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The European GNSS Agency (GSA) is taking on a new project in Italy, demonstrating the added value of EGNOS for helicopters.

Italy’s Ente Nazionale Assistenza al Volo (ENAV) is making things easier for Helicopter Emergency Services (HEMS) operators with newly published EGNOS landing procedures. “New European satellite navigation technologies, and the services and applications that rely on these technologies, are key when it comes to aviation and flying in remote areas not served by costly ground infrastructure,” said an ENAV spokesperson at a recent event held in Turin. “ENAV’s newly published procedures will allow HEMS to take off and land in difficult weather conditions and at night, delivering a round-the-clock emergency service covering all the entire Piedmont region.” 

        Read this: EGNOS for Helicopters

EGNOS does not depend on any local ground navigation infrastructure, so it can deliver an affordable solution to small heliports or hospital helipads. It also enhances vertical precision and integrity to improve safety, accessibility and efficiency across Europe. It leads to a substantial reduction in the decision height for a pilot, making helipads accessible in poor weather conditions – of particular importance to medical and emergency operations. PINS down to Localiser Performance with Vertical Guidance, for example, allows access to heliports using vertical guidance to lead the flight to a specific point in space, from which the crew performs visual manoeuvring to the landing site.

ENAV plans to continue expanding EGNOS for operators. “The publication of these procedures and those that will follow will allow 118 (emergency number) responses to intervene quickly and in a more efficient and safe manner, securing a fast and widespread medical service in emergency or critical conditions,” the spokesperson said. “In the Piedmont region, where snow and rain in the winter can make visibility difficult, this will be especially useful.”

Expanding Capacity

The EU FP7 funded HEDGE-NEXT project last year implemented the first PinS LPV procedure in Europe, at Bern’s Insel Hospital. More recently, Barcelona Airport tested EGNOS for helicopters. New procedures, known as Simultaneous Non-Interfering (SNI) operations, will expand airspace capacity at the airport and allow helicopters to take passengers to and from the airport.

       Read this: Helicopter Industry Goes for the EGNOS Advantage

With PinS LPV procedures, approach and departures from civil airports will be at low levels and at 90° to the runway(s) in use – as long as the Runway Visual Range is within stipulated limits – thus precluding conflict with fixed-wing aircraft.

However, to take advantage of these procedures, helicopters must be EGNOS equipped. New AgustaWestland AW139, AW 109 SP, AW169 and AW189, along with all in-development Airbus Helicopters models, are all EGNOS ready.

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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 GSA supports entrepreneurs and businesses using European GNSS technology by providing key insights and analysis into the GNSS market across all market segments.

According to the GSA, entrepreneurship plays a key role in the development of innovative satellite applications.

Speaking at the 2015 GLIC Conference in June, GSA Head of Market Development Gian Gherardo Calini noted how entrepreneurship and R&D will allow European companies to seize market opportunities. “Thanks to a strong dialogue and engagement with the GNSS community, the GSA is in a unique position to leverage research outcomes, seize market opportunities and drive innovation for the benefit of both European businesses and European citizens,” he said.

According to the most recent version of the GSA’s GNSS Market Report, GNSS is a rapidly developing market. For example, the report indicates that there are currently 3.6 billion GNSS devices globally, and that this number is set to double by 2020. “In such a dynamic market, innovation is critical, and the GSA remains committed to supporting the entrepreneurship that will drive this innovation,” said Calini.

The GSA supports entrepreneurs and businesses using European GNSS technology by providing key insights and analysis into the GNSS market across all market segments through its GNSS Market Report, industry days, user forums and one-on-one consultations. Furthermore, the GSA directly supports GNSS R&D activities via the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation.   

This information and support is essential to policy makers, industry players and application developers, as it allows them to better optimize their investment and business decisions. For example, with the recent eCall regulation, as of 2018 all cars sold in Europe are required to be European GNSS equipped. This is a huge opportunity for application developers, who benefited from the regular updates on the policy’s development and market insights provided by the GSA.

Consumer Knowledge

Although such satellite-powered devices play a huge part in our daily lives, the majority of people fail to make the connection between the GNSS equipment/application in their car or on their phone with the satellite in the sky. This raises a challenge for the space sector as consumer demand is essential to driving future innovation – and consumers can’t make demands when they don’t know what satellites are capable of doing.

    Read This: European GNSS R&D – Now there’s an App for That!

For instance, shoppers do not realize that the infinite channels they watch on the television and almost universal Internet access is delivered by satellite systems. “Users need to know what satellites can do before they can demand new services,” says Michel de Rosen, Eutelsat’s CEO, speaking at the recent Global Space Innovation Conference (GLIC 2015) held in Munich. “The challenge for us is ensure the user understands how space solutions are influencing their everyday existence.” 

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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).

New GSA video profiles how European GNSS powered Location Based Services help users better explore the great outdoors.

Navigation systems have long been popular in cars and on mobile phones, helping people find their way from point A to point B. But outside of well-travelled roads, these systems are lacking. In hard to reach areas like nature trails and mountain passes, GPS signals simply aren’t strong enough for accurate navigation.

Now, with the introduction of Galileo and a new app made specifically for outdoor navigation, all of this is changing.

A New Way to Get Outdoors

Komoot is an outdoor app for activity and exploration, guiding users even in untraveled terrain. The innovative app will use precise positioning provided by Galileo to give users turn-by-turn offline navigation and direct routes. “Even if you’re mountain biking in the forest, you can get directions,” says Markus Hallermann, Komoot’s Co-Founder and CEO.

The app, which was founded in 2010, also offers hikers and cyclists topographic maps and recommendations based on user-generated content.       

        Read This: Location Based Services Market Report

This recommendation feature allows users to highlight their favourite sights, single tracks, peaks, or other locations on a trail and flag them for other users. “People discover their home surroundings in a new way,” says Hallermann, noting that most people follow the same paths over and over, but with Komoot are empowered to discover new trails without worrying about getting lost. “For our users, it’s really important to have robust and accurate positioning when they’re out in the forest in order to stay safe,” he says.

Galileo Enhanced

This is where Galileo will come in. With the addition of more satellites to the existing constellation, receivers like those in mobile phones will be able to benefit from improved accuracy and reliability, even in fjords, mountains, and other remote areas. Hallermann says the increased number of satellites mean users will always know where they’re going – giving them more freedom to be adventurous.

Galileo will also help with other features, like learning more about your surroundings. With Komoot, users can point their phone at a specific mountain peak and learn its name, elevation, and distance within seconds.

Through providing a safe, reliable navigation app with interactive features like highlights and photo and tip sharing, Komoot hopes to change the way people explore the outdoors. “Our vision is to enable everyone to have outdoor experiences in their life, everywhere, with just one tap,” says Hallermann.

Komoot is just one example of the many apps sets to benefit from Galileo. To learn more about these Galileo-enabled Location Based Services, be sure to check out the new GSA video here.

More Information

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).