GPS World articles from December 2007

GPS World archives from December 2007

Military & government; survey & construction: Product Review newsletters debut.(GPS World News on Your Target)
December 1, 2007... GPS World has launched two new Product Review e-mail newsletters, covering the survey and construction and military and government sectors. Distributed in addition to the regularly scheduled monthly issues in each sector, the review issues...

Traffic report.(GPS World News on Your Target)
December 1, 2007... 6,217 unique visitors last month 117,903 e-newsletter subscribers

Hottest pages @ GPSWorld.com.(GPS World News on Your Target)
December 1, 2007... October 20-November 20, 2007 1 British Parliamentarians: Public Funding of Galileo is Folly 2 New GPS Satellite Active in Orbit 3 Innovation: Reflecting on GPS Sensing Land and Ice from Low Earth Orbit 4 Garmin Lets Tele...

Navigate!(GPS World News on Your Target)
December 1, 2007... GPS World's daily newsletter covers GNSS-related business, policy, and technology, keeping industry leaders informed of mission-critical news. Sent every business day to your e-mailbox. To subscribe, visit www.gpsworld.com, and follow the...

Maxing with the millennials.(OUT IN FRONT)
December 1, 2007... To gain a grain of understanding of my kids, and in the name of researching future GPS markets, I attended a session on maximizing mobile media use by the millennials at CTIA Wireless in San Francisco. Who are the millennials? Loosely,...

Pointed opinions: national, international experts recommend GPS program changes.(Expert Advice)(Conference news)
December 1, 2007... We present a selectively abridged version of the published minutes of the second meeting of the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Advisory Board, held October 4-5 in Washington, D.C. The full minutes are posted for...

Editorial update.(Janice Partyka to be elected at E911 Institute)(Editorial)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Janice Partyka, contributing editor for Utilities and Telecommunications, and vice president of external affairs at TechnoCom Corporation, has been elected to a second term on the board of directors of the E911 Institute. The Institute supports...

Victory in Victorville.(THE SYSTEM)
December 1, 2007... At the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Urban Challenge, held November 3 in Victorville, California, Carnegie Mellon University's Tartan Racing "Boss" turned in the best overall performance and won the $2 million first...

IIF satellite begins environmental testing.(THE SYSTEM)
December 1, 2007... The U.S. Air Force GPS Wing and Boeing Corporation began environmental testing on the first GPS IIF satellite at Boeing's Spacecraft Development Center in El Segundo, California, on November 5. Over the next few months, the satellite will...

Garmin/Navteq, TomTom/TeleAtlas map out deals: after a hot bidding war for TeleAtlas, the two PND giants settle on acquisitions and contracts with map suppliers--and make up out of court.(INDUSTRY WATCH)
December 1, 2007... The offers flew fast and furious this fall as two personal navigation device manufacturers battled to buy one digital map supplier. The situation could certainly have changed by the time this issue is published, but at press time, Tele...

Trimble wins Coast Guard contract.(AVIONICS & TRANSPORTATION)
December 1, 2007... Trimble (Sunnyvale, California) announced November 15 that it has received a contract from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) to provide up to 400 reference station receivers over the next three years for its Maritime Differential GPS (DGPS) Service...

Nokia unveils N82 with navigation in candy-bar form factor.(MASS MARKET OEM)
December 1, 2007... Nokia officially unveiled the N82, the successor to its GPS-enabled N95 smartphone, on November 15. Like its predecessor, the N82 marries GPS with multimedia and wireless functions, incorporating a 2.4-inch color screen, Nokia's assisted-GPS, a...

Social networking for recreational GPS users debuts.(LOCATION-BASED SERVICES)
December 1, 2007... On November 15, startup Location-Nation released its GeoSpatial Media Organizer (GSMO), a free online service for managing and sharing personal GPS data. GSMO combined the use of recreational GPS receivers with online social networking to...

Trimble adds to Enterprise software offerings.(UTILITIES & COMMUNICATIONS)
December 1, 2007... Trimble announced November 9 that it had acquired the UtilityCenter software assets from privately held UAI Inc., a provider of GIS-based workflow automation and outage management for electric and gas utilities. Financial terms of the...

GeoMicro releases Mobium enterprise Nav software.(AVIONICS & TRANSPORTATION)
December 1, 2007... On November 8, GeoMicro Inc. announced the official release of its Mobium product designed specifically for enterprise applications, such as tracking and fleet management. Mobium provides voice-guided navigation and also sends GPS...

Raytheon adds GPS to battlefield radio.(MILITARY & GOVERNMENT)
December 1, 2007... Raytheon Co. has introduced a battlefield radio that it says dramatically improves communications and situational awareness. The MicroLight-DH500 is an integrated lightweight device that provides soldiers with simultaneous voice, video,...

Qualcomm Inc.(IN BRIEF)
December 1, 2007... Chip maker Qualcomm Inc. is delivering the first chipsets based on its Snapdragon platform, which can support a number of different functions, including GPS, in addition to cellular voice and data communication. The QSD8250 supports HSPA data...

Fujifilm.(IN BRIEF)(Fujifilm to introduce Fujifilm Tape Tracker)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Fujifilm has unveiled the Fujifilm Tape Tracker, an asset management system that incorporates GPS hardware in a standard half-inch data tape cartridge for data asset tracking and management. Fujifilm, which manufactures magnetic tape media for...

Navigon.(IN BRIEF)(Navigon to introduce navigation device)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Navigon, following up on the introduction of its entry-level 2100 personal navigation device in North America in September, has rolled out the 2120 for the Canadian market. Like its 2100 sibling, among the 2120's features are text-to-speech...

DeCarta and U.S. traffic data supplier Inrix have made available Inrix's Predictive Flow for deCarta's geospatial software platform.(IN BRIEF)
December 1, 2007... DeCarta and U.S. traffic data supplier Inrix have made available Inrix's Predictive Flow for deCarta's geospatial software platform. Inrix predictive traffic services can now be integrated via the deCarta Traffic Manager extension to its Drill...

Future critical: defining and developing GPS strategies to meet user needs.(System Design & Test)(Interview)
December 1, 2007... Lieutenant General Michael Hamel (MH), Commander of Air Force Space Command's Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) in Los Angeles, California, spoke with contributing Editor Don Jewell (DJ) about changes to the space acquisition process,...

GPS SAASM kit.(MILITARY & GOVERNMENT)(GPS SAASM kit from ITT Aerospace/Communications)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... The ITT GPS SAASM kit is a government-approved "plug-and-play" GPS upgrade to the SINCGARS radio for increasing overall situational awareness on the battlefield. This integrated solution reduces system size, weight, and power while increasing...

GPS anti-jam technologies.(MILITARY & GOVERNMENT)
December 1, 2007... Honeywell's anti-jam technology is a single aperture technique that exploits differences in the interferer versus the true GPS signals with the use of electric field vector cancellation to eliminate interference signals. The Interference...

GB-GRAM time and frequency receiver.(MILITARY & GOVERNMENT)
December 1, 2007... The XLi SAASM GB-GRAM time and frequency receiver is an accurate time and frequency instrument with a secure, Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM)-based GPS receiver. Developed for authorized military users, the XLi SAASM...

Positioning Unit for Low-Dynamic Vehicles.(MILITARY & GOVERNMENT)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Geodetics' newest Epoch-by-Epoch Network-Centric Positioning Unit for Low-Dynamic Vehicles (ENPU-LDV) has been selected by the U.S. Army for use in Future Combat System testing applications. The system allows for real-time, high-accuracy time...

Integrated guidance for projectiles.(MILITARY & GOVERNMENT)(IGS-2xx series of GPS receivers from Integrated Guidance Systems)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... The IGS-2xx series is a deeply integrated guidance family for projectiles and small unmanned platforms. The IGS product families utilize an ultra tightly coupled INS-GPS system for <5 meter circular error probable (CEP) GPS-aided accuracy. This...

Receiver and antenna board.(MASS MARKET OEM)
December 1, 2007... The Falcom Smart Antenna FSA01 is a combination of a GPS receiver from Falcom based on the newest GPS navigation engine from SiRF, the GSC3LTf, and the Quadrifilar Helix antenna from Sarantel with in the dimension of the Sarantel...

OEM Timing Module.(MASS MARKET OEM)(TM4-PC104 GPS receivers from Spectrum Instruments)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... The Intelligent Reference/TM4-PC104 is a variant of Spectrum Instruments' TM-4 OEM Timing Module. In addition to the different form factor, hardware changes of the TM4-PC104 include elimination of any heatsink requirement and provision for...

Commercial simulator.(MASS MARKET OEM)(CAST GPS simulators from Cast Navigation)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... CAST GPS simulators, used in government and military labs around the world, are now available to commercial markets. The VIP line of GPS simulators share the same quality and flexibility as CAST's more capable systems since they are based on...

GPS and Galileo receivers.(MASS MARKET OEM)(LEA-5 GPS receivers from U-Blox Ltd.)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... The LEA-5 module series brings the u-blox 5 positioning engine to the industry-standard LEA form factor. The versatile, stand-alone receivers have flexible connectivity options for a wide range of automotive, consumer, and industrial...

Compact receivers.(MASS MARKET OEM)(Japan Radio Company to introduce two new models of GPS receivers)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Japan Radio's latest GPS receiver comes in two models: the CCA-552 (19 x 27 millimeters) and the CCA-512 (24 x 22 millimeters). Both models are compact, are designed to meet today's stringent requirements for positioning fix rate and...

All-weather chartplotter.(AVIONICS & TRANSPORTATION)(Geonav 3 GPS chartplotter from C A Clase)
December 1, 2007... The Geonav 3 GPS chartplotter for outdoors combines marine, land, hiking, and skiing navigation in a compact unit. It has a 2.2-inch transflective color LCD screen with a 320 x 240 pixel display visible in full sunlight, which enables map...

Text-to-speech navigator.(AVIONICS & TRANSPORTATION)
December 1, 2007... The TomTom One XLS is the first product in the TomTom One XL range to offer text-to-speech technology, enabling street names to be read aloud as part of the spoken navigation instructions. With a Global Locate chipset, the TomTom One XLS XLS...

Mobile data terminal.(AVIONICS & TRANSPORTATION)
December 1, 2007... The MDT 860 mobile data terminal is designed to allow easy integration into telematics solutions with an external GPS, allowing system integrators to develop customized communication systems for industrial and commercial uses. The MDT 860 can...

Software-defined radio role to grow.(Receiver Design)
December 1, 2007... The growing need for ubiquitous positioning and navigation to service the anywhere, anytime needs of the consumer location-based services (LBS) markets will strongly influence future receiver architectures. In particular, the need to operate...

GPS software suite.(UTILITIES & COMMUNICATIONS)
December 1, 2007... The XMap GIS Enterprise software suite, version 5.2, incorporates GPS features with aerial imagery, topographic maps, and GIS layers. In addition to desktop and laptop support, version 5.2 is designed to support the Earthmate GPS PN-20...

High-performance synchronization clock.(UTILITIES & COMMUNICATIONS)(OSA 4500 GPS clock from Oscilloquartz)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... The OSA 4500 GPS clock has a compact format competitively price for OEM board-level integration applications. Features include high-performance double oven crystal oscillators (now also available in 19mm) tightly coupled with a new generation...

GPS handheld PC.(UTILITIES & COMMUNICATIONS)
December 1, 2007... The Nomad series of rugged handheld computers come standard with Bluetooth technology and options such as an integrated GPS receiver, a bar-code scanner, a digital camera, and 802.11g (Wi-Fi). The Nomad has an 806 MHz processor, 128 MB of...

Laser rangefinder with compass.(UTILITIES & COMMUNICATIONS)
December 1, 2007... The TruPulse 360 overcomes situational and topographical barriers to allow measurement from any angle of virtually any manmade or natural feature. The TruPulse 360 combines an integrated compass, inclinometer, and distance laser that delivers...

Onsite Geospatial data capture.(UTILITIES & COMMUNICATIONS)(GPS-Photo Link ArcPad Edition from GeoSpatial Experts)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... The GPS-Photo Link ArcPad Edition for mobile GIS users automatically links digital photographs to existing or new ArcPad records while in the field. GPS-Photo Link accurately maps the photographs in their georeferenced locations on a GIS layer....

GPS clock module.(UTILITIES & COMMUNICATIONS)(Epsilon Board Model EB03 from Spectracom)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... The Epsilon Board Model EB03 provides synchronization applications with accurate and stable time and frequency signals. The architecture is suited to transmitter synchronization of digital broadcast signals, particularly where single-frequency...

L1 DGPS system.(SURVEY & CONSTRUCTION)
December 1, 2007... The Sokkia GIR1450 is designed with consistent sub-meter positioning for difficult environments such as mining, navigational, agricultural and hydrographic applications. The GIR1450 incorporates a high-performance, 12-channel L1 DGPS receiver...

Dual-constellation GNSS board.(SURVEY & CONSTRUCTION)(Global Navigation Satellite Systems )(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Incorporating a new form factor (72.6 x 62.5mm), the Topcon TG-3 GNSS board provides powerful dual-constellation L1 performance. This GNSS board provides 50-channel L1 GPS and can be software key upgraded via OAF file to GG mode (L1 GPS and...

Modular surveying and targeting platform.(SURVEY & CONSTRUCTION)(GI-Eye system from Navsys Corp.)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... The GI-Eye system from Navsys is a software and hardware platform that integrates a GPS, IMU, camera, and computer along with the GPS, inertial, and digital camera data. It is designed for collecting high-resolution imagery for precise visual...

RTK GPS system.(SURVEY & CONSTRUCTION)
December 1, 2007... Leica Geosystems expanded its Leica GPS900 RTK GPS system with the addition of the Leica ATX900 GG GNSS antenna and Leica RX900c Windows CE color controller. The Leica ATX900 GG is a 72-channel GNSS antenna with tracking capabilities for low...

VBS-capable receiver.(SURVEY & CONSTRUCTION)(5120VBS receiver from OmniSTAR BV)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... The 5120VBS receiver incorporates the Crescent GPS board from Hemisphere. This VBS-capable 12-channel receiver can work as long as 20 minutes without an OmniSTAR correction update, which enables users to work under unfavorable conditions such...

Intertial navigation Backpack.(SURVEY & CONSTRUCTION)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... The Backpack-Portable Inertial Navigation System (B-PINS) by Zupt measure motion in 3D space: gyros measure rotation and accelerometers compute the linear displacement out of accelerations, given a known starting point. B-PINS can position...

The A-GNSS backbone.(Leadership Talks)(Interview)
December 1, 2007... Jari Syrjarinne (JS), technologist in GNSS systems research at Nokia Technology Platforms, spoke with editor Alan Cameron (AC). Nokia recently offered $8.1 billion to acquire digital mapper Navteq. AC: How will the outbreak of map-based...

The future is ours: leadership dinner IV and the great debate; One hundred forty directors and executives from GPS/GNSS companies and agencies around the world gathered during ION at the magazine's hosted dinner to discuss the industry trend towards consolidation, Galileo delays, and consumer demand for signal availability.(The Great Debate)(Company overview)
December 1, 2007... Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to GPS World's fourth Leadership Dinnner. We discuss three questions tonight, framed in the debate format as resolutions. Each speaker will address each question. First a pro speaker, then a con...

Executive protection with panic button.(LOCATION-BASED SERVICES)(Contigo 8200 from Contigo)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... The Contigo 8200 beacon is enabled with an optional panic-button feature for executive protection, personnel security, and law enforcement applications. This feature is a custom-developed BREW application resident on the beacon that, when...

Data logger for passive tracking.(LOCATION-BASED SERVICES)(G35-L GPS data logger from Laipac )(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... The G35-L GPS data logger is a high-performance GPS recorder and vehicle tracking system for passive tracking applications. The G35-L, which uses a SiRFStar III chipset, logs position data to its onboard flash memory. The logging interval is...

Mixed-signal integrated circuit.(LOCATION-BASED SERVICES)
December 1, 2007... The S5 chip combines the indoor coverage, small size, power, and cost benefits of RFID with the wide-area coverage and accuracy of GPS/cell phone solutions. The mixed-signal integrated circuit is the size of a dime, will cost less than $1,...

Navigation software.(LOCATION-BASED SERVICES)
December 1, 2007... CoPilot Live version 7 provides GPS navigation on a mobile device so that it operates like a dedicated or in-dash system. Enhancements from version 6 include a Bluetooth GPS receiver with the SiRFstar III chipset for fast time-to-first-fix and...

Enterprise navigator.(LOCATION-BASED SERVICES)
December 1, 2007... The Mobium navigator is designed for enterprise applications. Mobium can provide drivers with the most efficient routes, make workers accountable with real-time visibility, and more accurately determine times of deliveries and service calls....

Multi-band antenna.(LOCATION-BASED SERVICES)
December 1, 2007... The SMW series of antennas provides multi-band coverage with high performance on all voice and data bands (GSM, ED-VO, and EDGE), 2.4 GHz 802.11b/g bands, as well as on GPS. Three separate RF cable feeds allow for communication on different...

Orbit data and resources on active GNSS satellites.(THE ALMANAC)
December 1, 2007... GPS Satellite & System Information United States and Canada Canadian Space Geodesy Forum http://gauss.gge.unb.ca/CANSPACE.html This University of New Brunswick service presents daily GPS constellation status reports,...

Two portable navigation devices.(HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS)(Pharos to launch portable navigation devices)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Just in time for holiday shopping, Pharos has launched the Drive GPS 150 and Drive GPS 250, two portable navigation devices. Both have a SiRFStar III, 20-channel GPS receiver and feature turn-by-turn, voice-prompted directions, automatic route...

Personal trainer.(HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS)(Forerunner 305 from Garmin International)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... The Forerunner 305 personal trainer measures time, distance, pace, and heart rate, helping athletes compete against previous workouts by comparing pace and heart rate to past performance. It can be used to train for multi-sport events such as...

Slim entry-level navigator.(HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS)(RoadMate 1200 from Magellan)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... The entry-level Magellan RoadMate 1200 is designed for easy portability, with its slim, pocket-sized form factor. It features "turn-it-on-and-go" auto navigation functionality, a full-size 3.5" bright anti-glare touch screen, and an intuitive...

Navigation for outdoors enthusiasts.(HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... The XOG Cross-Navigation GPS combines turn-by-turn automotive guidance with rugged, weatherproof outdoor travel functionality. Designed for the outdoors enthusiast and motorist, the XOG comes preloaded with Navteq street maps for the U.S. and...

Our readers contribute ... Sign of the times?(SEEN+HEARD)
December 1, 2007... A reader sent us a photo of this urban scene in the Netherlands. Christian Tiberius, faculty member of Aerospace Engineering at Delft University of Technology, wrote "People are obviously getting very enthusiastic about GPS; satellite...

Seen (and heard!) in Fort Worth.(SEEN+HEARD)
December 1, 2007... Texas brings out the cowboys: Looking mighty spiffy in their duds at Navtech GPS' Open Mic Night at the ION Conference in Fort Worth, Texas, September 28 are GPS World Great Debate panelists Frank van Diggelen of Broadcom (left) sporting every...

Prank ideas hit sour note.(SEEN+HEARD)
December 1, 2007... GPS can be a tool for "doing evil deeds," pointed out John Brandon in Wired Magazine. In his October 23 article "Psst. Wanna Be a GPS Prankster? Here's How," Brandon describes tricks such as moving geochaches, changing voice prompts, or...