GPS World articles from February 2006

GPS World archives from February 2006

The Olympics of GNSS.(FROM THE EDITOR)(Global Navigation Satellite System)
February 1, 2006... What a time to come of age as a journalist in the GNSS world! Within days of my graduation from senior editor to editor in chief of this magazine, three new GLONASS satellites went into orbit, the Galileo program launched its first spacecraft,...

Galileo, here and now.(THE VIEW FROM HERE)(European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System)
February 1, 2006... Galileo signals began effective broadcast in early January, after Giove-A, the first Galileo test satellite, was successfully launched from Baikonour on December 28th by a Soyuz rocket. Giove-A will secure the Galileo frequencies filed at the...

Galileo gets up: sat launched, signal received, Contract Signed.(GLOBAL VIEW)
February 1, 2006... GIOVE-A, the first satellite of the Galileo project put forth by the European Union (EU) and the European Space Agency (ESA), launched on December from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, atop a Russian Soyuz rocket. Following liftoff, the Fregat upper stage...

EGNOS shows up.(GLOBAL VIEW)(European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service)
February 1, 2006... Meanwhile the Galileo precursor, EGNOS, has successfully demonstrated several applications in an operational environment. The demonstration campaign was part of a 21-month development contract partially funded by the European Space Agency...

GLONASS hurries up.(GLOBAL VIEW)(Brief article)
February 1, 2006... On December 25, a Proton-K carrier rocket launched from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan delivered three GLONASS satellites into designed orbit, joining 14 operational satellites currently in space. The next day, Russian President...

GPS goes one up.(GLOBAL VIEW)(.S. Air Force/Lockheed Martin)(Brief article)
February 1, 2006... A joint U.S. Air Force/Lockheed Martin team announced on December 19 that the first modernized GPS satellite, a IIR-M launched in late September, has been declared fully operational for GPS users around the globe following extensive on-orbit...

Galileo, GLONASS, and GPS.(GALILEO OPPORTUNITIES)
February 1, 2006... The launch of the Galileo test satellite marks another very significant and exciting day in the history of navigation. Just as competition between GPS manufacturers rapidly enhanced technology and performance, the competition between the...

A global system evolves.(GALILEO OPPORTUNITIES)
February 1, 2006... With the recent launch of the first Galileo satellite and upgraded GLONASS, the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) approaches the next major phase of growth and development in positioning, navigation, and timing services. The first phase...

No longer talking--doing.(GALILEO OPPORTUNITIES)
February 1, 2006... The December 28, 2005 launch of the first Galileo test satellite is perhaps the first visible milestone for casual Galileo-watchers, but there a huge amount of progress on many fronts has alrady occurred. Europe has prepared for Galileo for...

Accelerate into the mainstream.(GALILEO OPPORTUNITIES)
February 1, 2006... Over the last few years the Galileo system has been a hot topic of discussion for a number of reasons: * Is it a politically driven system? * Is there an economic justification for the Galileo system? * Is it better than GPS? ...

Three better than one, or two.(GALILEO OPPORTUNITIES)
February 1, 2006... The importance of the launching of the first test satellite (GIOVE-A) in the Galileo constellation can be measured in many areas of interest for worldwide GNSS users, but its impact in the precise positioning industry will be nothing short of...

The consumer benefits.(GALILEO OPPORTUNITIES)(Global Navigation Satellite System)
February 1, 2006... Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is an increasingly successful service today due to the enhancements offered by new satellites as well as the evolving functionality of the user equipment. Galileo represents the newest and most visible...

Level playing field for industry.(GALILEO OPPORTUNITIES)
February 1, 2006... What does the successful launch of the first Galileo satellite mean for the European Union (EU, the political union of 25 European countries), the European Commission (EC, the executive agency administering the EU), and the European Space...

Bridge deflection monitoring: tracking millimeters across the firth of forth; Kinematic GPS trials with dual-frequency surveying grade code- and carrier-phase receivers measure 3D displacements of Scotland's Forth Road Bridge to millimeter precision. Researchers also found that measured frequencies of bridge movements compared well to the bridge frequencies obtained from finite element models.(SURVEY & MAPPING)
February 1, 2006... Many bridges around the world experience traffic loading greater than that initially anticipated. Major bridges are designed and planned with specific predictions of traffic and wind loading, as well as deterioration factors over time. These...

Guided to gather: toy plane upgraded with telemetry; GPS/INS and infrared optical sensors propel USGS's transformation of a remote-controlled one-quarter-scale recreational aircraft into a low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle designed for environmental particulate collection.(NAVIGATION & GUIDANCE)
February 1, 2006... Tropical trade winds transport clouds of dust originating from storms in North Africa's Sahara and Sahel regions. Scientists have long suspected that the dust clouds are effecting the health of humans and ecosystems (coral reefs and terrestrial...

GPS world's antenna company directory.(GPS WORLD ANTENNA SURVEY 2006)(Directory)
February 1, 2006... Allis Communications Co. Ltd. 10-3 Fl. #31-1, Lane 169, Kang-Ning Street Hsi-Chih City, Taipei Hsien 221, Taiwan, R.O.C. Phone: +886 (2) 2695 2378 Fax: +886 (2) 2695 7078 sales@alliscom.com.tw www.alliscom.com.tw ...

2006 GPS antenna survey.(global positioning system)
February 1, 2006... After choosing the most appropriate receiver for your application from last month's survey, you may need an antenna, too. We have collected key specifications for 297 antennas from 31 manufacturers. We have made every effort to present an...

OpenSource GPS; a hardware/software platform for Learning GPS: Part II, software.(global positioning system)(Column)
February 1, 2006... THIS MONTH'S COLUMN FEATURES THE SECOND INSTALLMENT OF A TWO-PART ARTICLE ABOUT THE OpenSource GPS project--an economical hardware and software platform developed specifically to allow students access to the inner workings of a GPS receiver. In...

Temex times Galileo.(TIMING)(Brief article)
February 1, 2006... The first Galileo satellite launched on December 28, 2005 carried sensitive timing clocks that are integral to Galileo's ability to obtain 1-meter accuracy. The satellite uses two rubidium atomic frequency standard (RAFS) clocks that provide a...

CAST Navigation GPS/INS simulator.(Lockheed Martin Corp. contracts with CAST Navigation LLC)(Brief article)
February 1, 2006... Lockheed Martin Aeronautics of Fort Worth, Texas, selected CAST Navigation, LLC, of Billerica, Massachusetts, to provide GPS/INS simulation systems that will emulate flight motion for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Missions Systems...

NavCom Bluetooth.(SURVEYING & MAPPING)(NavCom Technology, Inc.)(Brief article)
February 1, 2006... A Bluetooth-enabled transceiver from NavCom Technology, Inc. (Torrance, California), enables wireless communication between the company's GPS receivers and computer controllers. The TruBlu accessory has a wireless range of as much as 30 meters,...

Novariant Terralite.(Novariant installed Terralite XPS system at Phelps Dodge Morenci Inc.)(Brief article)
February 1, 2006... Novariant successfully deployed its Terralite XPS system at the Phelps Dodge Morenci Mine in Morenci, Arizona. The system is a network of transmit stations (terralites) and any number of mobile receivers. Terralites provide position information...

Correction.(Correction notice)
February 1, 2006... The Rand Corp. estimates the inclusion of a cheap SPS embedded board would improve precision of a SCUD or No Dong missile by 25 percent, not 2 percent as printed in our January story "PPS versus SPS."

Agriculture guidance.
February 1, 2006... Novariant's Cultiva Ag Technology Center (ATC) guidance system has a 640 by 480 pixel color screen that provides curve guidance and bird's eye views of overlaps and skips in a virtual-highway type of display. The 12-channel, 5-Hz Cultiva ATC is...

Agriculture receiver.(NAVIGATION & GUIDANCE)
February 1, 2006... The AgGPS 332 Ultimate Choice agriculture receiver from Trimble is designed to track L1 and L2 C/A and carrier-phase signals from differential GPS sources, including WAAS, EGNOS, beacon, and OmniSTAR. Users can choose from two antennas, which...

GPS package.(NAVIGATION & GUIDANCE)
February 1, 2006... A low-cost system that combines Maxim's MAX2741 front-end GPS receiver and Royal Philips Electronics' Spot software can switch dynamically between assisted and unassisted GPS performance. The Maxim GPS Solution's GPS receiver supports 2-26 MHz...

Receiver/antenna module.(NAVIGATION & GUIDANCE)
February 1, 2006... Tyco Electronics' A1035-A GPS module includes the company's A1029-A high-end GPS receiver and a controller area network (CANbus) communication interface. Based on SiGE's SE4100L RF downloader and STMMicroelectronics' STS2051 GPS processor, the...