GPS World articles from July 2006

GPS World archives from July 2006

Flex power.(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2006... (see "Potential Problems for Users of Modernized GPS Signals in Mixed-Mode Operations" by Eric Gakstatter in The System news section, page 15, June issue--also available online.) Dear Mr. Gakstatter, The Navstar GPS Joint Program...

From June 2006 GPS World: potential problems for users of modernized GPS signals in mixed-mode operations.(global positioning system)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... PRN 17, the first IIR-M satellite launched in September 2005, began broadcasting the second GPS civil signal, L2C, in December 2005. PRN 17 is the first in the new generation of GPS satellites with a new feature called flex power. According to...

Getting better all the time.
July 1, 2006... Yes, we--the editorial we, as in all you great engineers out there--are steadily making progress, ramping up accuracy and sensitivity in GPS handheld devices. Reports of improvements cross my desktop weekly, sometimes daily. But a gigantic...

Quick look at Galileo ICD.(Galileo Joint Undertaking released the Galileo Open Service Signal-In-Space Interface Control Document)
July 1, 2006... The Galileo Joint Undertaking released the Galileo Open Service Signal-In-Space (SIS) Interface Control Document (ICD) on May 23, with the announced intent of fostering standardization for mass-market development of the Galileo Open Service...

GPS III delay and the great integrity debate.(Global Positioning System)
July 1, 2006... A May story in the Wall Street Journal alleging further delay in the GPS III program sent ripples of concern through aerospace companies queuing up for the multi-billion-dollar modernization project. While GPS World has not obtained official...

L1C signal, joint GPS/Galileo structure.(United States has been working with Japan and the European Union to achieve interoperable signals)
July 1, 2006... The Navstar GPS JPO has posted to its website (http://gps.losangeles.af.mil/engineering/icwg/) an Interface Specification (IS) defining the characteristics of an open access signal to be transmitted from GPS satellites to navigation receivers...

Galileo pilgrim's progress: an ICD at last.(Galileo Open Service Signal-in-Space interface control document)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... The Galileo Open Service Signal-in-Space ICD is now available on the Galileo Joint Undertaking website, www.GalileoJU.com. A disclaimer states, "The OS SIS ICD is a draft and not definitive version. The OS SIS ICD in its current version is...

Budget up, jobs down: red flags over China.(Galileo Joint Undertaking's Galileo project)
July 1, 2006... Galileo has run more than [euro]400 million ($513 million) over budget in its first phase, according to Rainer Grohe, director of the Galileo Joint Undertaking. Meanwhile, many projected jobs may materialize--just not in Europe. Grohe...

Navitec 2006.(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... The European Space Agency (ESA) has issued a call for papers for its the third Workshop on Satellite Navigation User Equipment Technology, Navitec 2006. the workshop will be held from December 11 to 13, 2006, at the European Space Research and...

Philips hits the Spot for ALK.(ALK Technologies launched global positioning software)(CoPilot Navigator 9.0)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... ALK Technologies of Princeton, New Jersey, has integrated Royal Philips' Spot GPS software in its latest software product, CoPilot Navigator 9. Royal Philips Electronics is headquartered in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Closely integrated...

Saft to supply Li-ion batteries for Galileo.(Galileo Industries Inc. and European Space Agency)
July 1, 2006... Galileo Industries and the European Space Agency have selected Saft lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery modules for the constellation of four Galileo satellites that will be launched in 2008, following launch of GIOVE-B later this year. As part of the...

App developers network via Tele Atlas program.(development of location-smart applications)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Geographic content provider Tele Atlas has launched a program to support the development of location-smart applications in the wireless, Internet, and personal navigation markets. So far, 150 application developers are members of the...

NovAtel expands SPAN with two new IMUs.(Synchronized Position Attitude Navigation, inertial measurement unit)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... NovAtel Inc. of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is expanding its Synchronized Position Attitude Navigation (SPAN) product line, a tightly integrated NovAtel GPS engine and an inertial measurement unit (IMU). SPAN now supports two new IMUs: Northrup...

GPSFlight to support private space venture.(with UP Aerospace for developing SpaceLoft XL rocket)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... GPSFlight of Tukwila, Washington, will provide miniature wireless GPS telemetry to the SpaceLoft XL rocket, a private spacecraft set to be launched this month from a New Mexico spaceport. UP Aerospace, Inc., aims to provide cost-effective...

Child tracking gives parents security blanket.(Verizon Wireless launched child-tracking services)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Kids out too late at "a friend's" house? Parents who subscribe to one of the new child-tracking services offered by cell phone providers will know exactly where their child is hanging. In June, Verizon Wireless of Oyster Bay, New York,...

College, graduate text in new edition.(Global Positioning System: Signals, Measurements and Performance)(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Authors Pratap Misra of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Per Enge of Stanford University have revised and update their textbook Global Positioning System: Signals, Measurements, and Performance, first published in 2001. The new 2006...

SiGe supplies GPS radio to DeLorme.(SiGe Semiconductor Inc., global positioning system)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... SiGe Semiconductor's SE4100L GPS radio receiver has been integrated into DeLorme's Earthmate navigation products. The Earthmate GPS PN-20 hand-held receiver, scheduled to hit the market in late 2006, will provide consumers with a...

NavTeq #5 on BusinessWeek hotlist.(GPS-RELATED SOFTWARE)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... BusinessWeek has placed digital mapmaker NavTeq at number 5 on its annual "Hot Growth: 100 Sizzling Companies to Watch" list, published in the June 5 issue. The Chicago company's biggest driver, according to BusinessWeek, is navigation systems...

Nav handsets to reach 12M by 2009.(handsets based personal navigational systems)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... A research report from analysis firm Berg Insight of Gothenburg, Sweden, forecasts that shipments of handset-based personal navigation devices in the U.S. and Europe will reach 12 million units by 2009. The year 2005 marked the first successful...

Next big market, next big thing.(survey on global navigation satellite system)(2006 European Navigation Conference)
July 1, 2006... The "What's Your Position?" survey, undertaken during the 2006 European Navigation Conference in Manchester, United Kingdom, elicited opinions on a variety of hot topics in the navigation domain, and drew responses from nearly 200 professionals...

Introducing nav to everyday life.(chat with Jocelyn Vigreux of TomTom USA)(Interview)
July 1, 2006... Jocelyn Vigreux (JV) is president of TomTom USA. Alan Cameron (AC) interviewed him. AC: How do you assess the market for personal navigation devices (PNDs)? JV: In the data we see very, very brisk growth in the PND business, even...

PowerDown: achieving low energy-per-fix in cell phones.(TRACKING & WIRELESS)
July 1, 2006... Accelerating deployment of location-based services requires reducing the energy-per-fix (EPF) to a minimum, as continuous tracking shortens cell-phone battery life. This article focuses on realizing a low-current RF front end, minimizing RF...

Aerial advantage: robust sensor fusion for GPS inertial measurement units in diverse flight environments.(NAVIGATION & GUIDANCE)
July 1, 2006... A solid-state GPS navigation system enables widespread use of GPS in smaller manned and unmanned aircraft, achieving the accuracy and robustness typically associated with larger, higher cost systems. The NAV420's sensors, data-acquisition...

GPS + LORAN-C: performance analysis of an integrated tracking system.
July 1, 2006... The rapidly increasing use of satellite navigation encompasses a broad range of civilian users. But not all users are sufficiently aware of important operational risks in using, say, the Global Positioning System (GPS) for positioning,...

Corrections.(Correction notice)
July 1, 2006... Some information in the June 2006 Innovation column "Searching for Galileo" was incorrect. The date of GIOVE-A's launch was December 28, 2005. Equation 4 should read: [I.sub.j] = [A.sub.I] {[b.sub.mod(j-m,4092)][d.sub.floor[{j-m}/4092] -...

Reference stations and networks.(GPS-RELATED SOFTWARE)
July 1, 2006... Leica Geosystems of Norcross, Georgia, has released version 2.1.2 of its GPS Spider software for control and monitoring of reference stations and networks. GPS Spider v2.1.2 incorporates improvements designed to enhance software usability and...

Bluetooth reference design.(RECEIVER TECHNOLOGY)
July 1, 2006... The NB1050 by NemeriX is a new reference design intended to help original equipment and design manufacturers and third-party developers reduce the time, cost, and complexity associated with creating Bluetooth-enabled GPS applications for...

Low-power tracking IC.(RECEIVER TECHNOLOGY)
July 1, 2006... The ATR0625, a baseband integrated circuit with SuperSense GPS weak-signal tracking software included in its ROM, makes external Flash memory unnecessary, according to manufacturers Atmel Corporation of Heilbronn, Germany, and u-blox AG of...

GPS receiver with integrated antenna.(RECEIVER TECHNOLOGY)
July 1, 2006... Fastrax Ltd. has added to its uPatch family of ultra-compact receiver modules with an integrated high-performance patch antenna based on the Sony CXD2951 chipset. The receivers are suited for navigation and recreational devices as well as GPS...

Radio beacon with GPS.
July 1, 2006... Simrad Yachting of Egersund, Norway, has launched the EG50 emergency position indicating radio beacon fitted with a 16-channel GPS for increased position accuracy, desgined for both professional and recreational use. The EG50, along with...

Data georeferencing and time-tagging system.(TIMING & SYNCHRONIZATION)
July 1, 2006... Cadden has launched Trinity, a new device that can synchronize data from different sensors in Universal Time Clock (UTC) time and space. Trinity combines high-precision GPS positioning, data acquisition, and measurement synchronization...

FEMA adds GPS to hurricane response tools.(Federal Emergency Management Agency, global positioning system)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) claims to be better prepared for the onslaught of hurricane season than it was when Katrina struck last May. GPS is among its new high-tech tools designed to help figure out how bad a disaster is...

Patrolling for pets on New Orleans streets.(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Volunteers are using handheld GPS receivers to track free-roaming former pets in the Katrina-ravaged and mostly uninhabited parishes surrounding New Orleans. The volunteers from around the nation are newcomers to the area, which is still...

Guide dogs get new companion.(GPS technology to help the blind people )(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Seeing-eye dogs are being aided in their effort to guide the blind. Special GPS devices direct the blind to specific addresses, banks, or restaurants, or help them return to their starting point, according to articles by New Jersey papers the...