zprávy

Srdečně zveme na tiskovou konferenci České kosmické kanceláře, která shrne úspěchy českých studentů, kteří se zúčastnili řady studentských vědeckých projektů a odborných konferencí.
CSO dlouhodobě a úspěšně asistuje českým studentům při realizování jejich vědeckých a technických projektů. Podporuje jejich účast na konferencích, kongresech a studentských odborných workshopech a letních školách, organizuje přednášky, popularizační a vzdělávací akce. Organizačně zajišťuje i mezinárodní semifinále celoevropské studentské vědecké soutěže Odysseus.

Česká kosmická kancelář pořádá tiskovou konferenci k úspěchům českých studentů ve vědeckých projektech a na odborných kongresech. Představí se studenti jak středních tak i vysokých škol. CSO dlouhodobě a úspěšně asistuje českým studentům při realizování jejich vědeckých i technických projektů a motivuje je k dalšímu studiu.

Srdečně zveme všechny zájemce na tiskovou konferenci České kosmické kanceláře, která shrne úspěchy českých studentů, kteří se zúčastnili řady studentských vědeckých projektů a odborných konferencí.
CSO dlouhodobě a úspěšně asistuje českým studentům při realizování jejich vědeckých a technických projektů. Podporuje jejich účast na konferencích, kongresech a studentských odborných workshopech a letních školách, organizuje přednášky, popularizační a vzdělávací akce. Organizačně zajišťuje i mezinárodní semifinále celoevropské studentské vědecké soutěže Odysseus.

Taking place on eve of the declaration of Galileo Initial Services, the theme of this year’s GSA Special Prize is the most innovative application idea for Galileo Initial Services. Within this scope of the 2016 European Satellite Navigation Competition, the European GNSS Agency (GSA) sought the best ideas and applications that leverage Galileo’s Initial Services to provide new and more robust benefits to end-users.

This year’s winning project, Drones2GNSS, combines two of today’s hottest topics in global navigation satellite systems (GNSS): Galileo and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The project proposes an innovative approach to addressing a timeless problem of surveying engineers: positioning accuracy in urban canyons and vegetated areas.

“Although Galileo Initial Services are expected to enhance the accuracy of existing solutions, Drones2GNSS proposes an off-the shelf application that uses European GNSS (i.e., Galileo, EGNOS) as the primary means of positioning,” says project partner Space Geomatica’s Achilles Tripolitsiotis. “As GNSS signals are degraded in obstructed environments by skyscrapers, vegetation and geomorphology, our project proposes using drones as intermediate carriers of high precision GNSS signals that can then transfer the geolocation accuracy to the ground.” 

To accomplish this, Drones2GNSS relies heavily on multi-constellation GNSS signals – which is where Galileo will make the difference. “As current constellations like GPS and GLONASS have proven inefficient in confronting the aforementioned surveying problem, the sector continues to rely on traditional surveying techniques,” says Tripolitsiotis. “However, with the launch of the Galileo era and the utilisation of the Drones2GNSS approach, we can now provide surveying engineers a cost effective, accurate and fast positioning solution.”

An idea born from experience

As engineers working for more than 15 years in various engineering, geotechnical, mining and surveying projects, the project team knew the problems of degraded positioning accuracy first-hand. “Even though the advent of GNSS positioning significantly improved the time it takes to perform classical surveying work, this is not the case when one has to work in urban canyons and/or vegetated areas,” says Tripolitsiotis. “Thus, in such obstructed environments, classic ground geodetic techniques have to be carried out to provide accurate positioning.”

It was the combination of this first-hand experience with the expertise of the project’s academic partners in UAV technology that resulted in the Drones2GNSS project. The system is comprised of a drone equipped with a highly accurate GNSS receiver, a digital camera/laser measuring system capable of retrieving the coordinates of custom made surveying poles, a prism and a target marker. The system retrieves the coordinates of a topographic pole where a known market pattern is attached via delicate GNSS and image processing.

“When applying digital target detection, real time and on-board image processing, triangulation and/or trilateration, we can guarantee the same level of accuracy down to the ground,” says Tripolitsiotis. “This will be achieved via an innovative topographic pole that, in addition to a prism and a GNSS antenna, will carry visual markers for automated detection from the UAV’s camera.”

Eyeing the market

Tripolitsiotis says he believes there’s significant market potential for Drones2GNSS, particularly with surveyors who can add the system as an add-on to their existing product line. “The current and future trend in GNSS surveying is that everyone will use UAVs as no additional capital investment is necessary, meaning there is already a market demand for systems like Drones2GNSS,” he says. “Furthermore, our project uses equipment that all surveying engineers already have and the hard/software is easily adaptable to existing solutions, meaning it can be used by a wide array of applications.”

“This GSA Special Prize means a lot to our project as it proves that when you have the passion, the vision, the knowledge and technical expertise your work will be recognised,” says Tripolitsiotis. “The prize will play a big role in helping us expand our reputation from niche markets to the wider GNSS industry and provide us the means to bring the Drones2GNSS system to market.” 

As the winner of the GSA Special Prize, the Drone2GNSS project now has the opportunity to develop their idea at an incubation centre of their choice within the EU-28 for six months, with the possibility of a further six months according to progress. Furthermore, for the first time, the project will be showcased at the official Galileo Service Declaration Ceremony in Brussels, when Initial Services are announced to the world. 

About the GSA Special Topic Prize

The GSA Special Topic Prize was awarded during last night’s (25 October 2016) annual European Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC) and Copernicus Masters ceremony, Europe’s pre-eminent innovation competitions for space applications.

The 2016 edition of the ESNC again received a remarkable number of entries. Drone2GNSS’s winning idea was competing against a total of 413 entries from 40 different countries, with 150 from start-up companies and 124 entries coming from individuals. In terms of topics, the majority of entries were submitted under the Mobile Location Based Services (LBS) category, followed by Smart Moving and Safety & Security.

The annual event recognises the most outstanding applications for Copernicus and European GNSS (Galileo and EGNOS) in various categories. Since 2014, the awards ceremony has been associated with the Satellite Masters Conference, taking place this year from 25 – 27 October. The conference features plenary sessions, workshops and roundtable discussions centred on leveraging satellite-derived data and other space solutions for business and society. It is a unique marketplace for sharing ideas on space-based innovation and connecting with the world’s leading network for downstream satellite business.

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).

Intergeo is the place to be for the geodesy, geoinformation and land management sector – and the 2016 edition, taking place in Hamburg, was no exception.

In the world of big data and smart cities, geodata, accurate positioning and location-based services (LBS) are key to enabling the development and implementation of new services to citizens. As such, the two main themes for Intergeo 2016 were digitisation and smart technologies for smart cities.

Among the 160 lecturers addressing these themes during the congress was a session on Trends in Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Positioning, where the European GNSS Agency (GSA) discussed using Galileo’s initial services. The session was chaired by Dr Jahn Cord-Hinrich of LGLN Niedersachsen and included presentations by GSA Market Development Officer Reinhard Blasi, Trimble Terrasat’s Dr Herbert Landau, Leica Geosystems’ Bernhard Richter, and Dr Gerhard Wübbena from Geo++.

Is the geodetic community ready for Galileo?

The GSA began the session by providing a status update on the Galileo programme and the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) and the future contributions expected from these two European GNSS. With Galileo initial services available by the end of the year and the first launch of four Galileo satellites by an Ariane 5 launcher set for 17 November, Reinhard says the establishment of the full constellation is well under way. He also noted the opening of the European GNSS Service Centre (GSC) – Galileo’s one-stop shop for system users –is reflective of the programme’s user-centric approach.

“The rapid deployment of the constellation signal will place Galileo in a leading position in terms of dual frequency L1/E1-L5/E5, particularly as these Galileo satellite launches are occurring in a period when GPS space vehicles are in the process of being gradually replaced,” says Blasi.

The geodetic community is very appreciative of the high accuracy brought by Galileo´s Commercial Service (CS). The CS is broadcasted from a moving GNSS constellation rather than the traditional geostationary approach (thus increasing continuity and availability, even in in harsh environments). In terms of authentication, either through CS or the Open Service, Galileo will be able to provide confirmation via what is effectively a stamp that shows a signal has not been manipulated.

Other benefits include the possibility that Galileo will play a role in reducing convergence times for precise point positioning (PPP) applications. For real-time kinematics (RTK), the addition of another GNSS constellation will make a big difference, for example in urban canyons and forests.

But is the geodetic community ready for Galileo? According to a recent GSA survey, for the majority, the answer appears to be ‘yes’. For example, 77 % of responding reference networks say they have enough information to integrate Galileo into their systems, while 41 % say they are already fully prepared to use Galileo signals. In total, 78 % of reference networks have plans in hand to upgrade to Galileo by 2017. More information on these findings can be found in the GSA’s recently published GNSS User Technology Report.

Young surveyor says Galileo is outstanding!

A regular feature of Intergeo is the Council of European Geodetic Surveyors’ (CLGE) young surveyor’s award ceremony. Now in its fifth year, the GSA again sponsored an award for student papers involving applications using Galileo, EGNOS or Copernicus signals.

This year’s winner was Cecile Deprez, a PhD student at the University of Liege in Belgium. Cecile’s idea stems from Google’s decision to give Android users access to GNSS code measurements, a move that could bring much greater precision to mass-market applications.

Furthermore, use of the Galileo E5 signal could, in theory, bring decimetre positioning precision into Android user applications. According to Cecile’s research, in general, Galileo signals are more precise than GPS alone.

You can assess the results yourself by visiting the CLGE website where Cecile’s and eight other high-quality papers from this year’s competition are freely available.

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).