The official EGNOS Portal (www.egnos-portal.eu) is the one-stop point of access, information resource and forum for all those developing and using satellite navigation equipment and applications and aiming to benefit from the enhanced precision and other features of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), Europe’s satellite-based augmentation system.

Launched by the GSA (European GNSS Supervisory Authority) on behalf of the European Commission, the Portal is designed to help developers and entrepreneurs vying for a slice of the emerging satellite navigation market. Whether creating the latest location-based application or software to track valuable goods on the road, users can dig into this rich online source for up-to-date news, information and solutions.

If the answer is not readily at hand, users can consult their peers at the relevant sector-specific forums on site. Alternatively, they can send a query to the EGNOS Portal Help Desk and get pointed in the right direction.

Michel Bosco, Deputy Head of the satellite navigation programme unit dealing with applications at the European Commission's Directorate for Enterprise, says the EGNOS Portal will help boost Europe’s satellite navigation market for the benefit of Europeans.

“Application developers need a source of information that they can rely on, whether the information they are looking for is technical, refers to the operation or performance of EGNOS, or concerns the legal implications of using EGNOS signals for their applications,” he says.

Specific technical information, case studies and success stories are available for the aviation, road, agriculture, location-based services (LBS) and maritime segments of the market.

“Because applications are flourishing in a wide variety of domains, information needs to be customised for the various commercial sectors as much as it must be presented to appeal to generalists,” Bosco adds. “This is the challenge that the EGNOS Portal needs to address, with the support of all the organisations involved in satellite navigation in Europe.”

The European GNSS Supervisory Authority (GSA), a Community agency, developed the Portal. Gian Gherardo Calini, Head of Market Development at the GSA, notes that the Portal will provide interactive forums for developers.

“Application developers and users are encouraged to post information, share ideas and ask questions via this channel,” he says. “We will make sure that every relevant question will be answered and every relevant comment will be used in improving the EGNOS Portal and in developing the EGNOS programme. We also have a directory of organisations involved in EGNOS and we encourage you to register your organisation.”

Portal highlights

Below are some of the features of the EGNOS Portal:

•    Discover EGNOS: General information about EGNOS, including on the status and performance of the system.

•    Developer Platform: Technical background documents, research and software tools needed for the development process. A list of EGNOS-enabled receivers and sample applications are part of the Developer’s Toolkit, along with information on testing and validation tools.

•    Networking forums: Links up developers, industry, researchers and end users as a means of contacting, sharing information and creating alliances with peers. Companies, research centres and industry organisations can list themselves on the EGNOS directories to achieve maximum visibility in the market.

•    Library: Up-to-date background information. The EGNOS Library is a repository of technical documents, research papers and market information on EGNOS. A virtual GNSS library, research papers, market research reports and a list of relevant acronyms make this a ‘must visit’ for developers.

•    Business support: Entrepreneurs, business developers and marketers can reduce the stress of promoting and getting their product to market by using the wealth of information and tools available in this section.

In addition, the Portal features an updated news feed on EGNOS events and successful development projects.

Join the community of EGNOS satellite navigation developers and entrepreneurs at www.egnos-portal.eu.

As the EGNOS Portal proclaims: “It’s there. Use it.”

About EGNOS

The European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS), corrects the GPS navigation signal by making it accurate to within 3 metres while providing integrity information.
As EGNOS provides an unprecedented level of accuracy and reliability, new services can be developed – including for safety-critical applications – in a wide range of market segments. Existing services can also be improved.

Verification of the signal’s integrity relates to the trust that can be placed in the location information supplied by the navigation system. Integrity is a feature which meets the demands of safety-critical applications in sectors such as aviation and maritime, where lives might be endangered if the location signals are incorrect.
The EGNOS Open Signal, available to anyone with an EGNOS-enable receiver in Europe, became operational in October 2009. The Safety-of-life Service is expected to be certified for use by the aviation sector later this year.

EGNOS also provides a terrestrial commercial data service called the EGNOS Data Access Service (EDAS), which disseminates EGNOS data in real time and is the single point of access for the data collected and generated by the system’s infrastructure.
The EGNOS signal is transmitted by three geostationary satellites: two Inmarsat-3 satellites, one over the eastern part of the Atlantic, the other over the Indian Ocean, and the ESA Artemis satellite above Africa. The ground segment consists of 34 Ranging and Integrity Monitoring Stations (RIMS), four master control centres and six up-link stations.

Contact Information:
 

For more information contact:

Donna Reay

Head of Information and Outreach

European GNSS Supervisory Authority (GSA)

Tel: +32 2 298 52 10

Mobile: + 32 498 98 52 10

E-mail: donna.reay@gsa.europa.eu

http://www.gsa.europa.eu

About the GSA

The European GNSS Supervisory Authority (GSA) is an agency of the European Union. Among other things, the GSA supports the European Commission in promoting the market exploitation of EGNOS, keeping Europe at the forefront of the satellite navigation sector.