IP/04/704
Brussels, 2nd June 2004
GALILEO: launch of €67 million call
for research, development and demonstration
activities
Yesterday, the
GALILEO Joint Undertaking launched the second call for proposals for research
activities dedicated to GALILEO, with an overall budget of €67 million.
The aim is to support the development of applications and user receivers to
exploit the European satellite radio-navigation programme. The first call for
proposals for GALILEO under the 6th Research Framework Programme was
a success with eight large research activities beginning in 2003 and totalling
€19 million. This second call for proposals covers applications in
traditional fields such as location based services, road transport, maritime
transport and aviation and rail applications. It also caters for niche markets
such as in multi-modal transport, emergency management and law enforcement,
energy, scientific research, agriculture, land survey and civil engineering,
etc. Particular attention will be paid to the involvement of small and medium
size enterprises. Welcoming the launch, Loyola de Palacio, Vice-President of the
European Commission, said: “This call for proposals responds to the huge
interest shown by European industry in satellite radio-navigation applications
and provides further evidence of the very promising prospects for
GALILEO.”
The second call is structured in three areas:
- User segment development
- Mission definition and implementation
- Innovation and international initiatives
The success of these activities again demonstrates that the development phase of GALILEO is proceeding well and that the knowledge and interest of European industries in this field are increasing rapidly.
An Information Day will take place in Brussels on 2 June 2004 for companies, research centres and enterprises interested in these activities.
Detailed information can be found either at:
http://www.cordis.lu/en/home.html
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/energy_transport/galileo
Background
GALILEO is Europe's satellite radio navigation programme. It was launched on the initiative of the European Commission and developed jointly with the European Space Agency (ESA). It heralds the advent of a technological revolution similar to the one initiated by mobile phones.
It will also prepare for the development of a new generation of universal services in areas such as transport, telecommunications, agriculture and fisheries. To date this technology, which promises to be highly profitable, is only available through the United States’ GPS system and Russia's GLONASS system, both of which are financed and controlled by military authorities. The GALILEO programme will be administered and controlled by civilian authorities and offers a guarantee of quality and continuity which is essential for many applications. It is complementary with current systems and will increase the reliability and availability of navigation and positioning services worldwide.
For more information about GALILEO, please visit:
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/energy_transport/galileo
