zprávy

For the European GNSS Agency (GSA) and the European Commission, the aim of this year's joint appearance by Galileo and Copernicus at InterGEO 2017 was to highlight the powerful synergies that exist between the two services.

"This is the first time we have shared a common stand at an event of this type," said GSA Market Development Officer Reinhard Blasi. "The GNSS community knows a lot about Galileo already, and is getting increasingly interested to know more about Copernicus. This is Europe's earth observation and monitoring programme, which, like Galileo, delivers openly and freely both operational data and information services impacting a wide range of application areas. "

Blasi was speaking at the world's premier event for the geospatial industry, and the joint use of E-GNSS and earth observation data certainly enables many applications of great interest to the mapping and surveying communities that gather at InterGEO. But there are also large numbers of potential value-added applications for the agriculture sector, for smart cities, road transport, maritime navigation, emergency/crisis management, utilities and many others.

Among the specific examples presented, a notable one is in the area of precision agriculture, where Copernicus can deliver detailed information about soil and plant condition, which can then be used to generate precise maps of parameters on the field. Farmers can then overlay Galileo- and EGNOS-generated location maps to guide targeted irrigation and other operations in their fields. "Synergies exist in many additional segments for example in biomass monitoring, hydrographical offshore surveying or border surveillance."

In the area of environmental management, Copernicus delivers key information on the state of forests, water quality and snow cover, while again Galileo and EGNOS provide geo-tagging of samples as well as precise guidance to specific areas of interest.

“It always boils down to the principle that Copernicus tells you what is around you while with EGNOS and Galileo you precisely know where you are.”

Many applications

The European Union is supporting a major initiative in the area of Smart Cities. Here, Copernicus can be of great use in the monitoring of urban growth, green areas, and land use, both legal and illegal, while European GNSS can be combined with this kind of information to help better understand the mobility habits of urban citizens.

"For public authorities, combined Earth observation and GNSS information is really very valuable," said Blasi, "for urban planning, defining new urban corridors, monitoring land movements and infrastructure projects and supporting law enforcement. And all of these are just a few of the areas where Galileo and Copernicus can work together to provide something that is more powerful than either one by itself."

At the joint Galileo/Copernicus stand in the InterGEo exhibition area, representatives from the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) the Copernicus Support Office, provided more insights into what can be accomplished by combining Copernicus and Galileo data.

There was also an array of representatives on hand from small and medium-sized companies that have been involved in Galileo initiatives, all ready to meet visitors and answer questions. For everyone involved in the two programmes, the experience of coming together and presenting, for the first time, a united front in a very large public forum, appeared to be productive and ultimately very rewarding.

Blasi said that in the future the two programmes would be more likely to work together in this way. "Galileo and Copernicus really do complement each other," he said, "so it makes sense for us, the people who work on these programmes, to come together like this, to tell our stories and promote our work, which is really of great benefit to the public and industry."

The UNOOSA and GSA are preparing a report to be published shortly on the EGNSS-Copernicus synergies. The emphasis is on the impact of the joint usage of GNSS and Earth Observation may have to support the countries to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

More good news for European GNSS

A special conference session at InterGEO allows describing in detail Galileo operational status as well as the state of play among GNSS receiver manufacturers and the wider GNSS market, including the recent launch by Broadcom of the world's first dual frequency GNSS receiver for smartphones.

Broadcom Limited is a worldwide semiconductor leader, and its new chipset will provide, among other things, lane-level accuracy with minimal power consumption and will help to enable a new range of high-precision LBS applications.

As the GSA has pointed out, Europe’s Galileo constellation is largely responsible for the expanded availability of L1/E1 and L5/E5 frequencies for mass market applications, making it possible to use both frequencies to compute position much more accurately.

Special Galileo student prize awarded

InterGEO 2017 was also the occasion to recognize the work of some outstanding young people, in the context of the CLGE Students Contest. Every year, the Council of European Geodetic Surveyors (CLGE) organises the contest aimed at rewarding research in various surveying-related areas.

This year, as it has in previous years, the GSA sponsored a special prize for entries that show a dedicated use of Galileo, EGNOS and/or Copernicus. The winner, announced at InterGEO, 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 WestEstonian archipeligo.

After receiving the award and thanking the GSA and contest organisers, Varbla said, "This means a lot to me. It means that my work is valued and it makes a difference, and I'm really looking forward to continuing with this kind of research."

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).

Čeští studenti se ve středu 27. září 2017 setkali se s americkou astronautkou Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburgerovou, jež se v roce 2010 vydala na patnáctidenní misi raketoplánu Discovery k Mezinárodní kosmické stanici. Vzdělávací akci uspořádala Česká kosmická kancelář ve spolupráci s Americkým centrem Velvyslanectví USA v Praze.

Čeští studenti měli ve středu 27. září 2017 možnost setkat se s americkou astronautkou Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburgerovou, jež se v roce 2010 vydala na patnáctidenní misi raketoplánu Discovery k Mezinárodní kosmické stanici. Vzdělávací akci uspořádala Česká kosmická kancelář ve spolupráci s Americkým centrem Velvyslanectví USA v Praze.

Čeští studenti se ve středu 27. září 2017 setkali se s americkou astronautkou Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburgerovou, jež se v roce 2010 vydala na patnáctidenní misi raketoplánu Discovery k Mezinárodní kosmické stanici. Vzdělávací akci uspořádala Česká kosmická kancelář ve spolupráci s Americkým centrem Velvyslanectví USA v Praze.

The European GNSS Service Centre (GSC) has published updated Galileo Satellite Metadata information on its web portal.

The updated Metadata contains information on the properties of both Galileo IOV (In-Orbit Validation) and Galileo FOC (Full Operational Capability) satellites, including:

• Physical characteristics (mass, area of reflectivity, etc.)
• Attitude law
• Antenna parameters (Phase Centre Offsets (PCOs), Phase Centre Variations (PCVs)

This information is required to properly implement advanced processing algorithms for precise orbit determination or Precise Point Positioning (PPP). 

The updated information can be found under the ‘Support to Developers’ tab in the Galileo Satellite Metadata section. 

All questions and comments can be directed to the Galileo Helpdesk.

About the GSC

The GSC is run by the European GNSS Agency (GSA). It was created to act as an interface between the Galileo system and its end users. The aim of the GSC is to provide system users with relevant information on Galileo. Through the easy-to-use GSC web portal, Galileo users can access a Helpdesk dedicated to addressing a wide range of questions on the status of Galileo and its use. The GSC also actively provides support to R&D and industry from its centre of expertise, as well as hosts workshops and training sessions.

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 Service Centre (GSC) has published updated Galileo Satellite Metadata information on its web portal.

The updated Metadata contains information on the properties of both Galileo IOV (In-Orbit Validation) and Galileo FOC (Full Operational Capability) satellites, including:

• Physical characteristics (mass, area of reflectivity, etc.)
• Attitude law
• Antenna parameters (Phase Centre Offsets (PCOs), Phase Centre Variations (PCVs)

This information is required to properly implement advanced processing algorithms for precise orbit determination or Precise Point Positioning (PPP). 

The updated information can be found under the ‘Support to Developers’ tab in the Galileo Satellite Metadata section. 

All questions and comments can be directed to the Galileo Helpdesk.

About the GSC

The GSC is run by the European GNSS Agency (GSA). It was created to act as an interface between the Galileo system and its end users. The aim of the GSC is to provide system users with relevant information on Galileo. Through the easy-to-use GSC web portal, Galileo users can access a Helpdesk dedicated to addressing a wide range of questions on the status of Galileo and its use. The GSC also actively provides support to R&D and industry from its centre of expertise, as well as hosts workshops and training sessions.

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 Service Centre (GSC) has published updated Galileo Satellite Metadata information on its web portal.

The updated Metadata contains information on the properties of both Galileo IOV (In-Orbit Validation) and Galileo FOC (Full Operational Capability) satellites, including:

• Physical characteristics (mass, area of reflectivity, etc.)
• Attitude law
• Antenna parameters (Phase Centre Offsets (PCOs), Phase Centre Variations (PCVs)

This information is required to properly implement advanced processing algorithms for precise orbit determination or Precise Point Positioning (PPP). 

The updated information can be found under the ‘Support to Developers’ tab in the Galileo Satellite Metadata section. 

All questions and comments can be directed to the Galileo Helpdesk.

About the GSC

The GSC is run by the European GNSS Agency (GSA). It was created to act as an interface between the Galileo system and its end users. The aim of the GSC is to provide system users with relevant information on Galileo. Through the easy-to-use GSC web portal, Galileo users can access a Helpdesk dedicated to addressing a wide range of questions on the status of Galileo and its use. The GSC also actively provides support to R&D and industry from its centre of expertise, as well as hosts workshops and training sessions.

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 Service Centre (GSC) has published updated Galileo Satellite Metadata information on its web portal.

The updated Metadata contains information on the properties of both Galileo IOV (In-Orbit Validation) and Galileo FOC (Full Operational Capability) satellites, including:

• Physical characteristics (mass, area of reflectivity, etc.)
• Attitude law
• Antenna parameters (Phase Centre Offsets (PCOs), Phase Centre Variations (PCVs)

This information is required to properly implement advanced processing algorithms for precise orbit determination or Precise Point Positioning (PPP). 

The updated information can be found under the ‘Support to Developers’ tab in the Galileo Satellite Metadata section. 

All questions and comments can be directed to the Galileo Helpdesk.

About the GSC

The GSC is run by the European GNSS Agency (GSA). It was created to act as an interface between the Galileo system and its end users. The aim of the GSC is to provide system users with relevant information on Galileo. Through the easy-to-use GSC web portal, Galileo users can access a Helpdesk dedicated to addressing a wide range of questions on the status of Galileo and its use. The GSC also actively provides support to R&D and industry from its centre of expertise, as well as hosts workshops and training sessions.

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).

Agriculture faces significant challenges, there is ever-increasing pressure on profit margins and farmers are also trying to produce food in the most sustainable way possible.

The AGRO SHOW in Bednary, near Poznan, is an opportunity for companies to showcase the latest technologies to help farmers work as efficiently as possible. Precision farming makes use of satellite technology allowing real-time management of crops, fields and animals. It helps to monitor and reduce the environmental impact of farming. This is underlined, for instance, by the “European Innovation Partnership for Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability (EIP-AGRI). This Partnership was launched in 2012 by the European Commission (DG AGRI) to contribute to the European Union's 'Europe 2020' strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, in which precision farming plays a key role.

The Bednary show focuses on arable farming. Combining sensor technologies with software linked to EGNOS and Galileo allows farmers to monitor and react to what is happening on the ground. Sensors can pick up on water, nutrient and pesticide levels. The technology will identify where product is needed and the best way to deliver this on the ground. It is also used for seeding and harvesting.

Most producers of agricultural vehicles have incorporated satellite receivers into their machinery to make sure they can offer the highest levels of productivity to farmers. We spoke to three companies to find out how they were making use of GNSS to help farmers.
‘Precision engineering is becoming more and more important in modern agriculture’

Karl Wilhelm Hundertmark, CLAAS Polska, spoke about the role of precision machinery in agriculture, which he said is becoming more and more important. He said that machines were now installed with standard informatics tools that, for example, help to manage fuel consumption and carry out early diagnosis of machine faults. CLAAS, like many manufacturers, install EGNOS as standard in all their agricultural vehicles and for ploughing and spraying it is particularly useful. For seeding, further accuracy is needed, down to as little as two to three centimetres.

Galileo enabled device for precision agriculture

Jerzy Koronczok, Agrocom Polska presented the software developed in the course of the Geopal H2020 project, which can be accessed through any computer. This tool also requires a small Galileo enabled device. This little box (see photo) is useful to all farmers, including small farmers, as it can be added to older machinery. It works with a tablet or smart phone and is a cost-effective solution to digitally document all the farm’s machinery and equipment. Movement and location are easily monitored through the application, which makes use of Galileo satellite signals. Free of charge in its basic version, farmers can tailor it to their specific needs. Farmers can also decide which additional components they need to buy, so that they only pay for what they really need.

‘Customers can save a lot of money on all agriculture products through technology’

Bogdan Kazimierczak, Product Sales Specialist with John Deere Polska, stood beside a large picture of a tractor on the moon! The image makes the point that precision farming tools use satellite information. Kazinierczak explained that these technologies save farmers a lot of money on fertilizers, pesticides and fuel. He said that even smaller farms of 75 hectares can make use of applications to help manage their properties as efficiently as possible.

Kazinierczak says that there are also benefits for the environment. Precision agriculture can reduce the risk of excess chemicals going into the ground by making use of section controls. For example, in an area where chemicals can’t be used, the system will be shut off and no chemicals will be sprayed. So, developments in the agriculture sector are showing that, as highlighted in a European Parliament study on precision agriculture, “suitable services from GNSS developments (Galileo) as a key feature of Precision Agriculture are a priority, but also more easily available data from remote sensing programmes (Copernicus) can be a stimulant to improving Precision Agriculture applications.”

So, it seems that exploiting the synergies between Galileo and Copernicus is the way forward for agriculture.

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).

Agriculture faces significant challenges, there is ever-increasing pressure on profit margins and farmers are also trying to produce food in the most sustainable way possible.

The AGRO SHOW in Bednary, near Poznan, is an opportunity for companies to showcase the latest technologies to help farmers work as efficiently as possible. Precision farming makes use of satellite technology allowing real-time management of crops, fields and animals. It helps to monitor and reduce the environmental impact of farming. This is underlined, for instance, by the “European Innovation Partnership for Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability (EIP-AGRI). This Partnership was launched in 2012 by the European Commission (DG AGRI) to contribute to the European Union's 'Europe 2020' strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, in which precision farming plays a key role.

The Bednary show focuses on arable farming. Combining sensor technologies with software linked to EGNOS and Galileo allows farmers to monitor and react to what is happening on the ground. Sensors can pick up on water, nutrient and pesticide levels. The technology will identify where product is needed and the best way to deliver this on the ground. It is also used for seeding and harvesting.

Most producers of agricultural vehicles have incorporated satellite receivers into their machinery to make sure they can offer the highest levels of productivity to farmers. We spoke to three companies to find out how they were making use of GNSS to help farmers.
‘Precision engineering is becoming more and more important in modern agriculture’

Karl Wilhelm Hundertmark, CLAAS Polska, spoke about the role of precision machinery in agriculture, which he said is becoming more and more important. He said that machines were now installed with standard informatics tools that, for example, help to manage fuel consumption and carry out early diagnosis of machine faults. CLAAS, like many manufacturers, install EGNOS as standard in all their agricultural vehicles and for ploughing and spraying it is particularly useful. For seeding, further accuracy is needed, down to as little as two to three centimetres.

Galileo enabled device for precision agriculture

Jerzy Koronczok, Agrocom Polska presented the software developed in the course of the Geopal H2020 project, which can be accessed through any computer. This tool also requires a small Galileo enabled device. This little box (see photo) is useful to all farmers, including small farmers, as it can be added to older machinery. It works with a tablet or smart phone and is a cost-effective solution to digitally document all the farm’s machinery and equipment. Movement and location are easily monitored through the application, which makes use of Galileo satellite signals. Free of charge in its basic version, farmers can tailor it to their specific needs. Farmers can also decide which additional components they need to buy, so that they only pay for what they really need.

‘Customers can save a lot of money on all agriculture products through technology’

Bogdan Kazimierczak, Product Sales Specialist with John Deere Polska, stood beside a large picture of a tractor on the moon! The image makes the point that precision farming tools use satellite information. Kazinierczak explained that these technologies save farmers a lot of money on fertilizers, pesticides and fuel. He said that even smaller farms of 75 hectares can make use of applications to help manage their properties as efficiently as possible.

Kazinierczak says that there are also benefits for the environment. Precision agriculture can reduce the risk of excess chemicals going into the ground by making use of section controls. For example, in an area where chemicals can’t be used, the system will be shut off and no chemicals will be sprayed. So, developments in the agriculture sector are showing that, as highlighted in a European Parliament study on precision agriculture, “suitable services from GNSS developments (Galileo) as a key feature of Precision Agriculture are a priority, but also more easily available data from remote sensing programmes (Copernicus) can be a stimulant to improving Precision Agriculture applications.”

So, it seems that exploiting the synergies between Galileo and Copernicus is the way forward for agriculture.

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).

Agriculture faces significant challenges, there is ever-increasing pressure on profit margins and farmers are also trying to produce food in the most sustainable way possible.

The AGRO SHOW in Bednary, near Poznan, is an opportunity for companies to showcase the latest technologies to help farmers work as efficiently as possible. Precision farming makes use of satellite technology allowing real-time management of crops, fields and animals. It helps to monitor and reduce the environmental impact of farming. This is underlined, for instance, by the “European Innovation Partnership for Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability (EIP-AGRI). This Partnership was launched in 2012 by the European Commission (DG AGRI) to contribute to the European Union's 'Europe 2020' strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, in which precision farming plays a key role.

The Bednary show focuses on arable farming. Combining sensor technologies with software linked to EGNOS and Galileo allows farmers to monitor and react to what is happening on the ground. Sensors can pick up on water, nutrient and pesticide levels. The technology will identify where product is needed and the best way to deliver this on the ground. It is also used for seeding and harvesting.

Most producers of agricultural vehicles have incorporated satellite receivers into their machinery to make sure they can offer the highest levels of productivity to farmers. We spoke to three companies to find out how they were making use of GNSS to help farmers.
‘Precision engineering is becoming more and more important in modern agriculture’

Karl Wilhelm Hundertmark, CLAAS Polska, spoke about the role of precision machinery in agriculture, which he said is becoming more and more important. He said that machines were now installed with standard informatics tools that, for example, help to manage fuel consumption and carry out early diagnosis of machine faults. CLAAS, like many manufacturers, install EGNOS as standard in all their agricultural vehicles and for ploughing and spraying it is particularly useful. For seeding, further accuracy is needed, down to as little as two to three centimetres.

Galileo enabled device for precision agriculture

Jerzy Koronczok, Agrocom Polska presented the software developed in the course of the Geopal H2020 project, which can be accessed through any computer. This tool also requires a small Galileo enabled device. This little box (see photo) is useful to all farmers, including small farmers, as it can be added to older machinery. It works with a tablet or smart phone and is a cost-effective solution to digitally document all the farm’s machinery and equipment. Movement and location are easily monitored through the application, which makes use of Galileo satellite signals. Free of charge in its basic version, farmers can tailor it to their specific needs. Farmers can also decide which additional components they need to buy, so that they only pay for what they really need.

‘Customers can save a lot of money on all agriculture products through technology’

Bogdan Kazimierczak, Product Sales Specialist with John Deere Polska, stood beside a large picture of a tractor on the moon! The image makes the point that precision farming tools use satellite information. Kazinierczak explained that these technologies save farmers a lot of money on fertilizers, pesticides and fuel. He said that even smaller farms of 75 hectares can make use of applications to help manage their properties as efficiently as possible.

Kazinierczak says that there are also benefits for the environment. Precision agriculture can reduce the risk of excess chemicals going into the ground by making use of section controls. For example, in an area where chemicals can’t be used, the system will be shut off and no chemicals will be sprayed. So, developments in the agriculture sector are showing that, as highlighted in a European Parliament study on precision agriculture, “suitable services from GNSS developments (Galileo) as a key feature of Precision Agriculture are a priority, but also more easily available data from remote sensing programmes (Copernicus) can be a stimulant to improving Precision Agriculture applications.”

So, it seems that exploiting the synergies between Galileo and Copernicus is the way forward for agriculture.

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).

Agriculture faces significant challenges, there is ever-increasing pressure on profit margins and farmers are also trying to produce food in the most sustainable way possible.

The AGRO SHOW in Bednary, near Poznan, is an opportunity for companies to showcase the latest technologies to help farmers work as efficiently as possible. Precision farming makes use of satellite technology allowing real-time management of crops, fields and animals. It helps to monitor and reduce the environmental impact of farming. This is underlined, for instance, by the “European Innovation Partnership for Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability (EIP-AGRI). This Partnership was launched in 2012 by the European Commission (DG AGRI) to contribute to the European Union's 'Europe 2020' strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, in which precision farming plays a key role.

The Bednary show focuses on arable farming. Combining sensor technologies with software linked to EGNOS and Galileo allows farmers to monitor and react to what is happening on the ground. Sensors can pick up on water, nutrient and pesticide levels. The technology will identify where product is needed and the best way to deliver this on the ground. It is also used for seeding and harvesting.

Most producers of agricultural vehicles have incorporated satellite receivers into their machinery to make sure they can offer the highest levels of productivity to farmers. We spoke to three companies to find out how they were making use of GNSS to help farmers.
‘Precision engineering is becoming more and more important in modern agriculture’

Karl Wilhelm Hundertmark, CLAAS Polska, spoke about the role of precision machinery in agriculture, which he said is becoming more and more important. He said that machines were now installed with standard informatics tools that, for example, help to manage fuel consumption and carry out early diagnosis of machine faults. CLAAS, like many manufacturers, install EGNOS as standard in all their agricultural vehicles and for ploughing and spraying it is particularly useful. For seeding, further accuracy is needed, down to as little as two to three centimetres.

Galileo enabled device for precision agriculture

Jerzy Koronczok, Agrocom Polska presented the software developed in the course of the Geopal H2020 project, which can be accessed through any computer. This tool also requires a small Galileo enabled device. This little box (see photo) is useful to all farmers, including small farmers, as it can be added to older machinery. It works with a tablet or smart phone and is a cost-effective solution to digitally document all the farm’s machinery and equipment. Movement and location are easily monitored through the application, which makes use of Galileo satellite signals. Free of charge in its basic version, farmers can tailor it to their specific needs. Farmers can also decide which additional components they need to buy, so that they only pay for what they really need.

‘Customers can save a lot of money on all agriculture products through technology’

Bogdan Kazimierczak, Product Sales Specialist with John Deere Polska, stood beside a large picture of a tractor on the moon! The image makes the point that precision farming tools use satellite information. Kazinierczak explained that these technologies save farmers a lot of money on fertilizers, pesticides and fuel. He said that even smaller farms of 75 hectares can make use of applications to help manage their properties as efficiently as possible.

Kazinierczak says that there are also benefits for the environment. Precision agriculture can reduce the risk of excess chemicals going into the ground by making use of section controls. For example, in an area where chemicals can’t be used, the system will be shut off and no chemicals will be sprayed. So, developments in the agriculture sector are showing that, as highlighted in a European Parliament study on precision agriculture, “suitable services from GNSS developments (Galileo) as a key feature of Precision Agriculture are a priority, but also more easily available data from remote sensing programmes (Copernicus) can be a stimulant to improving Precision Agriculture applications.”

So, it seems that exploiting the synergies between Galileo and Copernicus is the way forward for agriculture.

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).

Agriculture faces significant challenges, there is ever-increasing pressure on profit margins and farmers are also trying to produce food in the most sustainable way possible.

The AGRO SHOW in Bednary, near Poznan, is an opportunity for companies to showcase the latest technologies to help farmers work as efficiently as possible. Precision farming makes use of satellite technology allowing real-time management of crops, fields and animals. It helps to monitor and reduce the environmental impact of farming. This is underlined, for instance, by the “European Innovation Partnership for Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability (EIP-AGRI). This Partnership was launched in 2012 by the European Commission (DG AGRI) to contribute to the European Union's 'Europe 2020' strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, in which precision farming plays a key role.

The Bednary show focuses on arable farming. Combining sensor technologies with software linked to EGNOS and Galileo allows farmers to monitor and react to what is happening on the ground. Sensors can pick up on water, nutrient and pesticide levels. The technology will identify where product is needed and the best way to deliver this on the ground. It is also used for seeding and harvesting.

Most producers of agricultural vehicles have incorporated satellite receivers into their machinery to make sure they can offer the highest levels of productivity to farmers. We spoke to three companies to find out how they were making use of GNSS to help farmers.
‘Precision engineering is becoming more and more important in modern agriculture’

Karl Wilhelm Hundertmark, CLAAS Polska, spoke about the role of precision machinery in agriculture, which he said is becoming more and more important. He said that machines were now installed with standard informatics tools that, for example, help to manage fuel consumption and carry out early diagnosis of machine faults. CLAAS, like many manufacturers, install EGNOS as standard in all their agricultural vehicles and for ploughing and spraying it is particularly useful. For seeding, further accuracy is needed, down to as little as two to three centimetres.

Galileo enabled device for precision agriculture

Jerzy Koronczok, Agrocom Polska presented the software developed in the course of the Geopal H2020 project, which can be accessed through any computer. This tool also requires a small Galileo enabled device. This little box (see photo) is useful to all farmers, including small farmers, as it can be added to older machinery. It works with a tablet or smart phone and is a cost-effective solution to digitally document all the farm’s machinery and equipment. Movement and location are easily monitored through the application, which makes use of Galileo satellite signals. Free of charge in its basic version, farmers can tailor it to their specific needs. Farmers can also decide which additional components they need to buy, so that they only pay for what they really need.

‘Customers can save a lot of money on all agriculture products through technology’

Bogdan Kazimierczak, Product Sales Specialist with John Deere Polska, stood beside a large picture of a tractor on the moon! The image makes the point that precision farming tools use satellite information. Kazinierczak explained that these technologies save farmers a lot of money on fertilizers, pesticides and fuel. He said that even smaller farms of 75 hectares can make use of applications to help manage their properties as efficiently as possible.

Kazinierczak says that there are also benefits for the environment. Precision agriculture can reduce the risk of excess chemicals going into the ground by making use of section controls. For example, in an area where chemicals can’t be used, the system will be shut off and no chemicals will be sprayed. So, developments in the agriculture sector are showing that, as highlighted in a European Parliament study on precision agriculture, “suitable services from GNSS developments (Galileo) as a key feature of Precision Agriculture are a priority, but also more easily available data from remote sensing programmes (Copernicus) can be a stimulant to improving Precision Agriculture applications.”

So, it seems that exploiting the synergies between Galileo and Copernicus is the way forward for agriculture.

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).