Last week, the BBC reported the first of 30 satellites of the Galileo satellite navigation system was launched from Kazakhstan. While remnants of GLONASS exist, the United States’ NAVSTAR Global Positioning System is the only fully operational Global Navigation Satellite System. Galileo is designed to be technologically complementary to NAVSTAR and will enhance location-based technology.
Using Galileo as a complementary system to GPS should:
1. Allow sensors to more quickly acquire coordinates (especially during “cold starts”), permit better performance on cloudy days, and it should perform better in cities.
2. Permit more precise coordinate measurements; with accuracy up to 1 meter. A more precise navigation system will have the capability to measure metrics such as where a vehicle is on a road segment, and suggest the most effective lane of traffic.
3. Reduce the need for a WAAS sensor/processor, improving efficiency and battery life on hand-held devices.
4. Deliver better positioning services at higher latitudes.
5. Provide redundancy due to potential loss from solar flares, satellite warfare, etc.
With both India and China planning and testing their own satellite navigation systems, it seems a national GNSS is becoming a distinctive status symbol amongst the world’s powers.
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