The system will provide a European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System (EGNOS) to improve the accuracy of the existing Global Positioning System (GPS). Logica will architect and deliver the elements which will validate the information broadcast by the satellites to safety critical users such as aircraft in flight or ships navigating through narrow channels.

Without EGNOS it is not possible for users such as civil aviation to rely with full confidence on satellite navigation systems like GPS. EGNOS will allow these users to depend upon improved accuracy satellite navigation signals which, in turn, will reduce travel time and help operators save fuel. Logica is responsible for building the critical Check Set element of EGNOS – the core of the overall system that ensures the users can trust the position given to them by the satellites.

When you get a GPS navigation signal, how can you be confident you can trust it? asks Laurent Gauthier, the EGNOS project manager at the European Space Agency (ESA). EGNOS will tell you whether you can trust the signal. It will tell you that you are at a particular spot with a high degree of certainty and definitely within an area enclosed by a circle with the spot at the centre. In effect, it will give you your position and say by how much it could be out.

We selected Logica to implement the critical Check Set and to ensure the overall integrity of this pivotal component, said Nicolas de Ledinghen, programme manager at EGNOS prime-contractor Alcatel Space, Logica’s extensive experience in large critical projects, its long-term commitment to space and aeronautical projects and its proven ability to implement mission-critical software, together with the effectiveness of its proposed solution and team made it the best choice for a solution of this scope.

Commenting on the significance of this award to the UK, Jim Lawson, head of navigation services at the UK National Air Traffic Services (NATS Ltd) said EGNOS is important in helping NATS increase the long-term level of service we provide to airlines. The UK has been instrumental in ensuring that EGNOS addresses the needs of the air traffic community, and Logica’s new role is welcome in working to be certain that the UK industry is involved right at the heart of the programme.

SOURCE: COMPANY PRESS RELEASE