Starting Position
By developing a new generation of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), Europe is opening new doors in high-tech industry development, job creation, and economic growth. Given the strategic nature of European satellite positioning and navigation programmes (which include both EGNOS and Galileo) and the need to ensure that essential public interests in this field are adequately defended and represented, the European GNSS Supervisory Authority (GSA) was established as the regulatory authority for the European GNSS programmes. Along with assisting the European Commission in matters related to the execution of the programmes, the GSA will focus on technical certification, security accreditation, and the market preparation and commercialisation of the system. EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service) is Europe’s first venture into satellite navigation. It augments the US GPS and Russian GLONASS systems, and makes them suitable for safety-critical applications. The EGNOS message that is broadcasted by satellite provides corrections and integrity information on GPS.

Objectives

GSA is actively promoting the development of downstream applications that create demand for EGNOS and Galileo and provide economic and social benefits. With the EGNOS open service now free and ready to use the focus of the GSA prize will be on EGNOS, looking for innovative satellite navigation applications that make use of EGNOS signals or services and meet the following criteria:

• The application should deliver end-to-end functionality to customers using new or existing equipment and systems.
• Positioning should be a key enabler of the application.
• GPS + EGNOS should be the primary means of positioning.
• EGNOS functionality should be used.

Prize
The winner of the prize will have the opportunity to realise his/her idea at a suitable incubation centre of his/her choice within the EU27 for six months, with the option of an additional six months based on evaluation after the first period.* Award criteria will be the uniqueness and originality of the idea, its business potential (including technical feasibility, commercial feasibility, size of addressable market, and time to market), and the credibility of the corresponding team, as well as the application’s use of unique EGNOS features.