This international conference organized by the Arab Institute of Navigation (AIN) has the theme “Global Navigation Satellite System, GNSS – the Next Frontier”. Held for the first time, it aims at bringing together researches, manufacturers, service providers and consultants in the field of GNSS and related fields to share research results, new developments and practices. The conference will also identify common issues related to safety of Navigation, security and means of transport. In conjunction with the conference, an exhibition featuring state-of-the-art products, systems and services related to GNSS and maritime industries is organized. ESSP will be giving a presentation on “EGNOS Qualification and Service Start-Up” and is participating with a booth in the exhibition of the event.  

Founded 18 years ago under the name “ATC Maastricht”, the event has grown to become the world’s largest event for the air traffic control and management industry. The exhibition brings together the suppliers and key buyers and specifiers of air traffic control and management products and services from all over the world and every area of the industry.  For the first time, the event is held in the new Amsterdam RAI Convention Centre. As all the years before, ESSP will be participating in the exhibition with a booth. Come to see us at booth no. D 124 !

The event's objective is to provide a platform to:
1. Learn from and build on what has been done in the development of new GNSS technologies and applications
2. Explore the current and projected needs in order to lay the foundations for the types of applications and technologies that EGNOS and Galileo will both require and make possible
3. Bring potential partners together that can complement each other's ideas and expertise 

ESSP will participate in the exhibition with a stand. The conference venue is the Charlemagne Building (170 Rue de la Loi) in Brussels.   

The event will bring together users and R & D specialists from all areas to discuss the evolution of navigation technology and practices. Major applications covered include maritime, aerospace and ground vehicule navigation. ESSP will be represented with a stand at the event's exhibition and furthermore give a presentation entitled "The European Satellite Services Provider and the qualification of EGNOS safety". For more information, please consult: http://www.rin.org.uk

This event in the United States of America will bring together many experts in GNSS Ground-Based Augmentation Systems. It will give participants a broad overview on the status of research, development and implementation programmes, airborne and ground station equipment design, ground station sitting and commissioning, aircraft integration, and ground and flight testing. ESSP will give a presentation on the “Qualification of EGNOS, the final step to the Operational Service”. For further information on the event, please consult: http://www.ion.org

Specialists from the navigation-positioning (ENC-GNSS) domain will unite for this event of international scale in the International Convention Centre Geneva. The ENC-GNSS has been organised at yearly intervals since 1997 under the responsibility of EUGIN (European Group of Institutes of Navigation) in various European cities. ESSP will be present with a booth no. 301. For further information on the event, please consult: timenav07.org/index.php

This symposium will highlight main challenges in the certification of EGNOS and Galileo, such as the difficulty in finding a single standard against which can be certified taking into account that the final certification needs to be against the standard relevant for the application domain. Another challenge in the successful implementation and use of EGNOS and Galileo discussed by the conference is the lead time for certification of mission and safety critical applications. ESSP has been invited to give a presentation about EGNOS System Operations. For matters concerning EGNOS certification, please contact the ESSP Safety and Quality Assurance Manager Paul Verschueren (paul.verschueren@essp.be)

The project's main objective consists in developing cost-effective solutions for surveillance, guidance and control of vehicles in airports, in accordance with A-SMGCS recommendations. This also concerns other decision support services for the different actors of an airport, such as AOO, ATCO, GH and others. Participants will be able to witness the performance of AIRNET at the demonstration and judge by themselves the effectiveness of the solution for cost-saving objectives. For further information on the project, please consult: http://www.airnet-project.com

The fifth - and by now well established - Satellite Navigation Summit taking place in the "Residenz München" will be a conference with global impact featuring invited high-ranking worldwide speakers from industry, science and governments concerned with satellite navigation. Participants will be able to get latest news on the development of European satellite navigation systems such as Galileo and EGNOS. ESSP will be present on booth #13 at the exhibition dedicated to industry and institutions. For further information on this event, please consult: http://www.munich-satellite-navigation-summit.org

The exhibition will bring together the suppliers and key buyers of air traffic control and management products and services from all over the world and every area of the industry. There will be slight changes in the programme such as new invited speakers, new topics to discuss. More information can be found on the ATC Maastricht website. You can meet the ESSP on booth #900.

ESA's Radio Navigation System and Techniques Section of the Directorate of Technical and Quality Management has been organising its third Satellite Navigation User Equipment Technology workshop. The event addressed professionals such as space-borne and terrestrial designers, integrators, users, universities and agency representatives. It provided ample opportunity for open exchange on technical expertise and experiences through presentations, discussions and roundtables. Emphasis was on giving participants an overview on current and future satellite navigation technologies, especially in the framework of research and development programmes. For further information or to register, please consult: http://www.congrex.nl/06c17/

M-TRADE implemented a service platform for freight and remote asset tracking and tracing applications. Two different GPS/EGNOS receivers were used. The schedule of the demonstration campaign was as follows:
1. Remote monitoring of shunting operations within an Intermodal Terminal (Bologna Freight Village, 23 - 24 October 2006)
2. Tracking and tracing of a tank rail wagon loaded with oil products from Genoa sea port (Italy) to Dordrecht Zeehaven (The Netherlands, crossing Germany and Switzerland - 30 - 31 October 2006 and 7 - 9 November 2006)
3. Tracking, tracing and temperature monitoring of a reefer carrying perishable goods via a multimodal road-rail transport chain (by rail from Brescia to Bologna 6 - 7 November 2006; by road from Bologna to Modena 8 November 2006)
4. Tracking and tracing of a tank vessel loaded with petrol from Vienna to Budapest round-trip via Danube river (13 - 18 November 2006)

New Mobility requires new technologies (Galileo), innovative methods and new activities to ensure sustainable development. The Interclusters Crossforming Platform organised a seminar on Galileo new technologies with emphasis on the land applications. Technologies such as Galileo and EGNOS open a new market with great potential. This seminar was an excellent opportunity to learn more about Galileo new technologies and land applications (approx. 70 % of Galileo's project scope). For further information, please consult: website.

To demonstrate achievable operational and economic benefits by GNSS services, the GIANT User Forum brought together about 100 professionals to learn about results achieved by flight trials in a real operational scenario (LVP approach based on EGNOS at the non ILS-equipped at Valencia airport.) The key added value of these trials is the use of the real EGNOS signal for a flight conducted , for the first time in Europe, by a Dash 8 aircraft of a major regional airline in Spain, Air Nostrum. For memory, GIANT stands for "GNSS Introduction in the Aviation Sector", a 6th Framework programme-funded project that was selected in the aim of supporting the introduction of EGNOS and Galileo services in the aviation market.

This 13th ITS event was organised by ERTICO in co-operation with ITS United Kingdom, Department for Transport, Department of Trade and Industry and Transport for London. This annual event rotates between Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific region and came to the UK for the first time in 2006. It brought together all the factors involved in intelligent transport systems, and was an unique occasion to share experiences and to debate on the future of technologies.
More information about World ITS 2006 can be found on the official website.

The Limoges APV procedure was designed by the DSNA Procedure Bureau (SIA) according to ICAO criteria. The ATR42 (click here to view the aircraft) conducted several APV approaches on QFU 21 using the EGNOS signal provided by the satellite PRN120. The lateral and vertical deviations were computed with respect to the APV procedure final segment and were displayed in the cockpit (click here to view a picture of the cockpit, the EGNOS deviation indicator is just above the pilot's right knee). According to the pilots, the EGNOS signal used for APV has a quality similar to the signal for ILS signal level Cat-I.

ION GNSS 2006 proposed technical sessions on GPS modernization, Galileo status, plans, standards and institutional issues, GNSS algorithms and antenna design, interference and jamming, location-based services, indoor positioning, GPS meteorology, integrated navigation systems, network-based techniques for real-time kinematic systems and many other topics. An international industry exhibition also took place. Mr Ashley Lyon, Marketing and Business Development Manager at ESSP, submitted a paper in the "GNSS Space Based Augmentation" session entitled "EGNOS - a step closer to operational qualification".
For more information, please visit the event's website.

Mr Dirk Werquin is steering the company's activities since August 1st 2006. He holds a Masters degree in Electronics Engineering which led him to work in the field of aircraft navigation systems engineering, prior to his positions at Sabena Technics as Director of Aircraft Component & Repair Division and Director of Engineering. His latest position has been Vice President of Maintenance & Engineering at SN Brussels Airlines.

Under the project Helicity, the first flight trial occured on July 12th 2006. The prototype intends to prepare for future navigational benefits using EGNOS and in the future: Galileo; it will reduce navigational errors, increase pilot awareness (especially for night and reduced visibility navigation) and reduce the number of accidents due to operation in marginal flight conditions. A photo of the EGNOS equipped helicopter can be found by clicking here.

The third conference and exhibition on Inland Waterways Transport focussed on the following topics: transport and logistics, inland water ports and infrastructure, inland water vessels, navigation and communication, safety and security.

More information about MELAHA 2006 can be found on the official website.

The GNSS 2006 conference and exhibition focussed on the present status as well as on the future developments of navigation systems and services. Obviously, with the decision of the European countries to implement its own satellite navigation system, particular emphasis and attention is directed to the development of Galileo. Thus, GNSS 2006 provided the forum and platform to present the state of the art technologies and innovations in the field of satellite navigation.
More information about GNSS 2006 can be found on the official website.
Ashley Lyon from ESSP presented a paper on the status of EGNOS Initial Operations on May 8th 2006.

The conference addressed the regulatory framework and economical foundations necessary to allow private down-stream projects leading to the development of a market based on Galileo applications. Specifically the conference:   

• illustrated the potential of Galileo for services and applications with concrete pilot projects, such as those supported by ESA and the European Commission 6th Framework Programme,

• discussed market opportunities, success factors and risks for Galileo business

• discuss the importance of public actors, and in particular of national and European programmes, to enable the development of commercial services and applications,

• provided  directions to industry to develop commercial services and applications Furthermore, this Conference will stress the key role  the New EU Member States have to play in GALILEO as co-owners of the system. It will therefore participate in preparing the grounds and having them closely informed of all the current developments in the European GNSS programmes (GALILEO and EGNOS), as well as the market opportunities that the systems will offer to their respective industries. website

For the first time, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) flew during 20 minutes on April 2nd 2006 using EGNOS as its only source of navigation for take-off, en-route and approach/landing. No other onboard backup system or ground based aid was used during this flight. ESSP was in close contact with the EADS Military Air Systems Business Unit team to make sure that EGNOS was performing well during the trial. Click here for the EADS press release, here for a photo of the UAV (courtesy of EADS) and here for the associated film.

Following on the previous workshop on tools and facilities for satellite navigation applications organized in April 2005, this workshop provided an open forum to gather together companies or research institutes developing Galileo receivers or developing/offering tools and facilities for the development, testing and validation of Galileo receivers.  
• Workshop objectives
This forum offered the opportunity to analyze the requirements of the receiver developers and the specifications of the tools and facilities in order to ensure a harmonious development and to leverage the different development risks. This workshop provided an updated overview of the development of both Galileo receivers and tools for developing, testing and validating these receivers. It allowed the participants to examine the different possibilities, finding appropriate partnerships for their development, identifying future needs and fostering networking of tools and facilities. website

This event gathered high ranking speakers from industry, science and governments dealing with satellite navigation present and future services. The main focus was on new services created by GPS & Galileo; and the challenges for profitable value-added new services in road, land and aviation personal safety and security, etc.  
The conference highlighted the development of new applications in the following areas:

• satellite navigation, in combination with

• telecommunications and 

• geo-information technology

The programme can be found on the event's website.

The exhibition brought together the suppliers and key buyers of air traffic control and management products and services from all over the world and every area of the industry. ESSP met with many ATS and ANSPs involved in GNSS implementation and was able to have on-the-spot meetings to better define the current and future needs of the Aviation community with regards to GNSS and SBAS applications. More information can be found on the ATC Maastricht website.

The first section of the conference resumed the current SatNav situation as seen from the Nordic countries. The main focus was on the Galileo design and the consequences for practical navigation in the Nordic areas. Besides present SatNav users, the conference brought together academics, designers, equipment suppliers, service providers and policy makers from around the Nordic navigation community.  The programme can be found on the website.

INTEGRAIL (GNSS-based Rail Navigation User Equipment) is a new prototype telematics system by which GPS signals plus the EGNOS wide area correction and integrity signals are made available for day-to-day rail traffic operations. This common effort enabled to develop a system that uses GPS and EGNOS satellite navigation data for autonomous and reliable determination of train position, velocity and heading under all environmental conditions and for profitable support of railway traffic management, in particular on low-density rail tracks. The successful demonstration has included live operations involving a specially equipped train vehicle with onboard performance monitoring and control of the INTEGRAIL mobile unit. The selected  train scenario has showed the benefits of GNSS based navigation for railway traffic management and signaling such as autonomous position/velocity determination, status, performance and integrity monitoring, remote control and command. Further to the successful trial, a well attended debriefing session was held in a pleasant atmosphere at the Crown Miles Golf Course in Gauteng (South-Africa).

This conference covered topics such as legal discussions around Galileo for commercial aviation, and the legal, strategic and political aspects of the Galileo programme. Patrice Bouëdo, ESSP Marketing Manager, attended the event.

This year the theme was "Pushing the Boundaries"; the conference covered advances in all aspects of navigation infrastructure and its applications, including all-important safety issues.
For more information about the programme, please visit the website.

This EGNOS Workshop was an international, annual conference completely devoted to the satellite based augmentation system EGNOS. The aim of the seminar was to bring together the European EGNOS community, review the present situation and status of the system, and foster international cooperation in the development of EGNOS applications. Ashley Lyon, ESSP Business Development and Marketing Manager, delivered a presentation about "Operating EGNOS", on Thursday October 27 2005.
For more information about the programme, please visit the event's website.

Under the project ProDDAGE, The DESIW (DGPS/EGNOS on Inland Waterways) demonstration was held in Mr±gowo (Poland) on the Great Masurian Lakes by the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn (Poland). This international demonstration was hosted by the Chair of Satellite Geodesy and Navigation - UWM in Olsztyn, in cooperation with the Galileo Joint Undertaking, Helios Technologies Ltd, ESYS Ltd, the European Satellite Services Provider, the Galileo Information Point at the Polish Space Research Centre, the Police Academy in Szczytno, the Polish Navigation Forum, Polkomtel SA and Biatel SA. The representatives of these institutions, representatives of the new members of the EC, members of the Polish parliament as well as representatives of the most important user community took part in this event.

This event gave a great opportunity to get up-to-date information about the newest applications in satellite positioning, navigation and monitoring systems using the European system EGNOS. The programme consisted of presentations, a live demonstration on the Lake Czos to demonstrate water emergency and vehicle monitoring systems, as well as a live presentation at the pilot emergency call centre located at the Police Academy in Szczytno.

For further information about this event, please visit the KGSIN website.

ION GNSS 2005 proposed a whole set of technical sessions ranging from GNSS receiver issues to future services. Ashley Lyon, ESSP Business Development and Marketing Manager, delivered a presentation about "Operating EGNOS", during session F1 - Galileo Institutional and Market Analysis, on Wednesday, September 14 2005.
For more information about the programme, please visit the ION website.

Under the EC 6th Framework Programme ProDDAGE, led by ESYS, ESSP witnessed the first demonstration using the operational EGNOS signal during the World Rally Championship event in Trier, Germany. EGNOS has advantages over pure GPS as the 3D video representations of the cars can be processed much faster and with accuracy, then superimposed to show on TV how the leaders are competing against each other, although driving against the clock.
Further information can be found on the ESA website. Click here to view Petter Solberg's Subaru equipped with EGNOS

Following the success of the ESA milestone ORR (Operational Readiness Review), the ESSP has concluded successful negotiations with ESA to begin the EGNOS Initial Operations Phase (IOP) on July 28th 2005. The IOP will last 18 months and is comprised of three steps: ramp-up, stabilization and qualification for safety critical services. 

Click here for the complete press release.

After a lengthy process, an extension to the scope of the certification of the Quality Management System has been granted. The system has been implemented at NAV Portugal according to the NP EN ISO 9001:2000 standard, covering the whole of the company's activities, namely, Air Navigation Services, training services and development of systems for Air Traffic Management, Communication, Surveillance and Professional Training.
Click here for the complete press release.

The GNSS 2005 conference and exhibition focused on the present status as well as on the future developments of navigation systems and services. Obviously, with the decision of the European countries to implement its own satellite navigation system, particular emphasis and attention is directed to the development of Galileo. Thus, GNSS 2005 provided the forum and platform to present the state of the art technologies and innovations in the field of terrestrial and satellite navigation.
More information about GNSS 2005 can be found on the official website: http://www.enc-gnss2005.com/.
ESSP was on booth #11. The ESSP promoted the use of EGNOS in the Safety of Life domain. Umberto Guida, ESSP Business Development Manager, presented an ESSP paper about the EGNOS Initial Operations Phase.

To show the results of the ESA project GALEWAT, a demonstration event took place in Lisbon, Portugal. The GALEWAT project partners are: ViaDonau (Austria), Kongsberg Seatex (Norway), INOV (Portugal) and Teleconsult Austria (Austria).
More information can be found on the project official website: http://www.galewat.org/.

Under the 6th Framework Programme ProDDAGE project, ESSP actively participated in the event organised at the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority's premises.
This event was organised during the crossing of Africa from West (Dakar, Senegal) to East (Mombasa, Kenya), demonstrating that EGNOS can be used for Non-Precision Approach with Vertical Guidance APV I in the future.
Ashley Lyon, ESSP Business Development and Marketing Manager, made a presentation on the benefits of EGNOS for aviation in Africa.
Further information can be found on the ESA and GJU websites.

The Air Traffic Service Provider NAV Portugal has joined ESSP as its seventh shareholder at a level of 8.33%.
Bruno Meuris, General Manager for ESSP, commented: “We are glad to welcome NAV Portugal in our organization and I am certain that this will make an excellent addition for our future activities”.
Please click here to see the full press release.

The International Symposium on Certification of Galileo System and Services concentrated on the measures already established and future activities, which will demonstrate that all provisions are implemented to assure Galileo certification and operational safety.
Ashley Lyon, ESSP Business Development and Marketing Manager, presented a paper about EGNOS Safety written by Paul Verschueren, ESSP Safety & Quality Assurance Manager.
More information is accessible on the website.

The PACF is a key element of the EGNOS ground infrastructure, for planning and monitoring of the operations. It is exploited jointly by the French Space Agency CNES and the Direction des Services de la Navigation Aérienne of the French Civil Aviation Authority.

More information is accessible on the website.

The summit addressed the worldwide co-operation in satellite navigation. What are the new possibilities of GPS and Galileo which can be established after the EU-US Agreement and what is the main impact for the application of satellite navigation, in combination with telecommunications and geo-information technology.

Umberto Guida, ESSP Business Development Manager, represented the ESSP at the summit.
More information is accessible on the website.

The purpose of this conference was to bring together scientific/technical experts, legal/administrative experts and the user community to express their needs and possible solutions, to see what may be needed to implement and expand the recommendations made at the Vigo Conference.
Ashley Lyon, ESSP Business Development and Marketing Manager, and Umberto Guida, ESSP Business Development Manager, represented the ESSP at the symposium.
More information is accessible on the website.

ATC Maastricht is the leading air traffic forum bringing together major suppliers of Air Traffic Control equipment, training and communications.
More information about ATC Maastricht can be found on the official exhibition website: www.atcmaastricht.com.
You could have met the ESSP on booth #900, in hall 12. The ESSP promoted the use of EGNOS in the aviation domain.

The Locoprol project, partially funded by the EC DG INFSO, aims at the development of a satellite-based, fail-safe and low-cost positioning and an signalling system for Low Density Railway Traffic Lines.
A first implementation of this new system is currently being tested on a CFTA-Connex line in the South of France between Nice and Digne.
The conference will feature high-level presentations by representatives from the European Commission and CFTA-Connex, as well as technical presentations providing a systems overview, and report on test results.
Umberto Guida, ESSP Business Development Manager, represented the ESSP at the conference.
More information is accessible on the Locoprol website.

The GALEWAT Project GALEWAT (GALILEO and EGNOS for Waterway Transport), funded by ESA, aims particularly at testing the applicability of the European navigation service EGNOS for River Information Services (RIS). Three demonstration events are planned as part of the project, in Lisbon (Portugal), Constantza (Romania) and Vienna (Austria).
The Vienna demonstration setup consists of two base stations, one regional centre, five ships and an external segment allowing to trace the demonstration online.
Ashley Lyon, ESSP Business Development and Marketing Manager, represented the ESSP during the event.
More information can be obtained through the Galewat website.

The ESSP, along with its founding member organisations and partners, is considering participation in the second call of the Galileo chapter of the 6th Framework Programme for Research and Development of the European Union.

The second call is divided into three areas, with different contracts associated:
1. User Segment, encompassing applications (aviation, maritime, rail, etc), standards and technologies (receiver, local element).
2. Mission Definition and Implementation, providing insight into Mission and System requirements for the EGNOS and Galileo systems, as well as studies on advanced concepts and prototype developments.
3. Innovation and International Initiatives, focusing on partnership and coordination at European level, and also providing dedicated opportunities for SMEs.

An overall budget envelope of 66.9M€ cover these three areas. 32 contracts shall be awarded by the Galileo Joint Undertaking. The level of public funding will vary according to the activity. Submission of proposals is expected on October 8th 2004 for Area 1, September 24th for Area 2 and September 17th for Area 3.

For more information about the call, please visit the Galileo Joint Undertaking website.

ION GNSS 2004 proposed technical sessions on GPS modernization, Galileo status, plans, standards and institutional issues, GNSS algorithms and antenna design, interference and jamming, location-based services, indoor positioning, GPS meteorology, integrated navigation systems, network-based techniques for real-time kinematic systems and many other topics. An international industry exhibition also took place.
Ashley Lyon, ESSP Business Development and Marketing Manager, made a presentation about the need for GNSS market development, during session C1 - GNSS Status and Plans. The session was planned on Wednesday, September 22, from  8:30am till noon.
For more information, please visit the exhibition website: http://www.ion.org/meetings

This event, organised by the Galileo Joint Undertaking in cooperation with the European Commission and the Egyptian hosts, took place on the occasion of the inauguration of the Galileo Euromed Co-operation Office in Cairo.
The objective of this information day is to present the content of the Euromed GNSS project, which aims at raising awareness among decision makers in the Mediterranean region regarding EGNOS and Galileo, as well as preparing a programme of training and demonstration activities in the area.
Umberto Guida, ESSP Business Development Manager, represented the company at this event.
More information about this event can be obtained on the Galileo Joint Undertaking website.

To view a photo of the inauguration, click here.

Organised by ESA and the Federal State of Hessen at the ESA ESOC premises of Darmstadt, the Information Day presented the main issues faced by the European GNSS Programme. Emphasis was put on the local implications of the Galileo programme in the Hessen area, and also on the business opportunities created by Galileo. The ESSP was present at the DFS stand, ensuring a common presentation of the EGNOS benefits.
Ronald Kirjner, ESSP Marketing Manager, represented the company at the conference.

Before joining the ESSP, Umberto was working with Alenia Spazio, where he was in charge of projects and studies for ESA, EC, the GJU, National Institutions and Public / Private Companies, focusing on Satellite Navigation applications in view of the upcoming EGNOS initial operations and Galileo system development.

Under this framework he was the technical coordinator of the VeRT project in Activity C of the 1st Galileo Call within the 6th Framework Programme.

He was involved in the main EC programme dedicated to Galileo since the beginning of the “Galileo adventure”. Under the 4th Framework Programme, he was manager of Galileo Components Definition task within the GALA programme. Under the 5th Framework Programme, he was manager of the Local Augmentation definition task within the GALILEI programme. He participated also to the Galileo Mission definition.

Ashley Lyon, Sales and Marketing Manager, represented the ESSP during the event, which marked the opening of one of the four EGNOS Mission Control Centre (MCC).

This MCC is to be operated by ENAV, the Italian agency for air navigation services. This is the third EGNOS MCC that has been deployed so far under the supervision of ESA. The two other MCCs are located at the German air traffic control centre in Langen, near Frankfurt, and at the Spanish air traffic control centre in Torrejón, near Madrid.

More information about this event is accessible on the ENAV and the ESA website.

To view a photo of the inauguration, click here.

The Conference addressed the new issues facing Swiss aviation in the last few years. From first hand technological developments to institutional questions and new ventures in civil and general aviation, many challenges were presented and provided an overview of the current changes in Swiss aviation.
Ashley Lyon, ESSP Business Development and Marketing Manager, made a presentation about EGNOS Operations on June 18th at 1.45pm.
More information is available on the conference website (German only): http://www.ion-ch.ch/navigare2004

The Conference was a follow-on to the 1st Conference for EU candidate countries held in Warsaw (Poland) in May 2003 entitled “Galileo for an Enlarged Europe”, in which the ESSP participated.

This year, the conference gathered together experts, operators, designers and service providers and the user community (public and private sector) from both current Members and the candidate countries to the European Union to:
- present the state of the art of GALILEO and EGNOS;
- discuss the applications of GALILEO and highlight the early opportunities offered by EGNOS
- discuss the research and development activities of GALILEO
- underline benefits in the frame of the EU enlargement;
- encourage active participation from the EU candidate countries;
- examine the down stream potential and spin-off benefits once the system is operational; 
- discuss possible partnerships.

Ashley Lyon and Ronald Kirjner represented the ESSP at the conference.
Ashley Lyon made a presentation during the plenary session on Friday May28th at 2.20pm about GNSS market development in Europe.
More information is available on the following website: http://www.eurisy.asso.fr

Organised by ERTICO, the European ITS Congress addressed key developments in the area of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS). More than 800 Congress delegates and 500 Exhibition visitors were expected from 30 different countries.
The ITS in Europe 2004 Congress and Exhibition placed a special focus on the integration of the Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) into the enlarged EU through the event theme 'ITS - Moving Towards an Integrated Europe
Ashley Lyon, Business Development and Marketing Manager, represented the ESSP at the conference.

More information about the congress can be obtained on the event's official website: http://www.itsineurope.com

The European Navigation Conference GNSS 2004 was the 8th annual conference organised under the flag of the European Group of Institutes of Navigation (EUGIN) with the GNSS name. The conference has grown into the major international event in Europe on navigation, positioning and timing developments.
The ESSP was located in booth #26. Do not hesitate to come and visit us during the conference!
Ronald Kirjner, Marketing Manager, made a presentation about GNSS Market Development on Monday May 17th at 4.30pm, during session 2a - GNSS Mission Definition and Implementation.

For more information about the event, please visit the website:
http://www.enc-gnss2004.com

The conference focused on recent and future developments in the general area of navigation. Organised by the Arab Institute of Navigation (AIN), the Melaha conference will be held in Cairo between April 13th and 15th 2004.
Ashley Lyon, Business Development and Marketing Manager, represented the ESSP at the conference and presented a paper about the needs for GNSS market development on Tuesday April 13th, during the afternoon session.

Locoloc and Locoprol are European projects aiming at the definition of a fail-safe and low-cost positioning system for low-density railroad lines, based on GNSS,
The live demo included an introductory plenary session featuring keynote speeches from the European Commission and the European Space Agency, as well as Locoloc and Locoprol project introductions. Then, participants were invited onboard SNCB-NMBS line 144 for a 15-kilometer journey to see the satellite-positioning based system in action.
Ashley Lyon, ESSP Sales and Marketing Manager, represented the company during the demonstration.
To view photos of the Locoloc-Locoprol trial, click on the links below:
- the train
- the control screen
- the train driver
- presentation onboard the train
- project presentation
All photos come courtesy of ERTICO.

Paul has been involved in the EGNOS programme since 1996, first as Product Assurance Manager, then from 1998 onwards, as the System Safety Manager of Alcatel Space in Toulouse.

Prior to this he was responsible for TRASYS of the Maintenance Department of the Process Computer of the Nuclear Power stations In Doel-Antwerpen and later on, for Thales, responsible for the QA department of the Airbus Simulators Facility in Trappes-Paris.

He owns an engineering degree in Nuclear Power from ISNA - Brussels.

The Munich Satellite Navigation Summit 2004 was held March 23rd to 25th 2004 in Munich, Germany. Speakers from industry, science and government background  discussed the current affairs related to GNSS in Europe and in the world. The Summit also hosted the 12th European Meeting of the U.S. Civil GPS Service Interface Committee (CGSIC), which enabled interactions with the US GPS authorities.
Ronald Kirjner, ESSP Marketing Manager, participated to a panel discussion entitled "Do we need so many differential GNSS networks?", on Wednesday March 24th, at 11 am.
More information about the event can be obtained at www.munich-satellite-navigation-summit.org

The ProDAGGE project led by ESYS will be undertaken in the framework of the activity D of the first Galileo call, related to the Application Market Development.
The two-year project will focus on issues such as Market Analysis, Business Cases, Demonstrations and Training.
ESYS will lead the consortium; the following other companies will work on the project: Alcatel Space, Bombardier, Ecorys, Ertico, European Maritime Radionavigation Forum, Helios, Nottingham Scientific Limited, Thales Geosolutions.
The ESSP will lead the selection of the five EGNOS and Galileo demonstration projects, and will participate to the EGNOS extension training and awareness work packages.
The Kick Off meeting of the project took place at the Galileo Joint Undertaking premises, in Brussels, on February 10th 2004.

ATC Maastricht is the leading air traffic forum bringing together major suppliers of Air Traffic Control equipment, training and communications. More information about ATC Maastricht can be found on the official exhibition website: www.atcmaastricht.com.
The ESSP was present on booth #900 to promote the use of EGNOS in the aviation domain.

To view a photo of the ESSP booth and staff members at the exhibition, click here.

The ADVANTIS project will be undertaken in the framework of the activity C of the first Galileo call, related to the Introduction of Galileo services using EGNOS.
The two-year project aims at the development of a Business Model based primarily on the value of integrity for “liability critical” applications that could be of high interest for EGNOS and Galileo. The project will start with the detailed analysis of the user needs, service and system definition, and will continue with the design and development of an operational prototype together, the setup of trials, data analysis and dissemination.
The Spanish company GMV will lead the project. Besides the ESSP, the other consortium partners are Alcatel Space, the European Union Road Federation (ERF), Explorer Consulting Company, Nottingham Scientific Ltd. (NSL), Septentrio, SGI, Skysoft.
The Kick Off meeting of the project took place at the Galileo Joint Undertaking premises, in Brussels, on February 3rd 2004.

The GEM project will be undertaken in the framework of the activity E of the first Galileo call, related to Galileo Mission Implementation.
The two-year project aims at increasing the attractiveness of GALILEO to user communities and preparing the introduction of operational GALILEO services. The following aspects will be covered:
- the development of Standards for GALILEO and EGNOS Signal In Space and receivers in the Aviation, Maritime, LBS, Rail and Road sectors
- the refinement of the GALILEO certification Framework (combined GPS-GALILEO and augmented services)
- the protection of frequency allocation and support to frequency coordination
- the consolidation of the implementation of the GALILEO mission (refinement of service definition, definition of interfaces with external entities…)
The French company FDC will lead the project. Besides the ESSP, the other consortium partners are Alcatel Space, Astrium, DNV, Polestar, Thales Avionics and Thales ATM. The ESSP will bring the expertise in of its shareholders (all Air Traffic Service Providers) in the project.
The Kick Off meeting of the project took place in Brussels, on December 16th 2003.

This meeting, organised by the Italian Air Traffic Service Provider ENAV, Member of the ESSP, presented the result of the MIDAN demonstration, whose aim was to demonstrate the benefits of EGNOS in the Middle East Region.
The MIDAN demonstration is a joint initiative of ENAV, ESA, the EC and Telespazio, and endorsed by the ICAO Office of the Middle East Region.
Ashley Lyon, ESSP Sales and Marketing Manager, represented the company during the two-day meeting.

The number of road traffic accident victims in the European Union is currently high, with around 42,000 fatalities and 1.6 million injuries a year. Inappropriate speed has been identified as a major cause. Intelligent Speed Adaptation consists in a technology installed onboard vehicles, which can better advise drivers of permissible speeds and, if necessary, act as a vehicle speed limiter.
The ISA seminar, focusing on the benefits and applications of this technology, was organised by the IEE Automotive and Road Transport Systems Professional Network in association with the EC PROSPER project, which is examining the potential impact of ISA on European road safety.
Ronald Kirjner, ESSP Marketing Manager, represented the company during the workshop.

This workshop, dedicated to Satellite Navigation and Road Applications, was organised by the Portuguese Cabinete Relações Internacionais para a Ciência e o Ensino Superior (GRICES) in cooperation with the European Space Agency.
The objective of the workshop was to provide information on the latest developments in the field of GNSS and road applications, and to discuss Business and Technological forecasts.
Ronald Kirjner, ESSP Marketing Manager, represented the company during the workshop.
For more information, please visit the workshop website: http://www.grices.mces.pt/ITSLisbon2003

Intelligent Transport Systems and Services (ITS) have been acknowledged as one of the means to achieve some of the goals of the European Transport Policy. Organised by ERTICO, the Spanish Government and the City of Madrid, in co-operation with the European Commission, the 10th ITS World Congress did bring the ITS industry together with important decision-makers committed to ITS investment.
Ashley Lyon, ESSP Sales and Marketing Manager, made a presentation titled “EGNOS Services for Intelligent Transport Systems” during Special Session 3, dedicated to “Enhanced ITS services using new satellite systems”. This session was planned on Monday November17th.
More information about the event can be obtained on the following website: http://www.madrid2003.itscongress.org/its_pres.cfm

ION-GPS 2003 proposed sessions on GNSS status, GPS modernization, Space Based Augmentation Systems, Galileo system design, receiver and antenna technology, unintentional interference, integrated navigation systems, and many other topics. An exhibition area was available, with representatives from the USA, Europe and Asia.
Ronald Kirjner, Marketing Manager, made a presentation entitled “Beyond the EGNOS Test Bed – Providing EGNOS Services” during session E6, dedicated to Space-Based Augmentation Systems. This session was planned on September 12th, from 1:30PM to 4:30PM.
To obtain more information about the conference, please visit the website:  www.ion.org/meetings/gps2003program.cfm

The Civil Global Positioning System Service Interface Committee (CGSIC) is the recognized worldwide forum for effective interaction between all civil GPS users and the U.S. GPS authorities. Three subcommittees, the International Subcommittee, the Timing Subcommittee, and the U.S. States and Localities Subcommittee, focus on specific user groups.
Ronald Kirjner, Marketing Manager, made a presentation for the International Subcommittee dedicated to ESSP plans for EGNOS System Operations and Service Provision.
To obtain more information about the conference, please visit the website:  http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/cgsic/meetings/default.htm

The EGNOS Project Office of Toulouse organised on the 3rd July 2003 at ESA Headquarters in Paris a technical workshop on EGNOS receivers for GPS/SBAS receiver manufacturers.
The main goals of the workshop were the following:
1. Exchange technical information to ensure maximum interoperability between EGNOS Signal In Space and receivers;
2. Provide information to receiver manufacturers about the transition from ESTB to EGNOS as part of managing user expectation;
3. Establish links between manufacturers and EGNOS Project Office;
4. Create synergies for the provision of EGNOS information material.
Vincent Brison, ESSP Operations Specialist, represented ESSP at the workshop.
More information about this event can be found on the ESA website: http://www.esa.int/export/esaSA/SEM89KXO4HD_navigation_0.html

NavSat is one of the key events in satellite positioning in Europe. NavSat gathers around 120 exhibitors, representing all actors of today’s navigation world: equipment and receiver manufacturers and distributors, component manufacturers and distributors, software developers for geolocalisation services, integrators, service operators, engineering experts and consultants.
The following markets were represented: road transport, maritime, rail transport, telecommunications, aeronautics, security, financing, precision farming, medicine, weather forecast and environment, public works, leisure activities.
ESSP was located on booth #35. Please do not hesitate to come and visit us!
For more information about the exhibition, please visit the website www.navsat-show.com.

The conference aimed at discussing and analysing the opportunities offered by Galileo, from architecture to downstream components, products and services.
The ESSP, represented by Ronald Kirjner, Marketing Manager, made a presentation named “Providing EGNOS Services to Navigation Markets”. This presentation was planned for July 27th, in the session “Market Survey of GNSS Applications”.
Complete details about the conference can be found on the website www.navsat-show.com.

The 45th edition of Le Bourget Air Show was one of the main events of the year for the entire aeronautics and space industry.
The ESSP was present on the Septentrio booth, #K7-10, in hall 2B. Septentrio is a manufacturer of GPS/SBAS receivers, based in Leuven, Belgium. The booth is part of the Belgium Aerospace area.
For more information about the event, please visit the website http://www.salon-du-bourget.fr/index2.htm

The project, lead by Bosch-Blaupunkt, aims at the distribution of EGNOS data corrections via Digital Audio Broadcasting, leading to position improvements for car navigation systems.
Ronald Kirjner, Marketing Manager, represented the ESSP during the demonstration that took place at Bosch premises, in Germany, on June 12th 2003.

Ashley Lyon, Sales and Marketing Manager, represented the ESSP during this 8th Annual International Symposium, focused on Policy, Commercial and Technical Interaction in Satellite Navigation Systems.
The main aim of the symposium was to discuss how policies, civil and commercial applications and the technologies to implement them will interact so that these systems will operate and complement each other to maximize their benefits for all users.
To obtain a Preliminary Program and Registration details, please visit the website: http://www.isunet.edu/other_programs/2003_symposium.htm

Bruno Meuris, General Manager, represented the ESSP during the demonstration that took place in Rome at the Telespazio headquarters.
This demonstration was part of the EGNOS TRAN (Terrestrial Regional Augmentation Networks) project, and combined EGNOS with GPRS to make critical transport monitoring safer.
The demonstration was performed in the urban environment of Rome, involving transport vehicles and a fleet management service centre. A wireless data link (GPRS) was used for the dissemination of the EGNOS data to the users. The test scenario also showed the benefits of the integration of EGNOS and GPRS for dangerous goods monitoring applications such as geofencing and route deviation alarms.
For further information about EGNOS TRAN please visit http://galileo.cs.telespazio.it/egnostran

This first conference for Candidate Countries to the European Union was organised by the European Commission with the active participation of the European Space Agency.
The conference presented the state-of-play in the Galileo and EGNOS programmes as well as in Intelligent Transport Systems. It underlined how candidate countries could benefit and encouraged partnerships among themselves and current EU Member States.
Ashley Lyon, Sales and Marketing Manager, represented ESSP at the conference and made a presentation about EGNOS Services.

GNSS 2003 was the international Rendezvous dedicated to Global Navigation Satellite Systems, attracting each year more than 500 participants. The conference focused on the present status as well as on future developments in navigation systems, with special emphasis on Galileo. GNSS 2003 was a showcase for satellite navigation innovations. For more information about the event, please visit the official website: www.gnss2003.com. The ESSP was present to promote the use of EGNOS and investigate partnerships with key players from the GNSS market.

To view a photo of the ESSP booth and staff members at the exhibition, click here.

The conference focused on the present status as well as on future developments in navigation systems, with special emphasis on Galileo. The ESSP was involved in three presentations, which were made during the conference:
- "EGNOS System Operations and Service Provision"
Held during session I2, about EGNOS Applications, this paper was presented by Jon Westbrook, Engineering and Operations Manager at the ESSP.
- “The transition from ESTB (EGNOS System Test Bed) to EGNOS: the User’s Perspective”
Held during session B1, about EGNOS/ESTB, the paper was prepared by Helios Technology, ESA and the ESSP.
- "SISNET: Bringing EGNOS Services to the Mass Market"
Held during session C1, which deals with EGNOS using terrestrial communication, this paper was jointly prepared by Helios Technology and the ESSP.
Complete details about the conference can be found on the website www.gnss2003.com.

To view a photo of the ESSP Presentation by Jon Westbrook, click here.

Ashley Lyon, Sales and Marketing Manager, represented the ESSP during the ESA-sponsored demonstration that took place at the Kiruna airport in Sweden.
This demonstration was part of the EGNOS TRAN (Terrestrial Regional Augmentation Networks) project, and did provide evidence of EGNOS availability to en-route, approach and landing and terminal operations at truly Northern latitudes.
VHF Data link (VDL) Mode 4 was used for the distribution of the EGNOS data to users, enabling efficient communication between pilots and air traffic controllers without resorting to congested voice communications.
For more information, please refer to the official ESA website.

To view a photo of the aircraft used for the Kiruna trial, click here.

Eurocopter was contracted by ESA to validate in flight the EGNOS Test Bed User Equipment (TBUE) on the EC155-HTT helicopter with a view to start introducing EGNOS in Helicopter Emergency Medical Services.
Following successful technical validation, the in-flight trials have demonstrated the suitability of EGNOS for achieving steep IFR precision approaches without any installation on ground. This opens the way to specific IFR procedures for rotorcraft which should be beneficial in terms of mission efficiency, safety and environmental impact.

ATC Maastricht is the leading air traffic forum bringing together major suppliers of Air Traffic Control equipment, training and communications. More information about ATC Maastricht can be found on the official exhibition website: www.atcmaastricht.com. The ESSP was present to promote the use of EGNOS in the aviation domain.

To view photos of the ESSP booth and staff, click here or here.

Ashley Lyon, Sales and Marketing Manager, made a public presentation of the company during the first Euro-Mediterranean Satellite Navigation (GNSS) Seminar.

This Seminar is a direct result of the action plan adopted by the Euro-Mediterranean Conference of Ministers for Foreign Affairs in Valencia stressing the need to boost cooperation on satellite navigation and following the recommendations made by the MEDA Transport Forum held in July 2002.

This seminar aimed at:
- Increasing local awareness of decision makers, service providers and product manufacturers on the potential of EGNOS and Galileo for the Mediterranean region;
- Supporting the information flow and establishing contacts amongst the MEDA partners and the European Union Member States;
- Identifying key priorities and common interests in the GNSS sector for the MEDA partners.

Attendance ranged from European Commission officials and other European institutions, to MEDA partners administration civil servants, service providers, product manufacturers, and research representatives.

A complete description of the event, including most presentations, can be accessed on the EC DGTREN website:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/energy_transport/galileo/international/meda_sem1_en.htm

Bruno Meuris comes from the telecommunication market. Previously, he has been working for four years for the Belgium-based company Ebone (formerly Hermes Europe Railtel) as Director for Network Validation and Support. He was responsible for lab testing, validation and second line support towards the Operations department for both the network and the Network Management Systems (NMS) deployed in the Network Operations Center (NOC). Prior to this, he worked for Belgacom, in the domain of Research and Development, participating in several European research framework projects. He owns an engineering degree from the University of Gent, Belgium, and is a Doctor in Applied Science from the same university.