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The productivity and sustainability of land is determined by interactions between land resources, climate and human activities. Selecting the optimal, sustainable use of land is essential to minimise degradation, rehabilitate degraded land, ensure the sustainable use of natural resources and mitigate the impact of climate change. So it was appropriate that on World Soil Day, an EU Space Week session showcased how the EU space programmes Galileo and Copernicus are supporting sustainable land use and management.

Taking place, most appropriately, on World Soil Day, the EU Space Week session on 5 December focused on how sustainable land management impacts the resilience and vulnerability of land resources, particularly within the context of mitigating climate change, and was organised around three relevant United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Keynote speaker Markus Erhard from the European Environment Agency (EEA) gave a user perspective of how satellite data impacts on policy in this area, in particular in terms of the EU’s Seventh Environmental Action Programme. “Copernicus is a true game changer in terms of environmental monitoring and assessment,” he stated. “With outstanding availability, accessibility, and at zero cost.”

Elisabeth Hamdouch from the Commission’s DG GROW agreed that EU space instruments were very important and the synergies between Copernicus and Galileo could make a big difference in this area. “These space-based programmes produce huge flows of new data,” she said. The key question was how to make best use of this quantity and quality data.

Read this: European GNSS and Earth Observation: A promising convergence for sustainable development

SDG 2: Zero Hunger

How resource efficiency in agriculture could be improved by early detection of diseases and pests using Copernicus was outlined by João Araújo of Spin.Works. Remote sensing is a key enabling technology to ensure we can feed a burgeoning world population. The company has developed the MAPPING online application that integrates Copernicus data and drone imaging to create insights that help farmers make the right choices and increase yield while reducing inputs such as pesticides and fertilizer.

The GSA-funded Horizon 2020 project Green Patrol showed how Galileo-enabled autonomous robots can detect and control pests in greenhouses thereby boosting yield. Maria Campo-Cossio from Fundación Centro Tecnológico de Componentes in Spain noted that 20 centimetre positioning accuracy was required but they could “count on Galileo for a solution, thanks to its greater resilience to multipath interference” – a major issue when working in large glasshouses.

The role of Galileo and EGNOS to enable precision agriculture and increase both the efficiency and sustainability of agriculture is well documented but has been often seen as a niche application for very big farms. However, now it is becoming mainstream as cheaper entry level applications become available. Stephan Vormbrock of CLAAS E-systems said: “Agricultural vehicles must be smarter, they cannot get bigger!” He presented a range of intelligent solutions that enable farmers to integrate and use all available space-based data to sustainably increase crop yields.

Bernard Richter of HEXAGON Leica Geosystems described their GNSS based solution for land registry applications in particular to enable farmers to comply with the EU’s Common Agriculture Policy (CAP). The system’s network of 4,500 base stations used to correct positioning data is being upgraded to use Galileo data that will enable the centimetre level precision that applications such as accurate seeding require.

And this: Agriculture and Space: The journey from field to fork

SDG 6: Clean water

Irrigation is becoming an increasing issue for farmers across EU-27 countries. The GSA-funded Horizon 2020 project Mistrale uses reflected GNSS signals (GNSS-R) for a number of applications including water management. Tamme van deer Wal from Aerovision showed how the technique can be used as a remote sensing alternative or compliment to Copernicus data. The main advantage for GNSS-R is that it can provide data 24/7 as the signal receiver is mounted on a drone. Practical applications include measurements of field water content, water management in flood areas and monitoring of mine waste seepage.

The use of Copernicus Land Service data to monitor lakes and rivers in near real time was described by Lionel Zawadzki from Collecte Localisation Satellites. The water component is an emerging Copernicus service with various products available including information on snow cover, lake ice extent, lake surface temperatures, and the area of bodies of water.

An enhanced flood mapping service was outlined by Federica Maserati of Telespazio. “Flood risks are rising due to global warming,” she said. However, the Copernicus rapid mapping service is now fully operational with global coverage and enables authorities anywhere in the world to react fast. A new vision for the service is that service users become distributed service providers by supplying additional crowdsourced data input. “We are looking for users to act as in-situ sensors generating local data,” he said. Collection of GNSS geolocation with this social data would help with data integration and increase accuracy.

SDG 15: Life on Land

SDG 15 aims to protect, restore and promote the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems explained Hans Dufourmont of the European Environment Agency (EEA), who outlined how the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (LMS) supported these objectives. Service support includes high level imperviousness data, high resolution data on forest cover, grassland cover and even extent of ploughing indicators. It is possible to monitor CO2 emissions by mapping probable sources and sinks. “Agricultural production is responsible for around a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions,” stated Dufourmont.

The Farm Sustainability Tool for Nutrients (FaST) was described by Isidro Campos Rodriguez from DG-AGRI. This tool also looks to support farmers under the CAP. The tool is under development and could be a key to boosting digitalisation in agriculture. The tool takes relevant farm information and enables fine tuning of nutrient management on the farm including outputs such as personalised advice on irrigation requirements. The app is currently working with Copernicus data but there is interest in the added value that Galileo can bring.

The final presentation of the session was from Antoine Lefebvre, founder of start-up Kermap that uses Copernicus data with artificial intelligence to analyse and predict urban heat island effects and local climate zones. The work visualises temperature distributions within city areas and enables modelling of climate change impacts on living conditions for citizens.

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 productivity and sustainability of land is determined by interactions between land resources, climate and human activities. Selecting the optimal, sustainable use of land is essential to minimise degradation, rehabilitate degraded land, ensure the sustainable use of natural resources and mitigate the impact of climate change. So it was appropriate that on World Soil Day, an EU Space Week session showcased how the EU space programmes Galileo and Copernicus are supporting sustainable land use and management.

Taking place, most appropriately, on World Soil Day, the EU Space Week session on 5 December focused on how sustainable land management impacts the resilience and vulnerability of land resources, particularly within the context of mitigating climate change, and was organised around three relevant United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Keynote speaker Markus Erhard from the European Environment Agency (EEA) gave a user perspective of how satellite data impacts on policy in this area, in particular in terms of the EU’s Seventh Environmental Action Programme. “Copernicus is a true game changer in terms of environmental monitoring and assessment,” he stated. “With outstanding availability, accessibility, and at zero cost.”

Elisabeth Hamdouch from the Commission’s DG GROW agreed that EU space instruments were very important and the synergies between Copernicus and Galileo could make a big difference in this area. “These space-based programmes produce huge flows of new data,” she said. The key question was how to make best use of this quantity and quality data.

Read this: European GNSS and Earth Observation: A promising convergence for sustainable development

SDG 2: Zero Hunger

How resource efficiency in agriculture could be improved by early detection of diseases and pests using Copernicus was outlined by João Araújo of Spin.Works. Remote sensing is a key enabling technology to ensure we can feed a burgeoning world population. The company has developed the MAPPING online application that integrates Copernicus data and drone imaging to create insights that help farmers make the right choices and increase yield while reducing inputs such as pesticides and fertilizer.

The GSA-funded Horizon 2020 project Green Patrol showed how Galileo-enabled autonomous robots can detect and control pests in greenhouses thereby boosting yield. Maria Campo-Cossio from Fundación Centro Tecnológico de Componentes in Spain noted that 20 centimetre positioning accuracy was required but they could “count on Galileo for a solution, thanks to its greater resilience to multipath interference” – a major issue when working in large glasshouses.

The role of Galileo and EGNOS to enable precision agriculture and increase both the efficiency and sustainability of agriculture is well documented but has been often seen as a niche application for very big farms. However, now it is becoming mainstream as cheaper entry level applications become available. Stephan Vormbrock of CLAAS E-systems said: “Agricultural vehicles must be smarter, they cannot get bigger!” He presented a range of intelligent solutions that enable farmers to integrate and use all available space-based data to sustainably increase crop yields.

Bernard Richter of HEXAGON Leica Geosystems described their GNSS based solution for land registry applications in particular to enable farmers to comply with the EU’s Common Agriculture Policy (CAP). The system’s network of 4,500 base stations used to correct positioning data is being upgraded to use Galileo data that will enable the centimetre level precision that applications such as accurate seeding require.

And this: Agriculture and Space: The journey from field to fork

SDG 6: Clean water

Irrigation is becoming an increasing issue for farmers across EU-27 countries. The GSA-funded Horizon 2020 project Mistrale uses reflected GNSS signals (GNSS-R) for a number of applications including water management. Tamme van deer Wal from Aerovision showed how the technique can be used as a remote sensing alternative or compliment to Copernicus data. The main advantage for GNSS-R is that it can provide data 24/7 as the signal receiver is mounted on a drone. Practical applications include measurements of field water content, water management in flood areas and monitoring of mine waste seepage.

The use of Copernicus Land Service data to monitor lakes and rivers in near real time was described by Lionel Zawadzki from Collecte Localisation Satellites. The water component is an emerging Copernicus service with various products available including information on snow cover, lake ice extent, lake surface temperatures, and the area of bodies of water.

An enhanced flood mapping service was outlined by Federica Maserati of Telespazio. “Flood risks are rising due to global warming,” she said. However, the Copernicus rapid mapping service is now fully operational with global coverage and enables authorities anywhere in the world to react fast. A new vision for the service is that service users become distributed service providers by supplying additional crowdsourced data input. “We are looking for users to act as in-situ sensors generating local data,” he said. Collection of GNSS geolocation with this social data would help with data integration and increase accuracy.

SDG 15: Life on Land

SDG 15 aims to protect, restore and promote the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems explained Hans Dufourmont of the European Environment Agency (EEA), who outlined how the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (LMS) supported these objectives. Service support includes high level imperviousness data, high resolution data on forest cover, grassland cover and even extent of ploughing indicators. It is possible to monitor CO2 emissions by mapping probable sources and sinks. “Agricultural production is responsible for around a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions,” stated Dufourmont.

The Farm Sustainability Tool for Nutrients (FaST) was described by Isidro Campos Rodriguez from DG-AGRI. This tool also looks to support farmers under the CAP. The tool is under development and could be a key to boosting digitalisation in agriculture. The tool takes relevant farm information and enables fine tuning of nutrient management on the farm including outputs such as personalised advice on irrigation requirements. The app is currently working with Copernicus data but there is interest in the added value that Galileo can bring.

The final presentation of the session was from Antoine Lefebvre, founder of start-up Kermap that uses Copernicus data with artificial intelligence to analyse and predict urban heat island effects and local climate zones. The work visualises temperature distributions within city areas and enables modelling of climate change impacts on living conditions for citizens.

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).

At the annual Snapdragon Technology Summit, which took place on December 4-6 in Hawaii, global chipset manufacturer Qualcomm Technologies Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, unveiled the newest generation in the 8 Mobile Platform Series, the dual frequency Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 855 Mobile Platform.

The latest offering from Qualcomm Technologies is the world’s first commercial mobile platform supporting multi-gigabit 5G, industry-leading AI and immersive extended reality (XR) collectively, ushering in a new decade of revolutionary mobile devices.

The Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform supports dual-frequency GNSS, leveraging the Galileo E1/E5a signals as well as the GPS and QZSS L1/L5 signals to produce a more accurate and robust location in dense urban canyons where GNSS signals tend to be blocked or reflected.

Using new chip architectures built on leading 7nm process technology, the Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform will also offer users long-lasting battery life and superior experiences in areas such as imaging, audio, gaming and XR.

Major milestone

“This announcement follows the trend of implementing dual frequency in consumer platforms to achieve new levels of location performance,” said European GNSS Agency (GSA) Executive Director Carlo des Dorides. “Combining high accuracy of location with 5G connectivity is a major milestone and we are proud that Galileo and its E1/E5 signals are part of this revolution.”

“Accurate and reliable position location is of utmost importance to the mobile experience,” said Alex Katouzian, Senior Vice President, General Manager, Mobile, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “Qualcomm Technologies continues to help improve consumers’ experiences with location-based services by adding dual-frequency GNSS support to the Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform.”

Galileo use

Working closely with the GSA for what concerns the Galileo use in the chipsets, Qualcomm Technologies is active in Location Based Services for smartphones, wearables, computing, IoT and the automotive market segments. In 2016, the company made headlines when it launched the Galileo-enabled Snapdragon smartphone chipset, which was used in the BQ Aquaris X5 – the market’s first Galileo smartphone.

Earlier this year, Qualcomm Technologies also introduced a number of European GNSS (Galileo and EGNOS) capable automotive chipsets for Europe’s eCall system, the emergency response location initiative now mandatory in all new vehicle types sold in Europe. With most of its chipsets capable of receiving and using Galileo signals, Qualcomm is the world’s largest chipset manufacturer of Galileo-enabled receivers.

Qualcomm and Snapdragon are trademarks of Qualcomm Incorporated, registered in the United States and other countries. Qualcomm Snapdragon is a product of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.

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).

At the annual Snapdragon Technology Summit, which took place on December 4-6 in Hawaii, global chipset manufacturer Qualcomm Technologies Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, unveiled the newest generation in the 8 Mobile Platform Series, the dual frequency Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 855 Mobile Platform.

The latest offering from Qualcomm Technologies is the world’s first commercial mobile platform supporting multi-gigabit 5G, industry-leading AI and immersive extended reality (XR) collectively, ushering in a new decade of revolutionary mobile devices.

The Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform supports dual-frequency GNSS, leveraging the Galileo E1/E5a signals as well as the GPS and QZSS L1/L5 signals to produce a more accurate and robust location in dense urban canyons where GNSS signals tend to be blocked or reflected.

Using new chip architectures built on leading 7nm process technology, the Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform will also offer users long-lasting battery life and superior experiences in areas such as imaging, audio, gaming and XR.

Major milestone

“This announcement follows the trend of implementing dual frequency in consumer platforms to achieve new levels of location performance,” said European GNSS Agency (GSA) Executive Director Carlo des Dorides. “Combining high accuracy of location with 5G connectivity is a major milestone and we are proud that Galileo and its E1/E5 signals are part of this revolution.”

“Accurate and reliable position location is of utmost importance to the mobile experience,” said Alex Katouzian, Senior Vice President, General Manager, Mobile, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “Qualcomm Technologies continues to help improve consumers’ experiences with location-based services by adding dual-frequency GNSS support to the Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform.”

Galileo use

Working closely with the GSA for what concerns the Galileo use in the chipsets, Qualcomm Technologies is active in Location Based Services for smartphones, wearables, computing, IoT and the automotive market segments. In 2016, the company made headlines when it launched the Galileo-enabled Snapdragon smartphone chipset, which was used in the BQ Aquaris X5 – the market’s first Galileo smartphone.

Earlier this year, Qualcomm Technologies also introduced a number of European GNSS (Galileo and EGNOS) capable automotive chipsets for Europe’s eCall system, the emergency response location initiative now mandatory in all new vehicle types sold in Europe. With most of its chipsets capable of receiving and using Galileo signals, Qualcomm is the world’s largest chipset manufacturer of Galileo-enabled receivers.

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).

A team from Teagasc, the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority, took the first prize in this year’s Farming by Satellite competition with FODDERApp, a mobile app for grass and grazing management.

Second prize went to the pan-European team TREASURE for their project "GALILEO for automated transplanting of crop seedlings"; and the project "Copernicus Satellites Data Fusion for Management Zones Definition" from the University of Padua’s Space Junk team took third prize.

The winning teams overcame stiff competition from 42 other young people across 17 European countries. The competition judges selected six teams to take forward to the final ‘live’ judging round, held on Wednesday 5 December as part of European Space Week in Marseille.

The finalists came from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK and, for the first time in the competition, Ireland and Finland.

“This was an amazing experience we really enjoyed brainstorming and developing the idea back in Ireland. And meeting all the other finalists and judges here in Marseille was fantastic! We hope to keep these connections in years to come,” Teagasc team member Gabriela Afrasinei said.

Read this: Agriculture and Space: The journey from field to fork

Interesting times ahead

The Farming by Satellite Prize, which promotes the use of satellite technologies in agriculture, is an initiative of the European GNSS Agency (GSA) and the European Environment Agency (EEA) and is sponsored by agricultural equipment manufacturer CLAAS.

“The outcome of this year´s Farming by Satellite Prize once again showed there is no better way for innovation than investing in and rewarding the next generation of farmers. The amount and quality of the entries we received indicate that we have interesting times ahead in the area of smart farming,” said GSA Market Development Officer Reinhard Blasi, who was part of the judging panel.

Innovative thinking

Commenting on the environmental focus of the entries, Hans Dufourmont from the EEA said: “At a time when we are facing critical environmental and climate challenges, it is of increasing importance that we continue to encourage this type of strong innovative thinking from the next generation.”

And this: Agriculture a key beneficiary of EU Space Programmes

Marcel Foelsch, Head of Precision Farming Services at CLAAS E-Systems noted that the past summer, with its unusually high temperatures and low rainfall, had highlighted the need to even further optimise the ecological benefits in the field of agriculture. “The participants of this competition are aware of this and submitted great ideas that tackle the challenges of today. I was impressed by the quality and level of innovation of the concepts that made it difficult to nominate the best one,” he said.

If you missed out on this year’s competition, but think you might have an idea that you could develop for next year, you can find all you need to know about entering the competition 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).

December 16 marks two years since the launch of Galileo Initial Services. Timed to coincide with this milestone, the ‘Accuracy Matters’ campaign, officially launched on 15 December 2018, aims to increase public awareness of Galileo’s successes over the past two years and highlight the added value that Galileo brings to the mass market.

Did you know that Galileo is already improving the GPS signal that your smartphone receives, giving you extra accuracy and precision? Most Europeans are unaware that they are already benefitting from Galileo, but this is about to change! The Accuracy Matters campaign was introduced to the public at European Space Week in Marseille in the first week of December and the campaign officially kicked off this weekend. 

The campaign focuses on the fact that a little goes a long way and that today “Accuracy Matters” more than ever before for the latest location-based applications and services. The new awareness-building campaign will include a series of short video clips that give an entertaining glimpse of everyday situations where ‘Accuracy Matters’ to anyone using location data on their smartphones.

The videos can be viewed on a dedicated campaign page on the GSA website. The clips will be released in all EU languages and promoted on the Internet and through social media.

Milestone after milestone

A number of milestones with major significance for the Galileo programme have been reached since the launch of Initial Services in December 2016. In September 2017, semiconductor developer Broadcom announced the launch of the world’s first mass-market, dual frequency GNSS receiver for smartphones - the BCM47755. This was followed, in June 2018, by the launch of the first dual frequency smartphone – the Xiaomi Mi 8.

Now, according to the latest figures, over 500 million devices - most of them the latest smartphone models - are already Galileo-enabled. This new campaign aims to make users of these devices aware of the benefits that they can enjoy thanks Europe’s investment in the Galileo programme. 

Accuracy is particularly important when it comes to emergency response, and Galileo’s increased accuracy is a key enabler in this area too. As of 31 March 2018, all new car and light van models sold in the EU have to be fitted with Galileo-enabled eCall devices that automatically alert rescue services in the event of an accident, sending their position. A mere six months later, in September 2018, the first eCall-enabled car, the Volvo V60, was presented to the market.

These and the many other ways that Galileo’s added accuracy is benefitting end users will be highlighted throughout the campaign. 

Do you have Galileo in your pocket?

How about you? Do you know whether your phone or device is Galileo-enabled and whether you are already benefitting from Galileo’s added accuracy? To find out, check the devices that are already Galileo-enabled here: UseGalileo.eu.

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).

December 16 marks two years since the launch of Galileo Initial Services. Timed to coincide with this milestone, the ‘Accuracy Matters’ campaign, officially launched on 15 December 2018, aims to increase public awareness of Galileo’s successes over the past two years and highlight the added value that Galileo brings to the mass market.

Did you know that Galileo is already improving the GPS signal that your smartphone receives, giving you extra accuracy and precision? Most Europeans are unaware that they are already benefitting from Galileo, but this is about to change! The Accuracy Matters campaign was introduced to the public at European Space Week in Marseille in the first week of December and the campaign officially kicked off this weekend. 

The campaign focuses on the fact that a little goes a long way and that today “Accuracy Matters” more than ever before for the latest location-based applications and services. The new awareness-building campaign will include a series of short video clips that give an entertaining glimpse of everyday situations where ‘Accuracy Matters’ to anyone using location data on their smartphones.

The videos can be viewed on a dedicated YouTube channel. The clips will be released in all EU languages and promoted on the Internet and through social media.

Milestone after milestone

A number of milestones with major significance for the Galileo programme have been reached since the launch of Initial Services in December 2016. In September 2017, semiconductor developer Broadcom announced the launch of the world’s first mass-market, dual frequency GNSS receiver for smartphones - the BCM47755. This was followed, in June 2018, by the launch of the first dual frequency smartphone – the Xiaomi Mi 8.

Now, according to the latest figures, over 500 million devices - most of them the latest smartphone models - are already Galileo-enabled. This new campaign aims to make users of these devices aware of the benefits that they can enjoy thanks Europe’s investment in the Galileo programme. 

Accuracy is particularly important when it comes to emergency response, and Galileo’s increased accuracy is a key enabler in this area too. As of 31 March 2018, all new car and light van models sold in the EU have to be fitted with Galileo-enabled eCall devices that automatically alert rescue services in the event of an accident, sending their position. A mere six months later, in September 2018, the first eCall-enabled car, the Volvo V60, was presented to the market.

These and the many other ways that Galileo’s added accuracy is benefitting end users will be highlighted throughout the campaign. 

Do you have Galileo in your pocket?

How about you? Do you know whether your phone or device is Galileo-enabled and whether you are already benefitting from Galileo’s added accuracy? To find out, check the devices that are already Galileo-enabled here: UseGalileo.eu.

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).

December 16 marks two years since the launch of Galileo Initial Services. Timed to coincide with this milestone, the ‘Accuracy Matters’ campaign, officially launched on 15 December 2018, aims to increase public awareness of Galileo’s successes over the past two years and highlight the added value that Galileo brings to the mass market.

Did you know that Galileo is already improving the GPS signal that your smartphone receives, giving you extra accuracy and precision? Most Europeans are unaware that they are already benefitting from Galileo, but this is about to change! The Accuracy Matters campaign was introduced to the public at European Space Week in Marseille in the first week of December and the campaign officially kicked off this weekend. 

The campaign focuses on the fact that a little goes a long way and that today “Accuracy Matters” more than ever before for the latest location-based applications and services. The new awareness-building campaign will include a series of short video clips that give an entertaining glimpse of everyday situations where ‘Accuracy Matters’ to anyone using location data on their smartphones.

The videos can be viewed on a dedicated YouTube channel. The clips will be released in all EU languages and promoted on the Internet and through social media.

Milestone after milestone

A number of milestones with major significance for the Galileo programme have been reached since the launch of Initial Services in December 2016. In September 2017, semiconductor developer Broadcom announced the launch of the world’s first mass-market, dual frequency GNSS receiver for smartphones - the BCM47755. This was followed, in June 2018, by the launch of the first dual frequency smartphone – the Xiaomi Mi 8.

Now, according to the latest figures, over 500 million devices - most of them the latest smartphone models - are already Galileo-enabled. This new campaign aims to make users of these devices aware of the benefits that they can enjoy thanks Europe’s investment in the Galileo programme. 

Accuracy is particularly important when it comes to emergency response, and Galileo’s increased accuracy is a key enabler in this area too. As of 31 March 2018, all new car and light van models sold in the EU have to be fitted with Galileo-enabled eCall devices that automatically alert rescue services in the event of an accident, sending their position. A mere six months later, in September 2018, the first eCall-enabled car, the Volvo V60, was presented to the market.

These and the many other ways that Galileo’s added accuracy is benefitting end users will be highlighted throughout the campaign. 

Do you have Galileo in your pocket?

How about you? Do you know whether your phone or device is Galileo-enabled and whether you are already benefitting from Galileo’s added accuracy? To find out, check the devices that are already Galileo-enabled here: UseGalileo.eu.

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).