The European GNSS Agency (GSA) held a workshop at the CLGE General Assembly to complete the understanding of surveyor and reference network-provider needs with regard to EGNOS and Galileo.

In 2015, the European GNSS Agency (GSA) in cooperation with the Council of European Geodetic Surveyors As the surveying community demands highly accurate positioning services, it was naturally one of the early adopters of GNSS technology(CLGE) launched a questionnaire to better understand the unique global navigation satellite system (GNSS) needs of surveyors and reference network providers. What they found is a sector that is mostly Galileo-ready.

Of all reference network providers surveyed, nearly half are currently Galileo-ready, with 78 % of those not Galileo-equipped planning to do so by 2017. As for professional surveyors, almost 25 % from the public sector and 20 % from the private sector are using Galileo-equipped GNSS receivers. Furthermore, the majority of the surveying-related GNSS receivers now entering the market are Galileo-capable, meaning one can expect nearly full Galileo adoption in Europe within the coming years.

    Mark your calendars: E-GNSS workshop at Geospatial World Forum

The results were presented and discussed with surveyors from various EU and non-EU countries during a dedicated Galileo workshop held within the CLGE General Assembly in Tirana, Albania. During the workshop, particular attention was given to the upcoming declaration of Galileo Initial Services. According to the GSA, this, along with the accelerated Galileo satellite launches, will provide immediate benefits and improvements to mapping and surveying activities already from the Initial Services phase, planned to start in late 2016. The surveyors are welcoming the advantages of multi-constellation (including better GNSS coverage in Northern latitudes) as well as Galileo’s improved performance in harsh environments.  Other topics discussed included unmanned aerial systems (UASs), and such new phenomena as ‘democratisation’ of mapping/surveying and envisioning future GNSS applications.

An ongoing partnership

As the surveying community demands highly accurate positioning services, it was naturally one of the early adopters of GNSS technology. The GSA is continuously tightening its connection with the European surveying community: as an example, the Surveying department of the SWECO, a Swedish manufacturer of industrial equipment (http://sweco.com/) visited the GSA Headquarters on  22 April 2016.

On 26 April , GSA Market Development team participated to the Swedish Mapping Days in Gävle, discussed the imminent upgrade to full Galileo capability with the representatives of the Swedish reference network providers (SWEPOS - Swedish Positioning RTK Network, Swedish Maritime Administration, who runs a DGNSS network).

Standing out is the partnership of GSA with the CLGE that also includes sponsorship of the CLGE Annual Young Surveyor’s Prize, participation to events (e.g., the president of CLGE, Maurice Barbieri, is an invited speaker at the E-GNSS workshop at the Geospatial World Forum).  

The CLGE represents and promotes the interests of its members in both Europe’s private and public sectors, and serves as a permanent forum for European geodetic surveyors committed to European cooperation. CLGE’s activities aim to promote the exchange of technical, scientific, educational and organisational know-how among its Member States, along with providing assistance to governments, national associations and EU institutions.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).