The European Space Agency (ESA) has provided $466m (£330m) in
funding for a European version of the US Global Positioning System,
called Galileo.
According to GPS experts this move could eventually lead to the
development of dual-system GPS/Galileo receivers that have greater
accuracy, availability, continuity and integrity than single-band
GPS receivers.
The 15 nations that make up the ESA approved the funding for
Galileo at a ministerial meeting in Edinburgh. The European
Commission is expected to provide matching funding for Galileo in
December.
Under development since 1999, Galileo is designed to provide highly
accurate navigation signals from a constellation of 30 satellites
operating in the same frequency bands as GPS receivers. The ESA
funding will cover the development and validation stage of the
system, including the launch of a limited constellation of three
satellites. The ESA estimates the total cost of Galileo at $2.6bn
(£1.84bn).
Richard Langley, a professor in the Geodetic Research Laboratory at
the University of New Brunswick, said plans tentatively call for
Galileo to mesh with GPS frequencies to simplify the development of
dual-system GPS/Galileo receivers and drive down prices.
GPS receivers are used in a wide variety of enterprise
applications, including aircraft navigation, mining,
truck-tracking, fleet management and surveying. Consumer GPS
receivers used by hikers retail for as little as £139.
Dual-system receivers would not only provide greater positioning
accuracy, said Langley, "but would also provide the three other key
performance measures of a navigation system: availability,
continuity and integrity". He added: "Use of a dial constellation
will be particularly beneficial in situations where the performance
of GPS alone is marginal, such as in urban canyons and other
restricted environments".
Langley predicted that the cost of a dual-system receiver would not
be much higher than that of a GPS-only receiver. Once Galileo
became operational, he added, GPS-only receivers would be relegated
to the technology junk heap.
The ESA plans to have the full Galileo constellation in operation
by 2008.