Overview
Satellite position based applications, location based information services and communication infrastructures integrated in mobile distributed systems, has had a great influence on the development of new applications in various fileds. One of them is certainly the Search and Rescue (SAR).
The technical and scientific objectives of the project are to:
- Build on the results of the Galileo Definition Phase (GALA and GEMINUS) plus other related work (ASTRON programme of the EC).
- Develop, Test and Demonstrate EGNOS/Galileo applications before Galileo becomes operational emphasizing on the differentiators of EGNOS/Galileo to GPS (added value of integrity, improved accuracy, guarantee of service) and setting up trials in different environments (urban, semi-urban, maritime).
- Exploit the GNSS Test Bed by using the EGNOS signal, and feeding into the GSTB planning and other standardization efforts.
- Interact closely with other relevant work carried out by ESA or the EC and relevant to GNSS terminals, local components, mission concept, test beds.
- Interact closely with real users, assess opportunities from requirements relevant to certification, legislation (e.g. IMO), demonstrate EGNOS in specific events of global high visibility (Olympic Games).
- Exploit the integration of GNSS, communication, geo-information and Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) capabilities in a European framework.
This project aims to set up, validate and demonstrate three pilot projects, based on the EGNOS System Test Bed with the view to develop a pre-operational service provision by the end of the project. By doing that the INStANT project will:
- accelerate the uptake of Galileo by the transport sector by exploiting and demonstrating the improved performances of EGNOS vis-à-vis GPS in targeted applications;
- evaluate benefits and analyze economic viability from synergies with appropriate terrestrial infrastructures / services (terrestrial and/or satellite communications).
These pilot projects focus on selected applications where the use of the EGNOS signal can prove superior to the use of GPS (in terms of required accuracy, integrity and/or guarantee of service).
Funding
Results
In particular, the following achievements can be highlighted:
- INStANT infrastructure was finalised in the contractual period and hosted the three different pilots demonstrators, based on a distributed component architecture that allows scalability and dynamic operations to achieve robustness, interconnection fault-tolerance and service continuity.
- Event-based transparent use of cellular and wireless communication systems like GSM, GPRS, WLAN and Satellite links to use heterogeneous bandwidths in a dynamic fashion, with superior QoS facilities and reconfigurable mode of operations required in the Emergency Services domains.
- The appointment of a robust Service Control Centre that includes the Infomobility and Emergency Management of operations, Fleet Management capabilities, Event messaging, Tracking of Resources, DBMS for secure and persistent operations, GIS servers with precise Maps (both in vector as well as raster formats – e.g. IKONOS data with 2m accuracy), Enterprise servers and the INStANT portal.
- The development of a (ruggedised) Mobile User Terminal interconnected by WiFi /GPRS communication, equipped with Bluetooth EGNOS receivers; it is capable to monitor (by embedded Digital Camera), manage operations and connect by SatCom terminals with the other terminals or to tralised SCC (in Rome/Athens).
- The management of critical situations based on a reconfigurable network of mobile resources. A Mobile Control Center (MCC) is equipped with WiFi/GPRS and SatCom communication and is able to control and monitor the communications and positioning of its own User Terminal cluster and/or distributed clusters. The mobility of resources is thus extended with the mobility of the control centres that can manage the situations in case of calamities.
- The wide usage of an innovative Wireless Application Server in order to deliver any sensible content to any Internet user, using any wireless Internet devices and across wireless networks, spreading the information to the involved public user (e.g. involved in a calamity and informed by sms).
Furthermore, the INStANT demonstrations confirmed the capabilities of the project infrastructure, in order to:
- Supervise the emergency situations with continuous monitoring of the activities and using bi-directional communication and semi-automatic (rule driven) system management;
- Manage vehicles and pedestri
Technical Implications
The main innovative aspect of INSTANT is the development of a clustered mobile architecture that allows scalability and dynamic operations to achieve robustness, interconnection fault-tolerance and service continuity.
INSTANT will design, simulate and integrate the components that are necessary to build a mobile User Terminal. It will incorporate Galileo, GSM/GPRS/UMTS cellular communications, with particular emphasis on new 2.5/3rd generation equipment, and smart and capable (PDA/UT) interfaces, such as personal digital assistants, to reach a high level of usability in the target applications.
INSTANT will also deliver a service control centre equipped with:
• a Geographic Information System database server containing geo-referenced data for location-based services;
• a web/WAP server to enable mobile internet connections;
• an application server equipped with data exchange management capabilities to serve dynamic pushmodel management for control of emergencies and management of mobile equipment under critical alerting constraints.
Policy implications
This project will contribute to the European Technological Progress by using, testing, validating and exploiting the results recent European developments (EGNOS test bed signal plus terminals). Results of this work that will be fed back to the system manufacturers.
This project can be regarded as strategic in the sense that it allows the creation of the market that will eventually return the European investment in EGNOS and Galileo, and pave the way to services that will create returns to the Galileo operator from the down-stream market.
Intelligent Transport SystemsKey findings
The INStANT demonstrations confirmed the capabilities of the project infrastructure, in order to:
• Supervise the emergency situations with continuous monitoring of the activities and using bi-directional communication and semi-automatic (rule driven) system management;
• Manage vehicles and pedestrian resources equipped with communication and precise positioning systems;
• Show the potential of the high-end User Terminal in critical and harsh environments, supporting the control centres with live information and receiving constant support in real time;
• Demonstrate the effective integration of back-end information systems (e.g. planning, databases, information networks, institutional, etc. ) within the implemented LBS capabilities;
• Integrate textual structured information in communication based mobile systems and distributed open platforms to open e-inclusion of context-aware information to the specific context operators as well as to general public.Policy implications
This project will contribute to the European Technological Progress by using, testing, validating and exploiting the results recent European developments (EGNOS test bed signal plus terminals). Results of this work that will be fed back to the system manufacturers. This project can be regarded as strategic in the sense that it allows the creation of the market that will eventually return the European investment in EGNOS and Galileo, and pave the way to services that will create returns to the Galileo operator from the down-stream market.