GSA takes the Galileo ‘Accuracy Matters’ message to the 2019 Mobile World Congress
The European GNSS Agency (GSA) comes to the 2019 Mobile World Congress (MWC) with an important message: When close isn’t enough, use Galileo!
It’s only been two years since the launch of Galileo Initial Services, but already over half-a-billion users are benefiting from the increased accuracy and precision it brings. “According to the latest figures, today over 600 million devices – most of them the latest smartphone models – are now Galileo-enabled,” said Fiammetta Diani, Deputy Head of Market Development at the GSA. “Clearly, the time has come to make people aware that Europe’s investment in Galileo is bringing daily benefits to hundreds of millions!”
And what better place to drive this message home than at the largest mobile event in the world?
With over 107,000 visitors expected to attend, MWC 2019 is the perfect stage to showcase the Galileo ‘Accuracy Matters’ message. The new awareness-building campaign, which includes a number of entertaining videos showing how a little extra accuracy can go a long way, will be one of the highlights at this year’s Galileo stand (Hall 8.0, Stand 8.0H15).
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The Galileo stand will showcase several Horizon 2020 funded, Galileo-powered innovations. “With the goal of exploring the hottest trends influencing the mobile industry, MWC Barcelona is the ideal platform to promote innovative EGNSS-based solutions and applications,” adds Diani. “As a global event, it’s also the place to show the world how European Union (EU) space research enhances EU industrial competitiveness and plays a pivotal role in tackling various societal challenges.”
Galileo as a game changer
One solution being showcased at MWC is Lycie, a mobile application that actively prevents traffic accidents. “By simply mounting your phone to the dashboard of your car, Lycie’s machine learning algorithm learns from your driving patterns and notifies you in real-time whenever a dangerous situation is detected,” explains Lycie’s Jean Galinowski. “The safer your drive, the lower your insurance costs.”
Unlike similar monitoring applications, Lycie offers unmatchable accuracy, thanks to its use of Galileo. “Having Galileo is not only a game-changer compared to our competitors, whose lack of precision prevents a reliable driving assessment, but also brings significantly more safety,” adds Lycie’s Jeremy Maisse.
The FLAMINGO solution will also be on display at the Galileo stand where its high-accuracy positioning service for mass-market applications within smart city environments with be highlighted. “FLAMINGO is showcasing the near future by enabling and demonstrating high-accuracy positioning and navigation using Smartphones and Internet of Things devices,” says William Roberts, the project coordinator.
Mobility as a Service (MaaS) with Galileo
The GALILEO FOR MOBILITY project aims at supporting the introduction of GALILEO technology within the Mobility as a Service context. “The potential MaaS market will be mostly concentrated on the urban environment, whereas Galileo, within a multi-constellation context, can bring benefits in terms of availability, accuracy and integrity in other areas too,” explains Dr. Josep Maria Salanova Grau.
At MWC, GALILEO FOR MOBILITY will be discussing the various services it is currently testing, including an on-demand public transportation system in Barcelona, a vehicle sharing initiative in Paris, and a ride sharing programme in Thessaloniki – among others. “The project as a whole tackles all modes of transport, both private and public, as well as various services that will support MaaS in the near future, emphasising the advantages of using EGNSS with regards to the performance of these services,” explains the project’s Coordinator Martí Jofre.
High-precision, high-accuracy at MWC
Also on display will be the NaviSoC single chip all-in-one solution – a miniature multi-frequency GNSS receiver that offers high-precision and reliability to mass-market users and applications. “This kind of product could be a market enabler for a future GNSS user segment, taking the automation and autonomy of IoT devices to the next level,” says ChipCraft's CEO Dr Tomasz Borejko.
Last but not least, Geo++ GmbH will be using the MWC stage to announce its high-accuracy positioning framework for Android smartphones, which routinely achieves sub-metre accurate smartphone positions. “We believe this technology is of interest to a large number of MWC visitors and we are looking forward to sharing it at the Galileo stand” adds Geo++ Managing Director Dr. Jannes Wübbena.
MWC Barcelona runs from 25 – 28 February at Barcelona’s Fira Gran Via. Come and meet the GSA team at the Galileo stand is located at Hall 8.0, Stand 8.0H15.
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