Industry Dossier

Industry group progresses with galileo support

With the Galileo program steaming ahead toward completion of the definition phase in the coming year, the Organisation of European GNSS Equipment and Services Industry (OREGIN), an industry association designed to support development of Galileo equipment and services, has begun making moves to strengthen European satellite navigation and positioning services in the world market.

Pascal Campagne -- who works for FDC, an independent French consulting firm with 10 years of experience in Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) matters, and is a representative of OREGIN -- recently outlined his group's future mission at the GNSS '99 gathering at Genova, Italy. With the European Union preparing to initiate development of Galileo, Campagne noted "it is therefore vital that European Industry prepares actively in order to significantly increase its existing market shares and strengthen its position not only in Europe but also throughout the world."

Campagne continued, saying that one of OREGIN's primary goals during these preparations will be "to ensure that the interests of European receiver manufacturers, integrators, and service providers are properly taken into account when developing Galileo, in much the same way as has been successfully done by the European Space Industry."

To that end, FDC -- also the current coordinator for OREGIN -- is initiating the GUST project, in cooperation with OREGIN and Sextant Avionique, to prepare information regarding Galileo user equipment specifications and standardisation, with an emphasis on safety-critical equipment.

OREGIN was launched earlier this year to provide public authorities with access to technical and marketing expertise, to support efforts for standardisation and certification for user equipment and services, and to capitalise on business opportunities. The group now boasts 45 member companies and organisations and held its founding meeting in February, with subsequent gatherings in July and October.

OREGIN members include large corporations that are part of the space, ground control, and research and development aspects of Galileo, including Germany's Alcatel/ANS and Daimler/Chrysler Group, Italy's Telespazio, Spain's Sena GPS, and England's Racal Avionics. Member companies involved in Galileo user-segment equipment and services include Ertico, Germany's Mannesmann VDO and Robert Bosch GmbH, Belgium's Tele Atlas, Italy's Navionics, Finland's Nokkia, and France's Sagem, Thomson-CSF CNI, and Sextant Avionique.

For further information about OREGIN, contact Pascal Champagne, 10 Cours Louis Lumière, 94300 Vincennes, France, +33 1 53 66 11 11, fax +33 1 53 66 11 00, e-mail <>.

Conference to examine
Network integration issues

Organised by the German Institute of Navigation, the International Symposium on Integration of Loran-C/Eurofix and EGNOS/Galileo, scheduled for 22­23 March 2000 in Bonn, Germany, is subtitled "Toward a Future European Positioning and Navigation Network" and seeks to contribute to discussions about Loran-C's role therein.

Planned discussions will address the U.S., German, and European positions regarding Loran-C; the status of Loran-C/Eurofix; and integration options with the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) and Galileo. Attendees will explore whether the continuous operation of a terrestrial-based system such as Loran is necessary with the expansion of satellite-based positioning systems. Papers, presentations, and discussions will be conducted in English.

For more information or to register, contact the German Institute of Navigation, Adenauerallee 118, D-53113 Bonn, Germany, +49 228 201970, fax +49 228 20197 19, e-mail <>, Internet <www.dgon.de>.

Septentrioenters
SATELLITE NAVIGATION MARKET

With the mission to design, develop, and commercialise products based on its proprietary satellite navigation technology, the Leuven, Belgium-based Septentrio Company offers OEM hardware and software for precise positioning, timing, attitude determination, and other navigation-related applications.

The company is a venture capital spin-off of Europe's largest independent microelectronics research and development centre, IMEC, also based in Leuven.

Septentrio's technology is based on the GReCo, an in-house developed, 12-channel, C/A-code, GPS/GLONASS and augmentation signal receiver core designed for commercial and general aviation, marine, and timing applications as well as attitude determination. The GReCo's interfaces and peripherals include as many as eight antenna inputs, a direct microprocessor connection, a general purpose input/output port allowing users to read eight channels and control as many as 24 signals, a clock generator, and eight two-bit, 60-MHz A/D interfaces for incoming sampled signals.

For further information about the company or its products, contact Septentrio, 3001 Leuven, Belgium, +32 16 281 827, fax +32 16 281 515, e-mail <>.

Switzerland forms
INSTITUTE OF NAVIGATION

Although some might feel Swiss Institute of Navigation is something of an oxymoron, the organisation's first president, Alain Geiger of ETH Zürich, will gladly explain why technological advances have made such an organisation a necessity for the small, land-locked country.

Navigation, he explains in an introductory editorial to the institute's (ION-CH's) first bulletin, no longer implies only travel across a body of water. Not only do land-, air-, and space-based vehicles employ today's navigation technologies, so too do the positioning and timing communities. If Switzerland wishes to have a role in the further development of those application areas and the associated technologies, notes Geiger, it must have an organisation to represent its interests and promote "navigation," both nationally and internationally.

Membership is open to any individual, company, or organisation interested in navigation, with various participation levels available. The executive board currently consists of President Geiger and Vice-President Urs Wild of L+T as well as Pierre-Yves Gilliéron (EPFL), Bernhard Meier (Crossair), Bertrand Merminod (EPFL), and Maurizio Scaramuzza (Swisscontrol). Paul Schmuki (BAZL) is the current secretary.

For more information about the group, contact ION-CH, PO Box 8213, CH-3001 Bern, Switzerland, Internet <www.ion-ch.ch>.

International aviation event
CALLS FOR PAPERS

The German Institute of Navigation has requested paper submissions for the second annual International Symposium on Precision Approach and Automatic Landing, scheduled for 18­20 July 2000, in Munich, Germany. Abstracts of no more than 500 words will be accepted until 31 January 2000.

All presentations and papers should be in English. Topics to be covered during the event include the Global Navigation Satellite System, required navigation performance and standardisation, enhanced ground proximity warning systems, and instrument, transponder, and microwave landing systems. An exhibition will feature organisations and equipment manufacturers displaying hardware and software to complement symposium topics.

For details about the event or to submit a paper, contact the German Institute of Navigation, Adenauerallee 118, D-53113, Bonn, Germany, +49 228 20197 0, fax +49 228 20197 19, e-mail <>, Internet <www.dgon.de>.