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EGNSS is not only a business enabler, providing the data needed for countless new services and applications, the ‘Galileo model’ can also serve as a template for nascent space businesses, ensuring that they reap the greatest possible economic benefit from their efforts, according to speakers at the Challenges in Arctic Navigation workshop in Olos, Muonio, Finland on 16-18 April.

Participants in the Arctic navigation workshop noted that GNSS is no longer a breakthrough technology - it is already a business enabler that is used as the basis for service provision in many sectors, and the opportunities provided by GNSS are being embraced by the business community both in the Arctic region and elsewhere.

Enabling business development

At the workshop, Pauli Stigell, a senior advisor at Business Finland, spoke about his organisation’s New Space Economy programme, which funds start-ups and provides export services for space-related businesses. He said that the programme aims to double the exports of participating companies by 2020 while achieving an annual turnover of at least EUR 600 million in services within the sector. Stigell noted in particular the business-enabling potential of Galileo. “Galileo will be ready in 2020 and this will definitely create business,” he said.

A number of factors that might potentially hamper the development of GNSS-based businesses in the Arctic were highlighted during the workshop presentations. These included low satellite coverage and that the fact that signals in the Arctic region are vulnerable to space weather and ionospheric scintillation. However, it was also noted that the expansion of EGNOS coverage, along with new receiver designs and navigation systems, would improve redundancy and help mitigate the impact of these negative factors.

Watch this: EGNOS is Growing

In his presentation, Gian Gherardo Calini, the GSA’s Head of Market Development, highlighted funding opportunities that would address these restraining factors and contribute to the development of the EGNSS market in the Arctic region. He highlighted two open calls in particular:

• Aviation Grants call with a budget of EUR 10 million that is being made available to promote EGNOS operational implementation in aviation,
• Fundamental Elements call with a budget of EUR 6 million that targets the development of GNSS receiver technologies for the premium and general mass markets.

Galileo business model

During the workshop presentations, speakers noted that not only is Galileo an enabler of new businesses, services and applications; Galileo’s operating model can be used as a template for the commercial satellite sector. It was noted that the life-cycle of small commercial satellites of three to five years, or even of the larger commercial satellites, costing around EUR 100 million, of 10 years, is a very short time in which to build a business ecosystem on the ground.

In these conditions, it is crucial that businesses leveraging satellite technology are able to ramp up their service to a minimum service configuration, like the EU has been doing with Galileo, Juha-Matti Liukkonen, Director of Space and New Technologies at Reaktor, said.  “You start a minimum service as soon as possible to establish the viability of the business case and then you add capacity and coverage. Incremental development is the way to go,” he said.

Galileo launched its initial services in December 2016, when it had 18 satellites in orbit, which means that the system has started providing positioning, navigation and timing services to users around the world long before the constellation reaches full capacity in 2020.

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 Council of European Geodetic Surveyors (CLGE), in partnership with the European GNSS Agency (GSA), has launched the seventh edition of its Young Surveyors Prize. The 2018 edition of the competition is open for submissions and, as in previous years, the GSA is sponsoring a special prize for ideas leveraging Galileo, EGNOS and Copernicus.

For the seventh consecutive year, the Young Surveyor’s Prize is inviting students of topography, GIS, geodesy, mapping and related studies to submit unique and innovative ideas in their field of expertise. Each winner or winning team stands to win a prize of EUR 1000.

There are 5 categories in total: 

• Geodesy, Topography,
• Galileo, EGNOS, Copernicus,
• GIS, Mapping,
• Cadastre and Property Surveying,
• Student and youngster engagement.

The contest is open to all Bachelor and Masters students in the surveying sector or a related field from all European countries. The 2018 edition is also open to surveyors under the age of 36 or those who have been registered as surveyors for less than 10 years in a category - Student and youngster engagement. The winners will be invited an award ceremony, to be held during INTERGEO in Frankfurt on 17 October 2018.

GSA Prize

Applicants for the GSA special prize should submit a paper describing how their project leverages Galileo, EGNOS or Copernicus for use in professional receivers, mobile phones, drones, etc. before the 10 August 2018 by email at the address: contest@clge.eu. For further information please consult www.clge.eu/document. Papers that combine all three programmes are especially encouraged. The papers should not exceed 4000 words and should include an abstract of 300 words.

Last year’s winner

Last year’s winning entry in the Galileo, EGNOS, Copernicus category was Sander Varbla from the Tallinn University of Technology in Estonia. Varbla's paper, entitled 'Assessment of marine geoid models by ship-borne GNSS profiles', presented the results of a 2016 marine gravity and GNSS campaign carried out on board the Estonian Maritime Administration survey vessel 'Jakob Prei' in the West Estonian archipelago.

For more information on how to apply please 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 Council of European Geodetic Surveyors (CLGE), in partnership with the European GNSS Agency (GSA), has launched the seventh edition of its Young Surveyors Prize. The 2018 edition of the competition is open for submissions and, as in previous years, the GSA is sponsoring a special prize for ideas leveraging Galileo, EGNOS and Copernicus.

For the seventh consecutive year, the Young Surveyor’s Prize is inviting students of topography, GIS, geodesy, mapping and related studies to submit unique and innovative ideas in their field of expertise. Each winner or winning team stands to win a prize of EUR 1000.

There are 5 categories in total: 

• Geodesy, Topography,
• Galileo, EGNOS, Copernicus,
• GIS, Mapping,
• Cadastre and Property Surveying,
• Student and youngster engagement.

The contest is open to all Bachelor and Masters students in the surveying sector or a related field from all European countries. The 2018 edition is also open to surveyors under the age of 36 or those who have been registered as surveyors for less than 10 years in a category - Student and youngster engagement. The winners will be invited an award ceremony, to be held during INTERGEO in Frankfurt on 17 October 2018.

GSA Prize

Applicants for the GSA special prize should submit a paper describing how their project leverages Galileo, EGNOS or Copernicus for use in professional receivers, mobile phones, drones, etc. before the 10 August 2018 by email at the address: contest@clge.eu. For further information please consult www.clge.eu/document. Papers that combine all three programmes are especially encouraged. The papers should not exceed 4000 words and should include an abstract of 300 words.

Last year’s winner

Last year’s winning entry in the Galileo, EGNOS, Copernicus category was Sander Varbla from the Tallinn University of Technology in Estonia. Varbla's paper, entitled 'Assessment of marine geoid models by ship-borne GNSS profiles', presented the results of a 2016 marine gravity and GNSS campaign carried out on board the Estonian Maritime Administration survey vessel 'Jakob Prei' in the West Estonian archipelago.

For more information on how to apply please 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).