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Registration for the 4th Farming by Satellite Prize was officially opened at the conference “Agriculture: a new frontier for the European space policy” in the European Parliament on March 6. The aim of the prize is to promote Europe’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and Earth Observation (EO) services in agriculture.

This year, the ‘Farming by Satellite’ Prize has a top prize of €5,000 and asks the question: “How can we use satellite technologies to improve agriculture and reduce environmental impact?” Launching the competition Pierre Delsaux, Deputy Director-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs at DG Grow, said that the prize was an ideal way to give today’s young generation of farmers the opportunity to shape the future of the sector.

“Young farmers everywhere in Europe just take what is in their hands: the European Space Programmes, EGNOS-Galileo and Copernicus to launch the next agricultural revolution.,” he said. “And we need these young farmers to be innovative, competitive developing a sustainable agriculture in order to feed an ever increasing world population while respecting the environment and the climate changes commitments. Europe is committed to play its part in this crucial endeavour.”

The Farming by Satellite prize is an initiative of the European GNSS Agency (GSA) and the European Environment Agency, and is sponsored by agricultural engineering company CLAAS. Commenting on the launch, GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides said that the community of young farmers and agriculture students was very adaptable, enthusiast and ready to embrace new technologies such as EGNOS/Galileo and Copernicus.

“We need to support young farmers in embracing these technologies - they are the entrepreneurs of tomorrow, showing us how the synergies between our programmes bring real added value to users and support the evolution of agriculture,” des Dorides said.

Read this: European GNSS and Earth Observation

“We’re looking for new ideas and innovations, particularly those relying upon Europe’s satellite navigation services EGNOS, Galileo and the European Earth Observation programme, Copernicus. We’re anticipating submissions featuring hot topics like Big Data, augmented reality, farming 4.0, artificial intelligence and more,” judging panel chair Dr Andrew Speedy said.

And this: European GNSS and Earth Observation

The Farming by Satellite prize was first held in 2012, with previous finalists including young people from Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Germany, Romania, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom. Topics have ranged from geo-referenced online data platforms, swarm technologies, precision seed planting robots, crop type detection and evaluation systems, and a new forecasting system for rice production. The winners of the most recent competition were a team from ISA Lille in France with a proposal for the optimisation of plant cover properties using satellite imagery.

The competition finalists will be invited to attend the judging and awards ceremony. In the past, this has been held at the SIMA agricultural show in Paris, a Space Solutions conference in Prague and, most recently, International Green Week in Berlin. A similar venue is being arranged for late 2018 and details will be made available on the competition website.

For full details on the competition or to register to participate, go to: www.farmingbysatellite.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).

Registration for the 4th Farming by Satellite Prize was officially opened at the conference “Agriculture: a new frontier for the European space policy” in the European Parliament on March 6. The aim of the prize is to promote Europe’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and Earth Observation (EO) services in agriculture.

This year, the ‘Farming by Satellite’ Prize has a top prize of €5,000 and asks the question: “How can we use satellite technologies to improve agriculture and reduce environmental impact?” Launching the competition Pierre Delsaux, Deputy Director-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs at DG Grow, said that the prize was an ideal way to give today’s young generation of farmers the opportunity to shape the future of the sector.

“Young farmers everywhere in Europe just take what is in their hands: the European Space Programmes, EGNOS-Galileo and Copernicus to launch the next agricultural revolution.,” he said. “And we need these young farmers to be innovative, competitive developing a sustainable agriculture in order to feed an ever increasing world population while respecting the environment and the climate changes commitments. Europe is committed to play its part in this crucial endeavour.”

The Farming by Satellite prize is an initiative of the European GNSS Agency (GSA) and the European Environment Agency, and is sponsored by agricultural engineering company CLAAS. Commenting on the launch, GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides said that the community of young farmers and agriculture students was very adaptable, enthusiast and ready to embrace new technologies such as EGNOS/Galileo and Copernicus.

“We need to support young farmers in embracing these technologies - they are the entrepreneurs of tomorrow, showing us how the synergies between our programmes bring real added value to users and support the evolution of agriculture,” des Dorides said.

Read this: European GNSS and Earth Observation

“We’re looking for new ideas and innovations, particularly those relying upon Europe’s satellite navigation services EGNOS, Galileo and the European Earth Observation programme, Copernicus. We’re anticipating submissions featuring hot topics like Big Data, augmented reality, farming 4.0, artificial intelligence and more,” judging panel chair Dr Andrew Speedy said.

And this: European GNSS and Earth Observation

The Farming by Satellite prize was first held in 2012, with previous finalists including young people from Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Germany, Romania, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom. Topics have ranged from geo-referenced online data platforms, swarm technologies, precision seed planting robots, crop type detection and evaluation systems, and a new forecasting system for rice production. The winners of the most recent competition were a team from ISA Lille in France with a proposal for the optimisation of plant cover properties using satellite imagery.

The competition finalists will be invited to attend the judging and awards ceremony. In the past, this has been held at the SIMA agricultural show in Paris, a Space Solutions conference in Prague and, most recently, International Green Week in Berlin. A similar venue is being arranged for late 2018 and details will be made available on the competition website.

For full details on the competition or to register to participate, go to: www.farmingbysatellite.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).

Registration for the 4th Farming by Satellite Prize was officially opened at the conference “Agriculture: a new frontier for the European space policy” in the European Parliament on March 6. The aim of the prize is to promote Europe’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and Earth Observation (EO) services in agriculture.

This year, the ‘Farming by Satellite’ Prize has a top prize of €5,000 and asks the question: “How can we use satellite technologies to improve agriculture and reduce environmental impact?” Launching the competition Pierre Delsaux, Deputy Director-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs at DG Grow, said that the prize was an ideal way to give today’s young generation of farmers the opportunity to shape the future of the sector.

“Young farmers everywhere in Europe just take what is in their hands: the European Space Programmes, EGNOS-Galileo and Copernicus to launch the next agricultural revolution.,” he said. “And we need these young farmers to be innovative, competitive developing a sustainable agriculture in order to feed an ever increasing world population while respecting the environment and the climate changes commitments. Europe is committed to play its part in this crucial endeavour.”

The Farming by Satellite prize is an initiative of the European GNSS Agency (GSA) and the European Environment Agency, and is sponsored by agricultural engineering company CLAAS. Commenting on the launch, GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides said that the community of young farmers and agriculture students was very adaptable, enthusiast and ready to embrace new technologies such as EGNOS/Galileo and Copernicus.

“We need to support young farmers in embracing these technologies - they are the entrepreneurs of tomorrow, showing us how the synergies between our programmes bring real added value to users and support the evolution of agriculture,” des Dorides said.

Read this: European GNSS and Earth Observation

“We’re looking for new ideas and innovations, particularly those relying upon Europe’s satellite navigation services EGNOS, Galileo and the European Earth Observation programme, Copernicus. We’re anticipating submissions featuring hot topics like Big Data, augmented reality, farming 4.0, artificial intelligence and more,” judging panel chair Dr Andrew Speedy said.

And this: European GNSS and Earth Observation

The Farming by Satellite prize was first held in 2012, with previous finalists including young people from Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Germany, Romania, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom. Topics have ranged from geo-referenced online data platforms, swarm technologies, precision seed planting robots, crop type detection and evaluation systems, and a new forecasting system for rice production. The winners of the most recent competition were a team from ISA Lille in France with a proposal for the optimisation of plant cover properties using satellite imagery.

The competition finalists will be invited to attend the judging and awards ceremony. In the past, this has been held at the SIMA agricultural show in Paris, a Space Solutions conference in Prague and, most recently, International Green Week in Berlin. A similar venue is being arranged for late 2018 and details will be made available on the competition website.

For full details on the competition or to register to participate, go to: www.farmingbysatellite.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).

Five new Fundamental Elements calls have been announced in the Galileo Exploitation Grant Plan for 2018, which has been released by the GSA.

Every year, the GSA publishes on its website a list of the Fundamental Elements calls for proposal planned for the year. The 2018 Grant Plan release follows the recent publication of several announcements of upcoming Fundamental Elements calls: for Advanced interference detection and mitigation techniques; a Commercial Service User terminal; and a call for the development of GNSS receiver technologies for premium and general mass markets. 

Interested in funding opportunities? Join the FE Info Day

During 2018, the GSA will continue to fund the development of E-GNSS receivers and associated technologies in the priority market segments of road (autonomous driving) and mass-market (leveraging I-NAV improvements and OS authentication). A rail project is also planned, with the objective of supporting E-GNSS enabled safety-of-life rail signalling applications. Additionally, an open call will offer the EU GNSS industry the possibility to get funds for further development to fill the gaps in E-GNSS receivers and associated technologies.

A brief look at the upcoming FE grants:

1.    Multi-frequency multipurpose antenna for Galileo

This call is intended to fund up to two projects with the following activities:

• Develop and test a common technology multi-frequency antenna for Galileo professional and mass-market users.
• The advanced antenna shall be multi frequency-capable antennas and adaptive in order to support professional/mass market and potentially governmental applications requiring high accuracy, high robustness and high reliability.
• The antenna shall be commercially ready with a competitive cost.

At a glance

2.    Safety of Life for localisation in train signalling

This call is intended to fund up to one project with the following activities:

• Development and qualification of a Safety of Life multi-constellation receiver for use in safety-critical railway signalling applications according to the user requirements and train positioning system architecture and according to the performance specification, based on previous related projects and initiatives;
• E-GNSS performance test in railway-specific environment and development of Minimum Operational Performance specification.

At a glance

3.    Filling the gaps in E-GNSS receivers and associated technologies

This call for proposals is intended to fund up to five projects with the following activities:

• Identify technology gaps and propose receivers and/or associated technologies to optimally leverage Galileo and EGNOS differentiators;
  Develop and test Galileo-enabled GNSS receivers and/or underlying technology for key user applications not covered by any other Fundamental Elements project;
  The receivers and/or associated technologies shall be aligned with the market trends for the specific user segments and target competitive prices;
  Include a business plan detailing on how the developed technologies will be brought into the market.

At a glance

4.    Enhanced RX for autonomous driving/navigation

The objectives of this call for proposals are to develop an innovative close-to-market GNSS-based On-board-Unit (OBU) suitable for fully automated driving and/or cooperative positioning, integrating a GNSS receiver and possibly additional sensors and communication modem to enable the target applications’ performance.

The call for proposals is intended to fund up to two projects with the following activities:

• Design, development, testing and demonstration of dual- or multi-frequency GNSS OBU for fully autonomous driving and/or cooperative positioning to be embedded on autonomous vehicles.
• Tight integration of the GNSS receiver with other sensors to reach the application needs.

At a glance

5.    Enhanced GNSS user terminal

The objectives of this call are to build close-to-market OS-NMA enabled receivers or terminals suitable for additional target application domains, such as logistics, consumer location-based services and/or specific maritime applications. The receivers and/or terminals shall be fully compliant with the updated ICD also receiving and processing I/NAV improvements data.

The call for proposals is intended to fund up to two projects with the following activities:

• Design, development, test and demonstration of a close-to-market enhanced GNSS user terminal suitable for one or more applications to be selected from a list (proposed by the GSA);
• GNSS user terminal maturity demonstrated in an operational environment;
• Execution of performance tests to assess the actual performance improvement reached by the user terminal;
• Implementation of the user terminal market uptake strategy in the selected applications’ segment.

At a glance

For more information on all of the calls included in the 2018 Galileo Grant Plan, 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).

Five new Fundamental Elements calls have been announced in the Galileo Exploitation Grant Plan for 2018, which has been released by the GSA.

Every year, the GSA publishes on its website a list of the Fundamental Elements calls for proposal planned for the year. The 2018 Grant Plan release follows the recent publication of several announcements of upcoming Fundamental Elements calls: for Advanced interference detection and mitigation techniques; a Commercial Service User terminal; and a call for the development of GNSS receiver technologies for premium and general mass markets. 

Interested in funding opportunities? Join the FE Info Day

During 2018, the GSA will continue to fund the development of E-GNSS receivers and associated technologies in the priority market segments of road (autonomous driving) and mass-market (leveraging I-NAV improvements and OS authentication). A rail project is also planned, with the objective of supporting E-GNSS enabled safety-of-life rail signalling applications. Additionally, an open call will offer the EU GNSS industry the possibility to get funds for further development to fill the gaps in E-GNSS receivers and associated technologies.

A brief look at the upcoming FE grants:

1.    Multi-frequency multipurpose antenna for Galileo

This call is intended to fund up to two projects with the following activities:

• Develop and test a common technology multi-frequency antenna for Galileo professional and mass-market users.
• The advanced antenna shall be multi frequency-capable antennas and adaptive in order to support professional/mass market and potentially governmental applications requiring high accuracy, high robustness and high reliability.
• The antenna shall be commercially ready with a competitive cost.

At a glance

2.    Safety of Life for localisation in train signalling

This call is intended to fund up to one project with the following activities:

• Development and qualification of a Safety of Life multi-constellation receiver for use in safety-critical railway signalling applications according to the user requirements and train positioning system architecture and according to the performance specification, based on previous related projects and initiatives;
• E-GNSS performance test in railway-specific environment and development of Minimum Operational Performance specification.

At a glance

3.    Filling the gaps in E-GNSS receivers and associated technologies

This call for proposals is intended to fund up to five projects with the following activities:

• Identify technology gaps and propose receivers and/or associated technologies to optimally leverage Galileo and EGNOS differentiators;
  Develop and test Galileo-enabled GNSS receivers and/or underlying technology for key user applications not covered by any other Fundamental Elements project;
  The receivers and/or associated technologies shall be aligned with the market trends for the specific user segments and target competitive prices;
  Include a business plan detailing on how the developed technologies will be brought into the market.

At a glance

4.    Enhanced RX for autonomous driving/navigation

The objectives of this call for proposals are to develop an innovative close-to-market GNSS-based On-board-Unit (OBU) suitable for fully automated driving and/or cooperative positioning, integrating a GNSS receiver and possibly additional sensors and communication modem to enable the target applications’ performance.

The call for proposals is intended to fund up to two projects with the following activities:

• Design, development, testing and demonstration of dual- or multi-frequency GNSS OBU for fully autonomous driving and/or cooperative positioning to be embedded on autonomous vehicles.
• Tight integration of the GNSS receiver with other sensors to reach the application needs.

At a glance

5.    Enhanced GNSS user terminal

The objectives of this call are to build close-to-market OS-NMA enabled receivers or terminals suitable for additional target application domains, such as logistics, consumer location-based services and/or specific maritime applications. The receivers and/or terminals shall be fully compliant with the updated ICD also receiving and processing I/NAV improvements data.

The call for proposals is intended to fund up to two projects with the following activities:

• Design, development, test and demonstration of a close-to-market enhanced GNSS user terminal suitable for one or more applications to be selected from a list (proposed by the GSA);
• GNSS user terminal maturity demonstrated in an operational environment;
• Execution of performance tests to assess the actual performance improvement reached by the user terminal;
• Implementation of the user terminal market uptake strategy in the selected applications’ segment.

At a glance

For more information on all of the calls included in the 2018 Galileo Grant Plan, 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).

Five new Fundamental Elements calls have been announced in the Galileo Exploitation Grant Plan for 2018, which has been released by the GSA.

Every year, the GSA publishes on its website a list of the Fundamental Elements calls for proposal planned for the year. The 2018 Grant Plan release follows the recent publication of several announcements of upcoming Fundamental Elements calls: for Advanced interference detection and mitigation techniques; a Commercial Service User terminal; and a call for the development of GNSS receiver technologies for premium and general mass markets. 

Interested in funding opportunities? Join the FE Info Day

During 2018, the GSA will continue to fund the development of E-GNSS receivers and associated technologies in the priority market segments of road (autonomous driving) and mass-market (leveraging I-NAV improvements and OS authentication). A rail project is also planned, with the objective of supporting E-GNSS enabled safety-of-life rail signalling applications. Additionally, an open call will offer the EU GNSS industry the possibility to get funds for further development to fill the gaps in E-GNSS receivers and associated technologies.

A brief look at the upcoming FE grants:

1.    Multi-frequency multipurpose antenna for Galileo

This call is intended to fund up to two projects with the following activities:

• Develop and test a common technology multi-frequency antenna for Galileo professional and mass-market users.
• The advanced antenna shall be multi frequency-capable antennas and adaptive in order to support professional/mass market and potentially governmental applications requiring high accuracy, high robustness and high reliability.
• The antenna shall be commercially ready with a competitive cost.

At a glance

2.    Safety of Life for localisation in train signalling

This call is intended to fund up to one project with the following activities:

• Development and qualification of a Safety of Life multi-constellation receiver for use in safety-critical railway signalling applications according to the user requirements and train positioning system architecture and according to the performance specification, based on previous related projects and initiatives;
• E-GNSS performance test in railway-specific environment and development of Minimum Operational Performance specification.

At a glance

3.    Filling the gaps in E-GNSS receivers and associated technologies

This call for proposals is intended to fund up to five projects with the following activities:

• Identify technology gaps and propose receivers and/or associated technologies to optimally leverage Galileo and EGNOS differentiators;
  Develop and test Galileo-enabled GNSS receivers and/or underlying technology for key user applications not covered by any other Fundamental Elements project;
  The receivers and/or associated technologies shall be aligned with the market trends for the specific user segments and target competitive prices;
  Include a business plan detailing on how the developed technologies will be brought into the market.

At a glance

4.    Enhanced RX for autonomous driving/navigation

The objectives of this call for proposals are to develop an innovative close-to-market GNSS-based On-board-Unit (OBU) suitable for fully automated driving and/or cooperative positioning, integrating a GNSS receiver and possibly additional sensors and communication modem to enable the target applications’ performance.

The call for proposals is intended to fund up to two projects with the following activities:

• Design, development, testing and demonstration of dual- or multi-frequency GNSS OBU for fully autonomous driving and/or cooperative positioning to be embedded on autonomous vehicles.
• Tight integration of the GNSS receiver with other sensors to reach the application needs.

At a glance

5.    Enhanced GNSS user terminal

The objectives of this call are to build close-to-market OS-NMA enabled receivers or terminals suitable for additional target application domains, such as logistics, consumer location-based services and/or specific maritime applications. The receivers and/or terminals shall be fully compliant with the updated ICD also receiving and processing I/NAV improvements data.

The call for proposals is intended to fund up to two projects with the following activities:

• Design, development, test and demonstration of a close-to-market enhanced GNSS user terminal suitable for one or more applications to be selected from a list (proposed by the GSA);
• GNSS user terminal maturity demonstrated in an operational environment;
• Execution of performance tests to assess the actual performance improvement reached by the user terminal;
• Implementation of the user terminal market uptake strategy in the selected applications’ segment.

At a glance

For more information on all of the calls included in the 2018 Galileo Grant Plan, 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).

Five new Fundamental Elements calls have been announced in the Galileo Exploitation Grant Plan for 2018, which has been released by the GSA.

Every year, the GSA publishes on its website list of the Fundamental Elements calls for proposal planned for the year. The 2018 Grant Plan release follows the recent publication of several announcements of upcoming Fundamental Elements calls: for Advanced interference detection and mitigation techniques; a Commercial Service User terminal; and a call for the development of GNSS receiver technologies for premium and general mass markets. 

Interested in funding opportunities? Join the FE Info Day

During 2018, the GSA will continue to fund the development of E-GNSS receivers and associated technologies in the priority market segments of road (autonomous driving) and mass-market (leveraging I-NAV improvements and OS authentication). A rail project is also planned, with the objective of supporting E-GNSS enabled safety-of-life rail signalling applications. Additionally, an open call will offer the EU GNSS industry the possibility to get funds for further development to fill the gaps in E-GNSS receivers and associated technologies.

A brief look at the upcoming FE grants:

1.    Multi-frequency multipurpose antenna for Galileo

This call is intended to fund up to two projects with the following activities:

• Develop and test a common technology multi-frequency antenna for Galileo professional and mass-market users.
• The advanced antenna shall be multi frequency-capable antennas and adaptive in order to support professional/mass market and potentially governmental applications requiring high accuracy, high robustness and high reliability.
• The antenna shall be commercially ready with a competitive cost.

At a glance

2.    Safety of Life for localisation in train signalling

This call is intended to fund up to one project with the following activities:

• Development and qualification of a Safety of Life multi-constellation receiver for use in safety-critical railway signalling applications according to the user requirements and train positioning system architecture and according to the performance specification, based on previous related projects and initiatives;
• E-GNSS performance test in railway-specific environment and development of Minimum Operational Performance specification.

At a glance

3.    Filling the gaps in E-GNSS receivers and associated technologies

This call for proposals is intended to fund up to five projects with the following activities:

• Identify technology gaps and propose receivers and/or associated technologies to optimally leverage Galileo and EGNOS differentiators;
  Develop and test Galileo-enabled GNSS receivers and/or underlying technology for key user applications not covered by any other Fundamental Elements project;
  The receivers and/or associated technologies shall be aligned with the market trends for the specific user segments and target competitive prices;
  Include a business plan detailing on how the developed technologies will be brought into the market.

At a glance

4.    Enhanced RX for autonomous driving/navigation

The objectives of this call for proposals are to develop an innovative close-to-market GNSS-based On-board-Unit (OBU) suitable for fully automated driving and/or cooperative positioning, integrating a GNSS receiver and possibly additional sensors and communication modem to enable the target applications’ performance.

The call for proposals is intended to fund up to two projects with the following activities:

• Design, development, testing and demonstration of dual- or multi-frequency GNSS OBU for fully autonomous driving and/or cooperative positioning to be embedded on autonomous vehicles.
• Tight integration of the GNSS receiver with other sensors to reach the application needs.

At a glance

5.    Enhanced GNSS user terminal

The objectives of this call are to build close-to-market OS-NMA enabled receivers or terminals suitable for additional target application domains, such as logistics, consumer location-based services and/or specific maritime applications. The receivers and/or terminals shall be fully compliant with the updated ICD also receiving and processing I/NAV improvements data.

The call for proposals is intended to fund up to two projects with the following activities:

• Design, development, test and demonstration of a close-to-market enhanced GNSS user terminal suitable for one or more applications to be selected from a list (proposed by the GSA);
• GNSS user terminal maturity demonstrated in an operational environment;
• Execution of performance tests to assess the actual performance improvement reached by the user terminal;
• Implementation of the user terminal market uptake strategy in the selected applications’ segment.

At a glance

For more information on all of the calls included in the 2018 Galileo Grant Plan, 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).

Five new Fundamental Elements calls have been announced in the Galileo Exploitation Grant Plan for 2018, which has been released by the GSA.

Every year, the GSA publishes on its website a list of the Fundamental Elements calls for proposal planned for the year. The 2018 Grant Plan release follows the recent publication of several announcements of upcoming Fundamental Elements calls: for Advanced interference detection and mitigation techniques; a Commercial Service User terminal; and a call for the development of GNSS receiver technologies for premium and general mass markets. 

Interested in funding opportunities? Join the FE Info Day

During 2018, the GSA will continue to fund the development of E-GNSS receivers and associated technologies in the priority market segments of road (autonomous driving) and mass-market (leveraging I-NAV improvements and OS authentication). A rail project is also planned, with the objective of supporting E-GNSS enabled safety-of-life rail signalling applications. Additionally, an open call will offer the EU GNSS industry the possibility to get funds for further development to fill the gaps in E-GNSS receivers and associated technologies.

A brief look at the upcoming FE grants:

1.    Multi-frequency multipurpose antenna for Galileo

This call is intended to fund up to two projects with the following activities:

• Develop and test a common technology multi-frequency antenna for Galileo professional and mass-market users.
• The advanced antenna shall be multi frequency-capable antennas and adaptive in order to support professional/mass market and potentially governmental applications requiring high accuracy, high robustness and high reliability.
• The antenna shall be commercially ready with a competitive cost.

At a glance

2.    Safety of Life for localisation in train signalling

This call is intended to fund up to one project with the following activities:

• Development and qualification of a Safety of Life multi-constellation receiver for use in safety-critical railway signalling applications according to the user requirements and train positioning system architecture and according to the performance specification, based on previous related projects and initiatives;
• E-GNSS performance test in railway-specific environment and development of Minimum Operational Performance specification.

At a glance

3.    Filling the gaps in E-GNSS receivers and associated technologies

This call for proposals is intended to fund up to five projects with the following activities:

• Identify technology gaps and propose receivers and/or associated technologies to optimally leverage Galileo and EGNOS differentiators;
  Develop and test Galileo-enabled GNSS receivers and/or underlying technology for key user applications not covered by any other Fundamental Elements project;
  The receivers and/or associated technologies shall be aligned with the market trends for the specific user segments and target competitive prices;
  Include a business plan detailing on how the developed technologies will be brought into the market.

At a glance

4.    Enhanced RX for autonomous driving/navigation

The objectives of this call for proposals are to develop an innovative close-to-market GNSS-based On-board-Unit (OBU) suitable for fully automated driving and/or cooperative positioning, integrating a GNSS receiver and possibly additional sensors and communication modem to enable the target applications’ performance.

The call for proposals is intended to fund up to two projects with the following activities:

• Design, development, testing and demonstration of dual- or multi-frequency GNSS OBU for fully autonomous driving and/or cooperative positioning to be embedded on autonomous vehicles.
• Tight integration of the GNSS receiver with other sensors to reach the application needs.

At a glance

5.    Enhanced GNSS user terminal

The objectives of this call are to build close-to-market OS-NMA enabled receivers or terminals suitable for additional target application domains, such as logistics, consumer location-based services and/or specific maritime applications. The receivers and/or terminals shall be fully compliant with the updated ICD also receiving and processing I/NAV improvements data.

The call for proposals is intended to fund up to two projects with the following activities:

• Design, development, test and demonstration of a close-to-market enhanced GNSS user terminal suitable for one or more applications to be selected from a list (proposed by the GSA);
• GNSS user terminal maturity demonstrated in an operational environment;
• Execution of performance tests to assess the actual performance improvement reached by the user terminal;
• Implementation of the user terminal market uptake strategy in the selected applications’ segment.

At a glance

For more information on all of the calls included in the 2018 Galileo Grant Plan, 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).

The European Commission, with the support of the GSA, is launching the EGNOSHA project to determine under what conditions it would be beneficial to implement an EGNOS high accuracy service in 2020-2035.

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) has appointed GMV, with support from ALPHA Consult and under the technical supervision of the European GNSS Agency (GSA), to carry out the study, during which users from the road, mapping, surveying and offshore sectors will be consulted, among others.

Read this: Airbus awarded EGNOS V3 contract

The EGNOS high accuracy service could provide centimetre-level accuracy, a fast convergence time and timely warnings in case integrity of the positioning service is lost. The project will identify user requirements, determine service provision requirements and assess how this service could complement the Galileo Commercial Service. GNSS users will be consulted to consolidate and validate user and service requirements for high accuracy. The outcomes of the EGNOSHA study will be available at the end of 2019 and contribute to the definition of potential evolutions of the EGNOS mission.

EGNOS currently provides augmentation to the Global Positioning System (GPS) Standard Positioning Service (SPS). EGNOS augments GPS using the L1 Coarse/ Acquisition (C/A) civilian signal function by broadcasting correction data and integrity information for positioning and navigation applications over Europe. The next generation of EGNOS, EGNOS V3, will augment GPS and Galileo constellations in the L1/E1 and L5/E5a bands and will improve the accuracy and reliability of the positioning, navigation and timing information over Europe.

Watch this: EGNOS Satellite Navigation Systems

The study is fully financed by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 framework programme for research and innovation, within the budget allocated to the evolution of the EGNOS mission.

More information about the EGNOSHA tasks can be found here.

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