GPS World articles from March 2007

GPS World archives from March 2007

Backup shmackup.(government agencies using global positioning systems)(Editorial)
March 1, 2007... Certain individuals within certain government agencies persevere in their attempts to decommission the Loran-C, now enhanced Loran or eLoran, system. The next pages in this issue focus on this topic of vital concern to the GNSS community. You...

Why we need eLoran.(Global Navigation Satellite System and global positioning system)(Column)
March 1, 2007... I have spent 40 years on GPS and its predecessors (for example, 621B), so the reader might find it strange that I'm writing about Loran. I care very deeply that GPS become the world standard for navigation and fit seamlessly with other GNSS...

The elevator.(EXPERT ADVICE)(Cartoon)
March 1, 2007... "The elevator takes some getting used to."

Advisory board update.(Terry McGurn )(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Terry McGurn spent thirty-plus years working with U.S. government executive agencies, providing assessments of the threat posed by foreign weapon systems, concentrating on navigation and guidance issues. He now consults. He recently won a...

Loran gets a witness.(Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services contracts with Loran Inc.)
March 1, 2007... The Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services (RTCM) has joined more than 900 other organizations and individuals in responding to the request for comments on Loran. See http://dms.dot.gov. RTCM comments verbatim: "RTCM's Board of...

Sprint Nextel chimes in.(THE SYSTEM)
March 1, 2007... Further verbatim comments: "Sprint Nextel Corporation respectfully requests that the U.S. Government continue to operate and invest in the LORAN-C and eLORAN systems. Should the DOT and DHS decide to decommission the LORAN-C system, Sprint...

Wherever you go, ads follow.(LOCATION-BASED SERVICES)
March 1, 2007... It's Marketing 101. Your ads must target the right market segment for your product. GPS technology can now focus advertisers' messages on potential customers in more and more creative ways. When a taxicab enters New York's Chinatown, its...

L-3 first responder.(US Advanced Research Project Agency contracts with L-3 Communications)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... An L-3 Communications subsidiary has been awarded a preproduction contract for advanced three-dimension locators by the Department of Homeland Security Advanced Research Project Agency. The contract represents an initial step by the agency to...

Tunes with your nav.(Guide + Play GPS-500)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Get directions to a new location while your own theme song thunders in the background with the Guide + Play GPS-500. Don't worry--you'll still be able to hear turn-by-turn directions over your theme music, and can even adjust the relative...

DeLorme OEM module for nav, asset tracking.(original equipment manufacturer )(navigation)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... DeLorme of Yarmouth, Maine, has introduced its GPS2056 rreceiver module for original equipment manufacturer (OEM) electronic systems. Based on the STMicroelectronics STA2056 GPS receiver chip, the GPS2056 module has a 25x25 millimeter...

CSI Wireless Inc.(IN BRIEF)
March 1, 2007... Upon the heels of positive revenue forecasts of 20 percent in 2007 for its GPS business, CSI Wireless Inc. plans to formally change its corporate name to Hemisphere GPS inc., as part of its renewed focus on its GPS business. The name change,...

Amreesh Modi.(appointed at NAVTEQ)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Amreesh Modi has been named NAVTEQ's Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. Modi joins NAVTEQ from Motorola, where he served most recently as vice president of Motorola Software. In other NAVTEQ news, Ask.com has selected NAVTEQ to...

A Bavarian consortium, led by IfEN GmbH of Poing, Germany, has been formed to develop an integrated Galileo/GPS chipset for use in a mobile communications platform (2G an 3G).(IN BRIEF)
March 1, 2007... A Bavarian consortium, led by IfEN GmbH of Poing, Germany, has been formed to develop an integrated Galileo/GPS chipset for use in a mobile communications platform (2G an 3G). The goal is to allow a range of new mobile communications products...

NovAtel Inc.(IN BRIEF)
March 1, 2007... NovAtel Inc. of Calgary, Alberta, has launched its next-generation DL-V3--a rugged, feature-rich enclosure housing NovAtel's GPS/GNSS OEMV-3 engine. The DL-V3 features Bluetooth, Ethernet, and a removable Compact Flash card. Powered by...

Franson Technology.(launched GpsGate.com, GPS mapping portal)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Franson Technology of Stockholm, Sweden, has launched GpsGate.com, a GPS mapping portal designed to enable people to share their locations from their Windows laptop or Windows Mobile-based Pocket PC device with anyone they have personally...

Fastrax Ltd.(has upgraded its iTrax300 GPS receivers)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Fastrax Ltd. of Helsinki, Finland, has upgraded its iTrax300 GPS receiver with the new SiRF GSC3e/LP chip, which reduces typical power consumption by approximately 35 percent down to 110 mW. The new chip is pin compatible with the previous SiRF...

Real-Time Systems GmbH.(IN BRIEF)
March 1, 2007... Real-Time Systems GmbH of Ravensburg, Germany, provides a software-only implementation of the IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol. The software eliminates the need for hardware-based time-stamping and delivers possible accuracies of [+ or -]5...

u-blox America, Inc.(IN BRIEF)
March 1, 2007... u-blox America, Inc. delivered its 5 millionth GPS receiver to Mobile Crossing, Inc., a manufacturer of rugged handheld GPS computers and personal navigation devices. u-blox America President Nikolaos Papadopoulos personally presented the 5...

RFID suitor for GPS integration.(TRANSPORTATION)
March 1, 2007... The term radio frequency identification (RFID) describes any identification device--RFID tags or "smart labels"--that can be sensed at a distance. The RFID automatic identification method stores and remotely retrieves data from these tags or...

Wing Commander.(Leadership Talks)(Interview)
March 1, 2007... GPS World spoke with Col. Wesley A. Ballenger, Jr. (CB), Commander, GPS Wing, Space and Missile Systems Center, U.S. Air Force, in his office on January 31. Alan Cameron (AC): How does the schedule stand now for launches of the remaining...

Piercing the veil: tests of a flexible pseudolite-based navigation system.(MILITARY & GOVERNMENT)(Cover story)
March 1, 2007... A pseudolite system developed for the U.S. Army uses signals of opportunity to enable high-precision navigation in regions of GPS denial. The embedded flexible, software-controlled architecture enables the system to reconfigure itself to meet...

Mapping the underworld: testing GPS and GSM in urban canyons.(UTILITIES & COMMUNICATIONS)
March 1, 2007... Beneath the streets lie thousands of kilometers of cables and pipes. Buried decades ago, their exact location remains a mystery. At the University of Nottingham, researchers tested GPS and a system that pairs GPS with Global System for Mobile...

Photogrammetry for Mobile Mapping: bridging degraded GPS/INS performance in Urban Centers.(INNOVATION)
March 1, 2007... THE MAPPING OF OUR WORLD--its towns, countries, continents, and oceans--has preoccupied humankind for millennia. Thanks to scientific and technological developments, the speed and accuracy with which we can do the task has improved through the...

When good maps go bad.(SEEN+HEARD)
March 1, 2007... Move over, Godzilla. Step aside, King Kong! Meet the latest super-sized, city-squashing monster: Maposaurus! Maposaurus--the star of Garmin's latest ad campaign--debuted in a 30-second television commercial during the February 4 broadcast...

Spain not keen on in-car GPS.(Global Positioning System)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Spain's General Traffic Department, which has already banned use of mobile phones in cars, may also ban use of in-car GPS systems except when the vehicle is parked, according to thinkSPAIN, an English-Spanish news service. For now, drivers are...

Crime doesn't pay. Really.(global positioning systems were stolen from Babylon Public Works )(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Three thieves who allegedly stole 14 GPS devices led police right to their Long Island home, reports the New York Post. Officials said the thieves didn't even know what they had: they thought the GPS devices were cell phones, which they planned...