Navigation from space
The Grimaldi Group has received the green light for the GSAB (Grimaldi Satellite Assisted Berthing) project. The European Space Agency (ESA) has assigned the group a navigation innovation and support programme (Navisp) with the contribution of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) aimed at developing and validating the first assisted guidance system with satellite technology for docking manoeuvres of large PCTC (pure car & truckc) vessels.
The Naples-based Grimaldi Group will coordinate an international team with Kongsberg, a Norwegian company specialising in the design of signal reception and processing technology, and the Radiolabs Consortium which will take care of the design, execution and validation of the system in operating conditions.
GSAB involves a first 18-month phase for the design of the equipment, its laboratory tests and pre-installation on the selected ship. The second phase will start in March 2024 with on-site tests in the Port of Antwerp (Belgium) at Antwerp Euroterminal, a group-owned terminal. (sh)