European Galileo joins GPS on one chip

location based services


by Melanie Reynolds
Monday 13 November 2006
A European Union project team is working to combine Europe’s Galileo and the US’s GPS satellite positioning technology onto one chip along with a 3G UMTS receiver for use in a mobile phone.“An integrated chip like this reduces the components a manufacturer needs to use, and reduces power consumption,” said Günter Heinrichs, co-ordinator of the Gawain project. “It will make it very attractive for handset manufacturers to include navigation as standard with their mobile phones.”
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Heinrichs said combining GPS and Galileo would “double the availability of navigation, and should help combat problems like urban canyons where one satellite system might not reach”.The Gawain project team has been testing the system in the lab and is now moving to testing in “real scenarios”. The aim is to move towards commercialisation in March 2007.During commercialisation, the fundamental design principles will be turned into ICs for mass production and it is hoped that during this process the chips will be made even more efficient. “For example, it may be possible to use the UMTS receiver on the chip to receive satnav information as well,” said Heinrichs.The Gawain project has primarily been targeting two location-based application areas - intelligent transport and ubiquitous tourism - which the prototypes are being tested on. Other possible uses include rescue services, police, forest industry, military and aids for handicapped people, such as an electronic guide dog.