News in 2024
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FIG Involvement at ICG-18, Wellington, New Zealand
06-11 October 2024
FIG Commission 5 had the pleasure of attending and participating in
the 18th Meeting of the International Committee for Global Navigation
Satellite Systems (ICG) in Wellington, New Zealand, during 06-11 October
2024.
Coordinated by the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), the
ICG strives to encourage and facilitate compatibility, interoperability
and transparency between all the satellite navigation systems, to
promote and protect the use of their open service applications and
thereby benefit the global community. Essentially the vision of the ICG
is to ensure the best satellite-based positioning, navigation and timing
for peaceful uses for everybody, anywhere, any time.
FIG, in its role as a long-standing Associate Member of the ICG, was
participating in numerous discussions taking place across its four
Working Groups - each of which has several Task Forces focussed on
specific topics of strategic importance and relevance to the GNSS
community. At this point, we would like to acknowledge the generous
support from the ICG, of Commission 5’s Reference Frames in Practice
(RFIP) workshop held as pre-events to our annual working weeks and
congresses, and regularly provides travel support for a number of
students and developing member states to attend these Workshops. We are
extremely grateful for this assistance, and look forward to continued
collaboration during forthcoming FIG events.
Additionally during the ICG-18 Week, the 29th Meeting of the
Providers’ Forum was held in which the latest status from the global
satellite constellation providers - namely GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and
BDS, were shared with delegates. Updates were also provided by those
member states operating, building or aspiring to their own regional
navigation satellite system (RNSS) such as Japan’s QZSS and India’s
NavIC. Augmentation systems featured across several Working Groups, with
Representatives from Australian and New Zealand presented an update on
SouthPAN (Southern Positioning Augmentation Network) covering those
regions.
Within the ICG, there are currently four Working Groups as follows.
- WG B - Enhancement of GNSS Performance, New Services and
Capabilities (https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/icg/working-groups/b.html)
- WG C - Information Dissemination and Capacity Building (https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/icg/working-groups/c.html)
- WG D - Reference Frames, Timing and Applications (https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/icg/working-groups/d.html)-
with three Task Forces: Timing References; Geodetic References and
Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR).
- WG S - Systems, Signals and Services (https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/icg/working-groups/s.html);
which includes Task Forces on PPP Interoperability (3PITF), and LEO
PNT systems.
Between them, Working Group D's Task Forces hosted three sessions on
their respective themes comprising seven presentations, focusing mostly
on updates regarding global and regional geodetic reference frames. WG-D
also held internal discussions on the topic of Lunar PNT and
participated actively in the subsequent Joint Session with the other
WGs; WG-D noted that these discussions could be extended to other
celestial bodies.
Other organisations attending ICG-18 included the International GNSS
Services (IGS), the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) and the
United Nations Global Geodetic Centre of Excellence (UN-GGCE). In total,
there were more than 180 attendees and 60 presentations across the week.
The next Meeting of the ICG, will be its 19th (ICG-19) and it will be
held in the Republic of Korea in (provisionally) October 2025.
Group Photo of Attendees at the 18th Meeting of the
International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems, 06-11
October 2024, Wellington, New Zealand.
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| FIG Commission 5 Chair, Dr. Ryan Keenan, presenting an
update on FIG Activities in 2024, to the ICG-18. |
ICG-18 Working Group D - References, Timing and Applications
- delegates and co-chairs including FIG Commission 5 Chair Dr.
Ryan Keenan. |
Dr. Ryan Keenan
Chair, Commission 5 Positioning and Measurement, FIG
Links:
https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/icg/icg.html
October 2024
