Electro-car public transport and a scheme to track the proper disposal of waste are two of smartest ideas for using satellite-navigation technology
The applications have just triumphed in an international competition seeking novel ways to employ Galileo, Europe's soon-to-launch sat-nav system.
The multi-billion-euro space venture will transform the quality of location and timing data available on Earth.
And entrepreneurs are being urged to develop innovative ways to exploit it.
The transport application devised by the Vu Log company in Sophia Antipolis, France, envisages a fleet of "green" vehicles on city roads.
Each electrically powered mini-car would be equipped with instant and highly precise positioning equipment.
Commuters could use the internet or their mobile phone to find the nearest vehicle, jump in and start it with a smartcard, and then drive it to their destination.
"There would be no constraint - you could leave the car where you wanted," explained Vu Log's George Gallais.
"The service provider would come and charge the cars up every two or three days. Being used just for short distances, they wouldn't need charging every day," he told the BBC News website.
Source: BBC News, Wednesday, 2 November 2005
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