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Carmaker Volvo presented its V60 model, the first one equipped with the Pan-European eCall emergency response system, at the ITS World Congress 2018 in Copenhagen on 18 September. eCall leverages the precise positioning offered by Galileo and EGNOS to quickly share the location with emergency services in the event of a road accident, automatically dialling the European emergency number 112.

The Volvo V60 eCall launch represents an important milestone for the European space programme, as it is the first vehicle´s passive safety application enabled by Galileo and EGNOS. Speaking at the event, GSA Officer Alberto Fernández Wyttenbach stressed that this milestone could not have been reached without international industrial cooperation. “This level of industrial cooperation is something that the EU is particularly trying to foster,” he said.

Going global

Volvo is the first carmaker to announce that it is equipping its vehicles with eCall, complementing the previous OnCall system for technical assistance. Leif Ivarsson, Legal Manager for Telematics & Connectivity at Volvo Cars noted that Russia was first country to introduce a similar system, with its ERA-GLONASS rapid response. However, following the rollout of the pan-European eCall, Ivarsson said that the system could be used as a template for similar systems in Malaysia, Korea, Japan or the United Arab Emirates in the near future. “In a few years the service might be global,” he said.

Read this: eCall emergency alert system launched

Andreas Bergvall from ACTIA Nordic in Sweden, the manufacturer of the device installed in the Volvo cars, highlighted the added value provided by Galileo. “The contribution is twofold. First of all there is the increased signal availability that it provides, this is very important.

Equally important is the significant enhancement of accuracy positioning,” he said, adding that Galileo’s high accuracy will be also a key enabler of new services, such as automated driving.

100% reliable

To provide the required level of service, eCall needs to be 100% reliable, NavCert Managing Director Martin Grzebellus said at the launch event. “As it is the first time that Galileo is playing a key role in the vehicle´s safety, so certification is very important,” he said.

Grzebellus said that while Volvo is the first carmaker to launch eCall on the European market, NavCert is currently testing eCall in 10 other vehicles, with the next launch expected in just few weeks, so stay tuned!

The eCall device in the Volvo vehicles is manufactured by ACTIA Nordic in Sweden, is supported by the WirelessCar platform, and has been successfully tested by the NavCert eCall Laboratory in Germany. The readiness of automotive suppliers and technical services to equip the vehicles was partially due to actions taken by the GSA and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, who launched a testing campaign and produced a joint report containing a set of guidelines to facilitate the implementation of eCall testing in compliance with the EU Regulation. Indeed, more eCall models from Volvo are expected to be launched by the end of 2018, in particular the S60 and the V60CC.

What is eCall?

eCall devices automatically dial the European emergency number 112 to alert rescue services in the event of an accident. The system sends the exact location to responders, along with the time of the incident and the direction of travel, even if the driver is unconscious or unable to make a phone call, thereby reducing the response time for road accidents and saving more lives. An eCall can also be triggered manually by pushing a button in the car, for example by a witness to a serious accident.

eCall only transmits data that is absolutely necessary when an accident occurs. Information only leaves the car in the event of a severe accident and is not stored any longer than necessary.

It is estimated that eCall will speed up emergency response times by 40% in urban areas and 50% in the countryside and reduce the number of fatalities by at least 4% and the number of severe injuries by 6%. You can find more information about eCall 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).

On Friday, November 16th and Saturday 17th, the GSA Headquarters in Prague will be open to the public for the 4th year in a row. 

This is a unique opportunity to get an insider’s look at the European GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) services and the people behind them.

Part of the Czech Space Week 2018 activities, this year’s GSA Open Days will give you a chance to experience the journey of Galileo satellites from the rocket launch in Kourou, French Guiana, to the services used by citizens and business worldwide. This is your opportunity to learn more about what the European Union is doing in space and satellite navigation; the crucial role of the GSA and the impact satellite navigation has in our daily lives.  

The programme includes exciting seminars and space workshops, competitions and quizzes, programmes for school visits, and other fun educational activities!

Come visit us and see and follow Galileo satellites, take a selfie in space, try landing a plane with EGNOS or experience a Search and Rescue with the help of Galileo, and win great prizes!

The draft programme can be found here.

If you would like to visit us as a school, please fill in the registration form.

Follow @EU_GNSS for regular Open Days updates on Twitter.

Use the hashtag #GSAOpenDays to share your experience of this year’s Open Days.

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 second edition of the GSA’s GNSS User Technology Report has been published and is now available for free download, providing an exhaustive review of all the latest GNSS trends and developments. Since its launch in 2016, the GNSS User Technology Report has become the go-to-source for information on the dynamic, global GNSS technology industry.

The GNSS User Technology Report, a sister publication to the GSA’s GNSS Market Report, is published every two years and takes an in-depth look at the latest state-of-the-art GNSS receiver technology, along with providing expert analysis on the trends that will shape the global GNSS landscape in the coming years.

Like the inaugural Report in 2016, the second issue focuses on three key macrosegments: mass market solutions; transport safety- and liability-critical solutions; and high precision, timing and asset management solutions. The report opens with an overview of the latest developments and trends in GNSS, with a focus on the multi-constellation and multi-frequency that are driving new trends in the sector.

Important new trend

“With the GNSS User Technology Report, our aim is to provide everybody in the GNSS value chain with a comprehensive overview of the current landscape in the industry and to identify new trends so that stakeholders know in which direction the industry is moving,” GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides said, adding: “The most important new trend identified in this issue is the rapid adoption of multiple frequencies, including for consumer devices, as evidenced by the market introduction of the first dual-frequency smartphone in May 2018”.

Read this: GNSS Market Report proves a useful tool across the GNSS market

Editor’s special

The final section in this year’s report – the ‘Editor’s special’ section - is dedicated to automation and to the increasingly important role GNSS plays in a number of partially- or fully-automated tasks and functions.

“The most important examples of ambient intelligence and automation are found in the transport domain - driverless cars, autonomous vessels and drones,” says Martin Sunkevic, Market Development Innovation Officer at the GSA in charge of technology monitoring. “It is however important to note that GNSS-based automation applications go well beyond transport. In the report we present examples from all segments.”

“Automation requires secure, ubiquitous and accurate location information for positioning.” said Jean-Pierre Barboux, Project Manager from FDC, which was part of the technology research team at the GSA. “Only thanks to the new generation of positioning systems and omnipresent connectivity we can see this rapid growth of partially and fully automated solutions.”

The analysis of GNSS user technology trends in the Report is supported by testimonials from key suppliers of receiver technology, including: Broadcom, Javad, Kongsberg, Leica, Maxim Integrated, Meinberg, NovAtel, Orolia-Spectracom, Qualcomm, Septentrio, STMicroelectronics, Thales, Trimble and u-blox. In addition, the report includes highlights from around 20 ongoing research projects from the Horizon 2020 and Fundamental Elements programmes aiming at the development of GNSS receiver technology.

The full GNSS User Technology Report 2018 is available for download 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).