Nottingham company set to be a world leader in satellite navigation

Published by Russ Cockburn for Danks Cockburn Public Relations Ltd in Local Government and also in Bill Payments, Central Government, Communities, Education

A local company is on route to a brighter future thanks to a pioneering project which is set to revolutionise navigation systems.

Nottingham Scientific Ltd (NSL) teamed up with De Montfort University (DMU) in a joint project to research and develop innovative receivers, which will be able to pick up signals from all Global Navigation Satellites at all frequencies.

And the hard work is already paying off with the firm, which currently employs 20 people, predicting increases in turnover and the creation of new jobs.

This joint project has now been recognised with a nomination for the Lord Stafford ‘Innovation in Development’ Award, which seeks to celebrate the very best of innovation by companies and universities.

Last Year, the university was awarded £113,000 by the Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and East Midlands Development Agency to take part in the Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Nottingham Scientific Ltd.

With satellite navigation receivers traditionally reliant upon one network, researchers from both the company and the university started work on developing a new receiver that could overcome that.

The first receiver - the Primo - was launched in December 2008 and became the first device of its kind to be able to gather information from a number of sources, including the US Global Positioning System (GPS), the European Galileo system and similar satellite systems from across the world.

Another unique feature of the receiver is that it uses the software defined radio technology which can track satellite signals and re-tune itself to them.

This also means that any new signals, systems and services can be accommodated with simple software upgrades and won't render the receivers obsolete as time moves on.

Dr Mark Dumville, General Manager at NSL, said: "Although the project is only half-way through we are already seeing some early successes from the work.

"We have been awarded two contracts that directly relate to the project and we expect that these two opportunities alone will generate four new posts at NSL

"In addition, we have several large proposals under evaluation which, if successful, will lead to the development of new systems based on the project outputs to date.

"What is perhaps more important is that NSL is the prime contractor in these proposals which is something new for us and demonstrates the importance of this technology in furthering the development and growth of the company in this technological area.

"I am particularly pleased with the nomination, not just for the company’s benefit, but also as recognition of the work of the individuals involved.

"While NSL and DMU will clearly get benefit from the publicity, without the hard work, enthusiasm and personal commitment of the staff we would not have achieved this position.”

Dr Eric Goodyer, project manager at the Faculty of Technology at De Montfort University, said: "Primo is the world's first multi-constellation GNSS receiver, capable of receiving data from both the American GPS system and the European Galileo project.

"The development roadmap will produce a device that can also receive data from the Russian Glonass constellation, and other constellations planned by China, India, Japan and other nations.

"De Montfort University has had great pleasure in partnering with NSL to develop this new and unique product.

"The European Galileo system will provide secure and robust timing and location data that can be commercially exploited and is at the cutting edge of space technology.

"We look forward to working with NSL and other companies in the future to exploit these commercial opportunities in the new terrestrial products and services that will arise."

Awards Patron Lord Stafford said: "The Awards provide an opportunity to showcase how the region has forged ahead in terms of innovation and collaboration, linking businesses with our world-class universities to encourage knowledge transfer and deliver innovative products, processes and services.

"This partnership between NSL and DMU is a perfect example and this project thoroughly deserves it's nomination in this year's awards."

The winners of the awards, which cover ‘Innovation Achieved’, ‘Innovation in Development’ and ‘Innovation in Sustainability’, will be announced at a high-profile finale on September 10th at the Epic Centre in Lincolnshire.

Sponsors for the event include the East Midlands Development Agency, MAS East Midlands, the East Midlands Universities Association, Lincolnshire County Council, Ceramic Decals, CFE Ltd, Clever Cherry, Connect Midlands, Enterprise Europe Network and Swindell and Pearson.