GreenLab: autonomous low power system extending multi-constellation GNSS acquisition in Antarctica

The opportunity to extend monitoring campaigns in Antarctica, overcoming the limitations of the current fixed installations and getting data directly on-field, becomes increasingly attractive for researchers and scientists. The GreenLab is an energy-efficient and self-sufficient system specifically conceived for critical environments. It is equipped with a multi-constellation GNSS receiver and low power systems for computing and communications. Exploiting an automatically reconfigurable antenna, the GreenLab enables a real-time sharing of received data with the base station while optimizing power consumption. This paper presents the deployment and validation of the first GreenLab prototype, during the XXXII summer campaign in Antarctica. Acquired data have been compared to existing GNSS receivers already installed in Antarctica in fixed observatories, with encouraging results.