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Positioning and mapping technologies are converging and integrating as never before, enabling developers to deliver innovative high added-value applications and services, according to participants in the 5th edition of Technology for All, a forum dedicated to technological innovation in support of the environment, cultural heritage and smart cities, which was held at Rome’s Higher Institute for Firefighting (Istituto Superiore Antincendi) on 3-5 October.

At the event, which brought together over a hundred industrial stakeholders, public administrators, researchers and students, participants discussed how positioning, navigation and imagery technologies are being used to enable applications in the public sector and in other areas, such as autonomous machines, and military and civilian robotic applications.

Galileo added value

Speaking at a session on Position, Navigation and Timing: accurate position for safety, Gian Gherardo Calini, Head of Market Development at the European GNSS Agency (GSA), said that the global satellite navigation market had seen strong growth recently and it is expected that by 2020 the number of devices equipped with satellite positioning would reach 8 billion, creating ‘numerous opportunities’ for application developers to provide high value-added services.

Read this: GNSS a key element of all-purpose, user-driven positioning solutions

“Satellite navigation services already touch our daily lives and are generating economic and social benefits, with the European satellite navigation programmes Galileo and EGNOS being adopted by many users in various fields, such as transport, consumer and professional services,” Calini said. This was thanks to the GSA’s market outreach work and to the development of new applications by European companies leveraging the unique features of EGNOS and Galileo.

“There are many other development opportunities where Galileo can bring added value, such as in autonomous vehicles and in smart cities”, Calini said, adding that “the GSA is committed to keep the fruitful cooperation with European business to improve competitiveness and reach new heights”.

Interest in high-precision GNSS

Speaking about the high positioning accuracy of GNSS receivers, Marco Lisi from the European Space Agency said that there had been a significant increase in interest in high-precision GNSS in recent months.
“In particular, this increased demand for greater positioning accuracy is evident for mass-market applications in areas such as IoT, wearable tracking devices, assisted and autonomous driving, UAV and robotic vehicles,” he said.

Watch this: Who is using Galileo today?

Mass market revolution

Meanwhile, Lisi noted that the world of GNSS handset and chipset manufacturing is experiencing a small revolution. “Four major companies - Broadcom, Intel, STMicroelectronics and u-blox - have decided to make Galileo dual-frequency receivers commercially available to mass market applications, offering positioning accuracy of up to 30 centimetres,” he said, adding that several flagship smartphone manufacturers would integrate these into their products in the course of 2018.

Roberto Capua, responsible for GNSS R&D at Sogei, the technological partner of Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance, presented a GNSS-enabled software defined radio (SDR) receiver that has been extensively tested in the area of Rome to verify its usability for cadastral survey. “The test showed the usefulness of this technology, which is comparable with hardware receivers,” he said, adding that convergence time could be reduced in future by using different constellations and frequencies.

Finally, GNSS and Earth Observation applications presented at Technology for All 2018, demonstrated that Space technologies help to protect and monitor both the natural and built environment, with a view to guaranteeing our heritage for future generations.

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).

Positioning and mapping technologies are converging and integrating as never before, enabling developers to deliver innovative high added-value applications and services, according to participants in the 5th edition of Technology for All, a forum dedicated to technological innovation in support of the environment, cultural heritage and smart cities, which was held at Rome’s Higher Institute for Firefighting (Istituto Superiore Antincendi) on 3-5 October.

At the event, which brought together over a hundred industrial stakeholders, public administrators, researchers and students, participants discussed how positioning, navigation and imagery technologies are being used to enable applications in the public sector and in other areas, such as autonomous machines, and military and civilian robotic applications.

Galileo added value

Speaking at a session on Position, Navigation and Timing: accurate position for safety, Gian Gherardo Calini, Head of Market Development at the European GNSS Agency (GSA), said that the global satellite navigation market had seen strong growth recently and it is expected that by 2020 the number of devices equipped with satellite positioning would reach 8 billion, creating ‘numerous opportunities’ for application developers to provide high value-added services.

Read this: GNSS a key element of all-purpose, user-driven positioning solutions

“Satellite navigation services already touch our daily lives and are generating economic and social benefits, with the European satellite navigation programmes Galileo and EGNOS being adopted by many users in various fields, such as transport, consumer and professional services,” Calini said. This was thanks to the GSA’s market outreach work and to the development of new applications by European companies leveraging the unique features of EGNOS and Galileo.

“There are many other development opportunities where Galileo can bring added value, such as in autonomous vehicles and in smart cities”, Calini said, adding that “the GSA is committed to keep the fruitful cooperation with European business to improve competitiveness and reach new heights”.

Interest in high-precision GNSS

Speaking about the high positioning accuracy of GNSS receivers, Marco Lisi from the European Space Agency said that there had been a significant increase in interest in high-precision GNSS in recent months.

“In particular, this increased demand for greater positioning accuracy is evident for mass-market applications in areas such as IoT, wearable tracking devices, assisted and autonomous driving, UAV and robotic vehicles,” he said.

Watch this: Who is using Galileo today?

Mass market revolution

Meanwhile, Lisi noted that the world of GNSS handset and chipset manufacturing is experiencing a small revolution. “Four major companies - Broadcom, Intel, STMicroelectronics and u-blox - have decided to make Galileo dual-frequency receivers commercially available to mass market applications, offering positioning accuracy of up to 30 centimetres,” he said, adding that several flagship smartphone manufacturers would integrate these into their products in the course of 2018.

Roberto Capua, responsible for GNSS R&D at Sogei, the technological partner of Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance, presented a GNSS-enabled software defined radio (SDR) receiver that has been extensively tested in the area of Rome to verify its usability for cadastral survey. “The test showed the usefulness of this technology, which is comparable with hardware receivers,” he said, adding that convergence time could be reduced in future by using different constellations and frequencies.

Finally, GNSS and Earth Observation applications presented at Technology for All 2018, demonstrated that Space technologies help to protect and monitor both the natural and built environment, with a view to guaranteeing our heritage for future generations.

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 European GNSS Agency (GSA) is partnering with GNSS receiver manufacturer Septentrio to award a prize in the ERL Emergency Local Tournament 2019, which aims to foster advanced developments of autonomous capabilities and seamless navigation for emergency robotic systems.

The European Robotics League (ERL) is an innovative robot competition that stems from its predecessors - the euRathlon and RoCKIn competitions - and focuses on tasks that robots must execute in realistic emergency situations. The competition is composed of multiple local tournaments, held in different locations across Europe, in addition to a few major events.

The first of the ERL Emergency challenges was announced in July 2018, and focused on land and sea robotic systems. The second, the deadline for which has been extended until 29 October, will be held in February 2019 at the premises of the Advanced Centre for Aerospace Technologies (CATEC) in Seville, Spain. This time the challenge will include air and land robots working in an outdoor/indoor environment. You can find more information about the challenges here.

Read this: Integrating GNSS in UAVs for faster SAR

Teams participate in a minimum of two tournaments (local and/or major) per year and get scores based on their performances. Each team’s top two tournament scores are then added together and the teams are ranked based on their cumulative score. Prizes for the top teams are awarded at the following year’s European Robotics Forum (ERF).

GSA-Septentrio Prize

The GSA will award a special prize at ERL Emergency 2019 focusing on robots that make use of solutions based on Galileo and EGNOS. This year, the Agency is partnering with the receiver manufacturer Septentrio, which will offer an AsteRx-i S receiver to the winning team.
Septentrio designs and manufactures highly accurate GNSS receivers for demanding applications requiring accuracies in the decimetre or centimetre range, even under difficult conditions. With its size, weight and power consumption, the AsteRx-i S is ideal for applications such as inspection with UAV's, UAS photogrammetry, automation, robotics and logistics.

“Whether it’s on the high seas, in scintillation prone areas or at high latitudes, our customers know that Septentrio receivers deliver fast, accurate and reliable positions. Our clients are active in urban canyons, under canopies or even under circumstances where there is deliberate interference, we make robust receivers to help our customers excel. It’s our long term vision to enable our customers’ success with GNSS,” said Septentrio Global Marketing Communications Manager Bas Broothaerts.

The challenge

The challenge this year is different depending on whether the teams work with air or land robots. For air robots, this challenge will involve two types of tasks: horizontal accuracy in landings at a specific geographic coordinate; and vertical accuracy while hovering at a specific geographic coordinate. For land robots, there will be only one type of task - horizontal accuracy during waypoint-based navigation.

Visual markers will be used to support the assessment of both types of task. To be eligible for the award, a team must have executed valid trials of the tasks. The team deemed to have achieved the best results will be declared the winner. For information on Galileo capable receivers and navigation kits for robotic systems visit https://www.usegalileo.eu/EN/.

Last chance to register!

If you are interested in participating in this ERL Emergency Local Tournament, you should register your team here by the deadline of October 29. For more information, click here.

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 Satellites GSAT0215, GSAT0216, GSAT0217, and GSAT0218, launched in December 2017, have been commissioned for operational use.

Since Friday 12 October, all Galileo satellites that were launched last year (in December) are usable for service provision. NAGUs 2018023, 2018019, 2018020 and 2018018 announced the commissioning of Galileo satellites GSAT0215 (E21), GSAT0216 (E25), GSAT02017 (E27) and GSAT0218 (E31), increasing the number of satellites that are available for service provision to 18.

Galileo launch information

Galileo satellites Nicole (GSAT0215), Zofia (GSAT0216), Alexandre (GSAT0217) and Irina (GSAT0218), were launched on Tuesday 12 December 2017 at 18:36 UTC, from the Guiana Space Centre (CSG) - Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana - with a nominal duration of 3 hours, 55 minutes and 45 seconds from lift-off to separation of the satellites.

The Arianespace Ariane 5 has placed the four Galileo satellites into MEO (Medium Earth Orbit) circular orbit, at an altitude of 22,922 km above sea level. The launcher carried a total payload of approximately 2,860 kg. Each of the four satellites presents the following features:

Galileo status information

Updated information on the status of the Galileo constellation can be found in the Constellation Status section of GSC website. Moreover, to receive NAGUs automatically, register to the GSC web portal.

Since Galileo Initial Services were declared on December, 2016 more than 100 million devices are using Galileo today. To keep track of Galileo-enabled devices serving a variety of needs as they become available, check out: usegalileo.eu.

The Galileo Initial Services allow the use of Galileo Open Service (OS), which enables a free of charge, global ranging, positioning and timing service for the OS users. Galileo is interoperable with the GNSS constellations (GPS, GLONASS, Beidou). By offering dual frequencies as standard, Galileo is set to deliver real-time positioning accuracy down to the meter range. If you have any questions about Galileo, you are invited to contact the GSC Helpdesk.

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).

Key representatives from the automotive industry came together at the ITS World event in Copenhagen to discuss their work in the field of autonomous driving. All of them are using Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) solutions and other localisation techniques in order to make safe driverless road transport a reality.

GNSS technologies, including Europe's Galileo satellite positioning system, are playing a central role in all of the principal autonomous vehicle prototypes currently under development. Typically, satellite positioning is being used in a complimentary fashion with other integrated sensor- and connectivity-based systems.

The session on precise positioning for autonomous driving at this year's ITS World in Copenhagen was co-moderated by Fiammetta Diani, GSA Deputy Head of Market Development. She said, "There is an increasing need for access to secure GNSS for autonomous driving. The initiatives we will hear from today are all working to meet this challenge."

Multi-GNSS ANavS solution

Germany's ANavS GmbH provides position and attitude solutions with centimetre-level accuracy. Fast fixing is achieved by using three GNSS constellations and the company's patented RTK fixing technology.

ANavS Founder and Managing Director, and former European Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC) first prize winner, Patrick Henkel said, "Our sensor fusion framework delivers precise position and attitude information for navigation. It also generates real-time, highly accurate maps with high resolution."

The system is capable of combining multi-GNSS (GPS + GLONASS + Galileo), inertial sensors, vehicle data, visual odometry and feature mapping, as well as LiDAR and radar. Tight coupling of GNSS and all of these other systems ensure reliable positioning even in areas with limited satellite visibility.

"Our platform can be used for the whole range of transport applications," Henkel said, "from road transport to maritime and drone navigation, as well as in robotics, surveying applications and of course in agriculture for precision farming."

The system is particularly well suited to autonomous driving applications, because of its high accuracy, high availability and continuity, and, with Galileo, its integrity. All of this comes at an affordable cost, said Henkel. "The ANavS module is available in different versions, with one, two or three integrated GNSS receivers, depending on the specific level of performance required."

PRoPART sensor fusion

Fredrik Hoxell is Senior ITS engineer at truck manufacturer Scania Group in Sweden. He described work under the EU H2020-funded PRoPART project. "We set out with the understanding that pre-connected, manual, partially automated and fully automated, connected vehicles will all co-exist on European roads at least during an extended transition period."

The project, Hoxell explained, has developed and demonstrated a high-availability positioning solution for connected automated driving applications. The system implements sensor fusion using information from both the on-board vehicle sensors and an off-board road infrastructure traffic sensor. It is the off-board sensor technology that allows the system to account for non-automated and non-connected road vehicles.

The project's RTK software solution exploits the distinguishing features of Galileo. "We are benefiting from the high multipath mitigation enabled by the Galileo binary offset code, and there is a substantial improvement of reliability of the carrier phase ambiguity resolution. All of this makes Galileo a really good addition to our sensor platform," he said.

TomTom's Big Data contribution

Tom Jensen of GNSS giant TomTom discussed his company's long experience in digital mapping, now a critical resource for autonomous driving applications – and he impressed session participants with some very big numbers: "We have been compiling data from our GNSS receiver users for 10 years. We have 500 million devices currently running and today we have about 90 trillion data points!"

The European company is putting an enormous amount of energy and resources into the development of methods for fusing that data for the generation of detailed maps that can be updated within minutes. "And now we want to open that up for the users," he said.

"We are meeting with public authorities, governments, decision makers who we know can use this information, for the roads, for the infrastructure, to plan their projects in the best and most intelligent way." TomTom data is of unparalleled value, Jensen argued, for mapping, for understanding traffic flow and traffic changes in near real time.

TransSec preventing terrorist attacks

The H2020-funded TransSec project coordinated by Daimler AG Trucks  is aimed at delivering a solution to the recent rise in vehicle-based terror attacks across Europe. In a number of such incidents, perpetrators used heavy trucks to attack pedestrians.

Oihana Otaegui is Head of ITS at TransSec project partner Vicomtech. She said, "We are developing and evaluating autonomous systems to detect and prevent trucks from being misused, to prevent these incidents from occurring. The trustability provided by Galileo is very remarkable. We have achieved advances in GNSS positioning, map data and map matching. On-board environment sensors and V2X communication are all combined in a local dynamic map. This can then be used for movement monitoring, critical area alarm, pre-crash object detection and for the implementation of non-defeatable emergency manoeuvres."

The project team is also concerned with developing new and more effective methods to combat GNSS jamming and spoofing, which represent further threats to security in the context of automated driving technologies. Here, Galileo's unique authentication feature will play an important role.

SIP-adus testing 3D mapping

Japan's SIP (Strategic Innovation Promotion Program)-adus (Automated Driving for Universal Services) project is undertaking a wide range of activities aimed at ushering in the next generation of road transport systems.

Project researchers are taking on, among other things, the human-machine interface in for autonomous and semi-autonomous driving. Another area of interest is in the application of automated driving technologies in buses. The team are investigating ways to implement precise stopping at bus stops with almost no space between the bus and the curb. This will make getting on and off easier for wheelchair users and elderly passengers.

Satoru Nakajo of the University of Tokyo discussed ongoing field operational tests involving the use of digital maps for automated driving. "The project is validating the specifications and accuracy of a high-accuracy 3D mapping function," he said, "including data updating and distribution systems, and of the critical linkage of dynamic data delivered via road infrastructure."

The full-on pursuit of autonomous driving represents a real paradigm shift in the automotive industry. The initiatives on display at the ITS World conference in Copenhagen underline how high-level research and development is leveraging powerful GNSS signals, advanced sensing techniques and other innovations.

Superior performance delivered by technologies such as European GNSS flagship Galileo are helping to enable centimetre-level absolute positioning solutions, functioning seamlessly in challenging environments such as deep urban canyons and in low-visibility weather conditions.

Particularly when used in conjunction with other complimentary technologies, Galileo represents a vital building block for automated driving systems.

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).