Furuno to present LEO PNT research at ION GNSS+ 2026

Furuno will present research on how low Earth orbit positioning can speed up GNSS convergence at ION GNSS+ 2026 in Orlando from Sept. 14-18. The session builds on Furuno’s work with Xona Space Systems and follows live signal reception tests from Xona’s Pulsar satellites earlier in 2026.

Why it matters: - Furuno is pushing LEO PNT as a way to make positioning faster, more resilient and less dependent on GNSS alone. - The work could matter for users who need quicker accuracy and better service under interference or spoofing conditions. - Furuno is also using the conference to broaden technical awareness of LEO PNT ahead of commercialization efforts with Xona Space Systems.

What happened: - Furuno will participate in ION GNSS+ 2026 in Orlando, Florida, from Sept. 14-18, 2026. - On Sept. 18, Yoji Takayama, Ph.D., chief engineer for R&D at Furuno, will present a paper titled "Rapidly Converging Position Estimation under Dynamic LEO Satellite Visibility." - The presentation is based on a paper co-authored with Xona Space Systems. - The session starts at 3:48 p.m. EDT on Sept. 18. - The conference is organized by The Institute of Navigation and will be held at Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress.

The details: - The presentation examines LEO PNT, a positioning approach that uses low Earth orbit mega-constellations for positioning, navigation and timing. - Furuno says Pulsar, Xona’s LEO PNT system, may converge faster than GNSS because LEO satellites move quickly and change visibility and geometry over short periods. - The study analyzes how visibility changes affect error reduction by looking at estimation error covariance under shifting satellite visibility. - Numerical simulations show Pulsar could reduce convergence time to about one-fifth to one-tenth of GNSS alone for the same accuracy level. - Furuno became the first company in Japan to receive live signals from Xona’s satellite in June 2026. - In July 2026, Furuno confirmed stable reception of Pulsar signals in a GNSS spoofing test environment. - The conference brings together international researchers, engineers and companies working on satellite navigation research and development. - The official event website is ION GNSS+ 2026. - Xona Space Systems is a U.S.-based startup aiming to offer commercial satellite positioning services using LEO satellites.

Between the lines: - Furuno is positioning itself as an early technical validator for LEO-based PNT, not just a conference participant. - The spoofing-test result signals an emphasis on resilience and security, two issues that are drawing more attention as satellite navigation becomes more exposed to interference. - The repeated conference presence suggests Furuno is treating ION GNSS+ as a key venue for showing progress year over year.

What's next: - Furuno plans to continue sharing technical findings on LEO PNT with the wider satellite navigation community. - Furuno also plans to keep working with Xona Space Systems on solutions that complement GNSS. - The next milestone will be whether the technical results translate into commercial products and field deployments.