From funding to market intelligence, EUSPA supports the EU Space industry through the entire innovation cycle. Fundamental Elements has been a key tool in the uptake of the European GNSS Galileo. Fundamental Elements is an R&D funding mechanism designed to support the development of innovative chipset, antenna and receiver technologies. In doing so, the programme helps accelerate the integration of Galileo into market-ready devices and solutions. The objectives of the programme can be summarised as follows:
- Facilitate the adoption of EGNSS, building on innovative services and differentiators;
- Improve the competitiveness of the EU industry;
- Address user needs in priority market segments;
- Maximise benefits for European citizens.
Projects funded by Fundamental Elements play a key role in EUSPA’s mission of driving the development and market uptake of Galileo-enabled receivers.
The two new calls currently open are looking to support the development of two important Galileo services for emergency management.
Galileo Emergency Warning Satellite Service
When it comes to effectively preparing for and managing the consequences of a disaster, it is important to have access to precise and current information. GNSS-based applications make a significant contribution during the preparation and mitigation phases of disaster management, supporting GNSS monitoring and early warning systems for natural disasters.
Galileo, the European GNSS, will contribute to early warning systems through a new service called the “Galileo Emergency Warning Satellite Service” (EWSS). This satellite service, free of charge to users, will broadcast warning messages to the population threatened by natural disasters or other emergencies in affected areas.
The current call for proposal focuses on the development of Galileo-enabled devices for the reception and notification of emergency warnings based on Galileo EWSS (e.g., smartphones, smartwatches, specialised equipment for outdoor activities and other sports wearables, dedicated receivers for buildings and dedicated receivers for cars and vessels).
Read this: Finding resiliency in the face of disaster
The maximum budget is set to 1.0M€ and the indicative number of projects to be awarded is two.
Deadline for submission: 31.05.2023
New Search and Rescue Beacon for Maritime
The launch of the Galileo constellation means a lot more than accurate navigation. The system was also set up to protect EU citizens through various services, one of them being the Galileo Search and Rescue (SAR) service, which in January 2020 announced a breakthrough feature: the Galileo Return Link Service (RLS).
Thanks to Galileo RLS, sailors in distress, with the appropriate beacon, will see a light indicating that their location has been established and the signal has been picked up by first responders. So far, Galileo is the only constellation to offer such a service to end users. The Galileo RLS increases survival rates by giving an important psychological boost to people in distress.
To meet evolving user needs, the current call foresees the development of new beacons with the capacity to continuously read the Galileo return link messages embedded in the navigation message. This allows the Galileo ground segment to provide specific information that can be relevant to emergency beacons. For example, it would be possible to request a specific beacon to be remotely activated. This service is called Galileo Remote SAR Beacon Activation (RBA).
The maximum budget is set to 4M€ and the indicative number of projects to be awarded is three.
Deadline for submission: 31.05.2023
More details about these two calls will be made available during EUSPA’s upcoming Fundamental Elements online Workshop via Webex, to be held on 28 April from 10.00 to 12.30 CET, the workshop will include in-depth information on the funding programme and the application process. More information on the workshop available at this link.
The Webinar will also feature several project teams funded during the first Fundamental Elements call, who will share their experiences, best practices and advice for putting together a successful project.
Join us here.
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