European Project GALA was a preliminary study on the global architecture of the Galileo system, realised by several companies and institutes in the European Community for ESA (European Space Agency).

The Galileo System (GNSS-2, Global Navigation Satellite System) is a satellite navigation system led by Europe. The system will provide high-precision positioning and time information with global coverage.

The Galileo system will offer different service levels for professional users, the mass market, and emergency, rescue & safety applications, distinguished by the localisation, carried out with respect to global, regional or local database.

The Galileo system is subdivided into the global and regional components, which include: the space segment (MEO and GEO satellites), the terrestrial segment, comprising of the terrestrial stations enhancing the system performance, and the end-user segment.

This system will integrate the European Geostationary Overlay Services (GNSS-1 EGNOS) with other existing systems, in a way to provide hybrid terminals incorporating different types of sensors.

The participation of INOV was at the level of terminal equipment, in terms of analysis of requirements and the functional concept of the navigation receiver for the mass-market segment. Costs and performance were specified and comparative technological analysis with respect to the GPS receivers was provided for each application type.