NLRÂ was one of the winners at the European Satellite Navigation Competition, which challenged organisations within Europe and beyond to devise new, innovative satellite navigation applications. NLR was part of a team comprised of colleagues from DLR (Germany), Astrium (Germany) and Deimos Space (Spain). NLR specifically focused on future applications that combine satellite navigation with GEO information.
The international team’s concept was based on ‘augmented reality’, a concept whose present-day applications pertain to users of mobile telephones. By combining GPS positioning (and in future, Galileo), a 3D compass direction and a database with GEO information, location-specific information can be displayed on the screen. The photo image displays a touristic application: practical information about the surroundings is displayed on the screen of a digital camera (or binoculars). Other applications are also available for many other subjects (such as aviation, security services and defense), depending on the GEO information that has previously been saved or is made available in (near) real-time.
The Position-Determination Support System (POS) – which won the Defense Innovation Game 2010 -Â is a further example of research in which satellite navigation is used in combination with additional infrastructure.
The focus of NLR’s aerospace department research includes the use of satellite navigation in combination with GEO information. The coupling of these two disciplines renders new applications possible.
Dependence on and applications for satellite navigation is expected to continue to increase in future. Combining satellite navigation and GEO information will also allow researchers to establish correlations between the performance of satellite navigation systems and (local) weather conditions. Armed with this knowledge, forecasts and models can be supported, thereby improving the degree of accuracy associated with satellite navigation use.
In researching the possibilities for combining satellite navigation and GEO-information, NLR is amassing knowledge about potential applications for this new technological development. This will allow NLR to support and advise its clients in future.
In addition to the standard display, this screen also displays practical information. This is possible due to augmented reality.
