GPS World articles from July 2005

GPS World archives from July 2005

179 Views.(THE VIEW FROM HERE)(Editorial)
July 1, 2005... In his remarkable series of woodblock prints, "36 Views of Mount Fuji," 19th century Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai explored a prominent landform that dwells at the center of a nation's consciousness. By means of varying perspective and...

Two for one as Galileo competitors combine.(GLOBAL VIEW)(iNavSat)(Eurely)(Brief article)
July 1, 2005... The two European consortia competing to run the Galileo satellite navigation system agreed to join forces on the [euro]3.2 billion project. On June 20, iNavSat and Eurely, submitted a merged bid to the Galileo Joint Undertaking (GJU) to become...

Robot semifinal heat.(GLOBAL VIEW)
July 1, 2005... The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has narrowed the field from 118 selected entrants to 40 semifinalists for its Grand Challenge 2005 autonomous ground vehicle competition. The 40 teams will compete in the National...

EGNOS delivered.(GLOBAL VIEW)(European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service)(Brief article)
July 1, 2005... The European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) marked formal completion of its technical qualification and acceptance by the European Space Agency (ESA) on June 16. Testing of the system, and effective operational use of the...

In memoriam.(GLOBAL VIEW)(Allen W. Osborne)(Obituary)(Brief article)
July 1, 2005... Allen W. Osborne, founder and president of Allen Osborne Associates, Inc., passed away peacefully at home on May 6, age 73, after a courageous two-year battle with cancer. He enjoyed a successful career in aerospace, including Ryan Aeronautical...

LiDAR on the level in Afghanistan: GPS, inertial map the Kabul road.(APPLICATION CHALLENGE)
July 1, 2005... Concerns about airspace security in Afghanistan literally brought a LiDAR-based survey operation down to the ground. Fashioning a truck-back system, Canadian engineers used GPS and inertial measurement to time and locate the laser-ranging...

Galileo test user segment first achievements and application: this article addresses the scope and requirements of the Galileo system's test user segment, summarizing the first development results, including performance tests, and giving an overview of Galileo System Test Bed (GSTB)-V2 activities. The first Galileo satellites, testbeds GSTB-V2/A and GSTB-V2/B, should launch at the end of this year.(DESIGN CHALLENGE)
July 1, 2005... The Development and Validation Phase of the Galileo system intends to qualify the Galileo space, ground, and user segments through extensive in-orbit and ground tests. These tests will rely on operations of a core spacecraft constellation and...

Integrity hits the road: low cost, high trust for mobile units.(INTEGRATION CHALLENGE)
July 1, 2005... The varying environments of land mobile applications include many with difficult satellite signal reception conditions. Adding other sensor information and providing a Horizontal Trust Level as an integrity flag can critically enable...

Wireless GPS development platform to ease LBS rollouts.(LBS INSIDE)(Brief article)
July 1, 2005... Nextel Communications Inc. of Reston, Virginia, has introduced its Wireless GPS Platform, an application development environment that extends location-based services (LBS) to a broad user base. The platform intends to facilitate development and...

Autodesk launches developer program.(LBS INSIDE)(Brief article)
July 1, 2005... Autodesk Inc. of San Rafael, California, has launched a Location Services Developer Program, focusing on the Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless (BREW) developer community. The program offers a geoservices and location privacy management...

Navigation growth behind the wheel.(LBS INSIDE)(Brief article)
July 1, 2005... Carmakers offered navigation, typically using GPS, as a new option on 29 North American car models in 2004. The adoption rate, or number of vehicles offering navigation as a standard or optional feature relative to the total number of available...

QUALCOMM, NEC test AGPS interoperability.(LBS INSIDE)(assisted GPS )(Brief article)
July 1, 2005... San Diego, California-based QUALCOMM Inc, and NEC Corp., a mobile and broadband network solution provider headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, announced successful completion of assisted-GPS (AGPS) interoperability testing (IOT) in Japan on a...

Enhanced LBS.(LBS MARKETPLACE)
July 1, 2005... SiGe Semiconductor and Cambridge Positioning Systems (CPS) have co-developed an enhanced GPS (E-GPS) designed for network operators and cellular service providers offering location-based services. By interfacing a GSM cellular handset equipped...

GPS wireless modems.(LBS MARKETPLACE)
July 1, 2005... The 5000 GPS Series of wireless modems from Blue Tree Wireless Data has integrated the Lassen SQ module from Trimble. Blue Tree's 5200 CDMA and 5400 GPRS are designed for use over the cellular CDMA/1xRTT (800/1900 MHz) and GSM/GPRS (850/1900...

Vehicle tracking.(LBS MARKETPLACE)
July 1, 2005... Axess Telecom's GPS i-1000 and GPS i-2000 modules measure 40 x 40 x 16.9 millimeters and integrate GPS receivers and antennas. Each module has a 12-channel L1, C/A-code SiRFstarlle/LP GPS chipset powered by a 5V DC at 180 mA. Reported position...

Personal Locator.(LBS MARKETPLACE)
July 1, 2005... The Laipac S-911 Personal Locator enables users to call and report their positions for emergency assistance. The 68 x 40 x 18-millimeter unit incorporates a SiRFstarlll chipset and provides buttons for calling 911, playing a pre-recorded...

GPS Mobile Phone.(LBS MARKETPLACE)
July 1, 2005... The G-Mobile Phone (GMP-0255) from GPS Anywhere! integrates a 12-channel L1 SiRF starlle/LP GPS module and a Saranatel GeoHelix S active GPS antenna for tracking. Reported position accuracy is less than 10 meters autonomous, 5 meters WAAS, and...

Accurate time assistance: synchronizing GSM mobile telephones to microseconds.(INNOVATION)
July 1, 2005... WITH THE ADVENT OF ASSISTED-GPS, LOCATION-BASED SERVICES (INCLUDING EMERGENCY SERVICES) will be available anywhere within the coverage area of a cellular telephone network. Or will they? Although assisted-GPS, or A-GPS, permits a GPS receiver...

SiRF acquires Motorola GPS business.(GPS INSIDE)
July 1, 2005... SiRF Technology Holdings Inc. of San Jose, California, has acquired Motorola Inc.'s GPS chipset product lines for $20 million, and has become a preferred GPS technology provider to Schaumburg, Illinois-based Motorola as part of the agreement....

u-Nav unleashes low-power chipset.(LAUNCHES)(u-Nav Microelectronics)(Brief article)
July 1, 2005... Irvine, California-based u-Nav Microelectronics unveiled its 10 x 10 x 1.8-millimeter uN9018 chipset drawing less than 55 mW during continuous GPS navigation. Integrating the uN1008 CMOS RF front-end and uN8130 baseband processor, uN9018...

Parvus OrbiTrak.(LAUNCHES)(Brief article)
July 1, 2005... Salt Lake City, Utah-based Parvus Corp. has developed a new PC/104 module, the OrbiTrak GSM, for intelligent vehicle and airborne computing systems requiring worldwide GSM/GPRS roaming and GPS positioning. The 3.55 x 3.775-inch telematics...

Holux GPSlim.(LAUNCHES)(Holux Technology Inc.)(Brief article)
July 1, 2005... HsinChu, Taiwan-based Holux Technology Inc. unveiled its GPSlim 236 wireless receiver featuring a SiRF Technology Holdings Inc. (San Jose, California) SiRFstarlll high-sensitivity GPS chipset and Bluetooth technology. Able to trace 20...

Temex time Reference Tools.(LAUNCHES)(Temex Time's iTest+ GPS Pico Reference and iReference+ GPSource)(Brief article)
July 1, 2005... Austin, Texas-based Temex Time has developed the iTest+ GPS Pico Reference for advanced test, measurement, laboratory and calibration applications. The 1U, rack-mountable chassis leverages a Navman Jupiter T or Jupiter Pico GPS receiver. A...

Navigon MobileNavigator.(LAUNCHES)(Brief article)
July 1, 2005... Hamburg, Germany-based Navigon GmbH has developed MobileNavigatorl5 software enabling OEMs to create navigation solutions with memory compression, applicable for hardware and mobile device platforms in the automotive and business segments....

Motorola, Trimble for Mobile Workstations.(LAUNCHES)(introduced F5217 Series central processing unit for MDR800 Motorola Dead Reckoning system)(Brief article)
July 1, 2005... Motorola Inc. of Schaumburg, Illinois, introduced the F5217 Series central processing unit for the MDR800 Motorola Dead Reckoning system. The F5217 CPU can be interfaced with the display and keyboards of Motorola's MW800 Mobile Workstation,...

IEC simulator.(LAUNCHES)(Interstate Electronics Corp.'s SCS 3500 satellite simulator)(Brief article)
July 1, 2005... Anaheim, California-based Interstate Electronics Corp. (IEC), a division of L-3 Communications, unveiled its SCS 3500 satellite simulator for verification and evaluation of GPS equipment performance. Compatible with legacy SCS 2450, SCS 2400,...

SuperSense from Atmel, u-blox.(LAUNCHES)
July 1, 2005... Atmel Corp. of Heilbronn, Germany, has integrated SuperSense software by Thalwil, Switzerland-based u-blox AG, into its GPS chipsets. Atmel's ANTARIS GPS chipsets and u-blox's TIM-LH GPS modules now incorporate SuperSense weak-signal...

Navman Sport. Tool.(global positioning system equipment)(Brief article)
July 1, 2005... Navman of Foothill Ranch, California, has developed the Sport. Tool line of five GPS-enabled personal training devices for outdoor training and recreational markets. Designed to be strapped to the upper arm or held in hand, the systems...

Siemens invests in Global Locate.(DEALS)
July 1, 2005... Siemens Venture Capital has invested $25 million into Global Locate Inc.--a supplier to its parent company Siemens AG of Munich, Germany--as part of its growth strategy in the assisted GPS (A-GPS) market. San Jose, California-based Global...

U-blox, AXTracker.(DEALS)
July 1, 2005... New Orleans-based Axonn has selected u-blox's TIM-LC GPS technology for its AXTracker wireless asset tracking device. Featuring low-power/high sensitivity ANTARIS positioning technology co-developed by Thalwil, Switzerland-based u-blox and San...

Rockwell DRAGN.(Rockwell Collins Inc. introduced Dead Reckoning Augmented GPS Navigation System)(Brief article)
July 1, 2005... Rockwell Collins of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, unveiled its Dead Reckoning Augmented GPS Navigation System (DRAGN). DRAGN integrates agency-selected Rockwell Collins GPS technology--including an option for the company's Miniature Precision Lightweight...

Lockheed Dual Mode Guide tests.(Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Dual Mode Guided Bombs tested at U.S. Navy)(Brief article)
July 1, 2005... Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed-Martin has successfully tested its Dual Mode Guided Bombs (DMGBs) at the U.S. Navy's China Lake test range in California's upper Mojave Desert. Warfighters can guide the weapons with laser technology...

Data Link lands NATO air contract.(MILITARY)
July 1, 2005... Data Link Solutions, a BAE Systems/Rockwell Collins venture is providing Link 16 terminals for the NATO Air Command and Control Systems for real-time, jam-resistant transfer of combat data, voice and navigation information between widely...

Hemisphere GPS develops DSP ASIC, OEM receiver.(digital signal processor application-specific integrated circuit )
July 1, 2005... Hemisphere GPS, a business unit of Calgary, Alberta, Canada-based CSI Wireless Inc., has developed a digital signal processor (DSP) application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and the Crescent OEM GPS receiver integrating the new...

EGNOS workshop.(EVENTS)(European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service)
July 1, 2005... The European Space Agency (ESA), Polish Galileo Information Point at the Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of Navigation and Hydrography of the Naval University of Gdynia (Poland) are organizing a...

Graticule 2005.(EVENTS)
July 1, 2005... The first annual "International Conference on Surveying, Positioning, and Locational Intelligence" is being held at the Hotel Taj Palace in New Delhi, India, Oct. 3-4. Abstracts for original technical papers are being accepted through July...

Santa Clara.(PEOPLE)
July 1, 2005... Santa Clara, California-based Thales Navigation has hired Bob Miklosko as vice president of worldwide engineering. Miklosko most recently served as vice president of product planning and product engineering for Panasonic Mobile Communications...

Francois Erceau.(PEOPLE)
July 1, 2005... Thales Navigation also promoted Francois Erceau to vice president and general manager--survey and GIS business. Erceau previously served as director of the survey business.

European Space Agency.(Los angeles' tectonic plate movements)(Brief article)
July 1, 2005... Los Angeles is being squeezed by tectonic plate movements at a rate of 5 millimeters per year, according to data from more than 250 receivers comprising the Southern California Integrated Global Positioning System Network and measurements from...

Hemisphere GPS.(INDUSTRY BYTES)
July 1, 2005... Hemisphere GPS is supplying Asset-Link GPS-enabled tracking systems for the world's longest solar-powered car race. With SiRFstarlle/LP chipsets, the tracking devices will equip as many as 30 university teams in the 2,500-mile North American...

Fastrax Ltd.(INDUSTRY BYTES)
July 1, 2005... Helsinki, Finland-based Fastrax Ltd. has upgraded its iSuite 3 GPS Software Development Kit, and iTrax03 firmware to enhance signal reception in challenging environments. Version 3.11 of iSuite 3 SDK delivers stated navigation sensitivity...

Leica Q3 growth.(GPS INSIDE)
July 1, 2005... Leica Geosystems of Heerbrugg, Switzerland, increased its fiscal 2005 third-quarter sales 11.8 percent to CHF 194.9 million. The company generated CHF12.3 million in net income after interest and taxes, a more than sevenfold increase from the...

Stock tracker.(of telecom industry)(Statistical table)
July 1, 2005... MAY 16, 2005 JUNE 15, 2005 COMPANY STOCK MARKET SYMBOL ADJ. CLOSE ADJ. CLOSE CSI Wireless Inc. Toronto Stock CSY. TO 3.50 3.47 Exchange...

Real-time clock.(TIMING & SYNCHRONIZATION)
July 1, 2005... The DS3231 is a real-time clock from Maxim Integrated Products integrating a TCXO, RTC, and 32.768 KHz Dallas Semiconductor crystal, into a standard 16-pin, 300-millimeter SOIC with a reported accuracy of [+ or -] 2 minutes per year. Operating...

Indoor Timing Receiver.(TIMING & SYNCHRONIZATION)
July 1, 2005... QinetiQ's Indoor Timing Receiver provides GPS timing accuracy indoors without the need for external antenna installations. It makes use of the latest High Sensitivity GPS receiver technology together with QinetiQ's advanced timing algorithms in...

GPS timing receiver.(TIMING & SYNCHRONIZATION)
July 1, 2005... The Resolution T Receiver from Trimble utilizes a general purpose digital signal processor (DSP) to deliver a software-based L1 (1575.42 MHz) frequency, C/A-Code, 12-channel, parallel-tracking GPS timing receiver unrestricted by hardware...

GPS data collector.(SURVEYING & MAPPING)
July 1, 2005... The SR20 from Leica Geosystems is a handheld 12-parallel-channel GPS receiver designed for land surveyors. The unit measures 21.5 X 9 X 5 centimeters and weighs 0.652 kilogram. Consuming 2.1 watts via 7.2V internal supply or 12V external DC...

Guidance system.(NAVIGATION & GUIDANCE)
July 1, 2005... Midwest Technologies has added operating modes and expanded data collection options for its CenterLine Lightbar Guidance System. The 95 X 240 X 100-millimeter lightbar weighs 0.8 pound and contains a StrongArm SA 1110 processor that has 16 MB...

Versatile Guidance.(NAVIGATION & GUIDANCE)
July 1, 2005... The ALAN Map 600 from ALAN Electronics is a multi-purpose navigation instrument with the SiRFstarlle/LP chipset. The 6.2 X 13 X 3-centimeter device weighs 147 grams and is powered by two AA batteries. Reported position accuracy is 5-25 meters...

Calendar 2005.
July 1, 2005... * AUGUST 28-31 PTTI 2005, IEEE UFFC Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' (IEEE's) Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control Society (UFFC) symposium, being jointly held...