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After 17 years, numerous setbacks and three times over budget, Europe's Galileo satnav system went live on Thursday promising to outperform rivals and guarantee regional self-reliance.
Initial services, free to users worldwide, are available only on smartphones and navigation units fitted with Galileo-compatible microchips.
Some devices may need only a software update to start using the service, according to the European Commission, which funds the 10 billion euro ($11 billion) project.
Source: http://phys.org/news/2016-12-galileo-europe-satnav.html
There's a list of Galileo-enabled devices at www.useGalileo.eu. One thought that goes through this editor's mind is that wIth two sources of data, the deliberate inaccuracy in the US military system seems somewhat futile now, I wonder if that misfeature is reaching end-of-life?
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Saturday December 17 2016, @01:45AM
Hmm, let's click on that list of Galileo-enabled smartphones [usegalileo.eu]...
BQ Aquaris X5 Plus
Huawei Mate 9
Oh my god! 2 devices allows the use of the plural "smartphones"! Well, at least I have heard of the Huawei Mate 9. But you have to wonder why Apple and Samsung couldn't add support for this in advance, and just activate it with a software patch.
Looks like it will be a while before we can test that claim.
An anonymous coward said this was wildly outdated info on the last story. Let's see if anon was right. Yes [wikipedia.org]:
Regional reliance is still a concern, and not just theoretical:
Between GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, Beidou, IRNSS, and QZSS, I don't anticipate any problems locating yourself or even building a little homemade satnav missile.
Civilian GPS will be getting another upgrade soon. [wikipedia.org]
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(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday December 17 2016, @01:52AM
Europe has much bigger problems - it is presently under attack from weaponized refugees.
(Score: 1, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday December 17 2016, @03:04AM
Modded Flamebait, huh.
Europe will be in the third-world in another few years, and there's not a goddamn thing they're gonna do to stop it. They are victims of widespread social engineering. Our experiment is complete. We now know that inducing and leveraging guilt (which is not a new concept, see Original Sin [wikipedia.org] and learned helplessness [wikipedia.org] ) at an institutional level level will render chaos to the subjects, who can all be rebuilt to our whims at best, or be rendered too divided to present a threat at least.
Ha ha, yes. It's going all as planned.
It's no wonder that European Franz Kafka always died at the end of his good books, he was too much of a pussy to fight back.
(Score: 1) by Demena on Saturday December 17 2016, @04:34AM
The USA will collapse first and further I would think
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 17 2016, @05:36AM
They are causing it. It is going as planned: Unending hatred [davidduke.com]
Artificial refugee migration crisis [englishnews.org]
Jews and the "Refugee Crisis" [youtube.com]
Europe Migrant Crisis CONSPIRACY Fully Exposed In 8 Minutes (THE TRUTH) [youtube.com]
It will go as planned unless we do something.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Saturday December 17 2016, @01:57AM
We know for certain tha Glonass and Galileo do not have any accuracy reduction modes. Right? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
Anyway, I've heard it said that using multiple systems (GPS+Glonass or Glonass+ Galileo) does not yield more reliable accuracy and that it could actually increase uncertainty.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by takyon on Saturday December 17 2016, @02:12AM
1. Find place with precisely known coordinates. Determine and compare coordinates based on GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, etc.
2. Go to sidewalk and open mapping application. Zoom all the way in and see if it can place you on the sidewalk. Or standing on the sidewalk crack 2 inches from the curb. Etc.
This is not some crazy mystery. The people making the SoCs will be able to determine whether a combination of signals boosts accuracy. And they are not limited to satnav... they can use Wi-Fi networks for instance. GPS Block III boosts signal strength and allows you to correct for ionospheric delay:
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 17 2016, @02:08AM
Oh my god! 2 devices allows the use of the plural "smartphones"!
Well, it's technically correct, and pedantically correct, and in a binary world of "is or is not Galileo compatible" you've only got two choices and this list has two devices. I'm not sure the list can ever be improved beyond its current state.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday December 17 2016, @02:15AM
You don't think newer phones like the Galaxy S8 or iPhone 10 will support Galileo?
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 17 2016, @09:43AM
Whoosh?
(Score: 1) by Demena on Saturday December 17 2016, @04:39AM
If you are not sure, then you did not check the chipset radio button.
This lists the chipsets that can access it. Chipsets used in many current phones.
Since only software needs writing, I think it will be safe to assume that some already existent phones will be added to the list.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 17 2016, @09:45AM
You realize GP was mocking GGP's post, right? Perhaps your next phone should use a more advanced sarcasm detection chipset.
(Score: 1) by Demena on Tuesday December 20 2016, @04:34AM
Look up to the skies and see that as an AC you are entitled to be sneered at when you criticise a named user on a personal issue rather than a technical one. Dismissed
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Saturday December 17 2016, @04:06PM
Yeah, only two smartphone producers did make a Galileo-enabled phone before the system was actually switched on. Actually the first DAB-supporting smartphone appeared this year, despite DAB being broadcast since quite some time, and FM radio receivers in phones not being exactly uncommon. Compared with that, the Galileo adoption is incredibly fast.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 17 2016, @05:22PM
Responding line-by-line is an incredibly irritating and immature way to communicate.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday December 17 2016, @05:41PM
No it's not. Maybe you need to be medicated.
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