Mr Ek is hoping that improving funding opportunities to European technology start-ups will challenge the dominance of the Silicon Valley and improve prospects for the companies located in Europe. “Some of the most promising tech talent in the world automatically leaves Europe because they don’t feel valued here. We need more super-companies that raise the bar and can act as an inspiration,” he said. Read the full article here: https://www.ft.com/content/aad03856-986b-472d-b7f3-0409da6add55

When sending spacecraft to observe the sun, there is an inevitable trade-off between the quality of pictures taken from shorter distances and the damage that is inflicted on the spacecraft by light and heat. A bulk of the new Orbiter’s mass is a heat shield which protects it by directing heat to the sides and away from the spacecraft. The orbiter can not only sample the physical conditions of space around the Sun but also take direct pictures of its surface. Find out more here: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Solar_Orbiter/The_closest_camera_to_the_Sun

Following our webinar with Alexandre Mencik, organised in conjunction with EBAN Space, the report ‘Space funding Gateway - Practical guide to public funding of space-related businesses in Europe’ has been published.

The guide provides an overview of the public funding and financial opportunities available to space-related business in Europe, with a particular focus on startups and small companies.

​The report is available to read here.

In the Start-up Ecosystem EU you can find both national and European associations of tech start-ups, covering the majority of EU countries. Connect with investors, innovators and other companies and learn more about the European technology landscape. Click here to view all associations within the network: https://resources.dohertyassoc.com/european-startup-networks/
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People nowadays do not pay much attention to how things have changed in the last few decades and the impact that technological evolution has had in our daily lives. What is interesting about these revolutionary inventions which we take for granted, is that the groundwork for their creation derives from space related activities. Things explicitly made to improve space exploration can now be seen in our homes as well as workplaces aiding us in various activities.

One example of these innovations are phone cameras, the idea behind them was that in the year 1990 a small portable camera with scientific quality of picture taking was necessary, the technology used then is now contained in 1/3 of all cameras. Another example are Wireless Headphone sets. Created because astronauts needed to be able to move without worrying about wires while receiving important information which might be crucial in the event of crisis.

There is a collection of different space innate inventions that find use in our daily lives, but perhaps one of the most influencing discoveries which led to a significant development in distinctive sectors and industries is the internet and its effects on communication. Most of the means people use for communicating with each other and the world today, are dependent on satellites orbiting the Earth, constantly receiving and sending signals to different devices.

The idea of Internet of Thing (IoT) was developed through an embedded web technology to monitor space experiments remotely over the Internet. This connectivity of IoT means potentially taking all the things in the world and connecting them to the internet, thus leading to the constant transfer of information making things ‘smart’ and creating variety of benefits feeding off each other.

​This is why we should encourage innovations in the space industry as it plays a huge role in the technological aspect of our lives. New inventions find useful and sometimes unexpected purposes in different areas, leading to creative and efficient solutions. Internet of Things serves as a good example, being applied in a business model it could lead to a higher performance and better productivity including less operating and direct cost, therefore giving the opportunity of taking a business to the next level and positively impacting the growth of the economy.

Lack of interoperability is a significant issue in electronic road tolling systems. These systems need to be reliable, user friendly, and cost-efficient to enable the development and implementation of fair road-charging policies and to cope with future technical developments. A significant step forward for interoperability at EU level has been made with the publication in March of a new European Directive on the interoperability of electronic road tolling systems and the European GNSS (Galileo and EGNOS) is slated to play a major role.

Lower costs for European Electronic Toll Service (EETS) operators mean that charges can be lower, more traffic will flow on toll roads and/or more fees can be raised to improve road infrastructure; bringing benefits for operators, users and the public economy. Interoperability of tolling systems also makes sense in terms of usability, with drivers able to seamlessly switch from one road-pricing scheme to another as easily as they ‘roam’ across borders on mobile phone networks.

The new EU Directive 2019/520 lays down the conditions necessary to ensure the interoperability of electronic road toll systems across the entire European Union road network, including urban and interurban motorways, major and minor roads, and other road infrastructure such as tunnels or bridges, and ferries. It will also facilitate the cross-border exchange of vehicle registration data to ensure collection of any road tolls due.

For full story, see GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).

Automated vehicles are on the way, and the European GNSS Agency (GSA) sees satellite navigation as a core technology that will help to ensure their safe operation. At the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the GSA shared its space with the 'ESCAPE' project, an EU-funded initiative that has developed a unique positioning module for autonomous or semi-autonomous driving.

Autonomous vehicles will feature both sensor-based and connection-based solutions for a variety of vehicle services. Ultimately, the GSA sees a ‘converged solution’ as the best alternative, combining the strengths of both approaches. By integrating sensor data and connectivity-based information, operators can reduce the need for the most expensive sensors and at the same time save money on infrastructure.

The Fundamental Elements-funded ESCAPE project has designed and prototyped the ESCAPE GNSS Engine. It is a unique positioning module that combines precision GNSS and 4G connectivity, for the highly accurate and reliable positioning capabilities required to make automated driving a reality.

One of the things that make ESCAPE unique is the way it brings together high-end GNSS processing capabilities with an industrialisation process that targets high volumes and comparatively limited cost and size. It also encompasses hardware and software safety procedures required for certification for the automotive market.

The unit is ready now, but we have yet to see autonomous cars in large numbers on the road. Is this a problem for the ESCAPE system? Jessica Garcia Soriano, R&D engineer of the Advanced Communications Business Unit at explains, "From the very first moment that you have an autonomous car in the street, you will need high-accuracy positioning, because these vehicles will need this positioning to maintain themselves safely on the road. But we don't have to wait for autonomous cars. The vehicles on the road today can already benefit from this technology"

GNSS-based location will have to be complemented by other technologies in order to get to the integrity level needed in all driving situations, but the GSA also believes the combination of dual-frequency GNSS and 4G/5G connectivity can do more than just navigation, enabling as well a diverse range of in-vehicle location-based services (LBS), much like what we see emerging in smartphones.

To read more see http://www.gsa.europa.eu.