This year’s best satnav application and the overall Galileo Masters winner at the eighth European Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC) is the ‘True3D™ Heads-Up Display’. Submitted by Juliana Clegg and Tom Zamojdo of Making Virtual Solid from California, this augmented-reality navigation display provides non-distracting, translucent guidance to untrained drivers looking through the windscreen. At the award ceremony 19 October 2011 from left: Thorsten Rudolph (Managing Director of Application Center for Satellite Navigation Oberpfaffenhofen AZO, the instigator of ESNC), Ulrike Daniels (Business Development at AZO), Martin Zeil (Bavarian State Minister of Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Transport and Technology), Tom Zamojdo (Making Virtual Solid) and Juliana Clegg (Making Virtual Solid).
Just announced are the winners of the eighth Galileo Masters European Satellite Navigation Competition and the new GMES Masters European Earth Monitoring Competition, both supported by ESA. Together with the two overall winners, eight Galileo Masters special topic prizes, five GMES Masters challenge prizes and 23 regional prizes were awarded at the ceremony in Munich, Germany. The prizes were given for the most creative business applications of satellite navigation and Earth monitoring for public and commercial use.
Galileo Masters 2011 winner — The winners of the Galileo Masters were selected by a panel of international experts, including ESA representatives, out of the 401 proposals from almost 50 countries. This year’s best satnav application is the ‘True3D™ Heads-Up Display’. Submitted by Juliana Clegg of Making Virtual Solid, this augmented-reality navigation display provides non-distracting, translucent guidance to untrained drivers looking through the windshield.
Prof Volker Liebig, ESA Director of Earth Observation Programmes, hands over the GMES Masters prize to Edwin Wisse from Dutch geo-information company Geodan, at the award event in the Allerheiligen Hofkirche of the Munich Residenz, Germany, 19 October 2011. Geodan won the first GMES Masters prize with their ‘DeforestACTION Earth Watchers’ system, a new approach to rainforest conservation combines GMES data, crowd-sourcing, social media and ground teams to help halt illegal deforestation. Credits: S. Hörmann/AZO
Through its Technology Transfer Program, the Agency sponsors the Innovation Prize for the most promising satnav application that can be quickly developed into a profitable business. In addition to the 10,000 euros cash award, the winner might be hosted at one of the five ESA Business Incubation Centres, receiving technical and financial assistance to make the idea a reality. From this year’s record 91 proposals, the winner is ‘twofloats’, a proximity service that tracks and tells registered users when they are close to each other. Members would never again miss an opportunity to meet.