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The University of Technology of Compiègne, France, has hosted a live demonstration of the first autonomous vehicle powered by Galileo. As part of this demonstration, a Renault ZOE electric car has been autonomously driven on tracks and on public roads in a world first for the Galileo programme.

Participants in the event had a unique opportunity to ride in an autonomous vehicle fitted with an innovative positioning engine developed by the ESCAPE project - the ESCAPE GNSS engine (EGE). The EGE leverages Galileo signals and services to provide a core positioning component in autonomous vehicles. It was designed and prototyped by the ESCAPE project, funded under the European GNSS Agency’s (GSA) Fundamental Elements programme.

GSA and European Commission representatives, the French and Spanish national authorities and the automobile industry took part in the demonstration of the Galileo-enabled autonomous vehicle.

“The Declaration of Amsterdam already states that the Galileo and EGNOS differentiators -authentication, high accuracy and integrity - are sine qua non conditions for the uptake of autonomous vehicles. Nevertheless, this technological development should aim to be fair, inclusive and green,” said Alvaro Herrero from the Spanish Ministry of Ministry of Public Works and Transport.

Watch this: Driving with Galileo

“GNSS is a key enabling technology towards fully Connected and Automated Driving. What we are witnessing today with the demonstration of the ESCAPE GNSS engine, which leverages Galileo’s multi-frequency and multi-constellation capability, is actually a glimpse of what ‘driving’ will look like in the near future, and is a key milestone bringing us ever closer to full automation,” GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides said.

Live demonstrations

Cars equipped with the EGE were showcased in two demonstrations at the event. During the first demo on a Renault ZOE electric car, participants and journalists had a unique opportunity to get on board the vehicle and take a driverless ride on the University of Technology of Compiègne (UTC) track.

“The information available from the Galileo GNSS constellation should contribute to the deployment of vehicles with autonomous driving capabilities and to enhance our location-dependent driving Assistance Systems (ADAS),” said Patrick Bastard, Research Director at Renault Group. “The results from the ESCAPE project on the integrity associated with the estimated vehicle location are very important; they are an enabler for the deployment of any safety critical vehicle application. It tells us about the ‘quality’ of the estimates, thus its usability.”

In the second demo, a second vehicle was driven on a public road in Compiègne to demonstrate the potential of the system in a peri-urban environment. There were no passengers in this car, but the participants were able to watch a live video of the test broadcast via 4G with the estimated position obtained using the EGE along with RTK.

“Galileo will dramatically improve precision and allows us to deploy these vehicles quicker,” said Rémi Bastien, VP automotive prospective at Renault Group.

Localisation workshop

Information sessions on the ESCAPE project, including use cases for autonomous driving, high accuracy and integrity, localisation standards, and HD maps for localisation followed the demos.

A presentation of the TESEO APP receiver from STMicroelectronics, which combines multiple-frequency and multi-constellation tracking and enables autonomous-driving systems to combine precise positioning with sensor data for enhanced performance, safety and reliability was also delivered.

Read this: GNSS and mobility: innovation in motion at ITS Singapore

Following the presentations, a workshop was held on localisation integrity for autonomous driving, with discussions on relative and absolute localisation and integrity estimation for land-based applications.

The ESCAPE prototype

The EGE prototype design includes several major components, including a novel multi-frequency, multi-constellation automotive-grade GNSS receiver. The main distinguishing feature of the ESCAPE receiver is its ability to precisely and simultaneously process signals from two different GNSS bands and from different satellite constellations. Although this capability is common in high-end professional receivers, it is cutting-edge in the automotive Tier-2 panorama.

The receiver is also a first-of-a-kind device in its segment to support the new Navigation Message Authentication (NMA) service of Galileo - the open E1 signal. Finally, the new GNSS receiver comes with several core signal-processing enhancements: better receiver sensitivity and tracking capability, multipath mitigation, more intermediate frequency (IF) channels and flexibility in routing IF samples, jamming detection and mitigation, and optimisation of the GNSS data flow.

The result is an ESCAPE GNSS sensor that combines a high-end GNSS technology traditionally reserved for professional applications, innovative dual-band Galileo processing, as well as all the hardware and software safety aspects that are needed to certify the component for the automotive market.

“When we fund projects in automation we always involve users, in this case the car maker. By funding ESCAPE, currently at level 4 of high automation, we are following our strategy to develop autonomous driving technology one level after the other to reach full automation with the next Horizon 2020 project which will begin in January 2020,” said GSA Market Development Officer Flavio Sbardellati.

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 University of Technology of Compiègne, France, has hosted a live demonstration of the first autonomous vehicle powered by Galileo. As part of this demonstration, a Renault ZOE electric car has been autonomously driven on tracks and on public roads in a world first for the Galileo programme.

Participants in the event had a unique opportunity to ride in an autonomous vehicle fitted with an innovative positioning engine developed by the ESCAPE project - the ESCAPE GNSS engine (EGE). The EGE leverages Galileo signals and services to provide a core positioning component in autonomous vehicles. It was designed and prototyped by the ESCAPE project, funded under the European GNSS Agency’s (GSA) Fundamental Elements programme.

GSA and European Commission representatives, the French and Spanish national authorities and the automobile industry took part in the demonstration of the Galileo-enabled autonomous vehicle.

“The EU, Member states, industry, and other stakeholders have already recognized, in the Declaration of Amsterdam, that the Galileo and Egnos differentiators (authentication, high accuracy and integrity) are sine qua non conditions for the uptake of the automated driving technology. This technology will allow us to make automated vehicles safer, and will bring us closer to our objectives of achieving an inclusive, accessible, affordable and sustainable mobility to all,” said Alvaro Herrero from the Spanish Ministry of Ministry of Public Works and Transport.

Watch this: Driving with Galileo

“GNSS is a key enabling technology towards fully Connected and Automated Driving. What we are witnessing today with the demonstration of the ESCAPE GNSS engine, which leverages Galileo’s multi-frequency and multi-constellation capability, is actually a glimpse of what ‘driving’ will look like in the near future, and is a key milestone bringing us ever closer to full automation,” GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides said.

Live demonstrations

Cars equipped with the EGE were showcased in two demonstrations at the event. During the first demo on a Renault ZOE electric car, participants and journalists had a unique opportunity to get on board the vehicle and take a driverless ride on the University of Technology of Compiègne (UTC) track.

“The information available from the Galileo GNSS constellation should contribute to the deployment of vehicles with autonomous driving capabilities and to enhance our location-dependent driving Assistance Systems (ADAS),” said Patrick Bastard, Research Director at Renault Group. “The results from the ESCAPE project on the integrity associated with the estimated vehicle location are very important; they are an enabler for the deployment of any safety critical vehicle application. It tells us about the ‘quality’ of the estimates, thus its usability.”

In the second demo, a second vehicle was driven on a public road in Compiègne to demonstrate the potential of the system in a peri-urban environment. There were no passengers in this car, but the participants were able to watch a live video of the test broadcast via 4G with the estimated position obtained using the EGE along with RTK.

“Galileo will dramatically improve precision and allows us to deploy these vehicles quicker,” said Rémi Bastien, VP automotive prospective at Renault Group.

Localisation workshop

Information sessions on the ESCAPE project, including use cases for autonomous driving, high accuracy and integrity, localisation standards, and HD maps for localisation followed the demos.

A presentation of the TESEO APP receiver from STMicroelectronics, which combines multiple-frequency and multi-constellation tracking and enables autonomous-driving systems to combine precise positioning with sensor data for enhanced performance, safety and reliability was also delivered.

Read this: GNSS and mobility: innovation in motion at ITS Singapore

Following the presentations, a workshop was held on localisation integrity for autonomous driving, with discussions on relative and absolute localisation and integrity estimation for land-based applications.

The ESCAPE prototype

The EGE prototype design includes several major components, including a novel multi-frequency, multi-constellation automotive-grade GNSS receiver. The main distinguishing feature of the ESCAPE receiver is its ability to precisely and simultaneously process signals from two different GNSS bands and from different satellite constellations. Although this capability is common in high-end professional receivers, it is cutting-edge in the automotive Tier-2 panorama.

The receiver is also a first-of-a-kind device in its segment to support the new Navigation Message Authentication (NMA) service of Galileo - the open E1 signal. Finally, the new GNSS receiver comes with several core signal-processing enhancements: better receiver sensitivity and tracking capability, multipath mitigation, more intermediate frequency (IF) channels and flexibility in routing IF samples, jamming detection and mitigation, and optimisation of the GNSS data flow.

The result is an ESCAPE GNSS sensor that combines a high-end GNSS technology traditionally reserved for professional applications, innovative dual-band Galileo processing, as well as all the hardware and software safety aspects that are needed to certify the component for the automotive market.

“When we fund projects in automation we always involve users, in this case the car maker. By funding ESCAPE, currently at level 4 of high automation, we are following our strategy to develop autonomous driving technology one level after the other to reach full automation with the next Horizon 2020 project which will begin in January 2020,” said GSA Market Development Officer Flavio Sbardellati.

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).

Novela zákona o pozemkových úpravách bola schválená v NR SR

On Tuesday 19 November 2019, a debate entitled ‘Prague’s Guide to the Galaxy: From GSA to EU Agency for the Space Programme’ was held on the premises of Prague House in Brussels. Organised  by the Permanent Representation of the Czech Republic to the EU, the debate looked at how space data can transform our economy and businesses.

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 Tuesday 19 November 2019, a debate entitled ‘Prague’s Guide to the Galaxy: From GSA to EU Agency for the Space Programme’ was held on the premises of Prague House in Brussels. Organised  by the Permanent Representation of the Czech Republic to the EU, the debate looked at how space data can transform our economy and businesses.

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 Tuesday 19 November 2019, a debate entitled ‘Prague’s Guide to the Galaxy: From GSA to EU Agency for the Space Programme’ was held on the premises of Prague House in Brussels. Organised by the Permanent Representation of the Czech Republic to the EU, the debate looked at how space data can transform our economy and businesses.

The panel debate featured GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides, MEP and member of the EP Committee on Industry, Research and Energy Martina Dlabajová, Director for EU Satellite Navigation Programmes at the European Commission Matthias Petschke, Director of the Intelligent Transport Systems, Space Activities, R&D and Innovation Department at the Czech Ministry of Transport Václav Kobera, and Director of the Prague Project Management Department Jan Dobrovský.

The debate was moderated by Ambassador Jaroslav Zajicek, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to COREPER I (Committee of the Permanent Representatives of the Governments of the Member States to the European Union) and, following a welcoming address by Head of the Prague Delegation to the EU Lucie Čadilová, GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides spoke about space’s contribution to the European economy.

Enormous potential

“According to our recent GNSS Market Report, the global downstream market revenue from both GNSS devices and services will grow from EUR 150 billion in 2019 to EUR 325 billion in 2029. These figures show us that space already plays a major role in the EU economy, creating opportunities for business and jobs for European citizens,” des Dorides said, adding that this role is at the centre of the new responsibilities of the Agency, which is to  become the EU Space Programme Agency (EUSPA) by January 2021, taking over responsibilities for Copernicus markets uptake also.

Read this: Europe’s economy is increasingly dependent on space

MEP Dlabajová noted that it had been seven years since the administrative centre of the Galileo Navigation System was relocated from Brussels to Prague – a city with a long tradition of space research and industry. She said that this had been a good decision, while also stressing the need to secure adequate funding for the programme. 

“It offers many opportunities including for small and medium-sized enterprises which are core to the European economy. If the EU wants a space strategy with a real impact on our citizens and businesses and to achieve all the commitments and even further goals, we must secure sufficient funding,” she said. 

Bringing space to Earth

At the event, Ambassador Zajicek also highlighted the importance of funding, and expressed the hope that the event would help spread the word about the benefits that EU space activities bring to our everyday lives. “It is crucial that the GSA, and later the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), is well funded so it can continue its tremendous work in bringing space to Earth," he said.

And this: Space programme in focus at Brussels meetings

Representing the business sector on the panel, Luboš Kučera, Managing Director at GISAT, a Czech company providing geo-information services based on Earth Observation technology, spoke about the synergies to be found between Earth observation and GNSS positioning and presented several applications based on these synergies.

The event was very well attended, with several MEPs present, including MEP Christophe Grudler from the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, along with financial attachés from nearly all the EU Member States.

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).