How space technologies are driving the future of smart cities
There are multiple visions for how cities can best respond to the challenges of climate change and foster broader sustainability, yet they all share a common goal of improving the quality of life for inhabitants and respecting the environment.
Smart cities also share a need for Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), in order to increase operational efficiency, improve the quality of such key public services as transport, and share goods and information with others. Significant progress in intelligent mobility is already leading to more competitive transportation services–all while minimising environmental and social impacts.
Behind many of these ICT solutions are space technologies, including a new generation of Global Satellite Navigation Systems ( GNSS ) such as Galileo . Thanks to its improved positioning accuracy, seamless confidence in urban and indoor environments and mitigation of location-based cyber-security threats, GNSS offers an agile and low-cost solution to many of the challenges that cities face today.
In the past, a general lack of availability of satellite signals within a city meant users would frequently experience positioning errors and incorrect location. However, this is no longer a problem. With Galileo now operational for two years, cities and users alike are taking advantage of the better positioning it offers in such harsh environments as urban canyons. Galileo also allows for a faster positioning and provides a new level of robustness against spoofing. Along with being fully compatible with other GNSS systems (such as GPS), Galileo can also be easily integrated with other sensors and infrastructures, making it a key enabler for new concepts like the Internet of Things (IoT).
As satellite navigation technology reaches a high level of maturity, it is being integrated across a broad range of applications. Of specific interest to cities are the many personal location devices (smartphones, watches, tablets, and others) that are now widely used with a range of mobility services. However, challenges remain. For instance, the utilisation of GNSS signals is affected by liability and payment concerns related to the reliability of the positioning and timing (like parking, last-mile delivery, vehicle sharing, emergency response, etc).
A fundamental technology for autonomous driving
With connected cars and autonomous driving applications taking off, we are entering a new era in which location performance parameters will become more and more stringent. GNSS is the fundamental technology for providing absolute positioning globally and accurate timing information for all levels of conditional, high and full automation.
