SATNAV Mobile Cellular Phones, Satnav on Mobile Cellphones

An EU project team is working to combine satellite positioning with 3G mobile phone technology on a single chip. The result could unlock the future for applications like smart tourism services, smart transport management and even electronic guide dogs for the blind.
Satellite navigation or 'satnav' systems are enjoying growing popularity, especially in the transport sector where unit prices have dropped rapidly. The global market is already estimated to be worth some eight billion euro.
Now the partners in the GAWAIN project hope to prompt further growth by combining satnav and 3G (third generation) telephony facilities within one device. They hope to combine the world's two most important global positioning systems, Europe's Galileo and the American GPS, within a 3G mobile telephone on a single chip.

"An integrated chip like this reduces the components a manufacturer needs to use, and reduces power consumption. It will make it very attractive for handset manufacturers to include navigation as standard with their mobile phones," notes Günter Heinrichs, coordinator of the GAWAIN project. "Combining these two systems will also double the availability of navigation, and should help combat problems like urban canyons where one satellite system might not reach."

It is an impressive achievement. This is the first time a UMTS (Universal Mobile Telephone Services) receiver has been combined with Galileo/GPS.

During the commercialisation phase in the coming years, the fundamental design principles will be turned into integrated chips ready for mass production. The process may even render the chips more efficient.

"For example, it may be possible to use the UMTS receiver on the chip to receive satnav information as well," remarks Heinrichs.

The advent of such an integrated chip could finally unlock the future potential for location-based services or LBS. Once the functionality is installed within a large number of devices, it could facilitate the growth of such services for the mass market, simply because the additional cost of entry for users will not be high and providers will have a ready market based on devices that are easily upgradeable.

It is these LBS services that are the selling points of a combined chip, and GAWAIN explored some intriguing options to this end. For example, in smart transport the devices could be used to tell commuters when the next bus will arrive at a particular stop. Such a service could make using the bus much more competitive with train travel, helping to popularise bus transport.

Smart tourism services could also supply information that is relevant to the user's present location. If travellers find themselves arriving unexpectedly at a particular destination, all the relevant information about hotels, transport, restaurants and places of interest could be made instantly available.

"Cellular networks could provide city guides for their subscribers, or could sell the information to tourists who arrive in the city, for example," Heinrichs says. There is even the potential to develop an electronic guide dog for the blind, offering spoken instructions to keep the user safe.

The real advantage of services like these, however, is the many as-yet-unimagined services that they could make possible. When the concept of the internet was first dreamt of, it was seen as simply a way for the military to maintain communications in the event of a nuclear war.

After it became a publicly-available platform however, and particularly after Tim Berners-Lee of CERN invented the universal web browser, the internet took off. In a few short years the web has become ubiquitous, and has enabled societies across the world to re-engineer how they fulfil basic and advanced needs, from publishing to shopping and dating. Location-based services could offer a similar, huge future potential

The project continues until March 2007, but has already achieved 90 per cent of its goals. Currently, the GAWAIN partners are testing the system in the laboratory, but from November 2006 will be running tests in real scenarios. After March 2007, the project team will enter the commercialization phase and start contacting new potential partners who want to either invest in the technology or help develop new services.
Source: alphagalileo http://www.alphagalileo.org

Orange launches new 'Sat-Nav from Orange' for businesses on the move.

Analysts predict the location based services market to double by 2009

Orange Business Services today launched a new GPS navigation application to be downloaded on to a range of mobile devices - including smartphones and PDAs from Nokia, Sony Ericsson, BlackBerry™ and Orange - providing its business customers with a real-time, cost effective solution.

Powered by Webraska, a leading provider of GPS navigation solutions, Sat-Nav from Orange can be used when walking, cycling or driving. Rather than having a specific device just for this application, Sat-Nav from Orange works on a range of mobile devices making it a cost effective business investment. All maps and live traffic updates are held on a central server and are downloadable from the internet via Wifi, 3G, GPRS or the Orange EDGE network onto the mobile device. This saves precious memory space and ensures that maps and points of interest are always up to date.

Sat-Nav allows users to save time, fuel and money by working out the most efficient route to a destination. According to navigational analyst Canalys "The mobile GPS navigation market is doubling year on year in EMEA. By the end of the year 14 million Sat Nav units will have been sold in the UK of which around 1 million will be on smartphone devices." Sat-Nav on mobile devices means that users are free from the constraints of having a fixed device. Users can switch modes of transports, whether it is pool, hire or their own cars and can even get directions when walking.

"Using Sat-Nav on your mobile means businesses can save time and money. It is easy to use and enables businesses to streamline the number of devices they have to purchase and manage" said Gareth Williams, Group Manager Solution Products, Orange Business Services. "The location based service market is currently around £55m and estimated to double by 2009 according to the Yankee Group. Orange is well placed to capitalise on this opportunity through our brand, channel reach, customer service and understanding of how applications work in a mobile environment."

The application is quick and easy to install on a number of mobile devices and once installed, it is easy to download routes. The detailed maps from NAVTEQ are stored on Webraska's servers and hold information on hotels, restaurants, parking and other useful points of interest as well as speed cameras and live traffic information. The maps are updated every three months and therefore more up to date than standard Sat-Nav devices for which users need to buy new maps on an annual basis.

Once each route has been downloaded, Sat-Nav from Orange provides GPS-triggered real-time, turn by turn voice instructions, clear maps with road names and pictograms of turns, which provide accurate directions, even in the most built up areas. Favourite routes can be saved to mobile devices. The real-time road traffic information allows routes to be optimised according to traffic conditions and enables automatic re-routing should traffic conditions become challenging.

Jean-Michel Durocher, Founder and EVP of Webraska, said "Working together, Webraska and Orange have produced an application that can help you get to wherever you need to be, by the best possible route, whether you are in your car, walking or on a bike. It offers all the benefits of a traditional Sat-Nav unit with real-time access to new maps and the latest information whilst eliminating the need for expensive and bulky hardware equipment."

Pricing & Availability
Sat Nav from Orange is priced at £150 excluding VAT. This includes the software license, a GPS receiver with in-car charger and a car windshield or fan grid for the mobile device. The download of journey routes will be charged at standard pay as you use data rates.

Real time traffic information is available for an additional annual charge of £27.59 excluding VAT. Maps for all of Europe are also available for an additional annual charge of £27.59 excluding VAT.

Sat Nav from Orange is available on a wide range of devices and five different operating systems . In terms of coverage the application includes mapping for the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Luxembourg and The Netherlands as standard, and easily extended to all of Europe. Service and availability are subject to terms and conditions. Further details can be viewed at www.orange.co.uk/business/satnav and the application is also available from Orange's SME applications showcase - an online portal that delivers easy-to-use business tools for small business customers to help them manage every element of their business - for further details visit www.orange-applications.com.