GPS World articles from April 2004

GPS World archives from April 2004

Compatible with the future.(The View from Here)(Global Positioning System)
April 1, 2004... Forward compatibility. Now there's a term that perhaps only a journalist or a viewgraph engineer could really love. It positively sparkles, scintillating as sunlight reflected off a pond; a sparkle that can turn back to gray ripples at the...

GPS marks 50th satellite launch, honors Getting.(Global View)(late Ivan A. Getting )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The GPS community honored one of its pioneers, the late Ivan A. Getting, principal developer of GPS and founding president of the Aerospace Corporation of El Segundo, California, during the 50th GPS satellite launch March 20 at Cape Canaveral...

Waiting for robot: DARPA's autonomous vehicle challenge.(Global View)(Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency)
April 1, 2004... A lonely vigil took place March 13 at the desert finish line of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Grand Challenge. Spectators and team members anxiously awaited word of fifteen unmanned vehicles on a hazardous 146-mile...

EC: GPS-Galileo deal has mutual benefits.(Global View)(Global Positioning System)
April 1, 2004... Rebutting suggestions that a tentative agreement on GNSS cooperation conceded too much to the United States, European officials say that the deal provides "symmetry" and promises to make Galileo and GPS the "world standard" for Global...

Germany bypasses toll.(Global View)
April 1, 2004... German Transport Minister Manfred Stolpe notified the TollCollect consortium in February that the German government would cancel its development contract for a GPS-based toll system for trucks. The system would have been one of the largest and...

Off the shelf, onto the beach: commercial GPS in amphibious combat vehicles.(Integration Challenge)(Global Positioning System, Data Automated Communications System)(Cover Story)
April 1, 2004... Seeking to take advantage of advances in GPS technology, naval researchers compared traditional waypoint navigation using a standard military GPS receiver and a moving map display with a commercial differential GPS receiver. Field trials showed...

Picture this world: landscape art of the AlpenRhein.(Application Challenge)
April 1, 2004... Using GPS to create and document giant works on a terrestrial canvas, artists from Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, and Finland sowed their designs across the Rhine Valley along the Swiss-Austrian border. In 2003, the Swiss canton of...

Position via Internet: SISNeT catches GPS in urban canyons.(Integration Challenge)(Signal in Space through the Internet, Global Positioning system)
April 1, 2004... Satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS), like GPS, suffer from visibility limitations in urban settings. A prototype receiver combines EGNOS correction messages received through a wireless Internet connection with pseudorange measurements...

Tough choices: ruggedized notebooks.(New Technology 2004)(laptop computers)(Editorial)(Buyers Guide)
April 1, 2004... It's a rough world out there. To protect your hardware and data investments, durable notebook computers are essential for withstanding the harsh environments encountered during mobile mapping and GPS/GIS data collection. According to a...

Navigation for precision approaches: robust integrity monitoring using GPS+Galileo.(Innovation)(Global Positioning System)
April 1, 2004... In safety-of-life applications of satellite navigation, such as guiding an aircraft to a runway, integrity monitoring deals with the all-important question: Is the error in a given position estimate less than a certain preset threshold? The...

LBS Challenge winners at CTIA.(GPS Inside)(location-based services)(Cellular Telephone Industry Association)(Networks in Motion Inc.)
April 1, 2004... Networks in Motion Inc., a location-based services (LBS) developer from Irvine, California, won the LBS Wireless Challenge at the Cellular Telephone Industry Association (CTIA) Wireless 2004 show held in Atlanta, Georgia, March 22-24. Networks...

Atmel introduces SBAS features.(Launches)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Atmel Corporation of San Jose, California, has equipped its GPS chipset with new ROM version 3.0 firmware, which offers improved navigation accuracy and integrity, and higher sensitivity. According to the company, the chipset, which...

Russia to launch Galileo test sats.(Launches)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Russian-European commercial launch company Starsem of Evry, France, and its French partner Arianespace of Courcouronnes, France, have contracted with the European Space Agency to launch two experimental Galileo satellites aboard Soyuz rockets....

Helios heads Euro RadioNav Plan study.(Launches)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The European Commission Directorate General for Energy and Transport (DG TREN) has awarded a contract to a team led by Helios Technology (Baghshot, United Kingdom), a consultant in airport, air-traffic management, and mobile navigation markets,...

LaserCraft offers Bluetooth capability.(Launches)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... LaserCraft, based in Norcross, Georgia, now offers Bluetooth wireless technology with its Contour XLR series of handheld laser rangefinders for mapping, survey, law enforcement, and military applications. Bluetooth provides wireless...

MapQuest, Tele Atlas deliver new software.(Launches)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Denver, Colorado-based MapQuest, a provider of online mapping, routing, and global locations services, and Tele Atlas of Menlo Park, California, a provider of digital map data and location content, have announced the integration of Tele Atlas...

Trimble launches TEK, offers timing integrity.(Launches)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Trimble of Sunnyvale, California, has introduced timing-enhancement kits, TEK-100 and TEK-150, to provide timing integrity for Synchronous Optical NETwork (SONET) telecommunications networks. According to the company, TEK-150 uses either a...

Meet the modules of Falcom family.(Launches)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Falcom GmbH, a Langewiesen, Germany-based manufacturer of GPS modules and GSM/GPRS modems, rolled out its JP7-T family of embedded GPS. The company's new architecture is based on the SiRFstarlle/LP chipset and supports SiRF's XTRAC software...

Global Locate, Infineon team up.(Deals)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... GPS provider Global Locate Inc. of San Jose, California, has integrated its IndoorGPS chipset into the multimedia platform for cellular phones produced by European semiconductor manufacturer Infineon AG of Munich, Germany. Global Locate focuses...

Trimble tracks quakes, buys Tracer.(Deals)(meshed brief )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The University NAVSTAR Consortium (UNAVCO Inc.) will purchase 875 Trimble NetRS GPS reference station receivers over the next five years for the Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO) network, a part of the National Science Foundation's EarthScope...

Wavecom chooses Atmel, u-blox.(Deals)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Wavecom of Issy-les-Moulineaux, France, has chosen the ANTARIS GPS chipset by Atmel Corporation (San Jose, California) and u-blox (Thalwil, Switzerland) to provide global positioning information for its WISMO Quik Q2501 hardware platform for...

Navicom positions repo man.(Deals)(Flash Automotive Accpetance acquired Navicom )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Flash Automotive Acceptance Corporation of Scottsdale, Arizona, an automotive financial services company, has acquired GPS provider Navicom Corporation (also Scottsdale) in a share exchange for 100 percent of Navicom's common stock. ...

Applanix remote sensing software free.(Industry Bytes)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Applanix of Richmond Hill, Ontario, has made its airborne Digital Sensor System Mission Calculator software available free of charge to professionals and individuals within the aerial and survey/remote-sensing industry. The...

CSI Wireless reports revenue.(Industry Bytes)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... GPS manufacturer CSI Wireless Inc. of Calgary, Alberta, reported a 31 percent year-over-year growth in revenues for 2003. For the year ended December 31, 2003, the company had revenues of CDN$71 million (US$53.3 million), up from $54.1...

GeoBrazil, ExpoGPS.(Events)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... GeoBrazil, the 5th annual international conference on geoinformation covering the Latin American geospatial market, will take place May 4-6 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Attendees also can participate in several other featured events, including...

Satel Conseil.(Events)(Prospace and associations Aeronautique de France sponsors 10th Satel Conseil Satcom Users conference)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Prospace and Association Aeronautique et Astronautique de France (AAAF) will sponsor the 10th annual Satel Conseil Satcom Users and Operators Symposium, June 15-17, in Paris, France. Topics include the spacecom market, satellite...

Mapping the News.(Events)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Journalists, geographers, and mapping experts will explore how geographic understanding, information, and new mapping techniques enhance media coverage, during the "Mapping the News" conference, May 14-15, at the National Press Club in...

Pacific Crest hires engineering chief.(Appointments)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Pacific Crest Corporation of Santa Clara, California, a manufacturer of wireless data communication equipment for use with high-end global positioning systems, has named Werner Kozel as director of engineering. Kozel was vice president of...

Applanix names sales executive.(Appointments)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Applanix of Richmond Hills, Ontario, a wholly owned subsidiary of Trimble, has hired Dan Winters as the new vice president of sales and marketing, replacing Dieter Zeuner, who retired. Winters has previously worked at Mentor Graphics and...

Spirent appoints engineering director.(Appointments)(Spirent Federal Systems)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Spirent Federal Systems Inc. of Yorba Linda, California, has appointed Jim Pellegrino as director of engineering. Formerly GPS Lab Manager during five years at Raytheon, where he was instrumental in establishing and maintaining a GPS...

GPS Sensor Module.(Receiver Technology)(LocSense Technology speaks about Global Positioning System sensor module GS-NX3006 )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... GS-NX3006 by LocSense Technology Inc. is a 16-channel GPS Sensor Module based on the ATMEL ANTARIS GPS chipset. The 42 X 42 X 14-millimeter unit includes an on-board patch antenna, and built-in antenna switch circuitry to support direct...

Two models of antennas.(Receiver Technology)(DGC Electronic speaks about DG01 and DG02 Global Positioning System antennas)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... DGC Electronics Co. Ltd. has introduced two models of GPS antennas, the DGO1 and DG02. DG01, at 36 X 44 X 12 millimeters, features frequency range of 1575 [+ or -]5MHz, right circle polarization, antenna gain of greater than or equal to 3.5dB...

Lightning Strike SAASM GPS receiver.(Receiver Technology)(Raytheon speaks about the lightning strike the Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module Global Positioning System receiver)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Raytheon's digital anti-jam receiver (DAR) offers Lightning Strike, the smallest P/(Y) code GPS SAASM approved by the U.S. government. Features all-in-view, 24-channel, simultaneous L1/L2 tracking, carrier phase velocity accuracy of 1 cm/sec,...

Electronic logbook.(GPS-Related Hardware)(Rojone Pty speaks about the electronic logbook using Global Positioning System Technology)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... WayLOGGER by Rojone Pty. Ltd. is an electronic logbook/GPS data logger that uses a microcontroller, internal 12-channel GPS receiver, including Fastrax uNav chipset, NMEA WGSA GPS Protocol Software, 8 to 28-Volt Switch Mode PSU, external GPS...

Multi-use GSMBox.(GPS-Related Hardware)(LNR Communications speaks about Global System for Mobile Communications Box)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... LNR Globalcom B.V.'s second generation multi-use GSMBox supplies multiple real-time kinematic (RTK) users simultaneously with correction data from a single GPS reference station. Correction data is only supplied to authorized users through a...

Corrections.(Correction Notice)
April 1, 2004... The KVH DSP-3000 fiber optic gyro by KVH Industries, Inc. (Middletown, Rhode Island) weighs 0.6 pounds. GPS World reported the incorrect weight on page 52 of Marketplace in February's issue.

Calendar 2004.(Calendar of GPS Technologies and Geospatical for april , may and june)(Calendar)
April 1, 2004... APRIL 24-MAY 22 GPS Technology Riverside, California. GPS Processing and Analysis session will be held 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays at UC Riverside Extension, 1200 University Ave. Phone (909) 787-5804 Ext. 11621 or...