The CIT UPC is participating in the European project ARIADNA (Awareness Raising & capacity building Increasing Adoption of EGNSS in urban mobility Applications and services),. The aim of this project is to facilitate access, promote and train in the use of the European satellite navigation system, Galileo. The target audience are stakeholders for whom urban mobility and public transport is an essential factor.

As part of the project, the Galileo Mobility Forum (GMF) has been launched. This is a space in which stakeholders of the ecosystem of urban mobility and public transport can find out more and benefit from all the opportunities offered by this geolocation system.

Galileo, a European geolocation system

Developed by the European Union, Galileo is a satellite geolocation system similar to the United States’ GPS, Russia’s Glonass or China’s Beidou. With Galileo, the European Union aims to ensure its strategic independence in this highly strategic area, improve its market share in the geolocation sector, and expand its high value-added services.

In 2019, a billion smart phones were already using Galileo. New vehicles that are launched on the market incorporate the European system EGNSS. However, even though its use is common in our daily life, Galileo continues to be little known among city councils, public transport authorities and operators, companies and individuals.

What does Galileo offer to the urban mobility and public transport ecosystem, start-ups and SMEs?

Transport of goods and people is one of the sectors in which Galileo offers the greatest number of possibilities, both for economic stakeholders who are involved in the sector (urban transport operators, industrial suppliers and public transport providers) and for final users. The greater accuracy of Galileo compared to other geolocation systems makes it more competitive. Greater accuracy also enables new transport services to be developed that meet current market needs and existing services to be optimised, making them more flexible and efficient. Therefore, Galileo opens new application opportunities in areas such as fleet management (buses, trains, trams, etc.), traffic management, mobility applications, communication between vehicles and road safety, among others.

To promote synergies and business opportunities of high added value for organisations and companies, the Galileo Mobility Forum (GMF) has been created and is promoted by the CIT UPC. The Forum offers to companies, authorities and public transport operators, as well as city councils and technology suppliers who participate in the GMF:

• The opportunity to form part of the flagship project of the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency (GSA), and one of the most important projects for promoting the use of GALILEO for public transport and urban mobility.
• The technical support and advice of Galileo experts and members of the ARIADNA consortium.
• Preferential access to project deliverables.

About ARIADNA

ARIADNA is led by an international consortium, coordinated by the Spanish company Factual Consulting, and four other partners in three European countries. In addition to the CIT UPC, the other participants are the Union Internationale des Transports Publics (UITP), Pildo Consulting and Auxilia. The project will last 24 months and will end in November 2021.