Broadband satellite communication systems on planes, trains and other fast-moving platforms are being advanced by Heriot-Watt University, working alongside Europe's largest space company.
We are concentrating on terminal technology that could be used to deliver high speed internet on mobile platforms such as train and airplanes, partly to keep up with the demand for ever more reliable accessibility to satellite signals, even when on the move
Very Small Aperture Terminals
The project has attracted €1.5million funding from the European Commission, with €1 million allocated to Heriot-Watt University to test and develop new, smaller mobile Very Small Aperture Terminals (mVSAT), which will provide higher data rates and improved quality of service to users on mobile platforms exploiting the next generation of satellite signals.
This week, Jean-Marc Villevielle, Chief Operating Officer of Space Engineering - Europe's largest space company - visited Heriot-Watt to see the research under way in what will be a four-year collaboration.
Dr George Goussetis, Reader in Sensors Signals and Systems in the University's School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, said "We are concentrating on terminal technology that could be used to deliver high speed internet on mobile platforms such as train and airplanes, partly to keep up with the demand for ever more reliable accessibility to satellite signals, even when on the move.
"Our work is at the forefront of civil technology and closely linked with Europe's first and the world's latest telecoms experimental payload, which was successfully launched in July 2013 on board the ALPHASAT satellite. Our vision is to deliver a technological edge that will maintain the global leadership of the European satcom industry."