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Thales Alenia Space entrusted by the European Commission to assess the feasibility of new Integrity concepts for future EGNSS High Accuracy in particular for the needs of autonomous vehicles

Cannes, April 30, 2021 - Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67 %) and Leonardo (33 %), has been selected by the European Commission for a new strategic contract to assess the feasibility of an integrity service to complement the European Global Navigation Satellite System (EGNSS) High Accuracy which will pave the way for use in autonomous vehicles.

Thales Alenia Space will focus on the development of a new approach to combine several sensors (sensors fusion) including and complementing evolutions of EGNSS High Accuracy in order to provide the necessary integrity level to serve the high reliability and high accuracy positioning needs of new demanding applications such as road autonomous vehicles but also autonomous transport in maritime and rail sectors.
With this contract, Thales Alenia Space will assess the extension of the integrity and safety of life services for aviation into the road, rail and maritime sectors, having already won last year the EPICURE project, based on an integrity concept for road travel (tolls and insurance), as well as the IMPRESS project targeting an integrity service for rail signaling and train separation.

Prime contractor for EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service) for 25 years, a lead industrial contributor to Galileo system and ground mission segment and now responsible for providing 6 Galileo Second Generation satellites, Thales Alenia Space has always been at the forefront of navigation solutions in Europe.

Today, GNSS, as an absolute positioning system, is a key driver for wide scope positioning applications. Tomorrow, the addition and integration of an integrity service complementing EGNSS High Accuracy will foster the emergence of large scale precision safety critical applications, such as autonomous vehicles.

 

ABOUT THALES ALENIA SPACE
Drawing on over 40 years of experience and a unique combination of skills, expertise and cultures, Thales Alenia Space delivers cost-effective solutions for telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, environmental management, exploration, science and orbital infrastructures. Governments and private industry alike count on Thales Alenia Space to design satellite-based systems that provide anytime, anywhere connections and positioning, monitor our planet, enhance management of its resources, and explore our Solar System and beyond. Thales Alenia Space sees space as a new horizon, helping to build a better, more sustainable life on Earth. A joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), Thales Alenia Space also teams up with Telespazio to form the parent companies’ Space Alliance, which offers a complete range of services. Thales Alenia Space posted consolidated revenues of approximately 1.850 billion euros in 2020 and has around 7,700 employees in ten countries. www.thalesaleniaspace.com

 

THALES ALENIA SPACE – PRESS CONTACTS

Sandrine Bielecki    
Tel: +33 (0)4 92 92 70 94    
sandrine.bielecki@thalesaleniaspace.com

Tarik Lahlou        
Tel: +33(0)6 87 95 89 56    
tarik.lahlou@thalesaleniaspace.com

Marija Kovac            
Tel: +39 (0)6 415 129 91      
marija.kovac-somministrato@thalesaleniaspace.com