7/30/2009

Satellite-based Support of Life

The possibilities of using satellite signals in applications where human lives are at stake have been demonstrated in a number of fields as civil aviation, guidance for travelers in hazardous environments, and location information for search and rescue operations or applications. Support of life operations will be further enhanced through the Safety of Life services by the European systems EGNOS and Galileo.

In line with the international ideas competition “European Satellite Navigation Competition” the Communidad de Madrid awards a special topic prize dedicated to “Support of Life”. The prize intends to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship in the development and execution of new concepts and applications supporting human life, using all the potential of GNSS, including (but not restricted to) the capabilities of the Safety of Life services.

The applicant must take into account that, in contrast to other users, Safety of Life users need other functionalities apart from the services provided by satellite-only services. These functionalities are the consequence of the very stringent requirements established by the regulatory bodies in these user communities, such as ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) for the aviation community or IMO (International Maritime Organization) for the maritime community. The winner of the prize, awarded by the Madrid region (through IMADE and the Aerospace Cluster) and a group of select Spanish firms like Deimos, Indra and GMV, will receive a cash award and the opportunity to realize an innovation project along with some of the sponsoring firms involved in the development of support-of-life applications and services. The aim is to enhance the scope of both the Galileo Control Center and the Safety of Life Center – both of which will be based in Madrid, facilitating a long-term partnership.

The prize also includes a GNSS simulator license named GRANADA and developed by co-sponsor of the Madrid special topic prize, DEIMOS Space. GRANADA is a GNSS simulator developed by DEIMOS SPACE in the frame of the 6^th FP of the GJU. The software is already being used for several companies and universities for technology investigation, simulation, and receiver development of satellite navigation systems (e.g. NASA).

Innovative Safety of Life applications can be submitted from all over the world before 31 July to an online ideas database at https://esnc.galileo-masters.com. For more information on the Madrid special topic prize, please see http://galileomasters.eu/index.php?anzeige=special_prizes_madrid.html

In addition to the Madrid special topic prize, participants have the opportunity to compete for one of 18 regional prizes, as well as for the competition’s grand prize of €20,000.

About the Galileo Safety of Life Center:
The Madrid region will host the Galileo Safety of Life Center, seeking to reinforce the importance of GNSS in supporting this critical area with its special topic prize. As a Galileo Service Centre, the new Safety of Life Centre (SoLC) in Madrid will provide specific services to developers of critical applications, reducing the barriers for Europe and filling a gap existing in the current Galileo architecture between the Galileo SIS services and SoL user needs. The Safety of Life Center will be a multimodal center covering the necessities of the four Modes of transport; aeronautics, railway, maritime and road transport as well as other potential industrial segments.