News archive

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.

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 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.

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 four Galileo satellites launched on December 12 have successfully transitioned from Early Orbit Phase to In Orbit Testing.

Europe’s space policy is already delivering results for businesses and citizens. The European Parliament held a conference on 6 March, on how agriculture is the new frontier. The event was hosted by Eric Andrieu MEP, who is the S&D (The Progressives) co-ordinator for Agriculture and Rural Development.

Whether it is dual frequency chipsets or new smartphones, European GNSS was behind many of the technology announcements made during Mobile World Congress 2018.

The launch of Galileo Initial Services last year has paved the way for new services and applications that can foster the adoption of Galileo in markets outside Europe. Participants at the Munich Satellite Navigation Conference on March 6 discussed support available to European GNSS companies to develop these markets.

The European GNSS Agency (GSA) hosted the second Fundamental Elements Info Day on March 14, 2018, welcoming 55 participants from 38 organisations to its headquarters in Prague. The info day focused on upcoming FE funding opportunities and provided a status update on the funding programme.

GNSS is just one component of autonomous driving systems, along with other sensors like inertial navigation systems (INS), odometers, radar, cameras, gyroscopes and others. However it is a critical component providing much needed redundancy, according to participants in the Munich Satellite Navigation Conference on March 6.