zprávy

By reinforcing synergies with other space technologies and working with all the Member States, while creating a favourable ecosystem, the impact of the space sector on economic growth in Europe will largely expand and create more jobs, according to European GNSS Agency (GSA) Acting Executive Director Pascal Claudel.

The 2nd Earth Observation Summit has been held online on 2-3 June. This was the occasion to underline how the different components of the EU Space programme are creating value by building applications together.

“The space sector is of strategic importance to the Union. In the last decade space related sectors grew twice as fast as global economy grows. Europe has historically been on the forefront investing greatly in space infrastructure such as Copernicus, Galileo and EGNOS. We are proud of these successful investments which are now the foundations and enablers for new applications and businesses. Indeed, space has a multiplier effect in terms of investment and the EU is well placed to capitalize on its strong space industry since more than 10% of the overall EU economy depends on space related services. Relevant technologies generate opportunities for job creation based on new skills, skills of the future.” stated Ms Blaženka Divjak, Croatian Minister of Science and Education during her opening of the Summit.

Underlining this need for the economic development with innovative approaches in mind, Timo Pesonen, Director General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS), confirmed “New products, new satellite missions and new technology, especially digital, like Artificial Intelligence, Quantum technology, and high-performance computing are essential, to keep our industry competitive.” 

Pascal Claudel, GSA Acting Executive Director, confirmed that synergies between all the EU’s Space Programmes are key to increasing the space sector’s presence with EU-ready market products in all market segments. “This will contribute to the growth of our SMEs and start-ups through innovative solutions” he said

Read this: European GNSS Agency (GSA) releases 6th GNSS Market Report

Space for a twin transition to a Green and Digital Europe

Timo Pesonen also cited the European Green Deal as a prime example of a political answer to global challenges. “An ambitious space programme, as the Commission proposes, will contribute to Europe’s digital and green transitions, to strengthening our resilience and strategic autonomy, and in turn our potential to innovate for the future,” he said.

In its operational role of ensuring that European companies are getting the best out of the EU satellite navigation systems, GSA confirmed that significant new markets are coming, such as autonomous vehicles, cars and drones, or applications for smart mobility and smart cities. They will play a crucial role also for the European Green Deal.: “To win parts of these markets, we need to have a performant EU entrepreneurship ecosystem and the involvement of all EU Member States. We have to gather our forces and our competencies.” stated the GSA acting Executive Director.

Indeed, EU Member States do not need to have specific competences in space technologies or a strong space sector to use space data and develop applications. The development of the Galileo Green Lane app, managed by the GSA had been led by traditional start-ups and SMEs. This app makes it possible to ease the transit of critical goods at borders within EU. So, every Member State has the capacity to be an actor on these markets and to develop its own entrepreneurship.

Read this: Looking to space for solutions on Earth Day

Pascal Claudel also noted that, EGNSS (Galileo and EGNOS) is a federator, making it possible to manage EU traffic, and maritime, inland waterway and rail transport. “We can federate all national traffic management systems towards a unique one. Future funding.

Speaking at a summit session on funding opportunities, Marta Krywanis, Head of Downstream R&D in the GSA Market Development Department, explained that research and development play a key role in the innovation process. “R&D is an investment in technology and future capabilities that can be transformed into new products, processes and services,” she said.

M. Krywanis explained that, since years, the GSA had applied a market-oriented approach to innovation in downstream applications. “This has proven to be a major factor in the market uptake of EGNOS and Galileo. The successful implementation of Fundamental Elements and H2020 programmes have led to the creation of a portfolio of products and advanced prototypes,” she said.

Galileo system as an operational and with the new version of EGNOS to be deployed, the primary goal will be to establish European GNSS as the leader in those markets and sectors that best benefit the unique differentiators of the systems. M. Krywanis noted that, towards this goal, the GSA had consulted with stakeholders and produced a report on proposed European GNSS (EGNSS) downstream funding priorities and tools for the years 2021-2027.

“We believe that R&D focused on EGNSS and its synergies with Copernicus and GovSatCom, for example, will bring many innovations and will contribute to more competitive industry and a greater number of products made in the EU,” she said.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).

By reinforcing synergies with other space technologies and working with all the Member States, while creating a favourable ecosystem, the impact of the space sector on economic growth in Europe will expand and create more jobs, according to European GNSS Agency (GSA) Acting Executive Director Pascal Claudel.

The 2nd Earth Observation Summit was held online on 2-3 June, providing an opportunity to underline how the different components of the EU Space programme are creating value by building applications together.

“The space sector is of strategic importance to the Union. In the last decade, space related sectors grew twice as fast as the global economy. Europe has historically been on the forefront, investing greatly in space infrastructure such as Copernicus, Galileo and EGNOS. We are proud of these successful investments which are now the foundations and enablers for new applications and businesses. Indeed, space has a multiplier effect in terms of investment and the EU is well placed to capitalize on its strong space industry since more than 10% of the overall EU economy depends on space related services. Relevant technologies generate opportunities for job creation based on new skills, skills of the future,” said Ms Blaženka Divjak, Croatian Minister of Science and Education during her opening of the Summit.

Underlining this need for economic development based on innovative approaches, Timo Pesonen, Director General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS), confirmed: “New products, new satellite missions and new technology, especially digital, like Artificial Intelligence, Quantum technology, and high-performance computing are essential, to keep our industry competitive.” 

Pascal Claudel, GSA Acting Executive Director, said that synergies between all the EU’s Space Programmes are key to increasing the space sector’s presence with EU-ready market products in all market segments. “This will contribute to the growth of our SMEs and start-ups through innovative solutions,” he said.

Read this: European GNSS Agency (GSA) releases 6th GNSS Market Report

Space for a twin transition to a Green and Digital Europe

Timo Pesonen also cited the European Green Deal as a prime example of a political answer to global challenges. “An ambitious space programme, as the Commission proposes, will contribute to Europe’s digital and green transitions, to strengthening our resilience and strategic autonomy, and in turn our potential to innovate for the future,” he said.

In its operational role of ensuring that European companies are getting the best out of the EU satellite navigation systems, the GSA confirmed that significant new markets are coming, such as autonomous vehicles, cars and drones, or applications for smart mobility and smart cities. These will play a crucial role also for the European Green Deal. “To win parts of these markets, we need to have a performant EU entrepreneurship ecosystem and the involvement of all EU Member States. We have to gather our forces and our competencies,” the GSA Acting Executive Director said.

Indeed, EU Member States do not need to have specific competences in space technologies or a strong space sector to use space data and develop applications. The development of the Galileo Green Lane app, managed by the GSA, was led by traditional start-ups and SMEs. This app makes it possible to ease the transit of critical goods at borders within the EU. So, every Member State has the capacity to be an actor on these markets and to develop its own entrepreneurship.

Read this: Looking to space for solutions on Earth Day

The GSA also noted that EGNSS (Galileo and EGNOS) is a federator, making it possible to manage EU traffic, and maritime, inland waterway and rail transport. “We can federate all national traffic management systems towards a unique one," Claudel said.

Future funding

Speaking at a summit session on funding opportunities, Marta Krywanis, Head of Downstream R&D in the GSA Market Development Department, explained that research and development play a key role in the innovation process. “R&D is an investment in technology and future capabilities that can be transformed into new products, processes and services,” she said.

Krywanis explained that for years the GSA has applied a market-oriented approach to innovation in downstream applications. “This has proven to be a major factor in the market uptake of EGNOS and Galileo. The successful implementation of the Fundamental Elements and H2020 programmes have led to the creation of a portfolio of products and advanced prototypes,” she said.

With the Galileo system as operational and with the new version of EGNOS to be deployed, the primary goal will be to establish European GNSS as the leader in those markets and sectors that best benefit the unique differentiators of the systems. Krywanis noted that, towards this goal, the GSA had consulted with stakeholders and produced a report on proposed European GNSS (EGNSS) downstream funding priorities and tools for the years 2021-2027.

“We believe that R&D focused on EGNSS and its synergies with Copernicus and GovSatCom, for example, will bring many innovations and will contribute to more competitive industry and a greater number of products made in the EU,” she said.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).

By reinforcing synergies with other space technologies and working with all the Member States, while creating a favourable ecosystem, the impact of the space sector on economic growth in Europe will largely expand and create more jobs, according to European GNSS Agency (GSA) Acting Executive Director Pascal Claudel.

The 2nd Earth Observation Summit has been held online on 2-3 June. This was the occasion to underline how the different components of the EU Space programme are creating value by building applications together.

“The space sector is of strategic importance to the Union. In the last decade space related sectors grew twice as fast as global economy grows. Europe has historically been on the forefront investing greatly in space infrastructure such as Copernicus, Galileo and EGNOS. We are proud of these successful investments which are now the foundations and enablers for new applications and businesses. Indeed, space has a multiplier effect in terms of investment and the EU is well placed to capitalize on its strong space industry since more than 10% of the overall EU economy depends on space related services. Relevant technologies generate opportunities for job creation based on new skills, skills of the future.” stated Ms Blaženka Divjak, Croatian Minister of Science and Education during her opening of the Summit.

Underlining this need for the economic development with innovative approaches in mind, Timo Pesonen, Director General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS), confirmed “New products, new satellite missions and new technology, especially digital, like Artificial Intelligence, Quantum technology, and high-performance computing are essential, to keep our industry competitive.” 

Pascal Claudel, GSA Acting Executive Director, confirmed that synergies between all the EU’s Space Programmes are key to increasing the space sector’s presence with EU-ready market products in all market segments. “This will contribute to the growth of our SMEs and start-ups through innovative solutions” he said

Read this: European GNSS Agency (GSA) releases 6th GNSS Market Report

Space for a twin transition to a Green and Digital Europe

Timo Pesonen also cited the European Green Deal as a prime example of a political answer to global challenges. “An ambitious space programme, as the Commission proposes, will contribute to Europe’s digital and green transitions, to strengthening our resilience and strategic autonomy, and in turn our potential to innovate for the future,” he said.

In its operational role of ensuring that European companies are getting the best out of the EU satellite navigation systems, GSA confirmed that significant new markets are coming, such as autonomous vehicles, cars and drones, or applications for smart mobility and smart cities. They will play a crucial role also for the European Green Deal.: “To win parts of these markets, we need to have a performant EU entrepreneurship ecosystem and the involvement of all EU Member States. We have to gather our forces and our competencies.” stated the GSA acting Executive Director.

Indeed, EU Member States do not need to have specific competences in space technologies or a strong space sector to use space data and develop applications. The development of the Galileo Green Lane app, managed by the GSA had been led by traditional start-ups and SMEs. This app makes it possible to ease the transit of critical goods at borders within EU. So, every Member State has the capacity to be an actor on these markets and to develop its own entrepreneurship.

Read this: Looking to space for solutions on Earth Day

The GSA also noted that, EGNSS (Galileo and EGNOS) is a federator, making it possible to manage EU traffic, and maritime, inland waterway and rail transport. “We can federate all national traffic management systems towards a unique one.

Future funding

Speaking at a summit session on funding opportunities, Marta Krywanis, Head of Downstream R&D in the GSA Market Development Department, explained that research and development play a key role in the innovation process. “R&D is an investment in technology and future capabilities that can be transformed into new products, processes and services,” she said.

M. Krywanis explained that, since years, the GSA had applied a market-oriented approach to innovation in downstream applications. “This has proven to be a major factor in the market uptake of EGNOS and Galileo. The successful implementation of Fundamental Elements and H2020 programmes have led to the creation of a portfolio of products and advanced prototypes,” she said.

Galileo system as an operational and with the new version of EGNOS to be deployed, the primary goal will be to establish European GNSS as the leader in those markets and sectors that best benefit the unique differentiators of the systems. M. Krywanis noted that, towards this goal, the GSA had consulted with stakeholders and produced a report on proposed European GNSS (EGNSS) downstream funding priorities and tools for the years 2021-2027.

“We believe that R&D focused on EGNSS and its synergies with Copernicus and GovSatCom, for example, will bring many innovations and will contribute to more competitive industry and a greater number of products made in the EU,” she said.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).

GNSS and Earth observation experts came together at a webinar organised by the European GNSS Agency (GSA) on 26 May to discuss how combining Galileo and EGNOS navigation and positioning tools with the data and services offered by EU Earth observation programme Copernicus can be used to improve food security and make agriculture in general more efficient and sustainable.

Disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have thrown the importance of our food supply chain into sharp focus. At the same time, synergies between positioning data from Galileo and EGNOS and Earth observation data from Copernicus offer huge untapped potential for making the agriculture sector more efficient, resilient and sustainable.

It was to explore this potential and to drive the use of space technology in the service of sustainable agriculture and a more secure food chain that the EO4AGRI H2020 project organised this webinar, in collaboration with GSA, targeted at students, researchers, data analysts, participants in European, national and international projects, service and application developers, and other stakeholders.

Early adopter

The agricultural sector was an early adopter of Europe’s satellite augmentation service EGNOS and over 95% of agricultural receivers in Europe are currently EGNOS-enabled, with more than 65% of receivers Galileo-enabled also. “Galileo plays a key role in precision agriculture not only in positioning but also when combined with other technologies such as Copernicus. The coming High Accuracy Service and Navigation Message Authentication will mean a turning point in smart farming applications”, said María-Eva Ramírez from the European GNSS Service Centre (GSC).

In agriculture, EGNOS-based solutions are used for low-value crop cultivation and low-accuracy operations such as ploughing, fertilizing and harvesting while Galileo receivers are used in a multi-constellation environment for high-value crop cultivation and precision operations such as sowing and transplanting. “EGNOS usage in European farming is a reality. Hundreds of thousands of cereal farmers benefit from free enhanced GPS accuracy. Thanks to EGNOS, crop productivity is increased and more sustainable farming is possible”, said Sofía Cilla from the European Satellite Service Provider (ESSP).

Watch this: European Satellites for Agriculture

“GNSS has become an integral part of smart, connected and integrated farm management solutions and is a key driver for precision farming across the whole crop cycle”, said Joaquín Reyes González, Market Development Technology Officer at the GSA.

Strength through synergy

But it is when EU GNSS and Earth observation services work in synergy that the benefits are most keenly felt. Synergies between EGNSS and Copernicus support a number of agriculture solutions, such as variable rate application, which enables the precise use of fertilisers and pesticides where and when they are most needed, thereby making the sector more resource-efficient and reducing its environmental footprint.

“We just scratched the surface of what is possible when these two core components are put into use operationally. The combination of these two European flagship space projects is a key enabler of the Farm to Fork Strategy, the core of the European Green Deal, allowing for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system in Europe and beyond”, said David Kolitzus from GeoVille Information Systems and Data Processing.

Read this: EGNSS and agriculture – a win-win relationship

EGNSS and Copernicus also enable soil moisture monitoring, providing timely information on water availability and reducing the amount of water used by linking it to the moisture level needed in the soil for a particular crop. Synergies between the two programmes also support the implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy, simplifying and digitising processes related to subsidies control and enabling more efficient checks. “EGNSS and Copernicus are core components in digital farming,” Reyes González said.

Webinar series

The May 26 webinar is the first in a series of webinars that will explore the benefits of EGNSS and Earth observation in the agriculture sector. All the presentations and video recording are now available here. A poll held at the event proposed two topics for future webinars: projects that showcase the use of EGNSS and Earth observation for agricultural applications, and technical tools for combining EGNSS and EO, with use cases from agriculture. 

The vote was evenly split, so both these topics are likely to be the subjects of future webinars organised by the GSA. Stay tuned for updates!

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).

The Prague Public Transit Company (DPP) has issued a tender for Galileo-enabled receivers to be included in Prague tramways as part of a modernization plan to increase network efficiency and improve user experience.

Prague has one of the largest tram fleets in Europe. The city's tramways are using a 20-year old system based on GPS-only. DPP has decided on a unique upgrade of their system to improve localization accuracy and provide vehicle positioning data to passengers. DPP Prague plans to buy Galileo-enabled, multifrequency, multiconstellation receivers for its entire tramway vehicle park. To develop the project, DPP cooperated with the Czech Technical University in Prague, the Czech Department for Transportation, the Municipality of Prague and the European GNSS Agency (GSA). The improvement in localization accuracy connected with the upgrade will bring important efficiency benefits to the DPP network such as a decrease in maintenance costs.

Satellite navigation in practice

"Space applications have a great potential for improving efficiency and safety across a wide variety of sectors and transport belongs to the largest users of space technologies. Galileo adoption in Prague tramways is a great example how to apply European satellite navigation in practice," said Karel Havlíček, Deputy Prime Minister, Czech Republic.

The receivers are planned to be deployed in the entire tram fleet (838 receivers are procured).  DPP will be one of the first public transit companies to use Galileo in their entire fleet.

Read the Czech version here: Přijímače Galilea brzy v pražských tramvajích

"Public transport has to be comfortable and user friendly not only inside the vehicles and at the stops. We managed to provide  real-time data about bus departures and their position on-line to passengers. For this year, we have promised to provide the same also for the tramways," said Adam Scheinherr, Deputy Mayor for Transport from the Municipality of Prague.

"Thanks to the new receivers and the possibility to use the European navigation system Galileo, we will be able to improve localization accuracy based on the tests that have been carried out so far down to 1.5 meters. Further, it will allow us to improve other systems used within DPP such as, for example, automatic speed limitation over the switches," added Petr Witowski, chairman of the board and executive director of DPP.

"Regarding the network extent and the quality of the transport service provided, Prague belongs to the top cities in the European Union. It shows therefore the recognition of Galileo efficiency that DPP plans to use Galileo within the whole tramway fleet as one of the first public transport operators in Europe," commented Pascal Claudel, Acting Executive Director of the European GNSS Agency.

DPP is expecting that the tender will be completed by the end of August 2020. The selected supplier will have to provide and install the receivers within the entire fleet of Prague tramways within 180 days from the contract signature. It is therefore expected that the First Galileo-enabled trams should be on track at the end of 2020.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).

The Prague Public Transit Company (DPP) has issued a tender for Galileo-enabled receivers to be included in the Prague tramways as part of their modernization plan to increase network efficiency and improve user experience.

Prague has one of the largest tram fleets in Europe. Tramways are using a 20 years old system based on GPS-only. DPP has decided a unique upgrade of their system and intends to replace the current system to improve the localization accuracy and to provide vehicle positioning data to passengers. DPP Prague plans to buy Galileo-enabled, multifrequency, multiconstellation receivers for its entire Tramway vehicle park. To elaborate the project, DPP has cooperated with the Czech Technical University in Prague, the Czech Department for Transportation, the Municipality of Prague and with the European GNSS Agency (GSA). The improvement in localization accuracy connected with the upgrade will bring important efficiency benefits to the DPP network such as a decrease of the maintenance costs.

"Space applications have a great potential for improving efficiency and safety across a wide variety of sectors and transport belongs to the largest users of space technologies. Galileo adoption in Prague Tramways is a great example how to apply European satellite navigation in practice," underlined Karel Havlíček, Deputy Prime Minister, Czech Republic.

The receivers are planned to be deployed in the entire tram fleet (838 receivers are procured).  DPP will be one of the first public transit companies to use Galileo in the entire tram fleet.

Read the Czech version here: Přijímače Galilea brzy v pražských tramvajích

"Public transport has to be comfortable and user friendly not only inside the vehicles and at the stops. We managed to provide  real-time data about bus departures and their position on-line to passengers. For this year, we have promised to provide the same also for the tramways," said Adam Scheinherr, Deputy Mayor for Transport from Municipality of Prague

"Thanks to the new receivers and the possibility to use the European navigation system Galileo, we will be able to improve localization accuracy based on the test that have been carried out so far down to 1,5 meters. Further, it will allow us to improve other systems used within DPP, such as for example automatic speed limitation over the switches," added Petr Witowski, chairman of the board and executive director of DPP.

"Regarding the network extent and the quality of the transport service provided, Prague belongs to the top cities in the European Union. It shows therefore the recognition of Galileo efficiency  that DPP plans to use Galileo within the whole Tramway fleet as one of the first public transport operators in Europe," commented Pascal Claudel, Acting Executive Director of the European GNSS Agency.

DPP is expecting that the competition will be completed by the end of August 2020. The selected supplier will have to provide and install the receivers within the entire fleet of Prague Tramways within 180 days from the contract signature. It is therefore expected that the First Galileo-enabled trams should be on track at the end of 2020.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).

The Prague Public Transit Company (DPP) has issued a tender for Galileo-enabled receivers to be included in the Prague tramways as part of their modernization plan to increase network efficiency and improve user experience.

Prague has one of the largest tram fleets in Europe. Tramways are using a 20 years old system based on GPS-only. DPP has decided a unique upgrade of their system and intends to replace the current system to improve the localization accuracy and to provide vehicle positioning data to passengers. DPP Prague plans to buy Galileo-enabled, multifrequency, multiconstellation receivers for its entire Tramway vehicle park. To elaborate the project, DPP has cooperated with the Czech Technical University in Prague, the Czech Department for Transportation, the Municipality of Prague and with the European GNSS Agency (GSA). The improvement in localization accuracy connected with the upgrade will bring important efficiency benefits to the DPP network such as a decrease of the maintenance costs.

"Space applications have a great potential for improving efficiency and safety across a wide variety of sectors and transport belongs to the largest users of space technologies. Galileo adoption in Prague Tramways is a great example how to apply European satellite navigation in practice," underlined Karel Havlíček, Deputy Prime Minister, Czech Republic.

The receivers are planned to be deployed in the entire tram fleet (838 receivers are procured).  DPP will be one of the first public transit companies to use Galileo in the entire tram fleet.

"Public transport has to be comfortable and user friendly not only inside the vehicles and at the stops. We managed to provide  real-time data about bus departures and their position on-line to passengers. For this year, we have promised to provide the same also for the tramways," said Adam Scheinherr, Deputy Mayor for Transport from Municipality of Prague

"Thanks to the new receivers and the possibility to use the European navigation system Galileo, we will be able to improve localization accuracy based on the test that have been carried out so far down to 1,5 meters. Further, it will allow us to improve other systems used within DPP, such as for example automatic speed limitation over the switches," added Petr Witowski, chairman of the board and executive director of DPP.

"Regarding the network extent and the quality of the transport service provided, Prague belongs to the top cities in the European Union. It shows therefore the recognition of Galileo efficiency  that DPP plans to use Galileo within the whole Tramway fleet as one of the first public transport operators in Europe," commented Pascal Claudel, Acting Executive Director of the European GNSS Agency.

DPP is expecting that the competition will be completed by the end of August 2020. The selected supplier will have to provide and install the receivers within the entire fleet of Prague Tramways within 180 days from the contract signature. It is therefore expected that the First Galileo-enabled trams should be on track at the end of 2020.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).

The Prague Public Transit Company (DPP) has issued a tender for Galileo-enabled receivers to be included in the Prague tramways as part of their modernization plan to increase network efficiency and improve user experience.

Prague has one of the largest tram fleets in Europe. Tramways are using a 20 years old system based on GPS-only. DPP has decided a unique upgrade of their system and intends to replace the current system to improve the localization accuracy and to provide vehicle positioning data to passengers. DPP Prague plans to buy Galileo-enabled, multifrequency, multiconstellation receivers for its entire Tramway vehicle park. To elaborate the project, DPP has cooperated with the Czech Technical University in Prague, the Czech Department for Transportation, the Municipality of Prague and with the European GNSS Agency (GSA). The improvement in localization accuracy connected with the upgrade will bring important efficiency benefits to the DPP network such as a decrease of the maintenance costs.

"Space applications have a great potential for improving efficiency and safety across a wide variety of sectors and transport belongs to the largest users of space technologies. Galileo adoption in Prague Tramways is a great example how to apply European satellite navigation in practice," underlined Karel Havlíček, Deputy Prime Minister, Czech Republic.

The receivers are planned to be deployed in the entire tram fleet (838 receivers are procured).  DPP will be one of the first public transit companies to use Galileo in the entire tram fleet.

Read the czech version here: Přijímače Galilea brzy v pražských tramvajích

"Public transport has to be comfortable and user friendly not only inside the vehicles and at the stops. We managed to provide  real-time data about bus departures and their position on-line to passengers. For this year, we have promised to provide the same also for the tramways," said Adam Scheinherr, Deputy Mayor for Transport from Municipality of Prague

"Thanks to the new receivers and the possibility to use the European navigation system Galileo, we will be able to improve localization accuracy based on the test that have been carried out so far down to 1,5 meters. Further, it will allow us to improve other systems used within DPP, such as for example automatic speed limitation over the switches," added Petr Witowski, chairman of the board and executive director of DPP.

"Regarding the network extent and the quality of the transport service provided, Prague belongs to the top cities in the European Union. It shows therefore the recognition of Galileo efficiency  that DPP plans to use Galileo within the whole Tramway fleet as one of the first public transport operators in Europe," commented Pascal Claudel, Acting Executive Director of the European GNSS Agency.

DPP is expecting that the competition will be completed by the end of August 2020. The selected supplier will have to provide and install the receivers within the entire fleet of Prague Tramways within 180 days from the contract signature. It is therefore expected that the First Galileo-enabled trams should be on track at the end of 2020.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).

On June 8 the world celebrates World Oceans Day, when people around the planet celebrate our oceans and seas and work to raise awareness about problems facing the marine environment. The EU space programmes Galileo, EGNOS and Copernicus, with their positioning, navigation and Earth observation services, are helping to monitor and protect the oceans and make Europe’s Blue Economy more sustainable, in support of the European Green Deal agenda.

The EU space services play a key role in driving innovation in the context of marine sustainability by enabling the development of applications and services that help monitor and protect the marine environment and marine bio-resources. At the same time, highly accurate navigation and positioning information is helping to make maritime transport more efficient, safe and sustainable.

Increasing safety, protecting the environment

EGNOS, Europe’s sat-nav augmentation system, provides users with more accurate position information compared to GPS alone and a new maritime service based on the current version (EGNOS V2) will provide users with integrity information and maritime safety information, i.e. navigational warnings and notice to mariners, in line with IALA Guidelines. EGNOS V3, the planned evolution of this system, will augment Galileo signals in addition to GPS. 

Watch this: EGNOS for Maritime

A number of projects leverage EGNSS (Galileo and EGNOS) to increase maritime safety and help protect the environment. The EGNOSforAtoN project demonstrated operationally how to use EGNOS as source of differential corrections for IALA beacons and AIS stations in a cost-efficient way and in line with IALA Guidelines. The SeaSOLAS project has defined a potential maritime safety service based on EGNOS V3-enabled receivers on vessels, while the Hull-to-Hull project has defined new safety concepts based on EGNSS for operations between vessels and also for docking.

 The Safeport project delivered an EGNOS-based portable pilot unit and an app for pilotage and docking operations (SafePilot). The app is continuing to evolve and it is available for tablets and SmartWatches.

What’s more, EGNOS is helping to increase our awareness of the oceans through projects like CoSuDEC, which has created a system for enhanced surveying of coastal waters using standard navigation equipment. 

EGNSS is also a key enabler of the Automatic Identification System (AIS), which is used on ships and by vessel traffic services to identify and locate vessels. It also supports Long Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT), which is designed to collect and disseminate vessel position information. In so doing, the European space programmes are enabling more efficient traffic management and safer maritime navigation, and providing greater situational awareness in the marine environment.

In relation to this, the GNSS-enabled MEDUSE project aims at a more sustainable use of marine parks, and provides services to marine park users and tools to the park authorities, allowing them to track and trace vessels within restricted marine areas using AIS Class B transponders with EGNOS.

Fighting illegal fishing

GNSS also enables position reporting (the so-called ‘blue box’) in the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS), which is used in fisheries monitoring and provides data to the fisheries authorities on the location, course and speed of vessels. When combined with remote imagery in the Vessel Detection System (VDS), satellite technology is a key tool in the fight against illegal fishing, helping to identify and catch violators and protect fish stocks.

Read this: Space – underpinning the blue economy

Galileo satellites carry a SAR payload and the Galileo SAR service is an important contributor to the Global Cospas-Sarsat service for Search & Rescue. The Galileo SAR service is comprised of two components: an automatic Forward Link distress alert Service (FLS) and a Return Link Service (RLS), launched earlier this year, which allows people in distress to receive automatic acknowledgement that their alert has been received and is being processed. 

This combination, along with the increased positioning accuracy provided by Galileo, has reduced the time it takes to detect a person lost at sea from three hours to just 10 minutes after the distress beacon is activated. Localisation of the distress beacon has also improved - from 10 km to less than 5 km.

The Helios Project has developed maritime search and rescue beacons for vessels (EPIRBs) and for personal use (PLBs), which are already on the market and using Galileo (to see all Galileo enabled PLBs click here).

Europe’s eyes on Earth

It is not only the EGNSS component of the EU Space Programme that is helping support sustainability of our oceans and seas. Copernicus, “Europe’s eyes on Earth,” provides essential information in six main domains, including atmosphere monitoring, marine environment monitoring, and climate monitoring. In particular, the observations and forecasts produced by the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS) support marine applications, including safety, monitoring of marine resources and of the coastal and marine environment, in addition to providing weather, seasonal and climate forecasts.

According to the EU Blue Economy Report 2019, the usefulness of CMEMS is reflected in the increasing number of users not only among universities and public authorities, but also among businesses from different domains, including maritime safety, coastal and marine environment, marine resources and weather forecasting.

Copernicus services for security applications also offer maritime surveillance, thereby supporting a better understanding and improved monitoring of activities at sea within a wide range of operational functions such as maritime safety and security, fisheries control, customs, law enforcement, marine environment pollution monitoring, and others.

A final example of the exploitation of synergies between EGNSS and Copernicus for maritime surveillance and search and rescue is the SARA project, where a tethered drone installed on a vessel is used to locate seafarers and passengers in distress after a wreck.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).

On June 8 the world celebrates World Oceans Day, when people around the planet celebrate our oceans and seas and work to raise awareness about problems facing the marine environment. The EU space programmes Galileo, EGNOS and Copernicus, with their positioning, navigation and Earth observation services, are helping to monitor and protect the oceans and make Europe’s Blue Economy more sustainable, in support of the European Green Deal agenda.

The EU space services play a key role in driving innovation in the context of marine sustainability by enabling the development of applications and services that help monitor and protect the marine environment and marine bio-resources. At the same time, highly accurate navigation and positioning information is helping to make maritime transport more efficient, safe and sustainable.

Increasing safety, protecting the environment

EGNOS, Europe’s sat-nav augmentation system, provides users with more accurate position information compared to GPS alone and a new maritime service based on the current version (EGNOS V2) will provide users with integrity information and maritime safety information, i.e. navigational warnings and notice to mariners, in line with IALA Guidelines. EGNOS V3, the planned evolution of this system, will augment Galileo signals in addition to GPS. 

Watch this: EGNOS and Galileo for Waterborne Transport

A number of projects leverage EGNSS (Galileo and EGNOS) to increase maritime safety and help protect the environment. The EGNOSforAtoN project demonstrated operationally how to use EGNOS as source of differential corrections for IALA beacons and AIS stations in a cost-efficient way and in line with IALA Guidelines. The SeaSOLAS project has defined a potential maritime safety service based on EGNOS V3-enabled receivers on vessels, while the Hull-to-Hull project has defined new safety concepts based on EGNSS for operations between vessels and also for docking.

 The Safeport project delivered an EGNOS-based portable pilot unit and an app for pilotage and docking operations (SafePilot). The app is continuing to evolve and it is available for tablets and SmartWatches.

What’s more, EGNOS is helping to increase our awareness of the oceans through projects like CoSuDEC, which has created a system for enhanced surveying of coastal waters using standard navigation equipment. 

EGNSS is also a key enabler of the Automatic Identification System (AIS), which is used on ships and by vessel traffic services to identify and locate vessels. It also supports Long Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT), which is designed to collect and disseminate vessel position information. In so doing, the European space programmes are enabling more efficient traffic management and safer maritime navigation, and providing greater situational awareness in the marine environment.

In relation to this, the GNSS-enabled MEDUSE project aims at a more sustainable use of marine parks, and provides services to marine park users and tools to the park authorities, allowing them to track and trace vessels within restricted marine areas using AIS Class B transponders with EGNOS.

Fighting illegal fishing

GNSS also enables position reporting (the so-called ‘blue box’) in the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS), which is used in fisheries monitoring and provides data to the fisheries authorities on the location, course and speed of vessels. When combined with remote imagery in the Vessel Detection System (VDS), satellite technology is a key tool in the fight against illegal fishing, helping to identify and catch violators and protect fish stocks.

Read this: Space – underpinning the blue economy

Galileo satellites carry a SAR payload and the Galileo SAR service is an important contributor to the Global Cospas-Sarsat service for Search & Rescue. The Galileo SAR service is comprised of two components: an automatic Forward Link distress alert Service (FLS) and a Return Link Service (RLS), launched earlier this year, which allows people in distress to receive automatic acknowledgement that their alert has been received and is being processed. 

This combination, along with the increased positioning accuracy provided by Galileo, has reduced the time it takes to detect a person lost at sea from three hours to just 10 minutes after the distress beacon is activated. Localisation of the distress beacon has also improved - from 10 km to less than 5 km.

The Helios Project has developed maritime search and rescue beacons for vessels (EPIRBs) and for personal use (PLBs), which are already on the market and using Galileo (to see all Galileo enabled PLBs click here).

Europe’s eyes on Earth

It is not only the EGNSS component of the EU Space Programme that is helping support sustainability of our oceans and seas. Copernicus, “Europe’s eyes on Earth,” provides essential information in six main domains, including atmosphere monitoring, marine environment monitoring, and climate monitoring. In particular, the observations and forecasts produced by the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS) support marine applications, including safety, monitoring of marine resources and of the coastal and marine environment, in addition to providing weather, seasonal and climate forecasts.

According to the EU Blue Economy Report 2019, the usefulness of CMEMS is reflected in the increasing number of users not only among universities and public authorities, but also among businesses from different domains, including maritime safety, coastal and marine environment, marine resources and weather forecasting.

Copernicus services for security applications also offer maritime surveillance, thereby supporting a better understanding and improved monitoring of activities at sea within a wide range of operational functions such as maritime safety and security, fisheries control, customs, law enforcement, marine environment pollution monitoring, and others.

A final example of the exploitation of synergies between EGNSS and Copernicus for maritime surveillance and search and rescue is the SARA project, where a tethered drone installed on a vessel is used to locate seafarers and passengers in distress after a wreck.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).