zprávy

The InterGEO conference and trade show continues to be a positive occasion to highlight Europe's GNSS services in the fields of geodesy, geo-information, land management and related areas.

With over half a million event website users and over 16,000 visitors from 92 countries at the conference and trade show, InterGEO is one of the key platforms for industry dialogue around the world. The event covers a wide variety of fields, ranging from surveying, geo-information, remote sensing and photogrammetry to complementary solutions and technologies. 

Shared space with Copernicus

As such, InterGEO is the ideal platform for highlighting both of Europe's flagship space programmes, Galileo and Copernicus. Speaking at the shared Galileo and Copernicus stand at InterGEO 2019, GSA Market Development Officer Reinhard Blasi said: "This is now the third time that we have shared a common space with Copernicus at this event. The GNSS community of course knows about Galileo, but we really have a lot to gain by looking more closely at Copernicus." Copernicus is Europe's space-based earth observation and monitoring programme. Like Galileo, it delivers data openly and freely in a wide range of application areas, with both operational data and information services.

"The joint use of EGNSS, Galileo and EGNOS, and Earth observation data enables a number of applications of great interest to the mapping and surveying communities. There are a big number of potential value-added applications for the agriculture sector, for smart cities, road transport, maritime navigation, emergency and crisis management, in addition to utilities and many others,” Blasi said.

Read this: EGNSS and EO: A promising convergence for sustainable development

"These synergies exist in many market segments," he said, "for example in biomass monitoring, hydrographical offshore surveying or border surveillance. There are other examples in the area of precision agriculture, where Copernicus can deliver very detailed information about soil humidity and composition, which you can then use to generate metre- and centimetre-level maps of soil parameters." Farmers can then overlay Galileo- and EGNOS-generated location maps to guide targeted irrigation and other operations in their fields. In another vital area, that of environmental management, Copernicus delivers key information on the state of forests, water quality and snow cover, while again Galileo and EGNOS can provide precise guidance to specific areas of interest.

Based on the level of interest shown by the numerous visitors at the Galileo and Copernicus display, the EU space programmes are likely to remain a fixture at the event. The next InterGEO will take place in Berlin, 2020!

CLGE winner

InterGEO was also the scene of the 8th CLGE Students’ Contest award ceremony, including the GSA special prize encouraging innovative ideas leveraging the use of EGNOS, Galileo and Copernicus. This year’s winner of the GSA category was Pablo Pinto Santos, from Universitat Politècnica de València, with his paper titled “GNSS Open Service Case Study: Development of SW Tools for Assessing GPS and GALILEO Positioning Performances by Means of Post-Processing Single-Frequency Pseudorange Observations”.

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 InterGEO conference and trade show continues to be a positive occasion to highlight Europe's GNSS services in the fields of geodesy, geo-information, land management and related areas.

With over half a million event website users and over 16,000 visitors from 92 countries at the conference and trade show, InterGEO is one of the key platforms for industry dialogue around the world. The event covers a wide variety of fields, ranging from surveying, geo-information, remote sensing and photogrammetry to complementary solutions and technologies. 

Shared space with Copernicus

As such, InterGEO is the ideal platform for highlighting both of Europe's flagship space programmes, Galileo and Copernicus. Speaking at the shared Galileo and Copernicus stand at InterGEO 2019, GSA Market Development Officer Reinhard Blasi said: "This is now the third time that we have shared a common space with Copernicus at this event. The GNSS community of course knows about Galileo, but we really have a lot to gain by looking more closely at Copernicus." Copernicus is Europe's space-based earth observation and monitoring programme. Like Galileo, it delivers data openly and freely in a wide range of application areas, with both operational data and information services.

"The joint use of EGNSS, Galileo and EGNOS, and Earth observation data enables a number of applications of great interest to the mapping and surveying communities. There are a big number of potential value-added applications for the agriculture sector, for smart cities, road transport, maritime navigation, emergency and crisis management, in addition to utilities and many others,” Blasi said.

Read this: EGNSS and EO: A promising convergence for sustainable development

"These synergies exist in many market segments," he said, "for example in biomass monitoring, hydrographical offshore surveying or border surveillance. There are other examples in the area of precision agriculture, where Copernicus can deliver very detailed information about soil humidity and composition, which you can then use to generate metre- and centimetre-level maps of soil parameters." Farmers can then overlay Galileo- and EGNOS-generated location maps to guide targeted irrigation and other operations in their fields. In another vital area, that of environmental management, Copernicus delivers key information on the state of forests, water quality and snow cover, while again Galileo and EGNOS can provide precise guidance to specific areas of interest.

Based on the level of interest shown by the numerous visitors at the Galileo and Copernicus display, the EU space programmes are likely to remain a fixture at the event. The next InterGEO will take place in Berlin, 2020!

CLGE winner

InterGEO was also the scene of the 8th CLGE Students’ Contest award ceremony, including the GSA special prize encouraging innovative ideas leveraging the use of EGNOS, Galileo and Copernicus. This year’s winner of the GSA category was Pablo Pinto Santos, from Universitat Politècnica de València, with his paper titled “GNSS Open Service Case Study: Development of SW Tools for Assessing GPS and GALILEO Positioning Performances by Means of Post-Processing Single-Frequency Pseudorange Observations”.

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 GNSS market is developing rapidly. Demand for precise location information is also growing and the evolution of GNSS technology is ongoing. In this environment, the 6th issue of the GSA GNSS Market Report, officially launched today, is a valuable tool enabling all stakeholders to skilfully navigate and benefit from the flourishing GNSS market.

The 6th issue of the GSA’s GNSS Market Report provides comprehensive information on the dynamic global GNSS market along with in-depth analysis of the latest global trends and developments.

Key findings from the report:

• Global GNSS downstream market revenue from both devices and services will grow from €150 bln in 2019 to €325 bln in 2029;
• The global installed base of GNSS devices in use will increase from 6.4 bln in 2019 to 9.6 bln in 2029;
• In 2017, European companies accounted for an estimated 27% of the global GNSS market;
• In 2029, revenue from GNSS added value services will amount to €166 bln, accounting for 51% of total global GNSS revenue.

Growth on the GNSS market will be stimulated by global macro trends such as digitalisation, big data, the sharing economy and artificial intelligence, all of which use GNSS for position, navigation and timing. In combination with other technologies, GNSS will also contribute to tackling the climate change challenge by supporting environmentally friendly transport solutions, sustainable agriculture and meteorological monitoring.

To read the report in full, download it for free here.

A valuable resource

“The GNSS market is at a very exciting stage in its development and will expand rapidly in the coming years. By offering a comprehensive overview of the current market situation, along with forecasts of how the market is likely to develop to 2029, the latest issue of the GSA Market Report is a valuable resource for all GNSS market stakeholders,” says GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides. “This is a real tool that European companies can use to develop their market entry strategies for new products and services.”

Regularly referenced by policy-makers and business leaders around the world, the GNSS Market Report serves as the go-to resource for anybody requiring an in-depth look at GNSS market opportunities and trends across key market segments.

“The analysis and data-based forecasts in the GNSS Market Report are eagerly awaited by all GNSS market stakeholders. The previous issue of the Market Report was downloaded over 60,000 times since it was published in 2017, and the report has served as a key tool for GNSS market players from global corporations and SMEs to R&D organisations and academia,” said GSA Chief Operating Officer Pascal Claudel. “The high number of downloads is a clear indicator of the value that is placed on the unique blend of GNSS market intelligence and expertise that the GSA and its staff has acquired over the years,” he said.

What’s new in issue 6?

In the 2019 edition of the GNSS Market Report, the number of GNSS market segments reviewed has increased to 10: Consumer Solutions, Road, Manned Aviation, Drones, Maritime, Emergency Response, Rail, Agriculture, Geomatics and Critical Infrastructure. 

This allows more specific and accurate findings:

• Road and Consumer Solutions dominate all other market segments in terms of cumulative revenue, and will account for a combined 93.3% in 2019-2029;
• Of the remaining revenue, more than 50% will be generated by Agriculture and Geomatics;
• Drones have become a significant GNSS market segment, exceeding mature segments such as maritime, aviation and agriculture in terms of shipments.

The New Space market is the focus of the Editor’s Special section in this year’s report. This section examines key trends behind the rapid growth in the number of spacecraft in use, with a particular focus on growth in private low Earth orbit (LEO) service providers and on Galileo’s contribution to the Space Service Volume (SSV).

“In the latest version of the GNSS Market Report, we have updated the market segments to better reflect the actual situation on the market. This section of the report provides analysis of key trends and recent developments in each segment, along with predictions on how the market will evolve, allowing readers to keep track of developments as they unfold on this dynamic market,” said Fiammetta Diani, the GSA’s Head of Market Development.

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).

Galileo and EGNOS were the focus of attention at a special workshop at this year's InterGEO in Stuttgart. InterGEO is the world's leading conference and trade fair for geodesy, geo-information and land management.

InterGEO provided an opportunity to give an update on the status of the Galileo and EGNOS programmes and to present user case studies at a special workshop focusing on the geomatics market. 

In his presentation at the conference, Eduard Escalona, Market Development Innovation Officer at the European GNSS Agency (GSA), stressed the key role of GNSS. “GNSS is a cornerstone in many areas: It is a fundamental element for cadastral surveying, in the construction sector, in mining, land surveying and mapping activities, for all geographic information systems (GIS), for infrastructure monitoring and for marine surveying. For all of you who are working in these and many other areas, Galileo is now helping to provide the GNSS services you need," he said.

Dual frequency boosting market

The European GNSS programmes, Galileo and EGNOS, continue to move forward in terms of adoption by the professional market and among general users, thanks in no small part to the development of dual-frequency capability.

Traditionally, mobile, location-based applications have been powered by single-frequency GNSS receivers operating under stringent battery-power and footprint constraints. With a dual-frequency chipset, these devices now benefit from better accuracy, ionosphere error cancellation, improved tracking and better multipath resistance.

Read this: European GNSS supports smarter mobility

Galileo, as it happens, is leading the way in the area of dual-frequency signal delivery, now with more dual-frequency operational satellites in orbit than any other GNSS system. Market uptake of Galileo receivers has been impressive; in addition to the geomatics-related areas of particular interest to the InterGEO public, dual-frequency GNSS chipsets are also appearing in the automotive sector, where connected cars and autonomous vehicles present a clear and pressing need for accurate and reliable positioning information.

New services to come

"To date, more than one billion Galileo-enabled devices have been sold," said Escalona, "but Galileo isn't standing still, waiting. We are proposing new services to appear in the coming years." These include the much-anticipated High-Accuracy Service (HAS) and a new Authentication Service. "The HAS will be a free, globally available service providing an accuracy of 20 cm, with PPP [Precise Point Positioning] corrections." Meanwhile, the Authentication Service (OS-NMA) will provide protection against jamming, spoofing and meaconing on the E1B signal and a separate Signal Authentication Service (SAS) will provide an even higher level of protection on the E6 signal.

"EGNOS is currently working with GPS but of course we are looking forward to augmenting Galileo in the near future," said Sergio Cabrera Bona, EGNOS Service Adoption Tools Engineer at the European Satellite Services Provider, whose core activities comprise EGNOS operations and service provision.

And this: GSA GNSS Market Report

"GNSS is critical in all of these fields, whether it is mapping and GIS, farming, forestry, thermal pictures, management of natural terrains," Cabrera said. He went on to list some other areas, including management and inspection of utilities, power networks, water supply, telecoms, drones, inventory, surveying, field campaigns and determination of perimeters in agriculture as other areas where GNSS plays a key role. 

"It is not possible to mention all of the activities where you need reliable positioning. What you have to know is that with EGNOS augmentations you already have a horizontal accuracy below one metre and a vertical accuracy below two metres, so this is a very good accuracy," he said.

There is much more that could potentially be done right now, Cabrera explained. "Most of the professional equipment is already EGNOS-enabled, but in practice users do not always configure their equipment correctly to exploit this capability. EGNOS adoption and support is going ahead full speed, but in the GNSS device market, many users still do not know they can use EGNOS. So the education process remains an ongoing effort,” he said.

Cabrera explained that the EGNOS user support website can be an important part of this educational drive on the top of the help desk. "We have very interesting tools and resources available online. For example, we will have a new EGNOS visibility map available very soon on the website. With this tool you will be able to easily see the current availability of EGNOS signals in your location, which will be very useful especially in urban environments, for example. We also have many user support services and there is a new mobile app coming, so please visit our website and take advantage of EGNOS. It is there for you." 

Introducing the GSC

Galileo services improvement expert Pedro Gómez Martínez informed participants about the European GNSS Service Centre (GSC), defining both the concept of operations as well as the procedures necessary to provide the services that the GSA offers to Galileo users.

"The European GNSS Service Centre is the single interface between the infrastructure and users of the Galileo open services, commercial service and search and rescue service (SAR)," said Gómez. "So the GSC is a centre that provides experts, know-how, evaluation of capability, distribution of information and support for the provision of value-added services provided by the Galileo system."

Read this: MyGalileoApp – targeting the future of mobility

The GSC website is a core resource for Galileo users, Gómez said, reporting real-time system status and incident notifications, with a bank of key documents and a full-time help desk. "It is very important for us that this is a two-way interactive service that includes your feed-back. We need you to report any incidents that you might experience related to the product, service and data provision. We are very interested in user satisfaction, and we want to know how you respond to improvements. And of course, in general, we are here to promote GNSS in all its forms, in all areas, for all users."

The GSC launched a new version of its website in the run-up to the InterGEO event. "More than ever we are making it easier for you to engage in dialogue with us and to provide your feedback. This is very important to us with new services coming up in the future," Gomez said.

Research fundamentals

"One of the very important responsibilities of the GSA is the management of a number of EGNSS research and development programmes," said Eduard Escalona. "We have Horizon 2020, the European Union's research Framework Programme. There we have a final call for proposals coming up in November, with a deadline in March 2020. The GSA also is overseeing the Fundamental Elements programme, which is funding research specifically targeted at developing Galileo-enabled chipsets, receivers and related technologies."

To illustrate Escalona's point, the presentations featured EU-funded GNSS-related research projects leveraging the accuracy and integrity offered by Galileo. Pere Molina of Geonumerics presented the MapKite project. Funded under Horizon 2020 and now completed, MapKite integrates an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) and a Mobile Mapping System (MMS) for simultaneous capture of geo-data from the air and from the ground. Molina showed data from a successful corridor mapping exercise run using the MapKite system.

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).

Galileo and EGNOS were the focus of attention at a special workshop at this year's InterGEO in Stuttgart. InterGEO is the world's leading conference and trade fair for geodesy, geo-information and land management.

InterGEO provided an opportunity to give an update on the status of the Galileo and EGNOS programmes and to present user case studies at a special workshop focusing on the geomatics market. 

In his presentation at the conference, Eduard Escalona, Market Development Innovation Officer at the European GNSS Agency (GSA), stressed the key role of GNSS. “GNSS is a cornerstone in many areas: It is a fundamental element for cadastral surveying, in the construction sector, in mining, land surveying and mapping activities, for all geographic information systems (GIS), for infrastructure monitoring and for marine surveying. For all of you who are working in these and many other areas, Galileo is now helping to provide the GNSS services you need," he said.

Dual frequency boosting market

The European GNSS programmes, Galileo and EGNOS, continue to move forward in terms of adoption by the professional market and among general users, thanks in no small part to the development of dual-frequency capability.

Traditionally, mobile, location-based applications have been powered by single-frequency GNSS receivers operating under stringent battery-power and footprint constraints. With a dual-frequency chipset, these devices now benefit from better accuracy, ionosphere error cancellation, improved tracking and better multipath resistance.

Read this: European GNSS supports smarter mobility

Galileo, as it happens, is leading the way in the area of dual-frequency signal delivery, now with more dual-frequency operational satellites in orbit than any other GNSS system. Market uptake of Galileo receivers has been impressive; in addition to the geomatics-related areas of particular interest to the InterGEO public, dual-frequency GNSS chipsets are also appearing in the automotive sector, where connected cars and autonomous vehicles present a clear and pressing need for accurate and reliable positioning information.

New services to come

"To date, more than one billion Galileo-enabled devices have been sold," said Escalona, "but Galileo isn't standing still, waiting. We are proposing new services to appear in the coming years." These include the much-anticipated High-Accuracy Service (HAS) and a new Authentication Service. "The HAS will be a free, globally available service providing an accuracy of 20 cm, with PPP [Precise Point Positioning] corrections." Meanwhile, the Authentication Service (OS-NMA) will provide protection against jamming, spoofing and meaconing on the E1B signal and a separate Signal Authentication Service (SAS) will provide an even higher level of protection on the E6 signal.

"EGNOS is currently working with GPS but of course we are looking forward to augmenting Galileo in the near future," said Sergio Cabrera Bona, EGNOS Service Adoption Tools Engineer at the European Satellite Services Provider, whose core activities comprise EGNOS operations and service provision.

And this: GSA GNSS Market Report

"GNSS is critical in all of these fields, whether it is mapping and GIS, farming, forestry, thermal pictures, management of natural terrains," Cabrera said. He went on to list some other areas, including management and inspection of utilities, power networks, water supply, telecoms, drones, inventory, surveying, field campaigns and determination of perimeters in agriculture as other areas where GNSS plays a key role. 

"It is not possible to mention all of the activities where you need reliable positioning. What you have to know is that with EGNOS augmentations you already have a horizontal accuracy below one metre and a vertical accuracy below two metres, so this is a very good accuracy," he said.

There is much more that could potentially be done right now, Cabrera explained. "Most of the professional equipment is already EGNOS-enabled, but in practice users do not always configure their equipment correctly to exploit this capability. EGNOS adoption and support is going ahead full speed, but in the GNSS device market, many users still do not know they can use EGNOS. So the education process remains an ongoing effort,” he said.

Cabrera explained that the EGNOS user support website can be an important part of this educational drive on the top of the help desk. "We have very interesting tools and resources available online. For example, we will have a new EGNOS usability map available very soon on the website. With this tool you will be able to easily see the current availability of EGNOS signals in your location, which will be very useful especially in urban environments, for example. We also have many user support services and there is a new mobile app coming, so please visit our website and take advantage of EGNOS. It is there for you." 

Introducing the GSC

Galileo services improvement expert Pedro Gómez Martínez informed participants about the European GNSS Service Centre (GSC), defining both the concept of operations as well as the procedures necessary to provide the services that the GSA offers to Galileo users.

"The European GNSS Service Centre is the single interface between the infrastructure and users of the Galileo open services, commercial service and search and rescue service (SAR)," said Gómez. "So the GSC is a centre that provides experts, know-how, evaluation of capability, distribution of information and support for the provision of value-added services provided by the Galileo system."

Read this: MyGalileoApp – targeting the future of mobility

The GSC website is a core resource for Galileo users, Gómez said, reporting real-time system status and incident notifications, with a bank of key documents and a full-time help desk. "It is very important for us that this is a two-way interactive service that includes your feed-back. We need you to report any incidents that you might experience related to the product, service and data provision. We are very interested in user satisfaction, and we want to know how you respond to improvements. And of course, in general, we are here to promote GNSS in all its forms, in all areas, for all users."

The GSC launched a new version of its website in the run-up to the InterGEO event. "More than ever we are making it easier for you to engage in dialogue with us and to provide your feedback. This is very important to us with new services coming up in the future," Gomez said.

Research fundamentals

"One of the very important responsibilities of the GSA is the management of a number of EGNSS research and development programmes," said Eduard Escalona. "We have Horizon 2020, the European Union's research Framework Programme. There we have a final call for proposals coming up in November, with a deadline in March 2020. The GSA also is overseeing the Fundamental Elements programme, which is funding research specifically targeted at developing Galileo-enabled chipsets, receivers and related technologies."

To illustrate Escalona's point, the presentations featured EU-funded GNSS-related research projects leveraging the accuracy and integrity offered by Galileo. Pere Molina of Geonumerics presented the MapKite project. Funded under Horizon 2020 and now completed, MapKite integrates an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) and a Mobile Mapping System (MMS) for simultaneous capture of geo-data from the air and from the ground. Molina showed data from a successful corridor mapping exercise run using the MapKite system.

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).

Galileo and EGNOS were the focus of attention at a special workshop at this year's InterGEO in Stuttgart. InterGEO is the world's leading conference and trade fair for geodesy, geo-information and land management.

InterGEO provided an opportunity to give an update on the status of the Galileo and EGNOS programmes and to present user case studies at a special workshop focusing on the geomatics market. 

In his presentation at the conference, Eduard Escalona, Market Development Innovation Officer at the European GNSS Agency (GSA), stressed the key role of GNSS. “GNSS is a cornerstone in many areas: It is a fundamental element for cadastral surveying, in the construction sector, in mining, land surveying and mapping activities, for all geographic information systems (GIS), for infrastructure monitoring and for marine surveying. For all of you who are working in these and many other areas, Galileo is now helping to provide the GNSS services you need," he said.

Dual frequency boosting market

The European GNSS programmes, Galileo and EGNOS, continue to move forward in terms of adoption by the professional market and among general users, thanks in no small part to the development of dual-frequency capability.

Traditionally, mobile, location-based applications have been powered by single-frequency GNSS receivers operating under stringent battery-power and footprint constraints. With a dual-frequency chipset, these devices now benefit from better accuracy, ionosphere error cancellation, improved tracking and better multipath resistance.

Read this: European GNSS supports smarter mobility

Galileo, as it happens, is leading the way in the area of dual-frequency signal delivery, now with more dual-frequency operational satellites in orbit than any other GNSS system. Market uptake of Galileo receivers has been impressive; in addition to the geomatics-related areas of particular interest to the InterGEO public, dual-frequency GNSS chipsets are also appearing in the automotive sector, where connected cars and autonomous vehicles present a clear and pressing need for accurate and reliable positioning information.

New services to come

"To date, more than one billion Galileo-enabled devices have been sold," said Escalona, "but Galileo isn't standing still, waiting. We are proposing new services to appear in the coming years." These include the much-anticipated High-Accuracy Service (HAS) and a new Authentication Service. "The HAS will be a free, globally available service providing an accuracy of 20 cm, with PPP [Precise Point Positioning] corrections." Meanwhile, the Authentication Service (OS-NMA) will provide protection against jamming, spoofing and meaconing on the E1B signal and a separate Signal Authentication Service (SAS) will provide an even higher level of protection on the E6 signal.

"EGNOS is currently working with GPS but of course we are looking forward to augmenting Galileo in the near future," said Sergio Cabrera Bona, EGNOS Service Adoption Tools Engineer at the European Satellite Services Provider, whose core activities comprise EGNOS operations and service provision.

And this: GSA GNSS Market Report

"GNSS is critical in all of these fields, whether it is mapping and GIS, farming, forestry, thermal pictures, management of natural terrains," Cabrera said. He went on to list some other areas, including management and inspection of utilities, power networks, water supply, telecoms, drones, inventory, surveying, field campaigns and determination of perimeters in agriculture as other areas where GNSS plays a key role. 

"It is not possible to mention all of the activities where you need reliable positioning. What you have to know is that with EGNOS augmentations you already have a horizontal accuracy below one metre and a vertical accuracy below two metres, so this is a very good accuracy," he said.

There is much more that could potentially be done right now, Cabrera explained. "Most of the professional equipment is already EGNOS-enabled, but in practice users do not always configure their equipment correctly to exploit this capability. EGNOS adoption and support is going ahead full speed, but in the GNSS device market, many users still do not know they can use EGNOS. So the education process remains an ongoing effort,” he said.

Cabrera explained that the EGNOS user support website can be an important part of this educational drive on the top of the help desk. "We have very interesting tools and resources available online. For example, we will have a new EGNOS usability map available very soon on the website. With this tool you will be able to easily see the current availability of EGNOS signals in your location, which will be very useful especially in urban environments, for example. We also have many user support services and there is a new mobile app coming, so please visit our website and take advantage of EGNOS. It is there for you." 

Introducing the GSC

Galileo services improvement expert Pedro Gómez Martínez informed participants about the European GNSS Service Centre (GSC), defining both the concept of operations as well as the procedures necessary to provide the services that the GSA offers to Galileo users.

"The European GNSS Service Centre is the single interface between the infrastructure and users of the Galileo open services, commercial service and search and rescue service (SAR)," said Gómez. "So the GSC is a centre that provides experts, know-how, evaluation of capability, distribution of information and support for the provision of value-added services provided by the Galileo system."

Read this: MyGalileoApp – targeting the future of mobility

The GSC website is a core resource for Galileo users, Gómez said, reporting real-time system status and incident notifications, with a bank of key documents and a full-time help desk. "It is very important for us that this is a two-way interactive service that includes your feed-back. We need you to report any incidents that you might experience related to the product, service and data provision. We are very interested in user satisfaction, and we want to know how you respond to improvements. And of course, in general, we are here to promote GNSS in all its forms, in all areas, for all users."

The GSC launched a new version of its website in the run-up to the InterGEO event. "More than ever we are making it easier for you to engage in dialogue with us and to provide your feedback. This is very important to us with new services coming up in the future," Gomez said.

Research fundamentals

"One of the very important responsibilities of the GSA is the management of a number of EGNSS research and development programmes," said Eduard Escalona. "We have Horizon 2020, the European Union's research Framework Programme. There we have a final call for proposals coming up in November, with a deadline in March 2020. The GSA also is overseeing the Fundamental Elements programme, which is funding research specifically targeted at developing Galileo-enabled chipsets, receivers and related technologies."

To illustrate Escalona's point, the presentations featured EU-funded GNSS-related research projects leveraging the accuracy and integrity offered by Galileo. Pere Molina of Geonumerics presented the MapKite project. Funded under Horizon 2020 and now completed, MapKite integrates an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) and a Mobile Mapping System (MMS) for simultaneous capture of geo-data from the air and from the ground. Molina showed data from a successful corridor mapping exercise run using the MapKite system.

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).