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Call for Proposals for Development of SBAS-enabled Shipborne Receivers (Maritime) - GSA/GRANT/03/2017
Date de clôture : 31 mai 2017  
APPEL À PROJET CLÔTURÉ

 Marine et côte
 Affaires maritimes et pêche
 Technologie aérospatiale
 Technologie mobile
 Horizon Europe

1. CONTEXT

1.1. Introduction

The mission of the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is to support European Union’s objectives and achieve the highest return on the European GNSS (E-GNSS) investment represented by the EGNOS and Galileo programmes, in terms of benefits to users, economic growth and competitiveness. The European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) is a regional satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS). EGNOS is part of an evolving multi-modal inter-regional SBAS service, able to support a wide range of applications in different user communities, such as aviation, maritime, rail, road and agriculture. Similar SBAS systems, designed according to the same standard have been commissioned by the US (Wide Area Augmentation System – WAAS) and Japan (MTSAT Satellite based Augmentation System - MSAS). Implementation of similar systems is ongoing in other regions of the world (e.g. GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation – GAGAN in India and System of Differential Correction and Monitoring – SDCM in Russia).

SBAS systems are designed to augment the navigation system constellation. The basic scheme is to use a set of monitoring stations (at known positions) to receive GNSS signals that are processed in order to obtain estimations of the errors applicable to the users (i.e. ionospheric errors, satellite position/clock errors, etc.). Once these estimations have been computed, they are transmitted as differential corrections by means of GEO satellites. Along with these correction messages which increase accuracy, SBAS also broadcast GNSS integrity data, thus increasing the confidence that a user can have in the satellite navigation positioning solution. Currently, EGNOS provides an augmentation service to the Global Positioning System (GPS) Standard Positioning Service (SPS). EGNOS augments GPS using the L1 (1575.42 MHz) Coarse/Acquisition (C/A) civilian signal function by providing correction data and integrity information for improving positioning, navigation and timing services over Europe. EGNOS Open Service for non-safety of life users has been available since 2009.

EGNOS is composed of a Ground Segment comprising a network of 39 Ranging and Integrity Monitoring Stations (RIMS), 4 Mission Control Centres (MCC), 6 Navigation Land Earth Stations (NLES) for uplink to the GEO satellites, and the EGNOS Wide Area Network (EWAN). In addition, the EGNOS Space Segment comprises 3 geostationary (GEO) satellites broadcasting corrections and integrity information for GPS satellites in the L1 frequency band. Since it is only necessary to track one single GEO satellite to benefit from the EGNOS services, this secures a switching capability in case of interruption and ensures robust service provision. Two additional facilities are also deployed as part of the ground segment to support system operations and service provision, namely the Performance Assessment and Checkout Facility (PACF) and the Application Specific Qualification Facility (ASQF), which are operated by the EGNOS Service Provider (ESSP SAS).

SBAS is already adopted in shipborne receivers providing increased accuracy. However, today there is no maritime Standard or Guidelines for the implementation of SBAS in shipborne receivers and the majority of these implementations do not take into account the information related to the system integrity messages that is already broadcasted by the SBAS system.

EGNOS is providing an augmentation service, meeting the requirements established by IMO Res. A.1046(27). In Europe, a new EGNOS service for maritime is under definition. The following figure shows an indicative and preliminary assessment of the area of the maritime service availability for the EGNOS case based on real data analysed during the period from January to June 2016.

Thanks to the work of European companies, an appropriate integration of SBAS in shipborne receivers will contribute to improve the accuracy and the reliability of the positioning information, which at the end is one of the main factors to guarantee the safety of life at sea. SBAS will also complement IALA DGNSS infrastructure and will contribute to improve traffic management, efficiency of operations and to reduce the number of accidents.

In order to prepare the market for the upcoming EGNOS maritime service, it is necessary that SBAS is appropriately implemented in shipborne receivers according to IMO, RTCM and IEC standards. In this sense, it is important to highlight that:

  •   EGNOS-enabled receivers currently used in the maritime domain are set to process only the EGNOS Open Service data and are not satisfying the applicable IMO Resolution A.1046(27); indeed, the Open Service provides corrections to increase the accuracy of GPS but an integrity warning of system malfunction is not considered. One of the reasons is that there is no SBAS standard for maritime receivers that would guarantee the proper use of the system integrity information broadcast.

  •   IMO Res. MSC.401 (95) on Performance Standards for Multi-System Shipborne Radionavigation Receivers was adopted in 2015 including SBAS as an augmentation system for maritime.

  •   IMO Guidelines associated with Multi-system Shipborne Radionavigation Receivers dealing with the harmonised provision of PNT data and integrity information, which are currently in the agenda of the NCSR Sub-Committee, include EGNOS as one of the satellite-based augmentation systems.

  •   RCTM SC-104 on DGNSS created a SBAS subgroup in 2016 to finalise RTCM Guidelines for the implementation of SBAS in shipborne receivers and draft test specifications for a safety service compliant with IMO Res. A.1046.

  •   EC, GSA, ESA and ESSP prepared a first draft of the Guidelines and present it at RTCM for discussion. A new version of the Guidelines will be provided to the contractor by mid-2017, including additional recommendations after being implemented in a software receiver at ESA’s ESTEC Premises.

  •   To complement IMO Res. MSC.401(95), RTCM SC-131 on Multi-system Shipborne Navigation Receivers is already drafting the performance requirements and test specifications for multisystem shipborne radionavigation receiver. Liaison between SC-104 and SC-131 is already established with respect to SBAS Guidelines.

  •   IEC TC 80 is expected to finalise test specifications for the type approval of multisystem shipborne radionavigation receivers with the support of RTCM SC-131 by mid-2019.

1.2. Background of the call

This call is based on the Delegation Agreement concluded between the European Union, represented by the European Commission, and the European GNSS Agency (GSA) on the Exploitation Phase of the EGNOS Programme.

In this framework, and in accordance with the EGNOS Grants Plan for 2016 published on the GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu/gsa/grants), the GSA is launching a call for proposals to implement SBAS in Shipborne Receivers according to the draft Guidelines for the implementation of SBAS in shipborne receivers under preparation in RTCM, to provide feedback to the document and to provide support for its finalisation and approval within the different standardisation bodies.

 

2. OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF THE CALL

2.1. Objectives of the call for proposals

With the award of the grants, this Call for Proposal aims to achieve the following objectives:

  1. (1)  Secure the availability of commercial products from European manufacturers of SBAS-enabled Shipborne Receivers.

  2. (2)  Develop and test SBAS-enabled Shipborne Receivers according to the draft Guidelines, for the implementation of SBAS, submitted to RTCM. This includes:

    1. Receiver firmware update (required), taking into account:

      1. The minimum set of SBAS Messages to be processed by a maritime receiver in compliance to IMO Resolution A.1046 operational requirements using SBAS SIS corrections and integrity data (required).

      2. The recommended processing of messages as well as the system alerts in compliance to the requirements of IMO Res. A. 1046 (required).

    2. Static and Dynamic Test Campaign in the laboratory (required).

    3. Dynamic Test Campaign on a vessel (required).

  3. (3)  Support the finalisation of the draft Guidelines based on the results of the implementation and the results of the tests (required).

  4. (4)  Support the SBAS standardisation process at RTCM and IEC including the definition of tests specifications for the type approval (optional). The support may include attendance to meetings and preparation of test specifications.

 

The final outcome resulting from the achievement of the above-mentioned objectives shall be a prototype (TRL-71) of an EGNOS-enabled Shipborne Receiver designed according to the latest Draft of the Guidelines under discussion in RTCM.

2.2. Scope and areas of activities

The scope of this call is to implement EGNOS in a shipborne receiver according to the draft Guidelines for SBAS submitted by RTCM, increasing the European industry knowledge, innovation capacity and market positioning in this field. In order to reach the objectives of this call, the applicants shall conduct the implementation of at least the first activity or additionally more from the activities areas described below:

(1) EGNOS-enabled Shipborne Receivers for navigation in SOLAS vessels (required)
(2) EGNOS-enabled Shipborne Receivers for navigation in non-SOLAS vessels (optional) (3) EGNOS-enabled Shipborne Receiver for AIS class A transponder (optional)
(4) EGNOS-enabled Shipborne Receiver for AIS class B transponder (optional)

In addition, all proposals submitted to any of the above described areas shall:

  1. Process the SBAS messages according to the Draft Guidelines on SBAS submitted to RTCM

  2. Test the SBAS-enabled receiver and provide a recommendation for the tests specifications

  3. Provide feedback to support the finalisation of the Draft Guidelines.

2.3. Core activities

For the purpose of this call the following activities (belonging to one or more of the four areas described above in section 2.2) are considered core to the project:

  • -  management and coordination,

  • -  the design of test campaigns,

  • -  completion of the user manual and

  • -  dissemination.

2.4. Deliverables

The applicants shall define in their proposal (in the B1 form) the planning for submission of the deliverables as well as their nature and the format (document, product, multimedia, etc.).

The list of deliverables shall include at least the following:

  1. (1) Workplan(includingprojectworkflow).
  2. (2) Preliminary analysis of the latest Draft Guidelines available (before mid-term review)
  3. (3) Description of the logic for the use of SBAS corrections and integrity alarms when IALA DGNSS is
  4. available or not.
  5. (4) Describe measures taken to adopt the Marine Equipment Directive2 approval (Wheel Mark) on the final product. The approval process is not part of this contract. 1 Technology Readiness Level 7: Prototype tested in operational environment
  6. (5)  Description of Test Campaigns, including the definition of the proposed tests and planning.

  7. (6)  Testreports.

  8. (7)  Recommendations and proposed modifications for the latest Draft Guidelines available based on

    the test reports.

  9. (8)  New Receiver User Manual: Preliminary new version of the chapter related to SBAS.

  10. (9)  Disseminationandbusinessplan.

(10)Dissemination documents and multi-media.

The draft grant agreement is specifying the conditions of the ownership and right to use policy of the above deliverables.

NOTE: In case the beneficiary opts for conducting a demonstration, it shall provide to the GSA a fully functional demonstrator including prototype(s), additional hardware/software, IPRs licencing, if necessary, and any related documentation.

2.5. Outputs expected from the implementation of activities

The proposals shall aim to achieve the objectives of the action. All the deliverables (as listed in section 2.4), will be used by EU and GSA in accordance with Article II.9 of the Grant Agreement.

 

3. TIMETABLE

 

Scheduled start-up date for the action: October 2017, unless the applicants can demonstrate the need to start the action before the agreement is signed.

Maximum duration of the action 2 (two) years

 

Publication of the call

28 February 2017

 

 

Deadline for request for clarifications

5 May 2017

 

 

Publication of the clarifications

16 May 2017

 

 

Deadline for submitting applications

31 May 2017

 

 

Evaluation period

June 2017

 

 

Information to applicants on the outcome of the evaluation

July 2017

 

 

Signature of the Grant Agreement

September 2017

 

 

4. EU FINANCING

Maximum budget allocated for EU financing under this action: EUR 1.000.000 Indicative number of projects: up to 2 projects
Indicative maximum EU financing amount for each project: EUR 500.000 Maximum EU financing rate of eligible costs: 70 %

  1. Publication of the call does not guarantee the availability of funds for the above action and it places no obligation on the GSA to award grants to any applicant.

    GSA reserves the right to award a grant of less than the amount requested by the applicant. In such a case, the applicant(s) will be asked either to increase his co-financing, propose other co-financing means or to decrease the total costs without altering the substance of the proposal. Grants will not be awarded for more than the amount requested.

  2. ROLES AND TASKS WITHIN THE CONSORTIUM

    5.1. Entities involved in the activities subject to the proposal

    The proposal shall clearly identify the entities (legal and/or natural persons) to be involved in the activities subject to the proposal, being the applicant(s) (including coordinator and co-applicants) as well as any third parties, such as affiliated entities and subcontractors and their contributions to the implementation of the proposal under the grant agreement. Parties’ participation in the project will be subject to the requirements as laid down in this Call for Proposals.

    5.2. Single Applicant

    In case the proposal is submitted by a single applicant, it will be considered as mono-beneficiary if the proposal is successful.

    5.3. Coordinator

    If the proposal is submitted by a group of several co-applicants they will form a consortium and will become consortium members. The consortium members (multi-beneficiaries) should choose within their midst a lead organisation, referred to as the “Coordinator”.

    The coordinator submits the application on behalf of the consortium and will be the intermediary for all communication between the co-beneficiaries and the GSA as well as responsible for supplying all documents and information to the GSA in due time upon request. Coordinator will also be responsible for distribution of payments received from GSA to the co-beneficiaries.

    5.4. Co-applicant(s)

    Each co-applicant will be considered as co-beneficiary if the proposal is successful. Before signature of the grant agreement all applicants within the consortium shall agree upon appropriate arrangements between

Maximum budget allocated for EU financing under this action: EUR 1.000.000 Indicative number of projects: up to 2 projects
Indicative maximum EU financing amount for each project: EUR 500.000 Maximum EU financing rate of eligible costs: 70 %

 

themselves for the proper performance of the specific actions. In particular by submitting their joint proposal, they shall accept joint and several financial responsibility of the debt of a defaulting beneficiary up to the value of the contribution that the beneficiary held liable is entitled to receive, as stipulated in the General Conditions of the draft grant agreement.

Co-applicants shall immediately inform the coordinator of any event liable to substantially affect or delay the implementation of the action, who will communicate with the GSA subject to grant agreement as well as clauses ensuring compliance with the requirements on ownership and usage rights of results and any pre-existing rights towards the GSA and the European Union as specified in the draft grant agreement.

When a grant is awarded, the co-beneficiaries forward to the coordinator in a timely manner all the data needed to draw up the reports, the financial statements and other documentation required by the grant agreement.

The coordinator and all co-applicants forming the consortium must satisfy the eligibility criteria.

5.5. Affiliated entities

Legal persons having a legal or capital link with applicant(s), which is neither limited to the action nor established for the sole purpose of its implementation, may take part in the action as affiliated entities, and may declare eligible costs. For that purpose, applicant3(s) shall identify such affiliated entities in the application forms and in the proposal.

Each affiliated entity shall have to comply with the same eligibility and non-exclusion criteria as those applying to the applicant(s) and submit the same forms, including the forms proving the financial and operational capacity (see section 9.1 and 9.2 below).

Affiliated entities can be:

  1. a)  several legal persons forming together one legal person or 'sole beneficiary' which may, or may not,

    have been specifically established for carrying out the action (e.g. groupings, joint ventures).

  2. b)  legal persons having a legal or capital link with a beneficiary or co-beneficiary, which is neither limited to the action nor established for the sole purpose of its implementation (e.g. networks,

    federations, trade-unions).

5.6. Subcontractors
Sub-contractors are not beneficiaries to the grant, nor affiliated entities.

Subcontracting4 refers to contracts concluded for the externalisation of specific tasks or activities which form part of the action.

The beneficiaries remain solely responsible for the implementation of the action. Subcontracting is not allowed among the beneficiaries in the project. Please note that the beneficiaries must have the necessary capacity to perform the project themselves.

 

Subcontracting of specific tasks or activities (i.e. the externalisation) which form part of the action as described in the proposal must satisfy the conditions applicable to any implementation contract (as specified above) and in addition to them the following conditions:

  1. it may only cover the implementation of a limited part of the action and shall in no case cover core activities as described in Section 2.3;

  2. it must be justified having regard to the nature of the action and what is necessary for its implementation;

  3. it must be clearly stated in the proposal.

The applicants must have operational capacity to perform the work proposed in their proposal. This operational capacity will be assessed at the time of the evaluation of the proposal (please refer to section 9.2 below).

In exceptional cases, where the implementation of the action or the technical proposal (B1-B2 Forms) can be done more efficiently and effectively through the award of subcontracts (implementation contracts), the beneficiary must award the contract to the bid offering best value for money or the lowest price (as appropriate), avoiding conflicts of interests and retain the relevant documentation for the event of an audit. Entities acting in their capacity of contracting authorities in the meaning of Directive 2004/18/EC5 or contracting entities in the meaning of Directive 2004/17/EC6 shall abide by the applicable national public procurement rules.

The costs of subcontracting can be eligible under the conditions indicated in the grant agreement (see also point 2.8 in section 12 below). The proposal should clearly specify the activities that will be subcontracted in the description of the action and the corresponding costs must be indicated in the estimated budget. The contract should be awarded in accordance with the conditions set in the grant agreement. Recourse to the award of contracts must be duly justified having regard to the nature of the action and what is necessary for its implementation.

Any justification provided by the beneficiary needs to be pre-endorsed by the GSA and subcontracting shall require GSA’s approval which may be considered granted in cases where the subcontracting is already fully described in the proposal so accepted by the GSA, given that it will then be implemented accordingly and fulfilling the eligibility criteria specified in the signed Grant Agreement.

The tasks concerned must be set out in the description of the action (i.e. form B1 and Annex I to the grant agreement) and the estimated costs of subcontracting must be clearly identifiable in the estimated budget (Form C1). However, approval of subcontracting by GSA (whether at the time of the evaluation of proposal or later during implementation of the action) does not automatically mean that the related costs will be considered eligible and reimbursed. The costs will need to comply with the eligibility criteria set up in the grant agreement in order for them to be reimbursed.

Any modifications on an ad hoc basis while the action is under way must be presented for ex-ante approval of the GSA and for major items will require an amendment to the grant agreement otherwise will not be reimbursed.

5 Directive 2004/18/EC on the coordination of procedures for the award of public work contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts.

6 Directive 2004/17/EC coordinating the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors.

 

 

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