With discussions about net neutrality intensifying, Esri has created a suite of interactive maps to illustrate the current state of internet access and behavior across the United States.
From analyzing predominant internet connection types to highlighting the communities that have already been left behind in the digital divide, these maps provide critical context for understanding how and where potential changes to net neutrality will impact Americans.
All maps were created using Esri’s Market Potential and Updated Demographics data.
The map below shows where U.S. citizens currently have the greatest access to high-speed internet and explores which type of connection (cable, fiber optic or DSL) is most common in each community.
Discover where Americans are most likely to engage in the type of high-bandwidth, high-visibility behaviors (such as streaming movies or playing games online) that would be most impacted by potential changes to net neutrality. The map also shows where adults are most likely to spend 10+ hours a day online.
Rolls-Royce and the European Space Agency (ESA) have signed a cooperation agreement aimed at pursuing space activities in support of autonomous, remote-controlled shipping and promoting innovation in European digital logistics.
The collaboration with Rolls-Royce aims to study the applications of various space assets to autonomous shipping, such as satellite-based positioning, better situational awareness using Earth observation data, and satcom services for improved onboard connectivity. It aims to develop and validate new solutions for communication between vessel systems and shore-based systems in addition to ship-to-ship communication.
This will pave the way for the operation of commercial remote and autonomous shipping, innovative cargo logistics, smart ports and future commercial marine vessels.
The partnership will enable satellites to serve navigation, ship intelligence, marine operations, cargo logistics, maritime safety, healthcare, passenger and crew communications.
The next generation of 5G communications will rely on seamless integration of telecom networks and services, and ESA’s Satellite for 5G Initiative supports the technical and supply chain progress required, and will support development of 5G commercial services.
The Memorandum of Intent (MOI) forms part of ESA’s wider strategy. In its new navigation research and technology programme, called the Navigation Innovation and Support Programme (NAVISP), ESA is studying and testing technologies for smart ships.
NAVISP is investigating the integration of satellite navigation with non-space technologies and complementary positioning and communication techniques. NAVISP will apply ESA’s expertise from Galileo and EGNOS to new satellite navigation and, more widely, positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) challenges.
ESA already serves the maritime community with many satellite capabilities. SAT-AIS (Satellite Automatic Identification System) permits identification and global tracking of ships using cutting-edge space and ground technology, using low Earth orbiting satellites to act as information relays to serve the whole globe. This results in more efficient use of existing infrastructures, a tangible reduction in cost and a decrease in the environmental impact.
The ESA developed Sentinel-1 satellite, part of the European Union’s Copernicus programme, is establishing a pivotal role in the sector. Last August, Sentinel-1 Earth observation data helped the U.S. Coast Guard vessel Maple navigate through the legendary Northwest Passage, showcasing the enormous potential that satellite earth observation can have across the industry, particularly in ship-to-ship data transmission.
Rolls-Royce and ESA also plan to cooperate in harnessing the power of big data. Data analytics, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) can improve operational efficiency, reliability and safety.
Sensor data will inform augmented and virtual realities, or “digital twins.” A digital twin is an AI copy of a ship, including its systems, that synthesises the information available about the ship in a hologram.
“It allows any aspect of an asset to be explored through a digital interface, creating a virtual test bench to assess the safety and performance of a vessel and its systems, both before its construction and through its lifecycle,” said Karno Tenovuo, SVP ship intelligence at Rolls-Royce. “By creating ships and ship technology in a virtual environment, new ideas and technology can be realized and tested in a shorter time frame.”
Liftoff of Ariane 5 Flight VA240 from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou took place at 18:36 UTC on Dec. 12, 2017, carrying Galileo satellites 19–22. (Photo: ESA)
On Dec. 12, four more Galileo satellites headed into space to join the navigation constellation. Galileos 19–22 lifted off aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, at 18:36 UTC (19:36 CET, 15:36 local time).
After today’s successful launch, only one more launch remains before the Galileo constellation is complete and delivering global coverage.
Separation of the upper stage occurred about nine minutes after liftoff, followed by the first firing of the upper stage.
The first pair of 715-kg satellites was released almost 3 hours 36 minutes after liftoff, while the second pair separated 20 minutes later.
They were released into their target 22,922 km-altitude orbit by the dispenser atop the Ariane 5 upper stage. In the coming days, this quartet will be steered into their final working orbits. There, they will begin around six months of tests — performed by the European Global Navigation Satellite System Agency (GSA) — to check they are ready to join the working Galileo constellation.
This mission brings the Galileo system to 22 satellites. Initial Services began almost a year ago, on Dec. 15, 2016.
“Today’s launch is another great achievement, taking us within one step of completing the constellation,” remarked Jan Wörner, ESA’s director general.
“It is a great achievement of our industrial partners OHB (DE) and SSTL (GB) for the satellites, as well as Thales-Alenia-Space (FR, IT) and Airbus Defense and Space (GB, FR) for the ground segment and all their subcontractors throughout Europe, that Europe now has a formidable global satellite navigation system with remarkable performance.”
Paul Verhoef, ESA’s director of navigation, added, “ESA is the design agent, system engineer and procurement agent of Galileo on behalf of the European Commission. Galileo is now an operating reality, so, in July, operational oversight of the system was passed to the GSA.
“Accordingly, GSA took control of these satellites as soon as they separated from their launcher, with ESA maintaining an advisory role. This productive partnership will continue with the next Galileo launch, by Ariane 5 in mid-2018.
“Meanwhile, ESA is also working with the European Commission and GSA on dedicated research and development efforts and system design to begin the procurement of the Galileo Second Generation, along with other future navigation technologies.”
Next year’s launch of another quartet will bring the 24‑satellite Galileo constellation to the point of completion, plus two orbital spares.
Long established as a key component within defense applications, navigation technology from Honeywell is now available to a wide range of new industries that can benefit from the advanced precision and performance of reliable, rugged and easy-to-install inertial measurement units (IMUs).
Honeywell’s newest IMU offering — the HG4930 — applies the principles of reliability, dependability and performance from aerospace and defense. It’s tailored for “straight out of the factory” integration and use in various non-defense and non-aerospace industrial applications, the company said.
Applications include autonomous vehicles, surveying and mapping, ground and underwater robotics, unmanned aerial vehicles and gimbal stabilization.
IMUs help people, vehicles and machines measure motion and calculate changes in position, anywhere in the world, even where GPS signals are intermittent. In industries where automation is taking hold and working conditions where GPS may be out of touch, an IMU can help fill in the moments of disconnect and keep things like an autonomous underwater vehicle or a robot in a factory informed about how they are moving relative to their surroundings.
“For more than a decade, we’ve designed our IMUs to perform in the extremely harsh and demanding environments for our aerospace and defense customers,” said Chris Lund, senior director, industrial IMUs, Honeywell Aerospace. “But there is no shortage of possibilities for how that same IMU technology can support a wealth of markets hungry for the next level of enhanced navigation and control. The HG4930 tactical grade IMU is a highly competitive and cost-efficient variant of our industry-leading navigation technology. Whether helping your industry evolve toward autonomy or augmenting a platform or solution’s precision in domains where GPS is unreliable, the HG4930 delivers the needed performance.”
In addition to the HG4930 IMU being an extremely small, lightweight and low-power product for spearheading new uses or bolstering current navigation capabilities, Honeywell’s HG4930 IMU is not classified under an International Traffic in Arms Regulation category, but instead is free from the burden of an export license for all but a few military-related use cases. This means a broader availability for customers around the world.
With more than 500,000 tactical-grade IMUs produced to date, the HG4930 builds on a proven Honeywell legacy of reliable inertial technologies. According to Honeywell, it is the highest-performing microelectromechanical system (MEMS)-based IMU of its size and price, and benefits from world-class inertial sensor development, calibration and compensation.
The HG4930 has been tailored to provide significantly improved gyroscope and accelerometer performance for the environments and use cases experienced by non-aerospace and non-defense users.
For industries that depend on less reliable MEMS or large, power hungry and expensive fiber-optic gyroscopes for navigation and control capabilities, the HG4930 offers three off-the-shelf performance grades for easy replacement and new capability.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommends the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) assign responsibility to an organization to collect test data, lessons learned and design solutions in its effort to meet GPS modernization goals.
According to the GAO, “The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, as part of M-code receiver card acquisition planning, assign an organization with responsibility for systematically collecting integration test data, lessons learned, and design solutions and making them available to all programs expected to integrate M-code receiver cards.”
DOD concurred with the recommendation.
The GAO presented its findings in a 53-page report issued Dec. 12, “Global Positioning System: Better Planning and Coordination Needed to Improve Prospects for Fielding Modernized Capability.”
According to the GAO, “DOD has made some progress on initial testing of the receiver cards needed to utilize the M-code signal. However, additional development is necessary to make M-code work with over 700 weapon systems that require it.
“DOD has begun initial planning for some weapon systems, but more remains to be done to understand the cost and schedule needed to transition to M-code receivers.
“The preliminary estimate for integrating and testing a fraction of the weapon systems that need the receiver cards is over $2.5 billion through fiscal year 2021 with only 28 fully and 72 partially funded (see below figure). The cost will increase by billions when as yet unfunded weapon systems are included.”
Status of weapon systems that have determined the cost needed to transition to M-code receivers through Fiscal Year 2021, as of February 2017.
In its summary, the GAO wrote “DOD faces risks as it simultaneously develops satellites, a ground system to operate them, and receiver cards that allow use of GPS signals. It will need to install receiver cards on hundreds of systems and, without better coordination, risks paying repeatedly to solve similar problems across the systems.”
The report also assesses the extent to which DOD faces acquisition challenges in sustaining the GPS constellation and developing a new ground control system. The GAO analyzed GPS quarterly acquisition reports and data, acquisition strategies, software and test plans, and other documents, and interviewed DOD and contractor officials.
Lear Corporation, a global supplier of automotive seating and electrical systems, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Israel-based EXO Technologies, a developer of GPS technology providing high-accuracy solutions for autonomous and connected vehicle applications.
EXO Technologies has operations in San Mateo, California, and Tel Aviv, Israel. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
EXO Technologies has developed core technology that addresses the need for high-accuracy positioning in a vehicle. Its proprietary technology works with existing GPS receivers to provide centimeter-level accuracy anywhere on the globe without the need for terrestrial base-station networks.
EXO Technologies offers a software-based GPS approach — PICO pinpoint positioning software — that enhances GNSS receivers. By correcting satellite orbit error and clock error, it eliminates the inherent error sources within navigation messages. Its algorithms reduce complementary errors and construct a full positioning solution.
The integration of EXO’s technology with Lear’s vehicle and connectivity expertise will enable a superior vehicle positioning solution, the companies say.
“EXO has developed technology that is essential for the future of connected and autonomous vehicles,” said Nuri Golan, EXO co-founder and CEO. “We are extremely excited to join the Lear family where we will provide unparalleled solutions for vehicle-to-vehicle, autonomous driving and other applications.”
“Lear is a leader in automotive connectivity solutions including Vehicle-to-Vehicle and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure communications,” said Matt Simoncini, Lear’s president and chief executive officer. “The acquisition of EXO Technologies will provide Lear with a differentiated technology to significantly improve GPS accuracy and reliability, thereby enhancing vehicle safety and enabling autonomous driving.
“The combination of EXO Technologies with Lear’s existing resources further strengthens our connectivity capabilities,” Simoncini said. “We see excellent growth opportunities for our E-Systems business as the proliferation of connected and autonomous vehicles will drive increased demand for improved accuracy and reliability in vehicle positioning.”
The European GNSS Agency (GSA) in Prague, Czech Republic, has brought financial benefits to the country over the past five years — 1 billion crowns, according to a report by Czech Radio. The GSA is the only European-wide government agency sited in the country.
The GSA moved from Brussels, Belgium, to Prague in 2012.
The Prague agency – employing around 200 – deals with the programs that will turn the satellite network and signals into applications can be used by companies and the public at large.
One of the main benefits for the Czech Republic of having the headquarters in Prague is that the country is now on the doorstep for many Czech companies. The number of Czech firms are now receiving research and development funds linked to navigation services has increased ten-fold, with 44 Czech companies directly active in the navigation sector.
Europe’s next four Galileo navigation satellites are in place atop the Ariane 5, ready to be launched Dec. 12.
Liftoff from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana is scheduled for 18:36 GMT (19:36 CET, 15:36 local time), carrying Galileo satellites 19–22.
Four Galileo satellites seen before being encapsulated by the protective payload fairing on Dec. 7, completing the Ariane 5 for flight VA240, scheduled for Dec. 12.
Completion of Galileo’s Ariane 5 rocket took place in the Spaceport’s Final Assembly Building, following the arrival there of the quartet of satellites, already attached to the dispenser that will hold them in position during launch, then release them into their target 22 922 km-altitude orbit
Next, the satellites plus dispenser were placed atop the Ariane 5’s upper stage, after which the 14 m-long protective fairing was lowered over the Galileos — the last time they will be seen by human eyes. This fairing will protect them from the onrushing atmosphere during ascent.
The next step will be Monday’s rollout to the launch zone.
This mission will bring the Galileo system to 22 satellites. Initial Services began almost a year ago, on Dec. 15, 2016.
Next year’s launch of another quartet will bring the constellation of 24 satellites to completion, plus two orbital spares.
Galileo is Europe’s civil global satellite navigation system. It will allow users worldwide to know their exact position in time and space with great precision and reliability.
Tersus GNSS Inc., a GNSS positioning solution provider, has introduced three new GNSS kits. The BX305, BX306 and BX316 HRS kits feature high-precision BX305, BX306 and BX316 GNSS RTK boards.
The HRS kits consist of RTK receivers, GNSS antennas, RS05R radio station modems, radio station antennas, and related cables and converters.
Tersus GNSS BX305-HRS kit.
Tersus GNSS BX306-HRS kit.
Tersus GNSS BX316-HRS kit.
Embedded in the receivers are the Tersus RTK boards. They are compact-design, energy-efficient, centimeter-level accurate GNSS real-time kinematic (RTK) boards, bringing high-precision positioning accuracy to the market, the company said.
Different from the standard BX305/306/316 GNSS kits, the new HRS versions are equipped with RS05R, lightweight and robust UHF, which is a rover radio solution for wireless application.
It provides reliable data communication for demanding conditions that require a combination of stability, high performance and long-range operation.
With complete components and accessories in the kits, they can be used in a variety of applications, such as unmanned aerial vehicle (UAVs), surveying, mapping, precision agriculture, construction engineering and deformation monitoring.
By Changfeng Yang, Chief Architect of BeiDou Navigation Satellite System
Changfeng Yang
As one of the four major GNSS providers, the establishment of BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) has been steadily developed, following a three-step strategy. By around 2020, BDS will form a nominal space constellation consisting of 30 satellites, including three satellites in geostationary Earth orbit (GEO), three satellites in inclined geosynchronous satellite orbit (IGSO) and 24 satellites in medium Earth orbit (MEO). It will provide global users with open and high-quality services free of charge, including navigation, positioning, timing, short message communication, search and rescue and so on.
BDS is aimed at developing into a world-class global navigation satellite system, with innovative and advanced technologies, extraordinary user experience, international development and worldwide presence, which can provide fundamental time and space reference for national defense and economic-social development, and advance the progress of high-tech and IT industries.
BDS has initiated several innovative attempts in the fields of both international satellite navigation and domestic aerospace for the first time, and paved a unique development path of a satellite navigation system, with an eye on the state conditions and distinctive features. On Jan. 9, 2017, the BD-2 Project won the top National Scientific and Technological Progress Award. In 2017, BDS achieved fruitful results in the aspects of system construction, integrated applications and international development.
System Construction
Through upgrading and reconstructing the ground system, the service performance, stability and availability of the BD-2 constellation have been improved. To achieve user-oriented services, the updated Interface Control Document (ICD) for B1C and B2a open service signals (Version 2.1) was released in accordance with the constellation change.
The international GNSS Monitoring and Assessment System (iGMAS) has been built, consisting of eight domestic monitoring stations and 16 overseas stations, to monitor and assess the service performances of BDS, GPS, GLONASS and Galileo at real-time worldwide. It has taken all factors into consideration, including constellation status, signal-in-space, navigation message, service performance and high-precision products, and so on. According to its analysis results, the nominal positioning accuracy of the BD-2 system in the coverage area has been optimized from 10 meters to 8 meters.
Development of the BD-3 System. On Nov. 5, the first pair of the 24 BD-3 MEO satellites were successfully launched, while another pair is planned to be launched by the end of the year.
Liftoff of the first pair of the BD-3 MEO satellites on Nov. 5, 2017. (Credit: Xinhua)
The BD-3 satellites are equipped with B1C and B2a signals with optimized performance, which are compatible and interoperable with other GNSS signals. The interface control document of B1C and B2a signals (beta version) was released in September. The BD-3 satellites also adopt the higher-performance rubidium atomic clock with stability of E-14 and hydrogen atomic clock with stability of E-15. By utilizing new technologies, the signal-in-space (SIS) accuracy will be superior to 0.5 m; the position accuracy will be doubled or quadrupled, and reach 2.5 m to 5 m.
The BD-3 system will retain the short message communication service of its predecessors, and further enhance basic positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) service capabilities. Satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) and search-and-rescue (SAR) services will be added and developed according to international standards.
After in-orbit tests and networking validation, the BD-3 satellites will be able to provide operational services, and accelerate the global coverage of BDS.
Ground-Based Augmentation. The Phase I construction of the BDS/GNSS ground-based augmentation system has been completed, consisting of 150 framework reference stations, 1,200 reference stations of higher density network, national data processing center, six industrial data-processing centers, and manufacturing of user terminals. This system has achieved basic service capabilities, and its service performance standard (version 1.0) has been released. Through integration with the internet, a cloud platform has been established to provide high-precision space-time information services, including real-time navigation services at meter-level and decimeter-level, as well as precise positioning services at centimeter-level and millimeter-level.
Satellite-Based Augmentation. Based on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards, system demonstration and validation work on the BeiDou Satellite-Based Augmentation System (BDSBAS) has been completed, and the technical status of the system has been confirmed in accordance of the next-generation SBAS Dual Frequency Multiple Constellation (DFMC) standards.
Integrated Applications
Currently, a great number of independent, self-controlled intellectual property rights on the fundamental BDS products have been achieved. World-class, advanced technologies have been developed. With the release of the first Chinese in-house developed meter-level fast positioning BDS chip, BDS applications have begun to embrace the era of meter-level positioning.
In 2017, the sales volume of BDS navigation chips and modules exceeded 50 million pieces, and that of high-precision surveying boards and navigation antenna captured 30% and 90% of market shares respectively. There are more than 14,000 enterprises (including more than 50 publicly listed companies), and more than 450,000 employees in China engaging in BDS-related business.
The annual output value of the publicly listed company in 2017 is more than RMB 50 billion (US $7.53 billion). The number of terminals produced by domestic enterprises surpasses 40 million pieces/sets. BDS has gained recognition from mainstream chip producers such as Qualcomm, Trimble, Hemisphere GNSS, Huawei, Samsung, u-blox, MTK, Broadcom, NovAtel and more, and the total number of terminals is estimated to surpass 300 million pieces or sets.
BDS continues to:
promote integrated applications and development of related industries;
bring GNSS high-precision services in combination with cloud computing, Internet of Things, big data and other technologies;
push forward the integration between BDS-related industries and high-end manufacturing, software, and integrated data industries.
BDS has been applied in the transportation, logistics, emergency rescue, marine fishing and other fields, which has greatly improved production efficiency, reduced resource consumption, and lowered pollution. For example, benefiting from the BDS applications in traffic management industry, the number of major accidents has decreased by 46.7%, and the death toll has been reduced by 48.9%. With BDS-based maritime applications, more than 10,000 lives have been saved.
BDS/GNSS augmentation services have been applied to precision agriculture, land mapping, monitoring on deformation and displacement of large-scale public facilities, and earthquake and geological hazard measurement and survey; the latter has provided important monitoring for public safety. As a result, the production of precision agriculture has increased by 5%, and the oil consumption by agricultural machinery has decreased by 10%. The time for surveying and mapping of national land is shortened from a few days to several seconds.
BDS has been fully put into mass applications. BDS-based navigation services have been adopted by various enterprises, such as Huawei, ZTE, Baidu, Autonavi, Alibaba, JD and others in the fields of manufacturing of mobile and smart terminals, location-based services (LBS), e-commerce, and so on. BDS-based LBS have been widely applied in the mass consumption sector and people’s livelihood, and many innovative applications have emerged, such as caring for seniors and children, shared vehicles, BDS-based logistics, and so on, which have been changing people’s lives and providing more convenience for the public.
International Development
At present, BDS has covered more than 50 countries and more than 3 billion people. BDS-related products have gained access to the markets of more than 70 countries and regions, more than 30 of which are along the (land-based) Belt and (maritime) Road (in line with the Belt and Road Initiative). Through joint applications with other compatible navigation satellite systems, BDS provides global users with diversified choices for better application experience.
Meanwhile, the iGMAS has contributed to the implementation of the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization project, iGMAS-International GNSS Service Pilot experimental project, and Sino-Russian monitoring and assessment cooperation, and has provided GNSS users with authentic third-party assessment results. China continuously pushes forward BDS to be recognized by the ICAO, International Maritime Organization (IMO), mobile communication standard Partnership Project and other organizations, to serve the world in line with international conventions.
In October, three PRN codes which are essential to the development of BDSBAS were assigned; the SBAS service provider identifier and UTC standard identifier have been assigned to BDSBAS by ICAO, which marks BDSBAS an official SBAS provider in the ICAO family, and lays the foundation for the follow-up construction of BDSBAS, as well as its provision of standard navigation services for the civil aviation sector.
In March, a multi-system (including GPS, BDS and GLONASS) ship-borne receiver standard was approved by the IMO. BDS has also been included in the PNT guidelines of maritime applications.
In the field of mobile communication, 26 technical standards that support the BDS positioning function have been adopted by the third- and fourth-generation mobile communication standard Partnership Projects.
Future Plans
BDS will keep improving its continuous stability and service accuracy. Two more BD-2 replacement satellites will be launched in 2018, ensuring its regional service performance will be remain stable and be enhanced.
Eighteen BD-3 MEO satellites and one BD-3 GEO satellite will be launched by around the end of 2018. Upon the deployment of those 19 satellites, BD-3 will possess the initial operational capability and serve the countries along the Belt and Road. The official version of ICD for B1C and B2a open service signals, as well as other system documents, will be released, in line with the operational status of BD-3 satellites, for the convenience of public applications.
In regard to augmentation systems, China plans to complete the construction of Phase II BDS/GNSS ground-based augmentation system in 2018, and advance the recognition of BDS-based high-precision services as public goods. In 2018, the first BDSBAS GEO satellite with the BDSBAS payload will be launched to start the deployment of the BDSBAS system.
In terms of applications and international development, China will give full play to the role of BDS in the integration procedure between industrialization and IT applications, to promote the development of information industry, adjustment and upgrading of industrial structure.
China will also strengthen the cooperation and communication with other navigation satellite system providers, carry out coordination under the framework of international organizations and multilateral platforms, improve the international development of BDS, provide better services for users along the Belt and Road, and expand BDS services to serve users worldwide.
By Paul Verhoef
Director of the Galileo Programme and Navigation-related Activities,
European Space Agency
Paul Verhoef, director of the Galileo Programme. (Photo: ESA)
The European Space Agency (ESA) and the European GNSS Agency (GSA) are starting 2018 with the commissioning and In-Orbit Testing (IOT) of four new Galileo satellites.
This work is fairly routine for us as we have achieved the process successfully many times. But the impact of four new satellites for Galileo services is a different story.
This batch of satellites provided by OHB of Germany — 19, 20, 21 and 22 — will bring our constellation to 22 satellites. Together with the necessary ground segment delivered by Thales Alenia Space (TAS) and Airbus Defense and Space (ADS) and their many subcontractors throughout Europe, this will be providing availability to users anywhere in the world in order to achieve a high-quality position solution 99.8% of the time. “High quality” is hereby meant that the position dilution of precision (PDOP) will be smaller than 5, with our final accuracy for a full 24 FOC satellites operating at full potential being PDOP ~ 2.4.
This achievement will create a step change in the ability of service providers and equipment manufacturers to utilize the Galileo service. For all intents and purposes, it means the Galileo signal can always be relied upon to be there, and industry can sell products and design the power budget of devices based upon that fact.
Dual Frequency. The first mass-market GNSS receiver chip for smartphones and mobile devices that is able to utilize dual-frequency Galileo signals was released by Broadcom in September, able to employ both L1/E1 and L5/E5 signals. In 2018, dual-frequency technology like this will provide an order of magnitude increase in the performance of mobile device location-based services (LBS), especially in urban environments, and Broadcom advertises a 50% reduction in power consumption. The world of mobile-device LBS is going to change in 2018, and it will be due to the availability of Galileo.
It will not be the first time the partnership of ESA, the European Commission (EC) and the GSA has made a service available that has changed the nature of the marketplace. The GSA already has in service the ESA-designed EGNOS LPV200 aircraft approach service performing so well that countries like France have taken the decision to phase out the terrestrial Instrument Landing System that has burdened the capital expenditure budgets of airports in the past.
We have had discussions with several commercial organizations that are interested in building products around Galileo, and I am excited to see what they are going to come up with. With Galileo Initial Services the world had a new navigation signal to study and trial. In 2018 the world will have a new star to navigate by — well, a new constellation of 22 to 24 stars, I should say!
FOC. In the summer of 2018 we will launch the final part of the Galileo FOC constellation (geometrically speaking) with four more satellites taking us beyond the 24 needed for 100% coverage and minimum performance limitation from satellite geometry. The launch will also provide our first in-orbit spares, enabling us to plan for the end of life of our old validation phase satellites or otherwise supplement the constellation to improve performance.
What might we do with these in-orbit spares? Our first priority is to complete a constellation of 24 satellites in the correct orbits for minimum PDOP; as you know, a Fregat upper-stage malfunction left GSAT 0201 and 0202 in orbits too elliptical to correct fully, so the current plan is to complete the 24-satellite geometry. 0201 and 0202 are foreseen to be fully integrated in the Galileo operational system in 2018 following further testing and preparations, allowing us to have a 24+2 constellation with “hot back-up” from 0201 and 0202 contributing at around current GPS satellite levels of accuracy.
“It will not be the first — nor the last — time the partnership of ESA, the EC and the GSA has made a service available that has changed the nature of the marketplace.”
Of course, as is known to the community, the validation-phase satellite GSAT 0104 is down to single frequency, and we routinely monitor the health of all satellites. 0104 is the only satellite that has lost part of its function; designed-in redundancy has managed all other problems.
However, obviously we will be examining all options for deployment to ensure that the Galileo schedule is not impacted by in-orbit failures, and those we have experienced we have learned from and mitigated successfully without impacting the service.
The first two spares are not the end of our ability to maintain the constellation and our system performance. All four validation phase satellites will need to be replaced, and so the “Batch 3” satellite procurement will continue to regularly roll out satellites for replenishment of the constellation.
Enhancements. That won’t mean we will be resting on our laurels. In 2018 we also plan to release enhancements to the ground segment for Galileo, a process that will be a first as the system is already being operated by the GSA.
The process of managing an in-service upgrade program with the GSA is going to be new and challenging, but we have a strong engineering support team deployed as part of our working arrangement with the GSA to help ensure the process goes smoothly.
Of course, the need for GSA to be able to continue smooth operations imposes extra discipline and imposes on us a balance between stable operations and continued build-out of the infrastructure. We do not consider this to be a problem; on the contrary, the focus will be on robust operations and availability to the user.
Back at base (ESTEC in the Netherlands for Galileo and Toulouse, France, for EGNOS) we are full steam ahead on preparing the future. We are moving forward at considerable pace with our next-generation designs that develop new functionality for continuous service improvements.
Free PPP. Galileo was designed to broadcast a Commercial Service signal providing services such as precise point positioning to paying customers, but we are pleased to able to report that the EC has confirmed that this service will be provided for free by the European Union. In 2018/2019 the GSA will select the providers and get that unique, free service on the air.
In 2017 the EC confirmed the decision to implement the commercial service using E6-B with both encrypted and open components so all users could benefit for all frequency bands. Now, with the decision to make the service available free of charge, all users of Galileo, with the right type of receiver, will be able to achieve position fixes with an accuracy around 10 cm from Galileo’s first-generation constellation by 2020/2021.
The Galileo Public Regulated Service will also be a focus, with the EC soon to decide upon release dates for the first milestones on the service roadmap. The infrastructure and equipment to support a secure service is being put in place, and I can’t say more for security!
The next generation of European GNSS technology will include multi-constellation EGNOS, Galileo 2nd Generation (G2G) and a transition batch of satellites between the first and second generations to get the best technology proven in flight and working for Galileo users as soon as possible. G2G will reach its System Requirements Review stage in the first half of 2019. To be ready for that we are looking at:
clock technology and ensembles
inter satellite links
propulsion technology
flexible payloads and power allocation
5G telecoms networks standards and what we need to do ensure we provide the timing services those networks will need and new signals with time to first fix (TTFF) and power requirements for acquisition of signal that are compatible with 5G devices. Look out for a new pilot signal E1-D to move forward on this.
Open Service authentication and support for ARAIM (Advanced Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring).
Finally, 2018 will see the first contract awards of the Navigation Innovation Support Programme. This is a programme specifically designed to encourage R&D, new concepts and new products and to ensure that 2018 is not the last time ESA with the EC and its industrial partners deploy a GNSS service for GSA to operate that changes the world.
Esri has released GIS Tutorial 1 for ArcGIS Pro: A Platform Workbook, which teaches all the elements of creating and managing data; designing maps; performing spatial analysis; creating 3D scenes; and sharing projects using ArcGIS Pro, Esri’s professional desktop geographic information system (GIS) application.
Work with file geodatabases, spatial data, and geoprocessing tools plus learn digitizing skills and geocoding
Conduct spatial analysis using tools such as ArcGIS Network Analyst; work with raster datasets; and use 3D GIS technology to create scenes, buildings, and bridges
Manage operational systems using GIS, and complete a real-world project that provides hands-on experience in setting up and managing graffiti mapping and graffiti removal systems
Designed for use in a university classroom setting, this workbook includes step-by-step instructions, On Your Own exercises, and in-depth assignments. Instructors can access teaching materials. Self-learners will find this textbook to be an excellent introduction in how to use ArcGIS Pro. Each tutorial includes easy-to follow, step-by-step instructions.
GIS Tutorial 1 for ArcGIS Pro: A Platform Workbook was written by Wilpen L. Gorr and Kristen S. Kurland, the authors of other highly regarded tutorials including GIS Tutorial 1: Basic Workbook, GIS Tutorial for Health and GIS Tutorial for Crime Analysis.
Gorr is a professor of public policy and management information systems at the School of Public Policy and Management, H. John Heinz III College, Carnegie Mellon University, where he teaches and researches GIS applications.
Kurland is a professor of architecture, information systems, and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University’s H. John Heinz III College and School of Architecture. There, she teaches GIS, computer-aided design (CAD), building information modeling (BIM), 3D visualization, and infrastructure management.
GIS Tutorial 1 for ArcGIS Pro: A Platform Workbook is available in print (ISBN: 9781589484665, 480 pages, US$99.99) and as an e-book (ISBN: 9781589484931, 480 pages, US$99.99). The print and e-book editions of the book can be obtained from online retailers worldwide, at esri.com/esripress, or by calling 1-800-447-9778.
Outside the United States, visit esri.com/esripressorders for complete ordering options, or visit esri.com/distributors to contact your local Esri distributor. Interested retailers can contact Esri Press book distributor Ingram Publisher Services.
