MENTORE
Implementation of GNSS tracking and tracing technologies for EU regulated domains

The European Union has already established a number of regulations requiring precise, reliable and up-to-date knowledge of geographic positions. In the near future, present policies may evolve towards new regulations. These regulations take advantage of satellite navigation applications, commonly regrouped under the term ‘tracking and tracing’, as a tool to localise and remotely monitor assets and persons. The Commission has recently presented a Green Paper on satellite navigation, defining a framework for satellite applications in regulated tracking and tracing domains. With the advent of EGNOS and Galileo, tracking and tracing applications and services are expected to develop rapidly.

MENTORE targets the Commission’s Green Paper on Satellite Navigation Applications. MENTORE will define a roadmap for GNSS technologies and services in the tracking and tracing regulated market. The project will give guidelines for the creation of best practices in regulated tracking and tracing services of EGNOS to Galileo.

Description

During its two-year duration, the project will analyse the technologies, service platforms, market scenarios and service provision schemes of EGNOS/Galileo-based tracking and tracing regulated services. The MENTORE work is deployed through two main phases:

• Phase I – Application group analysis, including two main activities namely analysis, and classification and ranking;
• Phase II – Pilot service implementation, including two main activities namely implementation of pilot service demonstrations and synthesis.

In the analysis activity, capitalising on the results of previous and on-going European initiatives, MENTORE performs an inventory of regulations, trends, technological platforms, services for different tracking and tracing application domains and sectors (transport, freights and goods, animals and persons). The project then classifies and prioritises the analysed applications, upon commercial and public interest requirements.

On these bases, MENTORE completes Phase I by ranking tracking and tracing applications, and selecting two of them to be implemented in Phase II.

During Phase II, MENTORE demonstrates five pilot services: radioactive material shipment, livestock transport and dependant persons tracking, in addition to the two cases previously selected. The results from the pilot service demonstrations are used for the final synthesis: gaps identification, recommendations and guidelines elaboration, actions and plan definition.

Objectives

MENTORE’s objective is the definition of a roadmap for GNSS technologies and services in the tracking and tracing regulated markets. Radioactive transport-regulated control of fissile material transport ensures the protection of the public and the environment. Present remote tracking and tracing systems make use of GPS. EGNOS and Galileo differentiators rely on enhanced performances and new services, such as signal authentication and PRS.

Livestock transport – a Council Regulation on the international transport of livestock introduces the compulsory use of satellite navigation systems by 2009. The need to guarantee the information related to position, travelling times and routes is a must which can only be achieved through the signal integrity provided by EGNOS/Galileo. Food traceability – the European Union is the world’s largest importer/exporter of food products.

In 2002, the Community adopted the General Food Law, Regulation (EC) 178/2002, and advocated traceability for the protection of consumers. The use of technology solutions based on satellite navigation provides food transportation tracking and product monitoring, thus supporting ‘farm to table’ food safety policies. eCustoms – the EU COM/2005/608 and COM/2005/609 propose actions for the modernisation of Customs Codes and the implementation of electronic customs.

The goal is to achieve interoperable and accessible automated customs systems in the Member States, thus supporting coordinated processes and services. This will facilitate communications/transactions between traders and customs, increase the competitiveness of companies doing business in Europe, and improve EU security. The cargo traceability and the use of tracking technologies (including GNSS) are the basis of the implementation of eCustoms policies. Other regulated applications in various markets will be explored during the project. MENTORE demonstrates five pilot services. It will use the results of the demonstrations for the definition of the roadmap.