3rd International Satellite Navigation Forum
Moscow. 12-13 May 2009
Results

The 3rd International Satellite Navigation Forum took place on 12-13 May 2009. It was held with support from the ROSKOSMOS Federal Space Agency and the GLONASS/GNSS Forum - the Association of designers, manufacturers and users of global navigation equipment and applications - as well as with the assistance and participation of:

• The Ministry for Economic Development of the Russian Federation
• The Ministry for Regional Development of the Russian Federation
• The Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation
• The Ministry of the Interior of the Russian Federation
• The Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Belarus
• The Russian Academy of Sciences
• The Government of Moscow. The Department of Housing, Public Utilities and Urban Development of Moscow; the Department of Transport and Communications of Moscow
• The Association of Regional Telecommunication Operators
• The Interstate Aviation Committee
• The Association of Russian Diplomats
• Moscow State Automobile & Road Technical University (MADI)

The 3rd International Satellite Navigation Forum 2009 has become an integral part of the International Convention and Exhibition ‘Navigation Systems, Technologies and Services’.

The organizers of the Project: Professional Conferences ltd. and Expocentre, ZAO

Partners and Sponsors of the Forum:

General partner:
Russian Institute of Space Device Engineering (RNII KP) FGUP

General sponsor:
Concern PVO Almaz-Antey OAO

Silver Sponsor:
NAVTEQ

Sponsors:
Aerospace Technologies Company
AutoLocator (MegaPage OOO)

Expert Partners:
TsNII of Mechanical Engineering FGUP
М2М Telematics OOO
GIS-Association
GPS-CLUB: Society of Amateurs and Professionals

Official Media Partner:
VESTI Russian Information Channel (RIK VESTI)

Official Internet Partner:
R&D.CNews.

The Forum was attended by 1057 Russian and foreign delegates and 105 speakers. 63 % of the delegates arrived from Moscow and the Moscow region, 8 % represented St.-Petersburg and the Leningrad region, 17 % came from other regions of Russia. 12 % of the delegates arrived from the CIS and other countries of Europe, North America and Asia. The event was highlighted by more than 240 representatives of the Russian media.

The Forum had been designed to bring a wide Russian and international audience the latest information of the innovative satellite navigation technology. The Forum paid special attention to the Russian GLONASS global navigation satellite system and various aspects concerning its application both in Russia and abroad.

The Forum gave a detailed rundown of the legal aspects of using satellite navigation, put on display navigation and communication equipment by leading Russian and foreign manufacturers, demonstrated various industry application packs and featured practical experience of leading companies in applying navigation technologies, including business-cases for the application of satellite navigation carried out by Russian business.

The plenary session and the Forum were opened by First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Ivanov who emphasized that the Russian Government believed the introduction of navigation technologies into the Russian economy a measure to solve modern transport problems, to increase availability of transport for the public, to enhance transportation safety and security, to save resources and to improve the ecology.

Sergei Ivanov noted that ‘… the GLONASS system has been designed to be used not only in Russia, but also globally. The budget funds for ‘The Global navigation System’ Federal Target Program have been allocated in full. This year six more Glonass-M spacecraft will join the GLONASS series of satellites.’

At the plenary session Head of the Russian Federal Space Agency Anatoly Perminov spoke about the national policy on the application of navigation technologies in the Russian economy and about regulations and legislation for it. Yury Urlichich - General Director and Chief Designer of RNII KP FGUP, Chief Designer of the GLONASS global navigation system - informed the delegates of the Forum of the current state of the GLONASS system and prospects for its development; while Pavel Sozinov - Chief Designer of navigation equipment for the GLONASS users, First Deputy Chief Designer and Deputy General Director of Concern PVO ‘Almaz-Antey’ – spoke on the development prospects and challenges for the Russian market of navigation equipment. Deputy Minister of Transport of the Government of the Moscow region Vyacheslav Zabelin shared the experience in applying satellite navigation technologies to the transport system of the region. Representatives of the U.S. Air Forces and the Department of State gave an overview of the current state of the GPS and prospects of its development, and also about the U.S. navigation policy.

Representatives of the European Commission and European companies described the development prospects for the Galileo system; they spoke on the challenges facing the coordination of the universal time and GNSS scales, on the future of everyday use of the navigation technologies by all the people in the world.

The section sessions were dedicated to practical issues relating to the application of satellite navigation technologies in various sectors of the Russian economy and featured the following thematic subjects:

• Monitoring, safety and management systems for motor transport
• Personal and road navigation and safety systems
• Satellite navigation in regional and municipal economy
• Satellite navigation for sea/river transport
• Satellite navigation in geodesy and construction, geological exporation and mining industry
• Satellite navigation in aviation and space travel
• Satellite navigation for railway transport.

The section sessions provided important information about new products and services, about the successful introduction of navigation technologies into the real economy.

The Forum incorporated an award ceremony for the ‘Contribution to Design and Development of the GLONASS System’ and for the ‘Adoption of the GLONASS Navigation Technology.’ Awards to the honoured workers and veterans of the space-rocket industry and industry leading companies were given by Vladislav Putilin, Deputy Chairman of the Military-Industrial Commission of the RF Government.

During six section sessions and two round tables the delegates received the opportunity not only to present and get the most important information about completed products, but also to discuss topical issues relating to navigation and cartography, regulations and legislation; to make their proposals on how to form effective environment for the introduction of innovative technologies. The Forum enabled them to share experience; to get useful information and to instruct the GLONASS/GNSS-Forum Association to encapsulate proposals regarding the improvement of the industry regulations and legislation on behalf of the Forum delegates and submit them to the industry authorities.

The Forum comprised a round table on the improvement of the industry regulations and legislation for more effective application of satellite navigation technologies to the Russian economy, organized by the GLONASS/GNSS-Forum Association and GIS-Association. The attendance of more than 50 delegates testified to the high importance of the topic discussed at the round table. Among the delegates were representatives of the federal executive bodies, public institutions, and businessmen, who constituted the majority of the attendance. The participants in the round table focused their attention on the current stage of the development of regulations and legislation for positioning, timing and navigation services; as well on the Federal Law on Navigation Activity dated 14 February 2009 and on a draft statute on the Federal satellite network operator of navigation services.

Within the discussion, the delegates expressed low levels of satisfaction with the Federal Law on Navigation Activity. They also pointed out that the federal satellite operator as it had been described in the draft of the statue published on the GIS Association website was not needed. The delegates believed that the navigation activity shall be regulated and controlled by the federal government, while the products shall be manufactured and services delivered by the self-regulating market. It is this approach, with the government actively encouraging the use the GLONASS, that would make it possible to attract private business and investments and to ensure effective use of the GLONASS system for state security, territorial administration and economic development within the shortest time.

The only task of the federal satellite operator described in the draft statute that the delegates believed should be preserved is that of creating and distributing essential navigation data. The use of this data should not be optional, but mandatory by law. The essential navigation data should be obtained from the road owners - federal government, federal territorial units, municipal authorities and private owners – who are responsible for the construction and operation of the road network, and traffic management.

The operator should collect, assess the quality of the essential navigation data, compile it and effectively distribute among consumers. Considering its legal status, the essential navigation data should be made widely available and at a price that should not exceed the replication cost. In view of that, the operator shall rather be a state-run institution than a for-profit business.

The discussion resulted in a resolution to instruct the GLONASS/GNSS-Forum and GIS Association to prepare a project featuring recommendations worked out by the round table, to publish it on the Internet and submit it to the relevant federal agencies. The Forum featured a round table discussion on ‘Approaches to Creating Navigation Maps’ run under the chairmanship of V. Zabnev, Department Head of Roskartografiya.

The round table ended with a decision that the geoinformation portal of the GIS Association should host a discussion of the main requirements for the navigation and city maps designed by Kartografiya PKO before they had received any official status.

The Forum staged a press conference on the ‘Navigation systems, Technologies and Services for Business and Personal Use’ for its media partners and registered journalists. The press conference was attended by the leadership of the Federal Space Agency, of Roskartografiya, leading Russian companies participating in implementation of the Global Navigation System federal target programme, as well as specialists who had designed the space section of the GLONASS system, developed customer equipment for this system and created hardware and software for transport monitoring and navigation maps. The participants in the press conference pointed out the benefits of utilizing the GLONASS system and highlighted major trends in development of the global navigation systems.

The Forum was run concurrently with the Navitech’2009 International Exhibition. The exhibition presented companies from Russia, Germany, France, the USA, Canada, China, Lithuania and other countries. The largest stands were organized by the following companies: Concern PVO Almaz-Antei OAO, M2M Telematics OOO, Drive OOO, MKB Kompas OAO, RNII KP FGUP, UralAvtoKomplekt OOO, Naviteq.

The participants in the Forum completed questionnaires.
They unanimously pointed out that the 3rd International Satellite Navigation Forum had become the key event for the Russian navigation community. They underlined that the event had been superbly managed, expressed satisfaction with its results and pointed out the necessity for the event to be run the next year and annually in future.

The analysis of the questionnaires has identified the best spekers:

• Yury M. Urlichich (RNII KP FGUP)
• Pavel A. Sozinov (Concern PVO Almaz-Antey OAO)
• Alexander N. Syomkin (ENDS-Russia)
• Evgeny A. Belyanko (М2М Telematics, OOO.)
• Pavel V. Kozlov (NAVTEQ CIS)
• Ray E. Clore (Department of State of the USA)
• Vladimir M. Vlasov (NPP Transnavigatsiya)
• Sergei E. Gurin (MKB KOMPAS OAO)
• Alexei E. Zinoviyev (Topcon Positioning Systems Inc.)
• Andrei V. Veytsel (Topcon Positioning Systems Inc.)
• Alexander Yu. Yankush (GNSS +)
• Veniamin N. Bogumil (NPP Transnavigatsiya)
• Andrei P. Kuznetsov (NAVIGATION SYSTEMS (PO AVTOSPUNTIK))
• Ad Bastiansen (iLOG-Group)
• Vladimir N. Klimov (GLONASS/GNSS-Forum Association)

• Anatoly N. Perminov (ROSKOSMOS)
• Alexei A. Smyatskikh (М2М Telematics OOO)
• Vadim A. Alekseyev (Global Orient)
• Vladimir A. Sviridenko (SPIRIT TELECOM)
• Vladimir V. Gvozdyov (RNII KP FGUP)
• Pavel G. Kiriyan (IZHEVSKY RADIOZAVOD)
• Leonid A. Istomin (ILADA ZAO)
• Valery Ya. Kushelman (GOS NII AERONAVIGATSIYA)
• Yevgeny A. Plyusnin (NPK GPS COM)
• Yury V. Petukhov (Federal Agency of Sea and River Transport)
• Oleg I. Sauta (VNIIRA OAO)
• Nikolay V. Sazonov (NIIAS OAO)
• Vladimir V. Puchkov (М2М Telematics OOO)
• Mikhail N. Safronov (VOBIS Computer - Distributor of MIO Technology Corporation)
• Anton S. Khokhlov (Macro GROUP OOO).

• RNII KP FGUP
• Concern PVO Almaz-Antey OAO
• М2М Telematics OOO
• MIO Company

The delegates made proposals to increase the duration of the Forum and make it three days; to enlarge the number of speakers from companies that have practical experience in utilizing satellite navigation technologies in their business; as well to arrange separate seminars featuring narrower subjects etc.

The organizers have chosen the following comments by the participants in the Forum and exhibition:

‘… even amid the current crisis the state ensures full-scale funding of the GLONASS Federal Target Program and will continue to support innovative high-tech projects and investments to them in every possible way. The manufacturers of the domestic navigation equipment are sure to enjoy this support in full.’