The BDS Industrial System Has Basically Taken Shape with Initial Achievements in Large-Scale Applications

The BDS is built and operated independently by China with a focus on the needs of China’s economic and social development. It is China’s major space infrastructure that provides positioning, navigation, and timing services to users around the world. At present, there are a total of 45 BDS satellites in orbit, with the space and ground infrastructure being able to provide comparatively complete services. In a word, the BDS industrial system has basically taken shape, alongside initial achievements in industrial applications on a large scale and positive outcomes in the expansion of overseas markets. According to statistics, China’s satellite navigation industry will exceed ¥400 billion in scale by the end of the Thirteenth Five-Year Plan period.

Firstly, in product manufacturing. Technological innovation of BDS-centered navigation and location services has developed with continued vitality, as evidenced by the breakthroughs in key technologies such as BDS chips and modules made in China. The SoC chip, in support of the new signals of BDS-3, has been widely applied on the Internet of Things and Consumer Electronics. In addition, the Dual Band Dual Mode (DBDM) BDS navigation and positioning chip has welcomed the stage of mass production after undergoing the verification of various key performance indicators, marking a new level for its comprehensive performance. In terms of the total number in society, the terminal products with BDS positioning capabilities had exceeded one billion units (sets) by the end of 2021.

Secondly, in industrial services. The BDS has started to provide comprehensive services in industries such as transportation, public safety, emergency management, agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery, and has been integrated into infrastructure sectors such as electricity, finance, and communications. It has been widely applied in the fields of mass consumption, sharing economy, and people’s livelihood to generate significant economic and social benefits. By the end of 2021, more than 7.9 million road service vehicles had been equipped with and started to use BDS, nearly 8,000 BDS terminals of different types had been applied and promoted in the field of railway, and the BDS-based autopilot system for agricultural machinery had amounted to over 100,000 units (sets), alongside an output value of nearly ¥200 billion in the links of downstream operation and service including medical and health services, epidemic prevention and disinfection, remote monitoring, and online services.

Thirdly, in mass application. The application of BDS has witnessed full-scale breakthroughs in mass consumption represented by smartphones and smart wearables, accompanied by across-the-board support from smartphone device suppliers and other international mainstream chip manufacturers. Thanks to the receipt of BDS ground-based enhanced information by smartphones, the positioning accuracy can be escalated to the level of meters. In 2021, the shipment of smartphones in support of BDS in China had amounted to 324 million sets, accounting for 94.5% of the total shipment of smartphones in China.

And lastly, in policies and regulations. Up to now, more than 1,000 satellite navigation-related policies and regulations have been issued. The National BeiDou Satellite Navigation Standards Committee has released a total of 32 national standards and 56 special standards as regards BDS, rendering strong support for product manufacturing, engineering construction, and operation and maintenance in this field and advancing the large-scale application and industrialization of BDS. Moreover, the revision of the National BeiDou Satellite Navigation Standards System has been completed, laying a foundation for the formulation and revision of national standards in the field of BDS for a time in the future.