Ningbo is home to a provincial BDS data base, the only one in East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/cnnb.com.cn]

China launched the last satellite of the Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) on June 23, marking the completion of the deployment of its homegrown global navigation system.

Ningbo is home to a provincial BDS data base, the only one in East China's Zhejiang province.

Established at the end of 2019, the center is positioned to provide high-precision application services for enterprises based on the data from BDS and other sources. 

The research and development of water quality monitoring has been a focus of the center.

Water quality was traditionally monitored by collecting water samples and acquiring data through experiments.

However, the new instrument developed by the center uses remote sensing technology. Its spectral probe can absorb and reflect different light sources of different water quality components in different degrees, so as to monitor the water quality in a large range in real time, said a staff member at Zhejiang Beidou Data Technology Co Ltd. 

Not long ago, more than 600 manhole covers within the jurisdiction of Jiangbei district in Ningbo were installed with Beidou-based monitoring equipment. 

Their high-precision positioning function can not only remotely monitor the displacement of manhole covers, but also record the shaking amplitude of the vehicle as it passes by, so as to determine whether there is potential damage to the manhole cover and inform designated personnel.

The data center is also constructing a large computer room, which is expected to be completed by the end of July.

"Data is now stored in the cloud. In the future, the computer room will effectively ensure the security of data." 

The room will also be equipped with the Beidou command machine, which can be directly used to retrieve data collected by Beidou satellites. 

Meanwhile, a real-time high-end trading platform based on Beidou has also been launched in Fenghua district, through which fishermen release what they have caught and adjust their fishing target by querying what suppliers and buyers need in real time.