Satellite navigation can save your life (4) - High integrity applications

The increased need for people and goods' mobility has led to the complete saturation of almost all modes of transport, be it road, rail, waterways and airways. Further capacity increase is possible only by reducing the minimum safety distances between subsequent planes, vehicles and vessels. This is where we need computers, combined with reliable position determination and trajectory prediction.


This is the use of GPS and Galileo for so-called high integrity and high reliability applications. A pilot of an airplane does not need to know his position, including his height, very accurately. Centimetre accuracy is not needed. It is however important to know that the indicated position is 'integer', that it can be trusted: it should not differ from the real position by more than a predefined number of metres. 


EGNOS is a first European satellite system that will be certified to support 'general aviation' and 'civil aviation'. The certification of EGNOS as a system is already behind us. The certification of the receivers in airplanes is also required. These types of GNSS receivers must meet very strict requirements on hardware and software reliability, and on EMC immunity and emissions. Hardware and software are continuously monitored with internal algorithms and all measurements that do not meet strict quality indicators are discarded.


Galileo will also support a so-called Safety-of-Life service, indicating not only position, but also position 'integrity' related parameters. The FP7 supported - GaLoRIO project prepares the use of Galileo for train position determination.


In this way satellite navigation contributes to reliable position determination of planes ,ships, trains and cars. This will allow transport capacity increase and/or extra safety where other position determination systems (radar, VOR, etc) may fail. Picture: Freefoto.com

Satellite navigation can save your life (3) - Search and Rescue

This is a new service that will be offered by Galileo: search and rescue people sending an emergency distress signal (VHF 406 MHz) from anywhere on the globe. This is not about people involved in a car crash (where eCall can help), it is about ships in difficulties in the middle of the sea. There are already GEO (Geostationary Earth Orbit) and LEO (Low Earth Orbit) satellites for search and rescue services, but Galileo has two distinct features that will make a difference.

First Galileo will truely span the globe, so that the satellites will be visible from any point on the globe. Evidently the distress signal will contain the exact position of the sender. Secondly, Galileo will be capable to send back a return 'confirmation' signal (L-band 1544 MHz) that informs the sender that his signal has been received well by the search and rescue services. Experience has proven that chances of survival increase when people in distress know that their signal has been received! (image from ESA)

Satellite navigation can save your life (2) - eCall

There is another satellite navigation application that may save your life one day. eCall is a system that will be introduced in the EU in some years from now. All cars will be able to determine their geographical position through GPS, Galileo and other satellite systems and to communicate this position automatically to emergency services whenever a collision occurs. Needless to say this will save a lot of time in bringing the emergency services to the right location. Very often the victims of an accident are neither capable of calling nor of communicating their own location in an accurate way. Sometimes, they even don't know the emergency service number. (I discover many people don't know.) More information on eCall.

Satellite navigation can save your life (1)

On July 30th, 2004 a major disaster occured in a place called Ghislengien in Belgium. During construction works, a gas pipeline was hit, which resulted in a major explosion with many casualties (24 + 132 wounded). In the national surveyers' magazine GeoPlatform, I was glad to read that much has changed since.

The construction supervisor can now sign in to a web portal and define the planned excavation area. He receives copies of the required maps from the local cable and pipeline companies before the works can start. Inversely, the new cable and pipeline maps should be added to the so-called 'large reference file' which collects all new information in a digital way.

Surveyers can nowadays determine positions quickly and accurately through satellite navigation receivers (GPS, Galileo, Glonass) and Geospatial Information Systems on mobile devices. Centimeter accuracy is possible, ... amazing how satellites can do that.

Whether everything already occurs by the book is not clear, but at least improvement is on its way. Many countries have the same concern now. This shows how satellite navigation, combined with other technologies, can save our lives. Photo: SSN.