Projects

This project is aimed at designing, implementing and validating a mobile VSAT system at Ku-band for providing passengers of high speed trains with broadband access to internet.

A satellite based alarm and surveillance
system for security applications. The system is designed
to provide connectivity via satellite between alarm and
surveillance systems on one side and security centres
and other receivers, for example to protect the owners
of the property. The system will comply with the highest
performance classification of alarm transmission systems
in accordance with the relevant system directives, in
particular EN 50136 and VdS 2471 and will provide a
transparent link between any 3rd party alarm
transmitter and receiver systems conforming to EN
50131 (Intruder Alarm Systems) and EN 50132 (CCTV
Systems) and the applicable VdS directives.

The Webraska project aims to develop and deploy innovative wireless real-time navigation services in Europe using two different satcom networks and terminals.

The project objective is to design an
integrated service for civil protection departments which
will be based on EO data, GIS technologies and satellite
telecommunications. This project will act as a start-up
for similar service provisions in the case of natural or
man-made hazards or telemedicine applications.

The RTI-TVS project will be the first demonstrator enabling viewers to immerse themselves
into an "Edutainment / Game TV Show" and to compete
in teams with the physical protagonists of the show. The
project intends to strengthen the use of advanced
satellite communication technology and facilities using
the new DVB-MHP iTV standard. An appropriate 2D/3D
authoring and rendering application for "Edutainment /
Game TV Shows" has been implemented using a
background 2D/3D engine generator for virtual spaces.

MeCA provides a cost-effective and flexible
technology and service model that will allow marine
service operators to deploy and operate a range of IP
enabled services on their vessels, and will actively
commercialise the service. MeCA will develop and
validate a range of services in the Canadian East Coast
environment, including High-speed Internet access,
Tourism services, Banking (ATM, debit and credit card
services), Remote data collection and management and
Distance Education for the crew.

The HOST programme focused on the
development of the Hellas Sat commercial offering in
end-to-end satellite telecommunication services for
supporting the delivery of bidirectional, broadband
applications in Greece, the Balkans, SE Europe, and the
Middle East. The project intends to trial end-to-end
satellite telecommunication service provision to a variety
of potential customers for applications and generic
services in the area of e-Government, e-Business, e-
Inclusion/Digital Divide.

Development and prototyping of a map-based news group service for laptops and tablet PC's via VSAT networks and Wi-Fi local access.

The IMSATV (Immersive Satellite TV)
project intends to implement and deploy a precompetitive
Satcom Application pilot service based on
an enhanced / highly Immersive TV platform, for an
extended range of TV programmes, and optimised for
satellite bi-directional access. An advanced MHP
immersive platform will be realised and advanced
immersive TV content will be produced in order to run a
pre-operational pilot.

This project is dedicated to the production
of an application software suite for a multicast
management platform including an advanced Forward
Error Correction (FEC). One of the future applications of
this project is the distribution of digital assets such as
movies to the projection locations.

The Hamlet Project provides for the full
integration of different media's didactic-pedagogical
possibilities, and for the creation of an open and flexible
learning environment, which is characterised by a both
synchronic and diachronic didactic strategy, and served
by satellite communications integrated with terrestrial
based Internet connection. The environments provided
by the Hamlet platform will be: the Orientation Portal,
the Videoteque, the Virtual Library, the Virtual
Laboratory, and the Didactic Cyberspace. Videochat with
the teacher-telematic tutor, face to face, discussion
forums, e-mail and links will be supported.

By focusing on how to optimally create the best user experience for communicating highest quality images over bandwidth-limited communications systems, BEATLES targets key challenges in Mobile Satellite communications in general, and new Alphasat opportunities based on BGAN and GSPS in particular.

This project aims to contribute to the
increase of road safety by providing localised and realtime
Traffic and Travel Information to vehicle drivers.
The project goal is to develop and demonstrate a nonproprietary
system and language-independent platform
for aggregating, provisioning, distribution and delivery of
Traffic and Travel Information (TTI) content to vehicle
drivers. The TTI Content is provisioned into the system
and then it is broadcast through satellite communication
to the hotspots installed along the road.

The main benefit obtained with the
SAGAN project is freeing the booking operator from
deciding which are the best transmission plans to fulfil
the user requests and obtain a good utilisation of
satellites' resources. Thus, the human intervention will
be reduced drastically and an improvement of the
booking system will be achieved.

The main purpose of the SAVSI project is
to combine the aspects of several tested-and-affordable
technologies in order to provide a centralised video
surveillance service for locations where terrestrial DSL
connections are not available. These technologies are IP
video surveillance using MPEG compression, wireless
local network and DVB-RCS broadband Internet
connection. Two video-surveillance services are being
developed: surveillance of sensible sites, either as a
nominal surveillance capability or as a means of
redundancy (high-risk sites classified as "Seveso" e.g.
remote train crossings, hydroelectric dams, isolated ATM
machines), and surveillance of large and remote areas
(mountains, borders, jungles, volcanic areas) where
several risks are present (fires, smuggling, rains,
eruption, etc.).

The objective of the Crocus project
(CROss-CUltural Satellite services for immigrant
communities in Europe) is to disseminate multimedia
and interactive didactic units for first and second
language learning and intercultural education via
satellite to schools, cultural centres, libraries, training
agencies and associations of immigrants.

Development and first pre-operational
assessment of an Interactive TV suite of MHP
applications to reward audiences of TV channels with
extra contents. The core of EDIBS concept is to embed
additional services within the digital transmission stream
using the Multimedia Home Platform (MHP) standard for
DVB set-top boxes (STB). By using common digital
satellite transmission technologies, the TV- stations are
enabled to offer additional Program services and new
forms of embedded advertisement within a parallel
program flow.

SATWAYS aims to install remote site controllers equipped with radio and telephony interfaces at isolated heliports countrywide. They will relay radio and telephony communications over satellite connections using IP as the transport protocol.

The Remote Community Services
Telecentre (RCST) is a satellite based, shared-use
facility (telecentre) that is implemented in remote
communities to provide telelearning, telehealth, small
business and rural development, communications and
information access services. RCST would become a
shared resource for a community or region, a common
point through which a variety of services should be
concentrated for cost effective service delivery.

The STICK Project aims at providing broadband communications capabilities to the Public Protection and Disaster Relief sector.
STICK will be a service that can be easily deployed by minimally trained operators, providing a mobile broadband shared network that can be simultaneously accessed by multiple users with multiple applications fully independent from public networks which may collapse when disaster strikes.

The objective of project Cached VIdeo Content Set top Box was to provide a cost effective solution for a satellite based PushVOD (Video On Demand) infrastructure. This would allow end users located in areas not covered by reliable broadband networks to access services such as on demand video rental and Catch Up TV.

G3 Solar Array Drive Mechanism project aims to capitalize successful qualification and heritage of Constellation, SpacebusTM and ATV SADM to
develop a new product that meet competitiveness and technical objectives of the new SpacebusTM satellite range.

Hurricane is a dual polarised Ka-band Satcom on the move (SOTM) system which comprises a low profile antenna to be mounted on a positioner to dynamically track the satellite as the system moves. This project covers the design and fabrication of the low profile antenna which uses novel technology to produce an efficient array based aperture to enable a significant reduction in antenna height compared to reflector solutions whilst maintaining the required G/T performance.

The Typhoon project has successfully designed, developed and tested an X-band (7/8GHz) Satellite-On-The-Move terminal incorporating a low profile antenna, and satellite trials have been successfully carried out over a representative range of tracks and terrains, both on and off road.

The next generation solar array (NGSA) under development by Airbus Defence and Space is based on a hybrid solar array concept consisting of a rigid backbone of Eurostar 3000 (E3000) type sandwich panels in combination with lightweight lateral panels.

The mechanical pressure regulators that are widely used on telecommunications platforms for Helium control suffer from significant drawbacks inherent to their design. An alternative method is an electronic bang-bang regulation.

The focus of Cuva.me is on the development of compact dual band UHF-VHF antennas for use in maritime emergency situations. There are three main segments in this project: study/preliminary design, modelling and fabrication/test/ validation. The main challenge lies in managing the trade-off between compactness and electrical performance in hostile environments.

The aim of the project is to develop and test a Phased Array Antenna Full Facet Prototype allowing the simultaneous reception of at least 4 Search And Rescue (SAR) signals relayed by the satellites in view.

The project shall implement functionality able to localize the source of an interferer by using just one satellite.

The study aims to identify the architecture and critical technologies required to fulfill the future demand in High Accuracy Antenna Pointing Systems to cope with highly demanding multimedia missions using very small beamwidth (up to 0.2 degrees).

Although the commercial satellite communication and broadcasting services have only recently expanded to the Ka-band, future applications, such as 3DTV, live video and video conferencing, require higher and higher data rates and therefore more bandwidth. The need for bandwidth can be satisfied by preparing the next generation satellites with the Q/V-band capability.

The aim of the project is the design, development, manufacturing and test of a Ka-Band high power isolator in WR51 waveguide technology capable to handle 350 Watt CW in both forward and failure modes.

The objective of the project is the development and validation of a system for the provisioning of an integrated maritime communications service.

The SFEDONA project aims to design, develop, validate and demonstrate a complete end-to-end fire detection and alerting application which makes use of state-of-the-art fire detection technologies based on terrestrial optical cameras and sensors, data fusion, satellite and wireless communications as well as modern IT technologies.

SWAY4Edu aims to develop a satellite ICT solution to support three main activities in Africa, these being Rural Radios, Electoral eTraining and Space4Education. It is to be an open eTraining network for the Millennium Development Goals.

The project, which is part of ESA's Newcomers initiative of the ARTES 3-4 Programme, is aimed at developing, integrating and validating a set of mobile applications onboard of vehicles such as cars, coaches and trucks, using the S-Band delivery platform of Solaris on the Eutelsat W2A satellite.

The TESHEALTH project is dedicated to developing, implementing, qualifying and validating a telemedicine system promoting the use of satellite communications aimed at reducing the impacts of chronic diseases, improving life styles and empowering citizens to adopt a healthier behaviour.

This is a pilot project to demonstrate the suitability of the Sat3Play platform, originally designed for the consumer and SoHo market, to provide reliable and secured financial services in remote and underserved areas in emerging countries in Africa.

The satellite video broadcasting sector, the focus of this study, is part of an audiovisual market characterised by an increasing rate of change. New competitors are emerging including players from the telecoms, IT, Internet and consumer electronics sectors, and consumers’ consumption patterns are changing fast.

The objective of this activity is to develop a Web-based propagation analysis tool to be used by industry designing satellite telecommunication systems for point-to-point and point-to-multipoint and using fixed or mobile user terminals, as well as by propagation experts.