Google discovers the talent of Mara whisper to satellites - Tom's Hardware Guide

Into Mara smiles awkwardly while taking the flash at the conference to present the winners of the Google Summer of Code 2013 , the global program that offers students the opportunity to benefit from scholarships to write code for various open source software projects. In a country which has more the appearance that the being and brains of scientific research funding from fleeing abroad by asphyxiation, the smile of this girl of 26 years should make us all proud.

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Mara Branzanti is 26 years old and is a PhD candidate in Geomatics at the University of Rome La Sapienza. Thanks to the bag’s Google Summer of Code, the researcher is working on writing an open source software that will enable satellite receivers on Earth to find the signal of the Galileo satellite in orbit closer, even from the most remote places. Moreover it also speaks of the EU Commission on its official website.

Into

Mara Branzanti

Mara is not a “nerd”. In his spare time (very little, actually) skating on wheels for Roma Roller Team. “Space has fascinated me since I was a child,” said in an interview with Tom’s Hardware . “When I had to choose the University, I was torn between Astrophysics and Engineering, then I decided to Environmental Engineering and the territory.”

Into the phone, the voice of Mara is excited. Not in the skin for the great opportunity that presented itself. After graduation started his PhD in Geodesy and Geomatics (“the exact name but it is not just that best describes my business.”) The team of the Area of ??Geodesy and Geomatics of Wisdom which works the researcher has long developed a software to process the satellite signal. The GPS is used to monitor the movement of the Earth when an earthquake occurs.

Into “This year,” says Mara, “the topic of the Google Summer of Code was the extension of the Galileo software that already works with the GPS. was just my area! I started to work, I got in touch with organizations, I have questions, I studied and presented the project. At Google Summer of Code loved it and now I’m writing the code. “

Into

GNSS-SDR

Tell us what it is.

Into “The Global Navigation Satellite System – Software Defined Receiver (GNSS-SDR) is an open source software developed at the Centre de Technologic Telecomunicacions de Catalunya (CTTC), which enables you to capture and decode the signal sent by the satellites, to obtain positions in space. Currently the software is fully functional with the GPS satellites, and is being developed for the Galileo satellites.

Into I’m doing this right as part of Google Summer of Code The ultimate goal of the work will be to obtain a position using the 4 Galileo satellites currently in orbit . The last two satellites were launched last October, and establish a position just serves a minimum of 4 satellites. When the constellation will be fully operational by 2020, we will have 30 satellites and then it will be possible to achieve levels of precision much better.

Into The peculiarity of the software is its easy integration into any commercial receiver (just a chip connected via USB to a computer) and the ability to keep it ‘up’ with the constant changes that occur in space, for as the launch of new satellites and new signals. In the future we may consider this software as an application for our smartphones, which today does not ‘see’ the Galileo satellites. Now, however, let’s focus on the development of the ‘heart’ of the soft ware “

Mara, you’ll be in Italy or you too will be a brain drain?

“I have already had experiences abroad, for Erasmus and during the PhD. working here where the climate is challenging and the team (Mattia Crespi, Augusto Mazzoni, Gabriele Colosimo, Elisa Benedetti) wonderful, then who knows, I’d love to stay but one has to earn a living. One must cultivate a passion but also work. If such an occasion in Italy I would be the happiest person in the world, otherwise I’d be forced to go even away. ”