zprávy

Now that surveyors worldwide are able to use Galileo positioning, following the declaration of Galileo Initial Services, all major Precise Point Positioning (PPP) providers in Europe have upgraded to Galileo and more than 50% of real time kinematic (RTK) network providers have already upgraded or have started to upgrade.

At the latest Council of European Geodetic Surveyors (CLGE) General Assembly, which was held in Potsdam in Germany on 29 September 2017, the European GNSS Agency (GSA) organised the second edition of the workshop “Integrating Galileo in RTK networks: success stories and open challenges”, at which industry representatives shared their experience and results received from Galileo performance testing.

At the event, Roberto Capua from Italian public augmentation service provider Sogei and Paul Chambon from French private RTK service provider Terria spoke about the technicalities, challenges and benefits of Galileo inclusion into RTK networks. The two service providers noted in particular that field tests had shown the benefits of Galileo inclusion into the RTK networks.

“The results confirm the usability of the Galileo constellation in high-precision RTK applications and show improved availability, reliability, accuracy and time-to-fix in difficult measuring environments such as urban canyons and under tree canopies,” they said.

New markets, new chipsets

Both service providers highlighted that there are new emerging markets for high precision services, especially in the mass market domain. One such promising sector is autonomous driving, which is slowly becoming a reality due to enhanced positioning systems and the evolution of augmentation services (RTK, PPP, PPP/RTK, etc.).

Capua also underlined the availability of new dual-frequency mass market chipsets using L1/L5 frequencies, which will allow increased positioning accuracy with mass market devices such as smartphones, tablets, wearables. “With E5/L5 capability added to the E1/L1, chipsets and receivers benefit from better accuracy, ionosphere error cancellation, improved code tracking pseudorange estimates, and faster transition from code tracking to phase tracking, among other benefits,” he said.

GSA questionnaire

During the workshop, the GSA also launched a real-time questionnaire that aimed to gain a better understanding of Galileo’s value to end-users, the needs of surveyors and reference network providers, the level of Galileo adoption and challenges users may face when upgrading to Galileo.

The survey showed that end-users have a good understanding of Galileo’s added value, with 69% of the respondents declaring that are convinced that Galileo will improve their work. On the other hand, the survey confirmed there is still an issue with inter-operability between the different brands of RX manufacturers within the RTK-network and that the inclusion of Galileo into the RTK network is expensive.

1st Galileo User Assembly

Information received from the Galileo questionnaire will feed into the discussion at the 1st Galileo User Assembly, which is set to take place next week (28-29 November). Hosted by the GSC at its premises in Madrid, the Assembly will give Galileo users the opportunity to discuss their needs, share their experience, and provide feedback on Galileo performance.

The Assembly will include:

• A Galileo User Consultation Platform (UCP) in 4 thematic groups (transport, mass market, professional and R&D);
• A general update on the Galileo programme;
• Presentations on Galileo Initial Services performance, the Galileo Services Roadmap and the Galileo User Interfaces; and
• A Galileo User Satisfaction Survey.

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).

Now that surveyors worldwide are able to use Galileo positioning, following the declaration of Galileo Initial Services, all major Precise Point Positioning (PPP) providers in Europe have upgraded to Galileo and more than 50% of real time kinematic (RTK) network providers have already upgraded or have started to upgrade.

At the latest Council of European Geodetic Surveyors (CLGE) General Assembly, which was held in Potsdam in Germany on 29 September 2017, the European GNSS Agency (GSA) organised the second edition of the workshop “Integrating Galileo in RTK networks: success stories and open challenges”, at which industry representatives shared their experience and results received from Galileo performance testing.

At the event, Roberto Capua from Italian public augmentation service provider Sogei and Paul Chambon from French private RTK service provider Terria spoke about the technicalities, challenges and benefits of Galileo inclusion into RTK networks. The two service providers noted in particular that field tests had shown the benefits of Galileo inclusion into the RTK networks.

“The results confirm the usability of the Galileo constellation in high-precision RTK applications and show improved availability, reliability, accuracy and time-to-fix in difficult measuring environments such as urban canyons and under tree canopies,” they said.

New markets, new chipsets

Both service providers highlighted that there are new emerging markets for high precision services, especially in the mass market domain. One such promising sector is autonomous driving, which is slowly becoming a reality due to enhanced positioning systems and the evolution of augmentation services (RTK, PPP, PPP/RTK, etc.).

Capua also underlined the availability of new dual-frequency mass market chipsets using L1/L5 frequencies, which will allow increased positioning accuracy with mass market devices such as smartphones, tablets, wearables. “With E5/L5 capability added to the E1/L1, chipsets and receivers benefit from better accuracy, ionosphere error cancellation, improved code tracking pseudorange estimates, and faster transition from code tracking to phase tracking, among other benefits,” he said.

GSA questionnaire

During the workshop, the GSA also launched a real-time questionnaire that aimed to gain a better understanding of Galileo’s value to end-users, the needs of surveyors and reference network providers, the level of Galileo adoption and challenges users may face when upgrading to Galileo.

The survey showed that end-users have a good understanding of Galileo’s added value, with 69% of the respondents declaring that are convinced that Galileo will improve their work. On the other hand, the survey confirmed there is still an issue with inter-operability between the different brands of RX manufacturers within the RTK-network and that the inclusion of Galileo into the RTK network is expensive.

1st Galileo User Assembly

Information received from the Galileo questionnaire will feed into the discussion at the 1st Galileo User Assembly, which is set to take place next week (28-29 November). Hosted by the GSC at its premises in Madrid, the Assembly will give Galileo users the opportunity to discuss their needs, share their experience, and provide feedback on Galileo performance.

The Assembly will include:

• A Galileo User Consultation Platform (UCP) in 4 thematic groups (transport, mass market, professional and R&D);
• A general update on the Galileo programme;
• Presentations on Galileo Initial Services performance, the Galileo Services Roadmap and the Galileo User Interfaces; and
• A Galileo User Satisfaction Survey.

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).

V mene Predstavenstva komory si dovoľujeme pozvať členov KPÚ SR na seminár „Novelizovaný zákon o pozemkových úpravách“ ktorý sa bude konať 12.12.2017, t.j. v utorok o 10.00 v Seminárnej miestnosti ZSVTS v Dome techniky ZSVTS v Bratislave, Koceľova 15.
Seminár organizuje SSGK...

Prehľadná mapa ukončených komplexných pozemkových úprav v SR je spracovaná v mapovej aplikácii CLEERIO a umožňuje vyhľadávanie a zobrazovanie jednotlivých katastrálnych území podľa zvolených kritérií.

Mapu je možné nájsť tu https://maps.cleerio.sk/kpu

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Prehľadná mapa ukončených komplexných pozemkových úprav v SR je spracovaná v mapovej aplikácii CLEERIO a umožňuje vyhľadávanie a zobrazovanie jednotlivých katastrálnych území podľa zvolených kritérií.

Mapu je možné nájsť tu https://maps.cleerio.sk/gkul-ukazka#z=8&y=2203032.028837&x=6210799.23661255&w=eyJsIjp7IjEiOjEsIjYiOjEsIjciOjEsIjgiOjEsIjkiOjEsIjE2IjoxLCIyMyI6MSwiMjQiOjF9fQ%3D%3D

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Last time we checked in with the JOHAN project, the team was finalising the final testing phase. Just a couple years later, they’re on the verge of going global.

Winner of the GSA Special Prize at the 2013 European Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC), JOHAN Sports develops motion sensors for location determination and performance measurement of team athletes, especially football and hockey players.

“JOHAN Sports provides data-driven insights and advice to teams, trainers and players to improve performance and prevent injuries,” explains founder Robin van Kappel. “With JOHAN, you can see who is training too hard and who has a higher chance of injury, as well as who is strong in which performance aspects, such as endurance, sprint, agility and recovery.”

The wearable motion sensors are integrated with heart rate and recovery forms and an online platform based on data science, sports science and customer needs. The GNSS tracker – which is Galileo capable – can determine positioning up to 1.5 metres of a player’s location. By combining this data with measurements from inertial sensors, accuracy becomes even higher.

After each use, players and coaches can monitor workload, performance, tactical information and event analysis, allowing players to spot weaknesses and improve their game over time. Coaches can also use the analysis to better capitalise on certain players’ strengths to the team’s advantage. “The measured data is visualised online via a personalised analysis environment for coaches and players that is backed by live support,” adds van Kappel.

According to van Kappel, JOHAN stands apart from the competition in that it offers a user-friendly and affordable performance analysis system for mid-market sports teams. “Targeting professional and semi-professional teams with relatively small and non-specialised staff, our solution is easy to use and every level of trainer can understand it – which differentiates us from the competition,” he says. “By continuously investing in the research and development of the online platform, we are able to offer state-of-the-art but practical products.”

Growth mode

Since final testing was completed in 2015, the project has been busy. Its team has grown from two to 12. The GSA prize provided finance for JOHAN incubation at any incubation centre, and the project decided to cooperate with the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Business Innovation Centre in Noordwijk. Working from this centre, the company has been ramping up development, adding customers and raising funds. For example, in April 2016 they raised EUR 150,000 in investment to start production work towards the product’s official commercial launch in the Netherlands. In May of this year, the company secured an additional EUR 650,000 in capital, which has been earmarked for scaling up sales, expanding the organisation and launching new hardware.

According to van Kappel, the sports market is growing rapidly (see table, below), making the potential market for JOHAN huge and largely untapped. “Sports are becoming more scientific, meaning that more scientific staff are involved and the approach and methodologies are becoming increasingly based on validated sports science,” he says. “Furthermore, broadcasting media are becoming more stats-based, which requires more and more technologies like JOHAN that can monitor players.” 

With team solutions starting from EUR 400 per month, today JOHAN is already used by 30 sports teams, including PEC Zwolle (Eredivisie), NEC (First division), Feyenoord Academy, SD Feirense (Primeira Liga Portugal) and the Royal Dutch Hockey Association. However, in order to grow, the company knows it must look further afield, both to the European and US markets. “The US market is important to us because the value of sports there is very high, with lots of colleges, universities and professional sport clubs having high revenues and budgets,” says van Kappel.

To serve this market, JOHAN’s current products are completely English based, scalable, ready for rapid growth and are usable by everybody on the team – including trainers, players, staff and even directors. “This technology is now easily adoptable by ambitious teams searching for a competitive edge,” adds van Kappel. “As technology and sports are very much embraced in the US, it is a very attractive market for JOHAN.”

To continue to capitalise on these market opportunities, this year JOHAN is launching its next generation system, which will feature real-time analysis, almost full autonomy and automatic data analysis provided by machine learning technology. Players and trainers can use dedicated mobile apps for continuous interaction with the system, both on the field, between training and matches and at home. Furthermore, the system’s compatibility with third party products makes integration with video, heart rate monitoring and tactical tools even richer.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).

The European GNSS Agency (GSA) recently sponsored the 23rd Ka and Broadband Communications Conference and the 35th AIAA International Communications Satellite Systems Conference (ICSSC), two of the most influential technical conferences on satellite systems, which were held jointly in Trieste, Italy, on 16-19 October 2017.

Under the theme Commercial Space Applications: Transformation, Fusion and Competition, participants examined the competitive market transformations arising from the development of new low Earth orbit (LEO) systems and small satellites, in addition to stratospheric platforms and geostationary (GEO) systems, among other technological developments.

This rapid technological revolution and the resulting large scale integration of services are driving a major transformation in satellite systems. The attendees examined these developments, discussed new uses of the technologies, and explored the economic, marketing, technical and regulatory issues that need to be addressed for the technological developments to reach their full potential.

Technological advances to change how people live

At the conference, GSA Head of Market Development Gian-Gherardo Calini participated in a panel discussion on New Markets Emerging from Aviation and Autonomy, in which the participants discussed how new uses of airspace coupled with recent advances in autonomy will change how people live and work. It was noted, moreover, that the enormous amount of research taking place in autonomy, and its use in self-driving cars and drone operations, would result in exciting new opportunities for satellite technology.

Calini also chaired a thematic session on Navigation Systems and Applications, which he closed by pointing out the economic, marketing, technical and regulatory challenges that need to be overcome.

Next year’s joint conference - the 24th Ka and Broadband Communications Conference and the 36th AIAA International Communications Satellite Systems Conference - will be held in Niagara Falls, Canada, on 15-18 October 2018.

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 SpaceTech2017 Hackathon, part of Estonian Space Week, challenged hardware and software developers to utilise the synergies between Galileo and Copernicus to create innovative applications.

Although Galileo and Copernicus serve different functions – with Galileo being a GNSS system and Copernicus an Earth Observation system – there are a number of important synergies between the two. The challenge, however, is developing innovative applications that make full use of these synergies – which was the exact challenge presented to the teams competing at the SpaceTech2017 Hackathon in Tartu, Estonia.

“The idea behind the Hackathon is to bring together software and hardware developers and provide them the opportunity to combine the unprecedented volume of data made available by Galileo and Copernicus,” says Paul Liias, Expert in Space Technologies at the Economic Development Department of Estonia’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, who hosted the event as part of European Space Week.

Organised by Estonian event planning company Garage48 and with the support of the GSA and the European Space Agency (ESA), the hackathon brought together 122 developers, engineers, data scientists, designers and marketers from 23 different countries – including India, the Middle East, Europe and the US. The ESA provided participants with an API containing access to Copernicus data, while the GSA provided Galileo-enabled hardware featuring GNSS raw measurements, and access to a set of location APIs through Here Technologies - its partner for the event.

“We were happy to be able to bring together the GSA and ESA – two of the biggest players in space technology – to one hackathon,” says Garage48’s Kai Isand. “As a result, participants not only had access to Galileo and Copernicus data, but also top-notch mentors from each organisation who supported the teams during the event.”

Winning ideas

Each team was challenged to come up with exciting ideas using different elements from different streams to create integrated solutions – all within just 48 hours. Applications were judged based on their level of innovation and creativity, use of space technology and data, level of teamwork, business potential and vision for the future.

The winner of the GSA prize, which was awarded to Location Based Services (LBS) and Geo-IoT applications, was the Run Me If You Can game. The fun social fitness app lets runners interact and compete in real time with other runners from around the world. Matched runners race equal distances, crossing geo-placed checkpoints, and the first one back is declared the winner.

“The Hackathon was a great opportunity to learn more about the huge amount of data made available to developers through Copernicus and the incredible accuracy of Galileo positioning,” says Run Me If You Can team leader Francesco Renzi. “I think the ideas created at this event are just the tip of the iceberg, and that there are lots of yet-to-be-thought of real-world applications that will soon benefit from these European space technologies.” 

The overall winning idea came from the iDoBalloon team, who built an educational DIY High Altitude Balloon Kit. The balloon, which can be sent to the stratosphere, will provide science students with a unique point of view and a one-of-a-kind learning opportunity. “The whole process was a big challenge for our team – one filled with a lot of emotions and very little sleep,” says iDoBalloon team leader. “But thanks in large part to the on-site mentors and the support we received from the event organisers, we were able to reach our goal by the end of the hackathon.”

Taking home the prize for best GNSS/Copernicus integration was TeamONGrid and their application for tracking military endurance competitions using Military Grid Reference System (MGRS) maps. The app lets teams easily share location data with their support detail, designate upcoming team service points, and use digital breadcrumbs to simplify navigation on paper-based MGRS maps. TeamONGrid was also the overall runner up and the runner up on the GSA Prize.

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).