Does your startup use location-based technology, such as positioning, navigation and/or timing? Whether you’re working on a mobile app, a wearable tracker, asset management and tracking platform, robotics technology, artificial intelligence or virtual reality, your application and service can certainly benefit from the increased accuracy of Galileo – Europe’s own global navigation satellite system (GNSS).
There are currently more than 1.5 billion Galileo-enabled smartphones and more than 51 million GNSS-enabled wearable devices in the Location-Based Services (LBS) sector. To drive innovation further in this sector, the European GNSS Agency (GSA), has launched their biggest competition yet within Galileo programme- the #MyGalileoSolution competition.
Participants are expected to leverage Galileo’s robust positioning, accurate timing and synchronization capabilities in their solutions, in order to win one of the 56 prizes, with €1.5 million up for grabs. Applicants can choose between two different tracks (From Idea to Prototype, and From Prototype to Product), across 4 different areas: Crisis & Emergency Response; Smart Transport for Green Deal; Solution for Digital Age; and Cybersecurity.
You want to know if the #MyGalileoSolution competition is for you? Check out what former participants and the team behind the project have to say!
Francesco Fiorito is from Argeo, the winning team of the 2019 MyGalileoApp competition. Argeo is a proximity marketing tool, which allows companies to place their products in augmented reality around the city. He said:
“Competitions like MyGalileoSolution are a great opportunity to quickly move from idea to market. It is a confidence boost for young entrepreneurs and their capacity to grow and generate new solutions and business”.
Thibault Durand is from Tractor Navigator, the 2nd place winner at #MyGalileoApp Competition 2019. Tractor Navigator is an intuitive app providing guidance to farmers during their work, with enough precision for most small farm use cases. He explained:
“We applied to this competition because we thought our app can work with Galileo. You get mentoring and also deadlines, so it makes you do the project actually and not just research the idea only, and you need to have the app working at the end if you are in the challenge.”
Meet Marcel Mierzejewski of WanderApp, a finalist in the challenge, who felt a fast-paced exciting atmosphere in the competition:
“I felt this kind of Silicon Valley, startup vibe. There was nothing six, seven, months ago, and now we have a fully functional app which is just amazing.”
Next up, mentor Francesco Perticarari from Silicon Roundabout spoke about the support he gave to his mentees during the competition last year:
“My mentoring was on how to best position themselves especially at this early stage. If they were for example a user-driven app, how can they drive these users without breaking the bank… or how to take the same pitch and go to the private and raise finance”.
Curious? Check out the #MyGalileoCompetition website for more information. Applications are open until Wednesday September 30, 2020.
