DHL, T-system and ITRI offer sponsorship!!!

HOW DO YOU PACK YOUR SUITCASE?As part of the 5th European Satellite Navigation Competition, T-Systems and DHL will for the first time present together a special topic prize for a freight volume solution.T-Systems, the business customer segment of Deutsche Telekom, and the DHL Innovation Center, the research centre of Deutsche Post World Net, have begun their joint search for an innovative means of optimising the freight volume of the logistics companyâs 120,000 vehicles. With goods transport increasing all over the world, freight volume information is a key factor in achieving more efficiency in logistics. Such optimisations can result in both lower costs and reduced CO2 emissions. âIf the control centre can use satellite technology to keep track of the vehicles\' location at all times as well as what their current freight volume is, the dispatchers will be able to keep vehicle capacity utilisation at a maximum, which will enable us to reduce the number of trips,â explains Dr. Keith Ulrich, director of the DHL Innovation Center.The company that comes up with the best solution will have the chance to realise its concept along with T-Systems at the DHL Innovation Center. The winning idea will have to be well defined and capable of being brought to market in a short period of time. âA high level of logistics expertise on the one hand and a high level of technology expertise on the other combined with the creative, innovative force of a young company - that\'s a strong combination that we can use to sustainably optimise logistics processes with satellite technology,â says Ralf Nejedl, head of Galileo and satellite applications at T-Systems.The winner will thus need to demonstrate more than technological sophistication; innovative and business potential will be at least as crucial. DHL transports over 40 million tons of road freight alone every year. The special topic prize winner will have to present a sound business model, ideally with a modular structure that can be expanded to include further means of transport, such as ships and aircraft.Solutions from all over the world can be submitted until 31st July at www.galileo-masters.com.Note: An interview with Dr. Keith Ulrich and Ralf Nejedl is available at www.t-systems.com/press/interview. Information on the DHL Innovation Center can be found at www.dhl-innovation.com. OFF THE SOFA AND ONTO THE RACE TRACK WITH GPSAs part of the 2008 European Satellite Navigation Competition, the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) of Taiwan is sponsoring a special topic prize for the most innovative gaming concept that promises to get couch potatoes out on the street â or perhaps bring the street into the living room! As a past example, the âreal-time racingâ system developed by the company iOpener â winner of the Dutch regional prize in 2006 and recent recipient of â¬4.1 million in venture capital â enables players to go head-to-head with actual Formula 1 drivers in real time.These days, one can scarcely imagine transportation without GPS, and mobile phones with integrated GPS chips are in the process of revolutionising mobile navigation. However, the opportunities presented by these developments go far beyond providing directions and real-time traffic reports. According to a current study by Juniper Research, mobile gaming is projected to reach a market volume of $16 billion by the year 2012. Along with the highly accurate positioning and precise time signals offered by satellite navigation, the gaming world is set to enter unprecedented dimensions that blur the line between the real and virtual.Turning the mobile phone into an outdoor gaming consoleThe market researchers from Strategy Analytics expect the global share of mobile phones in the navigation device segment to exceed 40 per cent by the year 2014. For GNSS gamers, this means their mobile phones are set to become a kind of outdoor gaming console. Whether itâs football, golf, or Scotland Yard, satellite navigation can add new facets to virtually any game. The special topic prize sponsored by the ITRI will award the best GPS gaming concept â regardless of genre, platform, or number of possible players â based on originality, feasibility, and market potential. The winner can look forward to â¬20,000 and a trip to Taiwan.Innovators from all over the world can submit their ideas until 31st July at www.galileo-masters.com. The Dutch winner from 2006, Andy Lürling of iOpener, has already set the ESNCâs bar quite high for GPS gaming. It will be exciting to see what kind of ideas the ITRIâs special prize brings forth in the coming three months. ________________________________________________________________________________Information on the European Satellite Navigation Competition The European Satellite Navigation Competition is an international innovation competition that awards the best ideas for innovative applications in the field of satellite navigation. Organised annually since 2004 by Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen and SYSTEMS, the ESNC is oriented toward companies, entrepreneurs, research institutes, universities, and private individuals. Since its inception, the competition has grown from including three partner regions to 13 high-tech regions of Europe: Bavaria, Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, Nice / Sophia Antipolis, Prague, South Holland, Madrid, Lombardy, Great Britain, and this yearâs new regions, Queensland / Australia, Taipei / Taiwan, Lower Saxony, and North Rhine-Westphalia.The goal of the ESNC is to continue to strengthen the international collaboration of these regions, particularly with regard to the development of applications and services made possible by the European satellite navigation system Galileo. The ESNC is carried out under the patronage of the Bavarian State Ministry for Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Transport, and Technology with the support of the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The overall winner â the GALILEO Master â will be awarded along with the special prize winners and the 13 regional winners on October 21, 2008 at a state reception to be held at the Munich Residenz. They will also have the chance to present their ideas and applications to a wide audience of ICT decision-makers from October 21-24 at this yearâs SYSTEMS trade show in Munich.