?? ?Wang Yuanyuan ????cheekywang@hotmail.com ????THE production volume of the country’s satellite navigation industry is expected to equate to more than 200 billion yuan (US$32 billion) in 2015 and 400 billion yuan in 2020, with a domestic system that could rival GPS, according to speakers at the China Hi-Tech Fair on Friday. ????The fair began Friday and continues through Wednesday at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center. ????Sixteen Beidou satellites have already formed a regional satellite navigation system covering the Asia-Pacific region. The system is expected to be introduced to civil uses next year, Fan Jianping, president of the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, said Friday at the establishment ceremony of the Shenzhen Beidou Satellite Application Industrial Federation. ????The Beidou satellite navigation system will be used in areas such as basic surveying and mapping, land planning, public security, transportation, telecommunications, personal positioning services and public affairs management. ????Shenzhen is one of the key cities for the country’s development of the navigation industry. The Beidou space-time service system, founded by the institute, can be seen as an “app store.” If a federation member uses the same data interface, it can share all the data on the platform immediately. ????“For example, if Careland, which makes maps for vehicles, accesses the platform, it can receive all the data shared by the city’s transportation department and the city’s meteorological observatory, so drivers can get more services and information by using the Careland navigation application,” Fan said. ????Meanwhile, the Beidou system can also offer special messaging services to uses. ????“You can send a short message through the system and let your friends know about your exact location,” Fan said. ????According to the plan, the Beidou satellite navigation system will become a global system formed by about 30 satellites, land sections and user terminals. ????“The home-grown system will break up the monopoly of the Global Positioning System (GPS), which will be strategically important for China,” Fan said. “China has already made significant achievements in application services and products such as vehicle navigation chips. The next 18 months will be an important period for the industrialization of the Beidou navigation system.” ???? | 