Enter Your GNSS App in the USA Challenge by July 31!

A brand-new regional contest in the 2010 European Satellite Navigation Competition

ESNC Entry & Evaluation Process (Click image to enlarge.)

Enter your original applications product or service idea in the USA Challenge, the newest regional contest in the 2010 European Satellite Navigation Competition. Win cash, an Inside GNSS cover story and consultation with the University of Calgary PLAN group!

Share via: Slashdot Technorati Twitter Facebook

» Download the ESNC Information for Participants (PDF)

(UPDATED July 10) The USA Challenge winner—it could be you!– will receive a $1,000 cash prize, be featured on the cover of the November-December 2010 issue of Inside GNSS magazine and will also receive airfare and accommodations for a free two-day consultation with the experts of the University of Calgary Position, Location And Navigation (PLAN) group.

The story about you and your winning application will reach 35,000 experts, industry, and policy leaders in the global GNSS community and will reach more GNSS specialists in a dedicated section of the Inside GNSS website.

Airfare and accommodations will be provided for the visit to PLANS, a worldwide GNSS research and education center of excellence.

Six U.S. and Canadian GNSS experts will carefully review your idea: read all about these judges and their business, technical and applications expertise.

The USA challenge is sponsored by NovAtel, Inc. and Inside GNSS magazine. It is part of the 2010 European Satellite Navigation Competition, a global contest that attracts hundreds of entries from 20 regional competitions around the world.

The winning USA Challenge application will automatically be considered for the 2010 ESNC grand prize: the Galileo Master title and a €20,000 (US$27,250) award. Entries may be submitted simultaneously to one regional contest and to one of six special topic competitions. (Story continues below the list of key dates)

KEY DATES and DEADLINES
May 1 – July 31
Competition database open for applications.Register and submit your ideas, improvements and updates anytime during these two months at <www.galileo-masters.eu>
August
GNSS experts evaluate regional and special-topic applications
September
International experts panel meets in Madrid, Spain, to select Galileo Master, after which prize-winners will be notified. USA Challenge winner receives cash prize and may schedule the consultation with the University of Calgary PLAN group.
October 18
Galileo Master, regional, and special topic award winners celebrate at the 2010 European Satellite Navigation Competition Awards Ceremony at der Residenz palace in Munich, Germany.
November-December
USA Challenge winner cover story appears in Inside GNSS.

How to Enter
Entries are submitted online through the contest website at www.galileo-masters.eu, which also has complete information on the contests, partner regions, and special prizes.

Submit your proposal online– free of charge–to the European Satellite Navigation Competition Idea Database. The database is open now.

July 31 2010 is the last day you may submit an entry.

You must complete a questionnaire with 19 or 20 questions, depending on the contest/s you decide to enter. Some questions are multiple choice and others have to be answered in writing. The entire application amounts to about 3 pages of text.

The idea database is divided into four sections: technical aspects, commercial aspects, legal aspects, and an optional upload of additional documents, such as photos or sketches illustrating your GNSS innovation. Judges will assess the entries mainly based on the following criteria

Benefit of the idea
Advantage of the idea compared to other existing or traditional solutions
Technological feasibility of the idea
Significance of the use of GNSS for the realization of the idea
Time required to implement this idea (time to market)
Prospects for this idea to become a commercial success
Ability to patent the idea
Legal risks involved in the idea
Investment potential for the idea
Innovation level of the idea.

You may submit more than one idea, but no more than one idea per region. You are encouraged to enter the same idea in both a region and in one of the special topic contests. You don’t have to submit your idea to your own country of residence.

About the Competition
Seven years ago, the first Galileo Master’s competition opened in Bavaria with prizes for the most original Galileo application. Since then, the contest has been renamed to reflect its expansion to 20 regions around the world and from an original focus on Galileo applications to embrace the other GNSS systems — GPS, GLONASS, Compass/Beidou — as well as regional and augmentation systems.

Organized by the Application Center for Satellite Navigation (Anwendungszentrum GmbH) Oberpfaffenhofen since 2004, the competition is open to companies, entrepreneurs, research institutes, universities, and private individuals.

The ESNC is held under the patronage of the Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Transport and Technology and issupported by Messe München GmbH.