. This research analyses the possible precision of GPS-only and GPS/GLONASS/GALILEO/Beidou/QZSS. These results suggest that combining a GPS system with GALILEO, GLONASS Beidou, and QZSS is preferable for surveying purposes. Integrating GPS/GLONASS/GALILEO/Beidou/QZSS static measurements in the study region with 0–120 millimetre accuracy looks to be possible in three days.

Enhanced GNSS Reliability on High-Dynamic Platforms: A Comparative Study of Multi-Frequency, Multi-Constellation Signals in Jamming Environments

The global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals are vulnerable to disruption sources, such as signal jamming. This, in turn, can cause severe degradation or discontinuities of the GNSS-based position, navigation, and timing services. The availability of multi-frequency signals from multi-constellation GNSS systems, such as Galileo and GLONASS, along with the modernization of GPS with multi-frequency signals, has the potential to increase the immunity of GNSS-based navigation systems to signal jamming. Despite various studies completed on the utilization of multi-frequency and multi-constellation global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals to resist receiver jamming, there is still an urge to further investigate this concern under different circumstances. This paper presents an experimental evaluation of the advantages of the employment of multi-frequency multi-constellation GNSS signals for better GNSS receivers’ performance during signal jamming situations for high-dynamic platforms such as aircraft/drones. Additionally, the study examines the effects of both simulated and real jamming signals on all possible combinations of the GPS, Galileo, and GLONASS signal frequencies and constellations. Two airplane trajectory routes were built, and their corresponding RF signals were generated using the Spirent and Orolia GNSS signal simulators. The results indicated that the GPS multi-frequency-based solution maintains reliable positioning performance to some extent under low jamming scenarios. However, the combination of GPS, Galileo, and GLONASS signals proved its ability to provide a continuous and accurate positioning solution during both low and high jamming scenarios.

Influence of geomagnetic disturbances on scintillations of GLONASS and GPS signals as observed on the Kola Peninsula

We have compared effects of geomagnetic disturbances during magnetic storms of various types (CME and CIR) and during an isolated substorm on scintillations of GLONASS and GPS signals, using a Septentrio PolaRx5 receiver installed in Apatity (Murmansk Region, Russia). We analyze observational data for 2021. The magnetic storms of November 3–4, 2021 and October 11–12, 2021 are examined in detail. The November 3–4, 2021 magnetic storm was one of the most powerful in recent years. The analysis shows that the scintillation phase index reaches its highest values during nighttime and evening substorms (σϕ≈1.5–1.8), accompanied by a negative bay in the magnetic field. During magnetic storms, positive bays in the magnetic field, associated with an increase in the eastward electrojet, lead, however, to quite comparable values of the phase scintillation index.
 An increase in phase scintillations during nighttime and evening disturbances correlates with an increase in the intensity of ULF waves (Pi3/Pc5 pulsations) and with the appearance of aurora arcs. This confirms the important role of ULF waves in forming the auroral arc and in developing ionospheric irregularities. The predominance of the green line in the spectrum of auroras indicates the contribution of disturbances in the ionospheric E layer to the scintillation increase. Pulsating auroras, associated with ionospheric disturbances in the D layer, do not lead to a noticeable increase in phase scintillations. Analysis of ionospheric critical frequencies according to ionosonde data from the Lovozero Hydrometeorological Station indicates the contribution of the sporadic Es layer of the ionosphere to jumps in phase scintillations.
 The difference between phase scintillation values on GLONASS and GPS satellites during individual disturbances can be as great as 1.5 times, which may be due to different orbits of the satellites. At the same time, the level of GLONASS/GPS scintillations at the L2 frequency is higher than at the L1 frequency. We did not find an increase in the amplitude index of scintillations during the events considered.

Влияние геомагнитных возмущений на сцинтилляции сигналов ГЛОНАСС и GPS спутников по данным наблюдений на Кольском полуострове

We have compared effects of geomagnetic disturbances during magnetic storms of various types (CME and CIR) and during an isolated substorm on scintillations of GLONASS and GPS signals, using a Septentrio PolaRx5 receiver installed in Apatity (Murmansk Region, Russia). We analyze observational data for 2021. The magnetic storms of November 3–4, 2021 and October 11–12, 2021 are examined in detail. The November 3–4, 2021 magnetic storm was one of the most powerful in recent years. The analysis shows that the scintillation phase index reaches its highest values during nighttime and evening substorms (σϕ≈1.5–1.8), accompanied by a negative bay in the magnetic field. During magnetic storms, positive bays in the magnetic field, associated with an increase in the eastward electrojet, lead, however, to quite comparable values of the phase scintillation index.
 An increase in phase scintillations during nighttime and evening disturbances correlates with an increase in the intensity of ULF waves (Pi3/Pc5 pulsations) and with the appearance of aurora arcs. This confirms the important role of ULF waves in forming the auroral arc and in developing ionospheric irregularities. The predominance of the green line in the spectrum of auroras indicates the contribution of disturbances in the ionospheric E layer to the scintillation increase. Pulsating auroras, associated with ionospheric disturbances in the D layer, do not lead to a noticeable increase in phase scintillations. Analysis of ionospheric critical frequencies according to ionosonde data from the Lovozero Hydrometeorological Station indicates the contribution of the sporadic Es layer of the ionosphere to jumps in phase scintillations.
 The difference between phase scintillation values on GLONASS and GPS satellites during individual disturbances can be as great as 1.5 times, which may be due to different orbits of the satellites. At the same time, the level of GLONASS/GPS scintillations at the L2 frequency is higher than at the L1 frequency. We did not find an increase in the amplitude index of scintillations during the events considered.

A study on the quality of GNSS signals for extracting the sea level height and tidal frequencies utilizing the GNSS-IR approach

Coastal global navigation satellite system (GNSS) stations equipped with a standard geodetic receiver and antenna enable water level measurement using the GNSS interferometry reflectometry (GNSS-IR) technique. By using GNSS-IR, the vertical distance between the antenna and the reflector surface (e.g., water surface) can be obtained in the vertical (height) reference frame. In this study, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) data from four selected stations over three months are used for this purpose. We determined the predominant multipath frequency in SNR data that is obtained using Lomb–Scargle periodogram (LSP) method. The obtained sea surface heights (SSH) are assessed using tide gauge observations regarding accuracy and correlation coefficients. In this study, we investigated daily and hourly GNSS observations and used single frequencies of GPS (L1, L2 and L5), GLONASS (L1 and L2), Galileo (L1, L5, L6, L7 and L8), and BeiDou (L2 and L7) signals to estimate the SSH. The results show that the optimal signals for extracting the SSH are the L1 signal for the GPS, Galileo, and GLONASS systems and the L2 signal for the BeiDou system. The accuracy and correlation parameters for the optimal GPS signal in the daily mode are 2 cm and 0.87, respectively. The same parameters for the optimal GLONASS signal are 4 cm and 0.91. However, the obtained accuracy and correlation coefficients using the best Galileo and BeiDou signals are reduced, i.e., 4 cm and 0.88 using Galileo and 12 cm and 0.52 by employing the Galileo signals, respectively. Our results also show that the GPS L1 signal is more consistent with the tide gauge data. In the following, using the time series derived from the L1 signal and tide gauge readings, the tidal frequencies are extracted and compared using the Least Square Harmonic Estimation (LS-HE) approach. The findings demonstrate that 145 significant tidal frequencies can be extracted using the GNSS-IR time series. The existence of an acceptable correlation between the tidal frequencies of the GNSS-IR and the tide gauge time series indicates the usefulness of the GNSS-IR time series for tide studies. From our results, we can conclude that the GNSS-IR technique can be applied in coastal locations alongside tide gauge measurements for a variety of purposes.

Individual performance of multi-GNSS signals in the determination of STEC over Thailand with the applicability of Klobuchar model

• The Klobuchar-modeled STECs are estimated from GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou and QZSS signals. • The Klobuchar-modeled STEC values are compared with the GIM STEC values. • The correlation coefficient between the Klobuchar-modeled STECs and the GIM STECs reaches up to 0.89. • Among the five multi-GNSSs, the QZSS Klobuchar STEC values are closest to the GIM STEC values. Thailand is situated in the southern low latitude region in the Asian longitude sector having much importance as major portion of southern hemisphere is covered by ocean resulting in a sparse density of ground-based monitoring systems. With the establishment of GNSS monitoring stations across the Thailand and neighboring region, it accentuates the ionospheric variability study in the southern hemisphere in the Asian longitude. Therefore, in the current study, we selected four GNSS station located at different part of the country (i.e., CHMA, DPT9, NKRM, and SRTN) and studied the variations of ionospheric slant total electron content (STEC). Here, the STEC observations are estimated by Klobuchar model (namely, Klobuchar-modeled STEC values) and compared with the Global Ionospheric Map (GIM) STEC values for its validation. As an initial study, the Klobuchar-modeled STEC values obtained from five multi-constellation GNSSs over Thailand region (i.e., GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou and QZSS) are computed and compared with the GIM STEC values during the intense geomagnetic storm on May 12, 2021 (DOY 132) and during June 2020 to May 2021 for monthly variations. Moreover, to show the relationships between the proposed Klobuchar-modeled STEC values and the GIM STEC values, the correlation coefficients and the root mean square errors between them are computed. The results showed that among the five multi-constellations of GNSSs, the GIM STEC values frequently overestimate the Klobuchar-modeled STEC values, except the QZSS system with the least differences ranging from −10 TECU to 20 TECU. Also, the correlation coefficient between the proposed Klobuchar-modeled and GIM STEC variations span between 0.87 and 0.89, and their RMSEs range from 10 TECU to 11 TECU, excluding QZSS system with less than 10 TECU. The correlation coefficients of higher than 0.85 can be considered as a good indicator for the applicability of Klobuchar model in practice with multi constellation systems.

Пространство аномалийсигналов ГЛОНАСС L1/L2OF и L1/L3OC согласно модели аномалий ИКАО

Determining the GLONASS signal threat space is necessary for the operation of the signal quality monitor, which is a part of the station that generates differential corrections for these signals. To account for the threat effects on the signal, known as the Evil Waveform (EWF), a model recommended by ICAO is used. The thresholds for the EWF detection are determined according to the established limiting errors of differential measurements. The measuring path of the navigation receiver of the station is represented by a serial connection of a pre-correlation filter, including an antenna, and a tracking loop correlator, the discriminator of which is used to estimate the EWF error. Four types of filters with their numerical parameters and several values of the discrimination S-curve width are considered, which made it possible to obtain the results of the EWF impact for 84 variants of the path configuration for each signal. The maximum range of change in the values ??of the model parameters among all options, when the error exceeded the threshold, determined the desired threat space for each signal. It is concluded that the wider the signal spectrum, the smaller is its threat space. The presented way of determining the threat space is applicable to other signals of navigation systems.

Research of Processing Algorithms Navigation Information When Lost GLONASS Signals in the Measuring Complex Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Research of Processing Algorithms Navigation Information When Lost GLONASS Signals in the Measuring Complex Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

GLONASS\u2013only FDMA+CDMA RTK: Performance and outlook

An assessment of standalone GLONASS RTK performance is provided using its FDMA and CDMA signals. The new integer-estimable GLONASS FDMA model (Teunissen 2019), which guarantees the integer-estimability of its ambiguities, is employed. We introduce the combined integer-estimable GLONASS FDMA+CDMA model and compare its strength against the FDMA model for instantaneous integer ambiguity resolution and positioning. Various combinations of GLONASS signals are considered including FDMA L1, FDMA+CDMA L1+L3, FDMA L1+L2 and FDMA+CDMA L1+L2+L3. To provide insight into the current RTK performance of GLONASS, we used observations of a short baseline to analyze the integer ambiguity resolution success rate and positioning precision, formally and empirically. To provide insight into the future RTK performance of GLONASS, we present a formal analysis of the integer ambiguity resolution success rate and ADOP, assuming that all the GLONASS satellites transmit FDMA L1, L2 and CDMA L3 signals. A formal analysis of standalone GLONASS ambiguity resolution based on current and future GLONASS constellation is then presented for different locations around the world.

ON GLONASS pseudo-range inter-frequency bias solution with ionospheric delay modeling and the undifferenced uncombined PPP

With the development of multi-GNSS, the differential code bias (DCB) has been an increasing interest in the multi-frequency multi-GNSS community. Unlike code division multiple access (CDMA) mode used by GPS, BDS and Galileo etc., the GLONASS signals are modulated with frequency division multiple access (FDMA) mode. Up to now, the FDMA-aware GLONASS bias products are provided by two individual IGS analysis center (AC), i.e., CODE and GFZ. However, only the ionosphere-free (IF) combination IFB of P1 and P2 is available, while it is founded that the GLONASS IFB of GFZ on both frequencies are identical for the same receiver-satellite pair. In this contribution, the GLONASS IFB (inter-frequency bias) solution based on the spherical-harmonic (SH) ionospheric delay modeling as well as the undifferenced and uncombined PPP were carried out and evaluated. Based on the theoretical analysis, observations from 236 CMONOC stations and 172 IGS stations were collected for 2014 March and 2017 March for the numerical verification. The results suggested that the precision of IFB estimates was mainly subjected to the ionospheric status. Concerning the SH ionospheric delay modeling solution, the STD was 0.85 ns and 0.51 ns for 2014 and 2017, respectively. Concerning the undifferenced and uncombined PPP solution, the IFB was further dependent on the signal frequencies, and the STD was 1.43 ns and 1.94 ns for $${\mathrm{IFB}}_{1}$$ and $${\mathrm{IFB}}_{2}$$ in 2014, and the STD was 0.97 ns and 1.17 ns for $${\mathrm{IFB}}_{1}$$ and $${\mathrm{IFB}}_{2}$$ in 2017. When converted to the GF IFB from the individual IFB on each frequency, and compared to that of GF IFB of SH solution, it is revealed that the undifferenced and uncombined PPP solution has its advantages for IFB estimation on each individual frequency, and more efficient in data processing, while the solution based on the SH ionospheric delay modeling has its advantage in the precision of the GF IFB estimates. Thus, it is suggested that the SH model should be preferred for non-time-critical GF IFB concerned-only applications. Otherwise, the undifferenced and uncombined PPP solution is preferred. These IFB on each frequency was further converted to the ionosphere-free IFB and compared with the products of CODE analysis center.

Design narrow-band frequency amplifier (1.5GHz -1.6GHz) based on InGaP Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor (HBT) and GaAs HBT

The research aims to design a narrow-band frequency drive amplifier (1.5GHz -1.6GHz), which is used to boost the transmitter amplifier's input signal or amplify the GPS, GlONASS signals at the L1 band.
 The Power Amplifier printed circuit board (PCB) prototype was designed using InGaP HBT homogeneous technology transistor and GaAs Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor (HBT) transistor. Two models have been compared; one of the models gave 16dB gain, and the other gave 23dB when using an input power signal (-15dBm). The PCB consumes 2.4W of power and has a physical dimension of 11 x 4 cm.

Odziv geodetskih instrumentov GNSS na motenje z oddajnikom preletnega signala L1

This paper presents the results of a vulnerability test of several geodetic Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers in case of intentional signal interference in the frequency L1 for GPS (Global Positioning System). Nine instruments from different manufacturers (i.e., Leica Geosystems AG, Trimble Inc., Javad GNSS) were tested. The test was based on static and kinematic jamming. A static scenario with three-minute interruptions was followed by experiments with a stationary jammer located at distances from 10 m to 160 m from the receivers. For short-term kinematic interference, the jammer was installed in the vehicle, which passed the GNSS instruments at different speeds. An analysis of different scenarios showed that the jammer interrupted GPS but not GLONASS signals in certain situations. Since Galileo was not nominally operational at the time of the July 2019 measurements, only GPS and GLONASS were eligible for the study. The geodetic GNSS instruments reacted to the interruptions with a decreased signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) and either with a complete inability to determine the code/phase position or with an incorrect calculation of phase ambiguities (initialization), which also affected the quality of the positioning. The proximity of the jammer played the most significant role in the complete inability to receive the signal; however, for the incorrect positioning longer duration of jamming was also a reason.

Multiconstellation global navigation satellite systems signal analysis over the Asia‐Pacific region

SummaryWe studied five multiconstellation systems (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, and QZSS) signals by selecting 10 MGEX network stations over the Asia‐Pacific region. A comparative analysis with the number of satellite visibilities (NSVs), signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR), multipath combination (MPC), and precise point positioning (PPP) including the phase and code residuals (PCRs) of different constellations is carefully investigated to measure the individual performances. The SNR data were extracted on a map representing the elevation angle via wavelet analysis. The analysis indicated that the correlation coefficient of elevation angle with the SNR varies for different satellite orbits, although the number of wavelets corresponded to the visible frequency of satellites. We examined the MPC by using the power spectrum and verified the frequency component of the multipath signature. The results show that the BeiDou and QZSS constellations signals were significantly more affected compared with the GPS and GLONASS signals and less affected compared to the Galileo signal. We plotted PCR from different satellites systems relative to time and elevation angles. It was observed that the QZSS residuals exhibited the largest values, and the Galileo and BeiDou residual values were slightly smaller values compared with the GPS and GLONASS residuals.

MODIFICATION OF NTP TIME SERVER OF DIFFERENTIAL CORRECTION SYSTEM ACCORDING TO ANSI X9.95 SCHEME

The paper discusses the metrological aspects of building a model of an NTP server intended for use in an autonomous differential correction system (SDK). It is shown that the deliberate distortion of the data of the GPS / GLONASS signal state vector and differential corrections of control and correcting stations (CCS) is the main task of a cyberattack on A-GPS or GPS algorithms of mobile devices (smartphones). This type of hacker attack belongs to modification attacks. To eliminate the threat of violation of the integrity of differential corrections, the procedure for authenticating the correcting information (CI) transmitted by the CCS is applied. At the same time, the transmitted KKS data is checked for modification, the order of passage and the timeliness of delivery of KI messages. The process of authenticating broadcast messages involves attaching a fixed-size data block called a Message Authentication Code (MAC) to the CI. It is assumed that the two parties involved in the exchange of data, the KKS and the user's mobile device, use a common current MAC and NTP server trust timestamp. The main task of the NTP server is to independently synchronize the transfer of information and the formation of the current MAC. To form the current MAC, the modified code of the current value of the NTP server time is used in accordance with the X9.95 scheme.

Study on chaotic oscillator‐based algorithm for weak GLONASS signal acquisition

SummaryAccording to the characteristics of the chaotic oscillator in detecting weak signals, an algorithm based on Duffing chaotic oscillator array was proposed for acquisition of weak GLONASS signals. By means of GLONASS intermediate frequency and Duffing chaotic oscillator models, Lyapunov exponent is adopted to judge the critical condition of phase track and decide whether GLONASS signals exist or not by the change of the critical condition, and numeric iteration procedure is used to calculate the exponent. Finally, the performance of algorithm is simulated using GLONASS intermediate frequency data. The results indicate that acquisition algorithm can satisfy the need of object positioning in low signal‐to‐noise ratio environment.

Solution of problem of returning to the starting point of autonomously flying UAV by visual navigation

An autonomous visual navigation algorithm is considered, designed for “home“ return of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with on-board video camera and on-board computer, out of GPS and GLONASS navigation signals. The proposed algorithm is similar to the well-known visual navigation algorithms such as V-SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) and visual odometry, however, it differs in separate implementation of mapping and localization processes. It calculates the geographical coordinates of the features on the frames taken by on-board video camera during the flight from the start point until the moment of GPS and GLONASS signals loss. After the loss of the signal the return mission is launched, which provides estimation of the position of UAV relatively the map created by previously found features. Proposed approach does not require such complex calculations as V-SLAM and does not accumulate errors over time, in contrast to visual odometry and traditional methods of inertial navigation. The algorithm was implemented and tested with use of DJI Phantom 3 Pro quadcopter.