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As of 31 March 2018, all new car and light van models sold in the EU have to be fitted with eCall devices that automatically alert rescue services in the event of an accident, sending their position. The aim of the system is to reduce the emergency response time for road accidents and to save lives.

eCall is activated automatically as soon as in-vehicle sensors detect a serious crash. Once activated, the system dials the European emergency number 112 and establishes a telephone link to the appropriate emergency call centre.

Leveraging EGNSS (Galileo and EGNOS), the system sends the time of incident, the accurate position of the crashed vehicle and the direction of travel to the emergency services, enabling the emergency responders to get to the accident site faster. An eCall can also be triggered manually by pushing a button in the car, for example by a witness to a serious accident.

GSA Guidelines

Ahead of the eCall launch, the European GNSS Agency (GSA) and the Joint Research Centre, the European Commission’s in-house science service, published a set of guidelines to help the eCall industry value chain to pre-test the accuracy of their new devices and understand how to reap the benefits of Galileo.

Commenting on the eCall launch, GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides said that knowing the precise location of a road accident would speed up the emergency response. “Thanks also to EGNOS and Galileo, eCall will enable emergency response teams to locate an accident faster and with much greater accuracy, thereby saving more lives, an important day for Europe and Galileo!” he said.

In fact, it is estimated that eCall can speed up emergency response times by 40% in urban areas and 50% in the countryside and can reduce the number of fatalities by at least 4% and the number of severe injuries by 6%.

Background

Over 25,500 people were killed and 135,000 people were seriously injured in road accidents in the EU 2016, according to figures released by the European Commission. In addition to the tragedy of loss of life and injury, this also carries an economic burden of around EUR 130 billion in costs to society every year.

Against this backdrop, the estimated cost of eCall devices of less than EUR 100 per vehicle at the date of entry into force of the proposed regulation does not seem very high. Moreover, this cost is expected to decrease even further in the future, following cost trends for electronic components and also due to economies of scale.

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).

With European GNSS providing the positioning accuracy that drones need to operate safely, more and more drone-based applications are hitting the market. The GSA highlighted a number of these innovative services during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

The integration of EGNOS and Galileo into drone and UAV technology enhances positioning and opens the door to a wide range of new applications and services. In fact, according to the latest edition of the European GNSS Agency’s (GSA) Market Report, by 2025 the installed base of GNSS devices in drones will reach 70 million – more than twice the sum of other professional market segments combined. But with this growing market comes growing concerns about how to ensure the safe operation of drones.

Luckily, European GNSS offers a solution.

To operate safely, today’s drones are increasingly dependent on the precise positioning and navigation information provided by EGNOS and Galileo. As a result, drones and UAVs are used for applications and services spanning from search and rescue to providing photovoltaic maintenance. They also represent a promising growth market for European GNSS. “Highly precise positioning is key for operating drones, and this is where Galileo and EGNOS can really make a difference - on one hand enhancing the precision in manoeuvring the drone and on the other making flying operations safer,” GSA Market Development Officer Carmen Aguilera said.

This growing role of drones was on full display during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, where the GSA highlighted a number of Horizon 2020-funded drone and UAV applications that utilise EGNOS and Galileo:  

REAL

Researchers with the REAL project are developing EGNOS-based navigation and surveillance sensors for two Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), one for urgent medical transport and the other for providing linear powerline inspections. “REAL integrates EGNOS positioning in support of aviation and surveillance functions for UAVs,” explains project researcher Santiago Soley. “The idea is to exploit EGNOS’ positioning and, more importantly, the integrity that it provides.” 

EASY-PV

The EASY-PV project has developed a time-efficient and cost-effective maintenance solution for photovoltaic plants. Using a drone equipped with a European GNSS high-accuracy receiver, the system flies over a photovoltaic field and collects such relevant data as visible and thermal images. “This data is then automatically geo-referenced and processed, producing a detailed report on which modules need to be replaced,” explains project coordinator Marco Nisi.

GAUSS

To better regulate drone traffic in Europe, the EU has launched a UAV Traffic Management initiative. “GAUSS integrates EGNOS and Galileo’s navigation and location services into this initiative to provide the level of accuracy needed to safely position drones in the sky,” says project coordinator Jiménez González. 

GEOVISION

To increase emergency response times, GEO-VISION captures images and video streaming from the UAV, which are then sent to the pilot and routed in real-time to a control room. “In emergency search and rescue situations, everything is about time – the quicker you know what is happening, the faster you can respond to it,” says project coordinator Harald Skinnemoen. “GEOVISION results is an increased efficiency in emergency response, leading to more lives being saved.”

MAPKITE

This mapping-based project integrates drones with terrestrial mobile mapping systems to provide surveyors and mappers with an end-to- end solution for 3D high-resolution corridor mapping. “For drone applications such as MAPKITE, EGNOS is the standard for accuracy,” explains project coordinator Pere Molina. “Galileo plays an important role too, adding more satellites in view and by offering some resilience against hacking.”

ARGONAUT

ARGONAUT combines an advanced, multi-constellation GNSS receiver and a powerful navigation data processing cloud service for more accurate and affordable geolocation. “For us, the use of Galileo basically translates into being able to provide a better service,” says project coordinator Xavier Banqué-Casanovas. “Because ARGONAUT is a multi-constellation solution, we can offer drone users a more robust solution for overcoming such adverse scenarios as obstructions.”

Want to learn more about the role of European GNSS in drone applications and services? Stay tuned as our EGNOS, Galileo and Drones series takes a behind-the-scenes look at each of these projects in the coming weeks.  

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).

With European GNSS providing the positioning accuracy that drones need to operate safely, more and more drone-based applications are hitting the market. The GSA highlighted a number of these innovative services during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

The integration of EGNOS and Galileo into drone and UAV technology enhances positioning and opens the door to a wide range of new applications and services. In fact, according to the latest edition of the European GNSS Agency’s (GSA) Market Report, by 2025 the installed base of GNSS devices in drones will reach 70 million – more than twice the sum of other professional market segments combined. But with this growing market comes growing concerns about how to ensure the safe operation of drones.

Luckily, European GNSS offers a solution.

To operate safely, today’s drones are increasingly dependent on the precise positioning and navigation information provided by EGNOS and Galileo. As a result, drones and UAVs are used for applications and services spanning from search and rescue to providing photovoltaic maintenance. They also represent a promising growth market for European GNSS. “Highly precise positioning is key for operating drones, and this is where Galileo and EGNOS can really make a difference - on one hand enhancing the precision in manoeuvring the drone and on the other making flying operations safer,” GSA Market Development Officer Carmen Aguilera said.

This growing role of drones was on full display during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, where the GSA highlighted a number of Horizon 2020-funded drone and UAV applications that utilise EGNOS and Galileo:  

REAL

Researchers with the REAL project are developing EGNOS-based navigation and surveillance sensors for two Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), one for urgent medical transport and the other for providing linear powerline inspections. “REAL integrates EGNOS positioning in support of aviation and surveillance functions for UAVs,” explains project researcher Santiago Soley. “The idea is to exploit EGNOS’ positioning and, more importantly, the integrity that it provides.” 

EASY-PV

The EASY-PV project has developed a time-efficient and cost-effective maintenance solution for photovoltaic plants. Using a drone equipped with a European GNSS high-accuracy receiver, the system flies over a photovoltaic field and collects such relevant data as visible and thermal images. “This data is then automatically geo-referenced and processed, producing a detailed report on which modules need to be replaced,” explains project coordinator Marco Nisi.

GAUSS

To better regulate drone traffic in Europe, the EU has launched a UAV Traffic Management initiative. “GAUSS integrates EGNOS and Galileo’s navigation and location services into this initiative to provide the level of accuracy needed to safely position drones in the sky,” says project coordinator Jiménez González. 

GEOVISION

To increase emergency response times, GEO-VISION captures images and video streaming from the UAV, which are then sent to the pilot and routed in real-time to a control room. “In emergency search and rescue situations, everything is about time – the quicker you know what is happening, the faster you can respond to it,” says project coordinator Harald Skinnemoen. “GEOVISION results is an increased efficiency in emergency response, leading to more lives being saved.”

MAPKITE

This mapping-based project integrates drones with terrestrial mobile mapping systems to provide surveyors and mappers with an end-to- end solution for 3D high-resolution corridor mapping. “For drone applications such as MAPKITE, EGNOS is the standard for accuracy,” explains project coordinator Pere Molina. “Galileo plays an important role too, adding more satellites in view and by offering some resilience against hacking.”

ARGONAUT

ARGONAUT combines an advanced, multi-constellation GNSS receiver and a powerful navigation data processing cloud service for more accurate and affordable geolocation. “For us, the use of Galileo basically translates into being able to provide a better service,” says project coordinator Xavier Banqué-Casanovas. “Because ARGONAUT is a multi-constellation solution, we can offer drone users a more robust solution for overcoming such adverse scenarios as obstructions.”

Want to learn more about the role of European GNSS in drone applications and services? Stay tuned as our EGNOS, Galileo and Drones series takes a behind-the-scenes look at each of these projects in the coming weeks.  

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 last Open Service Quarterly Performance Report of 2017 (from October to December) has been published in the Performance Reports section of the GSC web portal.

The fourth OS Performance Report is available in the Electronic Library, providing the status of the Galileo constellation and the achieved performance over the reporting period (October, November and December 2017).

These quarterly reports provide the public with the latest information on the Galileo Open Service measured performance statistics with respect to their Minimum Performance Levels (MPLs), as declared in the Galileo OS Service Definition Document (OS SDD), in particular, on parameters such as:

• Galileo Initial OS ranging performance,
• Galileo Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) dissemination,
• Galileo to GPS Time Offset (GGTO) determination performance, and
• Timely publication of NAGUs (Notice Advisory to Galileo Users).

Highlights from Q4 2017

As in the preceding three quarters of 2017, the measured Galileo Initial Open Service performance figures generally exceed the MPL targets by significant margins.

Some highlights from the Q4 performance report:

• Availability of both the Galileo Ranging Service at the Worst User Location (WUL) and Healthy Signal has been significantly better than expected: both have achieved values above the threshold (which is 87%).
• Availability of the Galileo UTC Determination and the GGTO Determination Services were achieved, with all monthly values above MPL targets (in particular, 100% in November and December);
• MPLs of the Timely Publication of NAGUs were met during the whole period for both Planned and Unplanned events: target of at least 24 hours before the start of a scheduled event is always achieved, as well as not more than 72 hours after an unscheduled one.

For the most up-to-date information on the Galileo system and constellation, visit the European GNSS Service Centre (GSC) website, in particular, the Galileo constellation status section. For more details on Galileo performance and its Services, do not hesitate to contact the Galileo Help Desk.

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).

Využitie súčasných zákonov – zápis zmlúv do katastra, overené notársky, verejná informovanosť sú len prvým, nevyhnutným krokom v prospech spravodlivého vysporiadania vlastníctva a nájomných vzťahov.

Deployment of the Galileo Public Regulated Service (PRS) has been ongoing in recent years and the European GNSS Agency (GSA) has been actively contributing to the development of all user segments to ensure the widespread uptake of the service. GSA PRS Service Manager Charles Villie gave participants in the Munich Satellite Navigation Summit on March 7 a status update on the Galileo PRS and outlined plans for the future.

The Galileo PRS is an encrypted navigation service that is designed to be more resistant to jamming, involuntary interference and spoofing than other services. The launch of Galileo initial services at the end of 2016 also marked the start of the initial Galileo PRS service phase, during which receivers are being tested and all declared PRS functionalities and infrastructure are functional and operational.

Speaking at the Munich Summit, Villie said that the plan for this year is to move to the PRS enhanced service, during which pre-operational receivers will be tested. In preparation for enhanced delivery, the GSA will continue to update PRS functionalities and procedures and improve the navigation performance of PRS, which will benefit from the new satellites added to the constellation, he said.

This work is being conducted in preparation for the initial operational capability (IOC) phase, which is timed for delivery according to the European Commission Galileo roadmap. “IOC is a very important target for us, because it will be the moment when the service and the functionalities will be completely operational and the user segment will be ready to start using operational receivers,” Villie said.

He said that, ahead of IOC, the GSA is actively contributing to the development of all PRS user segments to ensure that user needs are met. This support is provided in three main axes: technical assistance to Competent PRS Authorities (CPA) in the form of workshops and training; operational demonstration and validation in PRS pilot projects and grants for joint test activities; and, finally, support for the development of user equipment, provided through Horizon 2020 and the Fundamental Elements funding mechanism.

High resilience to threats

Richard Bowden, Programme Manager at UK receiver producer QinetiQ noted at the Summit session that, as the Galileo PRS moves towards operational capacity, there is recognition of its benefits in the civil sector, but that a number of challenges remain to widespread uptake. He said that positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) would need to be at least as good as Open Service alternatives, with substantially higher resilience to threats.

This was one of the issues addressed by Villie in his presentation. Citing encryption as the main differentiator of the PRS, Villie said that the key differences between PRS and other Galileo services are the fact PRS access is ensured by an access management policy for users, which means that continuity of service to authorised users is ensured even when access to other navigation services is denied.

“In cases of malicious or unintentional interference, the PRS increases the likelihood of continuous availability of the signal-in-space and provides an authenticated position, velocity and timing service,” he said.

High interest among users

One essential pre-requisite for the future adoption of PRS by multiple user communities is the availability of receivers for different applications. In his presentation at the Summit, Alessandro Ambri from Italian receiver producer Leonardo outlined some of the company’s main Galileo PRS receiver projects, including the GSA-funded projects P3RS-2, PRISMA, and DISPATCH.

Ambri said that his company sees the installation of Galileo PRS on its platforms as an opportunity, as it can be used in many sectors - critical infrastructure, in the military, and by emergency and security services. “We are active in all these areas and our customers have expressed an interest in the Galileo PRS,” he said.

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).

Deployment of the Galileo Public Regulated Service (PRS) has been ongoing in recent years and the European GNSS Agency (GSA) has been actively contributing to the development of all user segments to ensure the widespread uptake of the service. GSA PRS Service Manager Charles Villie gave participants in the Munich Satellite Navigation Summit on March 7 a status update on the Galileo PRS and outlined plans for the future.

The Galileo PRS is an encrypted navigation service that is designed to be more resistant to jamming, involuntary interference and spoofing than other services. The launch of Galileo initial services at the end of 2016 also marked the start of the initial Galileo PRS service phase, during which receivers are being tested and all declared PRS functionalities and infrastructure are functional and operational.

Speaking at the Munich Summit, Villie said that the plan for this year is to move to the PRS enhanced service, during which pre-operational receivers will be tested. In preparation for enhanced delivery, the GSA will continue to update PRS functionalities and procedures and improve the navigation performance of PRS, which will benefit from the new satellites added to the constellation, he said.

This work is being conducted in preparation for the initial operational capability (IOC) phase, which is timed for delivery according to the European Commission Galileo roadmap. “IOC is a very important target for us, because it will be the moment when the service and the functionalities will be completely operational and the user segment will be ready to start using operational receivers,” Villie said.

He said that, ahead of IOC, the GSA is actively contributing to the development of all PRS user segments to ensure that user needs are met. This support is provided in three main axes: technical assistance to Competent PRS Authorities (CPA) in the form of workshops and training; operational demonstration and validation in PRS pilot projects and grants for joint test activities; and, finally, support for the development of user equipment, provided through Horizon 2020 and the Fundamental Elements funding mechanism.

High resilience to threats

Richard Bowden, Programme Manager at UK receiver producer QuinetiQ noted at the Summit session that, as the Galileo PRS moves towards operational capacity, there is recognition of its benefits in the civil sector, but that a number of challenges remain to widespread uptake. He said that positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) would need to be at least as good as Open Service alternatives, with substantially higher resilience to threats.

This was one of the issues addressed by Villie in his presentation. Citing encryption as the main differentiator of the PRS, Villie said that the key differences between PRS and other Galileo services are the fact PRS access is ensured by an access management policy for users, which means that continuity of service to authorised users is ensured even when access to other navigation services is denied.

“In cases of malicious or unintentional interference, the PRS increases the likelihood of continuous availability of the signal-in-space and provides an authenticated position, velocity and timing service,” he said.

High interest among users

One essential pre-requisite for the future adoption of PRS by multiple user communities is the availability of receivers for different applications. In his presentation at the Summit, Alessandro Ambri from Italian receiver producer Leonardo outlined some of the company’s main Galileo PRS receiver projects, including the GSA-funded projects P3RS-2, PRISMA, and DISPATCH.

Ambri said that his company sees the installation of Galileo PRS on its platforms as an opportunity, as it can be used in many sectors - critical infrastructure, in the military, and by emergency and security services. “We are active in all these areas and our customers have expressed an interest in the Galileo PRS,” he said.

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).

Deployment of the Galileo Public Regulated Service (PRS) has been ongoing in recent years and the European GNSS Agency (GSA) has been actively contributing to the development of all user segments to ensure the widespread uptake of the service. GSA PRS Service Manager Charles Villie gave participants in the Munich Satellite Navigation Summit on March 7 a status update on the Galileo PRS and outlined plans for the future.

The Galileo PRS is an encrypted navigation service that is designed to be more resistant to jamming, involuntary interference and spoofing than other services. The launch of Galileo initial services at the end of 2016 also marked the start of the initial Galileo PRS service phase, during which receivers are being tested and all declared PRS functionalities and infrastructure are functional and operational.

Speaking at the Munich Summit, Villie said that the plan for this year is to move to the PRS enhanced service, during which pre-operational receivers will be tested. In preparation for enhanced delivery, the GSA will continue to update PRS functionalities and procedures and improve the navigation performance of PRS, which will benefit from the new satellites added to the constellation, he said.

This work is being conducted in preparation for the initial operational capability (IOC) phase, which is timed for delivery according to the European Commission Galileo roadmap. “IOC is a very important target for us, because it will be the moment when the service and the functionalities will be completely operational and the user segment will be ready to start using operational receivers,” Villie said.

He said that, ahead of IOC, the GSA is actively contributing to the development of all PRS user segments to ensure that user needs are met. This support is provided in three main axes: technical assistance to Competent PRS Authorities (CPA) in the form of workshops and training; operational demonstration and validation in PRS pilot projects and grants for joint test activities; and, finally, support for the development of user equipment, provided through Horizon 2020 and the Fundamental Elements funding mechanism.

High resilience to threats

Richard Bowden, Programme Manager at UK receiver producer QuinetiQ noted at the Summit session that, as the Galileo PRS moves towards operational capacity, there is recognition of its benefits in the civil sector, but that a number of challenges remain to widespread uptake. He said that positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) would need to be at least as good as Open Service alternatives, with substantially higher resilience to threats.

This was one of the issues addressed by Villie in his presentation. Citing encryption as the main differentiator of the PRS, Villie said that the key differences between PRS and other Galileo services are the fact PRS access is ensured by an access management policy for users, which means that continuity of service to authorised users is ensured even when access to other navigation services is denied.

“In cases of malicious or unintentional interference, the PRS increases the likelihood of continuous availability of the signal-in-space and provides an authenticated position, velocity and timing service,” he said.

High interest among users

One essential pre-requisite for the future adoption of PRS by multiple user communities is the availability of receivers for different applications. In his presentation at the Summit, Alessandro Ambri from Italian receiver producer Leonardo outlined some of the company’s main Galileo PRS receiver projects, including the GSA-funded projects P3RS-2, PRISMA, and DISPATCH.

Ambri said that his company sees the installation of Galileo PRS on its platforms as an opportunity, as it can be used in many sectors - critical infrastructure, in the military, and by emergency and security services. “We are active in all these areas and our customers have expressed an interest in the Galileo PRS,” he said.

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).