GPS World articles from December 2005

GPS World archives from December 2005

G is for global.(global satellite navigation)
December 1, 2005... What do American parents wish for their children? Simply that they be kept, safe, healthy, and allowed to grow to their fullest potential. Remarkably, parents around the world seem to have these same desires. It is truly a global wish. ...

Galileo to launch first satellite, GIOVE.(GLOBAL VIEW)(Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element)(Galileo Joint Undertaking)
December 1, 2005... Although no official word has emanated from the European Space Agency (ESA) or the Galileo Joint Undertaking (GJU), knowledgeable sources report that the Big Five nations have reached an interim financial agreement on Galileo's first industrial...

DSB report released.(GLOBAL VIEW)(Defense Science Board Task Force of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics)(Report)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... The Defense Science Board Task Force of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics has issued its report on The Future of the Global Positioning System, available at www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports.htm....

Directions 2006.
December 1, 2005... Our Visionaries: System Design Raymond Swider is program analyst for positioning, navigation, and timing in the Office of the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration. His essay adapts a plenary...

Low-power architecture.(RECEIVER TECHNOLOGY)
December 1, 2005... Atmel and u-blox announce the Antaris 4 16-channel architecture, combining low power consumption with performance of up to -158-dBm tracking sensitivity. Enabled by Atmel's 0.18-micron CMOS technology for the ATR0621 baseband and BiCMOS...

Crystal oscillator.(RECEIVER TECHNOLOGY)
December 1, 2005... C-MAC Micro-Technology has introduced products based on its proprietary temperature-compensated oven-controlled crystal oscillator (TC-OCXO) technology. Designed to combine the high stability of an OCXO with the comparatively low power...

OEM board.(RECEIVER TECHNOLOGY)
December 1, 2005... The Crescent OEM board from Hemisphere GPS is a 12-channel, L1 DGPS board featuring SBAS support, along with the company's COAST (stability during temporary differential signal outage) and e-Dif (option where other differential signals are not...

Front End for field and lab.(RECEIVER TECHNOLOGY)
December 1, 2005... NordNav's Quad Front End system features four RF chains (and separate antenna inputs) that share a common oscillator and are connected to a single USB 2.0 interface. GNSS data can then be transferred into the NordNav-R30 software receiver,...

Temperature-controlled oscillator.(RECEIVER TECHNOLOGY)
December 1, 2005... Rakon's HT7500 series TCXO targets improved phase noise performance, temperature stability, and a miniature surface mount package. The HT7500 series TCXO from Rakon is designed to enable engineers to get the most out of their GPS systems. Phase...

Dual-frequency GNSS/SBAS receiver.(RECEIVER TECHNOLOGY)
December 1, 2005... Septentrio introduces the PolaRx2e dual-frequency GNSS/SBAS receiver built around Septentrio's GNSS dual-frequency chipset, designed for tough field conditions. It features reception of the L1 and L2 signals from as many as 16 GPS satellites...

Small-footprint GPS module.(RECEIVER TECHNOLOGY)
December 1, 2005... The GXB5005 GPS receiver module from Sony has a footprint of 22.4 x 23.5 x 3.2 millimeters with 3 grams total weight. The 12-channel L1 C/A code GPS receiver with WAAS/EGNOS support provides reported tracking sensitivity of -152 dBm (-139-dBm...

Manufacturing test system.(RECEIVER TECHNOLOGY)
December 1, 2005... The Spirent GSS6100 is designed specifically for high volume manufacturing test applications for devices that include a GPS L1 C/A code receiver. For many applications, a single-channel GPS signal simulator is the preferred way to ensure that...

OEM high-precision receiver board.(RECEIVER TECHNOLOGY)
December 1, 2005... The DG16 from Thales is a low-cost sub-meter GPS+Beacon+SBAS receiver for high-end integration. A 16-channel receiver, it has 12 GPS L1 code and carrier channels, two SBAS channels and two DGPS beacon channels. The two SBAS channels can be...

NavCom OEM GPS engine.(NAVIGATION & GUIDANCE)
December 1, 2005... The NCT-2100D dual-frequency, 26-channel OEM GPS board from NavCom Technology replaces the discontinued NCT-2000D 22-channel GPS engine. The all-in-view NCT-2100D incorporates NavCom's Touchstone GNSS ASIC chip, which provides 24 GPS channels...

GPS autopilot system.(NAVIGATION & GUIDANCE)
December 1, 2005... The SensorPac from Athena Controls is a GPS air data attitude heading reference system and autopilot for general aviation applications. The SensorPac combines solid state gyros and accelerometers, a magnetometer, a GPS receiver, and air data...

Precision machine control.(NAVIGATION & GUIDANCE)
December 1, 2005... The AutoFarm RTK AutoSteer system from the AutoFarm division of Nonvariant is a GPS precision machine control system that can achieve less than 1-inch vehicle and implement placement accuracy. The RTK AutoSteer system uses a multiple-antenna...

GPS module and antenna.(NAVIGATION & GUIDANCE)
December 1, 2005... DGC Electronics' DG-NAV-2005 Navigator is an integrated GPS module and antenna with 32 megabytes of flash and 64 megabytes of synchronous dynamic RAM memory. The DG-NAV-2005 unit has a SiRF Star Ile/LP GPS chip set that is embedded with...

Ultracompact receiver and datalogger.(NAVIGATION & GUIDANCE)
December 1, 2005... DeLorme's Blue Logger ultracompact GPS receiver provides GPS navigation and travel logging capabilities via a wireless Bluetooth connection with a laptop or handheld computer or a smartphone. Equipped with a SiRFstarlle/LP low-power chip set,...

Agricultural guidance system.(NAVIGATION & GUIDANCE)
December 1, 2005... The Outback S2 agricultural guidance system from Hemisphere GPS is designed to provide 10-Hz update times using a differential GPS WAAS receiver. The Outback S2 is equipped with the company's Crescent GPS receiver technology, which reportedly...

Portable guidance system.(NAVIGATION & GUIDANCE)
December 1, 2005... Navman's iCN 550 portable guidance system is equipped with a 3.5-inch quarter video graphics array (QVGA) touch-screen display, a flip-up GPS antenna, and a lithium ion battery. The unit has a 4-GB hard drive that is preloaded with full United...

GPS receiver modules.(NAVIGATION & GUIDANCE)
December 1, 2005... The miniature GSU-54 and GPS-54 GPS receiver modules from Position measure 20 millimeters by 20 millimeters. The GSU-54 is designed for car navigation systems, telematics, automatic vehicle location, and marine applications, and the GPS-54 is...

Smartphone accessory.(TRACKING & WIRELESS)
December 1, 2005... The CoPilot Live/Smartphone 6 from ALK Technologies incorporates a 12-channel WAAS-enabled SiRFstarIII GPS chipset with Bluetooth connectivity, navigation software, and street-level map data for the continental United States and highway-level...

Cell phone GPS modem.(TRACKING & WIRELESS)
December 1, 2005... QUALCOMM announced its Mobile Station Modem (MSM) MSM6125 chipset as part of its multimedia platform incorporating GPS enhancements to offer network operators system-capacity benefits and improved data throughput. Device manufacturers can...

Asset tracking terminals.(TRACKING & WIRELESS)
December 1, 2005... TransCore introduces two new GlobalWave satellite data communication terminals with integrated GPS, one for basic tracking applications and one that enables both tracking and monitoring with a sensor suite. Both enable two-way nationwide...

Bluetooth receiver.(TRACKING & WIRELESS)
December 1, 2005... The Rikaline GPS-6033 is a GPS receiver with Bluetooth wireless transmitting ability, and up to 10 hours operating time on its lithium ion rechargeable battery. It also comes with a car cigarette lighter power adapter; once plugged in in this...

Tracking module.(TRACKING & WIRELESS)
December 1, 2005... The TraceME/TrackME GPRS/GPS module from KCS, incorporating the FS Oncore GPS module from iLotus International, enables remote tracking of cars, trucks, containers, and other objects, in fleet management, anti-theft, or mobile-to-mobile...

Location messaging unit.(TRACKING & WIRELESS)
December 1, 2005... TechnoCom's LMU-4000 GPS location and messaging device and platform for mobile asset management incorporates the TIM-LF Antaris GPS chipset by u-blox. LMUs support an array of workforce and fleet management applications for government,...

Bluetooth GPS receiver.(TRACKING & WIRELESS)
December 1, 2005... Royal Digital's BS4100, a 16-channel Bluetooth GPS receiver, incorporates the Nemerix GPS chipset, measures 72 X 45 X 15 millimeters, and offers stated position accuracy within 5 meters (50 percent) and 9 meters (90 percent). The BS4100 is...

Bluetooth GPS/SBAS receiver.(SURVEYING & MAPPING)
December 1, 2005... The SXBlue GPS and SBAS receiver from Geneq is a Bluetooth-enabled unit that provides less than 1-m horizontal accuracy with 95 percent confidence for differential GPS. The 12-channel receiver obtains L1 and C/A-code signals using parallel...

Subcentimeter-accuracy receiver.(SURVEYING & MAPPING)
December 1, 2005... Thales Navigation's ProMark3 receiver reportedly provides 0.005-m + 1 ppm horizontal, 0.01-m + 2 ppm vertical, and less than 1-arc azimuth accuracy for static survey readings and 0.012-m + 2.5 ppm horizontal and 0.015-m + 2.5 ppm vertical...

Tri-system GNSS chip.(SURVEYING & MAPPING)
December 1, 2005... Topcon Positioning Systems' Paradigm-G3 GPS chip performs universal signal tracking of GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo satellites. The Paradigm-G3 chip is designed to receive GPS L1, L2, and L5 carrier frequencies; C/A and L2C civilian codes; and P...

GIS data collection system.(SURVEYING & MAPPING)
December 1, 2005... Trimble's GeoXH handheld, GPS-integrating field computer reportedly delivers subfoot (30-centimeter) accuracy for GIS data collection and mapping. The GeoXH handheld uses Trimble's H-Star technology, which is a combination of receiver design,...

Handheld computer.(SURVEYING & MAPPING)
December 1, 2005... The TDS Ranger from Tripod Data Systems is a rugged handheld computer that has Compact Flash (CF) card slots for GPS and other applications and Secure Data (SD) card slots for memory storage. The computer meets MIL-STD-810F for drops,...

Antijamming antenna.(MILITARY)
December 1, 2005... A seven-element antijamming GPS antenna from EDO Corp. can be used with GAS-1, ADAP, and other antenna electronic units made for military air- and ship-borne platforms. The N79-3 series passive antenna reportedly provides excellent gain and...

Mobile network information systems.(MILITARY)
December 1, 2005... Ruggedized mobile network information systems developed by Interstate Electronics Corp., a subsidiary of L-3 Communications, combine the functions of five onboard computers into one system for combat vehicles. The units can be configured with...

GPS--CAD software.(GPS-RELATED SOFTWARE)
December 1, 2005... Version 3.7 of GPS2CAD GPS-CAD interface software from AMC has a new import engine that enables users to import point data files exported by Garmin's MapSource and Magellan's MapSend functions. An Import Wizard feature accommodates various...

Guidance & mapping for Pocket PC.(GPS-RELATED SOFTWARE)
December 1, 2005... Farm Works Software unveils its Guidance/Mapping Combo, a software-hardware package that incorporates the iPAQ Pocket PC. The package provides a complete system for guidance and GPS mapping for farmers and agricultural businesses. Applications...

Mobile GIS software.(GPS-RELATED SOFTWARE)
December 1, 2005... ArcPad mobile GIS and field-mapping software from ESRI provides the ability to capture, analyze, and display geographic information almost in real time. The software runs on mobile devices under MS Windows XP operating systems, including the...

Photograph-mapping software.(GPS-RELATED SOFTWARE)
December 1, 2005... GeoSpatial Experts' GPS-Photo-Link software automatically maps photographs taken with digital cameras and locates the image on aerial and satellite images and street or topographical maps using a GPS device. The software works with all digital...

Weather overlay for marine navigation.(GPS-RELATED SOFTWARE)
December 1, 2005... Fugawi Marine ENC version 4 from Northport Systems has new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) grid-ded binary data files (GRIB), which contain information produced by computer-generated forecasting models. The GRIB files can...

Photogrammetry software.(GPS-RELATED SOFTWARE)
December 1, 2005... Trident-3D Analyst software from Geo-3D Inc. provides a soft-copy photogram-metric tool for analyzing digital images captured with horizontally oriented camera systems as a data collection tool for inventorying roadside infrastructure. Version...

Postprocessing software.(GPS-RELATED SOFTWARE)
December 1, 2005... NovAtel's Waypoint Products Group has released version 7.60 of its GrafNav/GrafNet postprocessing software. This new version includes simultaneous forward and reverse processing on dual-CPU and ZEON machines, new automated downloading and...

GIS software.(GPS-RELATED SOFTWARE)
December 1, 2005... A new professional edition of Leica Geosystem's MobileMatriX extension for the company's ArcGIS Desktop 9 system provides complete GIS functionality. Users may utilize their existing ArcGIS licenses and purchase MobileMatriX as an add-on...

GPS receiver mounts.(GPS-RELATED HARDWARE)
December 1, 2005... National Products manufactures the Ram Mounts line of GPS receiver mounts, which can be used to hold receivers in airplanes, automobiles, motorcycles, and trucks. The mounts are available for specific Garmin, Lowrance, Magellan, and TomTom...

USB datalogger.(GPS-RELATED HARDWARE)
December 1, 2005... Rojone's wayLOGGER is a high-capacity GPS datalogger. The unit is designed to log GPS data onto any USB-type memory stick with a 2-Gbyte maximum storage capacity. The thumb-drive unit is MS Windows compatible, so users can download or erase...

3D geospatial data modeling.(GPS-RELATED HARDWARE)
December 1, 2005... The XenoVision Dynamic Matrix Display 3D geospatial data modeling tool from Xenotran integrates GPS digital elevation data with a corresponding image file to generate a 3D, full-color model in less than 3 minutes. Any generated model can be...

Timing receiver.(TIMING & SYNCHRONIZATION)
December 1, 2005... NavSync's CW12 GPS timing receiver reportedly provides 5-m rms positional accuracy, less than 25-nanosecond timing accuracy to coordinated universal time, and--158 dBm tracking sensitivity. Designed as a functionally equivalent replacement for...

GPS-based master oscillators.(TIMING & SYNCHRONIZATION)
December 1, 2005... The B series Ageless master oscillators use GPS to discipline an internal oscillator to provide precision clock synchronization for manufacturing test, communication network, and simulcast and digital broadcasting applications. Three models are...

Integrated distribution amplifier.(TIMING & SYNCHRONIZATION)
December 1, 2005... Spectrum Instruments' Intelligent Reference/TM-4D is an integrated digital-to-analog distribution amplifier contains a signal generator that can make its own precise timing and frequency signals. The Intelligent Reference/TM-4D also can receive...

Time-code generator.(TIMING & SYNCHRONIZATION)
December 1, 2005... The ptf 5203A TymeGen time-code generator from Precise Time and Frequency is designed to combine less-than-20-nanosecond GPS disciplined timing with alternative time-code input or to function as a stand-alone time-code generator. Standard...

Almanac.
December 1, 2005... GPS SATELLITE INFORMATION United States and Canada Navigation Information Service (NIS) Sponsored by the U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center, this site offers GPS constellation status, scheduled outage updates, user advisories, and...

Hemisphere dons yachting cap.(Hemisphere GPS supplying sensors for yacht race in the Volvo Ocean )(global positioning system)
December 1, 2005... Seven of the world's fastest yachts set sail this November in the Volvo Ocean Race, a 32,000-nautical-mile odyssey to circumnavigate the globe. The 70-foot yachts, crewed by some of the world's best sailors, carry every technology available to...

New CEO, board at Leica Geosystems.(Ola Rollen of Hexagon AB)
December 1, 2005... Following its successful takeover of Leica Geosystems (Heerbrugg, Switzerland), Hexagon AB of Nacka Strand, Sweden, announced Ola Rollen, Hexagon CEO, (see photo) as the new president of Leica Geosystems effective November 1,2005. Rollen...

Mistral testing and simulation platform.(Mistral Software Private Ltd. introduced Navigation Reference Design)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... Mistral Software Pvt. Ltd. of Bangalore, India, has released its next-generation Navigation Reference Design, which uses SiRF's SiRFstarlll GPS chipset to create a simulation platform for testing GPS and wireless applications. According to the...

GPS mobile phone game.(Your World Games's The Shroud)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... Your World Games of Lake Mary, Florida, has created a role-playing game that users can play on a GPS-enabled cellular telephone, Called "The Shroud," the game reportedly delivers the depth of a traditional console-based video game for a mobile...

NewLogic eRide's IC design partner.(TRACKING & WIRELESS)
December 1, 2005... San Francisco-based e-Ride Inc. has hired NewLogic Technologies of Lustenau, Austria, to provide integrated circuit (IC) design services to support its GPS and assisted GPS semiconductor IP, chipsets, software, servers, and GPS reference...

Benefon GPS watch.(TRACKING & WIRELESS)
December 1, 2005... Salo, Finland-based Benefon Oyj has acquired the product designs of a GPS/GSM/GPRS watch from Satelinx International Inc. Benefon will link the watch to its GPS/GSM/GPRS handheld system, to provide real-time tracking of children and the...

IEC antijamming study contract.(MILITARY)
December 1, 2005... L-3 Communications' Interstate Electronics Corporation (IEC) subsidiary (Anaheim, California) received a 12-month contract to study antijamming technology. Issued by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (Wright Patterson Air Force Base, New...

Lockheed Martin tests attack system.(low-cost autonomous attack system )(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed Martin has successfully conducted an operator-in-the-loop flight test of its low-cost autonomous attack system (LOCAAS), an autonomous, wide-area-search miniature munition with a laser radar (LADAR) seeker...

Honeywell, Rockwell Collins partner.(to form Integrated Guidance Systems LLC)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... Honeywell International (Morris Township, New Jersey) and Rockwell Collins (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) have formed Integrated Guidance Systems LLC to produce a series of integrated precision guidance systems for missiles, munitions, and gun-launched...

Correction.(Correction notice)
December 1, 2005... The November 2005 issue erroneously stated forces withstood by Raytheon Missile Systems' and Bofors Defence's Excalibur GPS-guided artillery projectile. The correct figure is 15,000g.

Stock tracker.(global positioning systems industry's stocks)
December 1, 2005... Note: GPS World's STOCK TRACKER is designed to detail general trends in the GPS community and key capital markets. The companies listed here are publicly traded and represent GPS pure-play enterprises that derive most of their income from...

New vehicles positioned for safety.(Department of Transportation contract with NAVTEQ )(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... Digital map provider NAVTEQ demonstrated a suite of Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII) technologies at the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) World Congress in San Francisco, California, in November. A U.S. Department of...

Philips, Intel hit GPS software spot.(LBS INSIDE)
December 1, 2005... Royal Philips Electronics of Eindhoven, the Netherlands, has brought its GPS software to notebooks, cellular phones, and handheld devices based on Intel Centrino mobile technology and Intel XScale technology. Philips' Spot GPS software for...

Location services massed for breakout.(QUALCOMM Inc.'s global positioning system enabled handsets)
December 1, 2005... The recent adoption of location-based services (LBS) by two Japanese wireless carriers, one ongoing and one pending LBS launch by U.S. carriers, and QUALCOMM's latest milestone--1.5 million--in the number of its gpsOne-enabled handsets shipped...