Active Road Management Assisted by Satellite (ARMAS)
The European Space Agency is working with Portuguese organisations on how space technology can improve road traffic and road safety overall.
ARMAS (Active Road Management Assisted by Satellite) is a system for monitoring vehicles via satellite based on positioning information from the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS). EGNOS works by enhancing the data provided by the US GPS system, offering greater precision and signal continuity.
The project was initiated in 2003 and it is now in a second phase of development following a successful demonstration of the main features of the project in the context of an international workshop on ITS which took place in November 2003 in Lisbon. This second phase which will be concluded by February 2006, aims to analyze in detail the critical issues associated with the implementation of some of the ARMAS features, such as road tolling and the broadcasting of traffic incident alerts. Positioning accuracy and integrity requirements will be studied and a set of trials and demonstrations are being organized in Lisbon, London, Ireland and Holland. Standardization and interoperability issues will also receive a great deal of attention.
