Top experts give EGNOS SDK the 'thumbs up'
The technical wizards at NavCert GmbH have tested the new EGNOS SDK, which allows developers to easily integrate EGNOS capabilities into new smartphone apps.
Martin Grzebellus works for NavCert GmbH, a leading company offering support in the development and marketing of positioning and navigation products and services. Grzebellus has tried the EGNOS SDK himself, along with his colleague Stefan Götte, and he is ready to answer questions.
What are your thoughts on the usefulness of the SDK? Who will use it and for what purpose?
"Improved performance over GPS alone is highly desirable for many apps, and, from our point of view, the EGNOS SDK is a powerful and useful tool to improve the accuracy, reliability and availability of GPS signals.
"EGNOS is already optimised for airborne users, but EGNOS for ground-based apps can be problematic, especially in urban areas where large objects like buildings can get in the way of transmitting satellites.
"The EGNOS SDK allows you to create apps that will seamlessly switch between EGNOS signals coming directly from space and SISNET messages received via the internet and the mobile network. This feature means virtually complete coverage for the user, independent of the operating environment.
"Virtually complete coverage for the user, independent of the operating environment."
"The EGNOS SDK, as a stand-alone tool, as we tested it, is very good at providing positioning and integrity information on a map, such as a Google Map. But we see other possible uses, because the SDK provides users with its own very important 'source code', so these capabilities can now be easily integrated into other apps.
"With smartphones now everywhere and being used in almost every application area, from leisure and professional activities to safety-of-life apps, the possibilities for the EGNOS SDK are very wide indeed.
"Examples of possible field applications include city guides, tracking apps for sporting events, geo-caching apps and location-based information for evaluation apps, not to mention sailing, skiing, golfing, paragliding… you name it. For all of these apps, the higher availability and accuracy of EGNOS positions is going to be very useful.">
Can you talk about SDK from the perspective of a user? Is it easy to understand?
"It is quite easy to understand. The handling is intuitive and unambiguous. All functions worked properly and delivered the required information. Connection to the receiver via Bluetooth is quick and easy and there are only a very limited number of configuration parameters."
| "Apps include city guides, tracking apps for sporting events, geo-caching apps and location-based information for evaluation apps, not to mention sailing, skiing, golfing, paragliding… you name it." |
What did your evaluation involve? What did you do, step by step?
"Our testing covered installation, handling and performance. First we checked the installation of the SDK on a standard smartphone and on other platforms, like Blackberry and Android. Then we tested the handling of the SDK in terms of usability and clarity of meaning. We tested the various settings for connection, integrity etc. And finally we carried out performance tests. This included static measurements on a reference point, dynamic drive tests with different settings for recording interval, use of EGNOS and SISNET. We also spot checked SISNET messages for correctness. Recorded log files allowed us to analyse all of the test results.
"Generally speaking, I would say it is easy to see the immediate effects of the SDK on accuracy, and with the additional integrity information it delivers, this system is going to bring positioning and navigation capabilities into new application areas where reliability is a key need."
| The EGNOS SDK, including core software, demo app and documentation, can be downloaded for free here! |
