The European Space Agency recently made contact with Giove-B, the second test model for its Galileo series of navigational satellites, with the whole thirty satellite constellation due to be completed by 2013. What makes this relevant to the mobile device world is a statement by ESA on the effectiveness of Galileo combined with the existing GPS system: "Higher accuracy in challenging environments where multipath and interference are present, and deeper penetration for indoor navigation."
Read on in the full article.
Well, I already have a Holox BlueTooth GPS that works indoors at the back of a room with only a closed window at the far end - it tracks up to 54 satellites at once, and goes for about �18 on ebay. I'm not sure how Galileo could improve upon this - it's not going to work when there is no sky to see - that's either impossible or we're getting some seriously wierd satnav signals. I think by the time Galileo is up and running we'll see chipsets embedded in phones that are sat-system agnostic, and can track whatever is available out of GPS, Galileo and Glonass and are cheap enough to be embedded in most handsets. It is however, DEFINITELY a good idea not to rely on a single American controlled system, so more power to alternatives.
Well, I already have a Holox BlueTooth GPS that works indoors at the back of a room with only a closed window at the far end - it tracks up to 54 satellites at once, and goes for about �18 on ebay. I'm not sure how Galileo could improve upon this
That's a separate unit though, it's the built-in phone GPS chips which seem to have the most problems.
But I do agree, like I said in the article by 2013 phone GPSes may be far more sensitive than they are now, and if they can get instant lock-ons too then they probably don't need a second constellation.
On the other hand, maybe a second constellation (and a third from Russia too) will mean sat nav units don't have to be as sensitive, so they could be made even smaller and cheaper, with lower power consumption.
I think by the time Galileo is up and running we'll see chipsets embedded in phones that are sat-system agnostic, and can track whatever is available out of GPS
That's definitely the plan, and the people behind both Galileo and GLONASS have deliberately made their systems very similar to GPS so that the same sat nav hardware can easily pick up all three constellations.
It is however, DEFINITELY a good idea not to rely on a single American controlled system, so more power to alternatives.
Well, yeah, this has always been more of a political thing than a technical thing. In an ideal world I suppose sat nav systems would be run by some neutral body like the UN or something, but that doesn't look like happening...
lock on wont be instant, the constellations are broadcast every 30 seconds, which is why most GPS receivers advertise an average 40-60 second lock on time. A second system would at most halve the lock on time.
The european space agency is NOT the european union, ESA member states are not necessarily EU states, Canada is also part of ESA, providing its own funds. This is a common misconception. Unless theres evidence to the contrary, it may very well be funded by countrys all over the world.
I have contacts working on GALILEO projects, it does sound interesting.
lock on wont be instant, the constellations are broadcast every 30 seconds, which is why most GPS receivers advertise an average 40-60 second lock on time. A second system would at most halve the lock on time.
What about three systems all at once? Would that reduce lock on to one third?
The european space agency is NOT the european union
Unless theres evidence to the contrary, it may very well be funded by countrys all over the world.
You're quite right to point out that different European entities aren't necessarily related. Many people confuse them partly because so many use the same twelve star flag, even though they have no legal connection to each other.
However, in this particular case the EU is definitely the main power behind Galileo. As I mentioned in the article the EU is paying for Galileo, so they effectively own the system. ESA is doing the launching, but the money comes from the EU:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22043698/
I believe they originally tried to get various private companies to fund it, but in the end the EU had to pay for it entirely out of taxes.
The way I understand it, there will be various levels of access, depending on how much you pay. This will presumably affect accuracy, but may also affect sensitivity...