Project News: AGILE workshop demonstrates LBS progress

Date: 02 November 2007

Satellite navigation workshop, 17 October in Turin, Italy, discusses business potential of LBS sector.

In the very near future, the integration of accurate hand-held positioning signal receivers within mobile telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers and the like will bring GNSS services directly to individuals, transforming the way we work and play. In the run-up to GALILEO launch, European EGNOS services will already allow businesses and governments to tap in to this huge potential market.

According to the AGILE project – in which ERTICO – ITS Europe is a participant -  coordinator John Hanley of ERTICO Partner LogicaCMG, the project was aimed at assessing the global LBS market, the technological and organisational state of the art, and demonstrating a pre-commercial EGNOS-based LBS application.

"The message is that the LBS sector is moving forward," said Hanley. "We see lots of enthusiasm among the major players, but there needs to be further stimulation. We need to keep stressing the social benefits, we need political and legislative support, and we need to keep moving on technical issues."

The AGILE workshop in Turin
Hybridisation, said Hanley, remains a key concept. "Both the existing GPS and the new GALILEO systems will ultimately be parts of a larger multiple GNSS system. Being able to use these systems in combination, along with other systems like EGNOS, will increase the added value of any one system on its own."

Stefano Scarda of the European GNSS Supervisory Authority (GSA) reaffirmed EU support for work being carried out by AGILE and other similar projects, also stressing the crucial role of the business community. "We still have real technical and institutional issues to resolve," he said, "but GALILEO will happen. The public sector will continue to play a key role, but the private sector will also have to be involved, and, given the great potential for economic benefits, we do not see a problem in making this happen."

AGILE hits the ground running
Participants in the Turin workshop discussed a variety of LBS issues, including regulation and standardisation activities, business and market potential, LBS success stories and expectations for the future.

Then, AGILE partners took the presentation outdoors, demonstrating their new precision location system. Using small handheld devices, users navigated around the Telecom Italia premises with surprising ease.

Features of the new application include:

• Integration of existing GPS, network-based positioning technology and WiFi
• Assisted GPS technology
• Simulation of application-specific GALILEO enhancements
• First implementation of Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) protocol version 2.0

Hanley says the workshop was targeted at a select group of interested parties. This meant all of the attendees had a chance to try out the new application.

Targeting business
Meanwhile, Daniel Arthur of ESYS stressed the need for quick action on more and better applications. "Return on investment is a basic condition for market growth," he said. "We are just now starting to see major moves by the big industrial players in this field, but the next step has to involve more widespread adoption of simple but compelling applications."

And, says Arthur, GALILEO will be an important part of upgrading future navigation services. "GALILEO will have a huge impact," he said, "boosting application quality and accelerating the improvement of the user experience."

For further information, please visit the AGILE website