GPS World articles from May 2005

GPS World archives from May 2005

Early money.(THE VIEW FROM HERE)(NAVSTAR Global Positioning system)(Editorial)
May 1, 2005... Funny how things get started sometimes. In the early 1960s, two military research programs began nearly simultaneously with a common aim: investigating the use of satellite ranging and high-precision clocks to create an accurate navigation...

Experiment tests EGNOS on space mission.(GLOBAL VIEW)(European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service)
May 1, 2005... A pioneering experiment to test the operation of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) in space has ended successfully with the return of Italian astronaut Roberto Vittori from a mission to the International Space...

GPS-based Civil Rights tour.(GLOBAL VIEW)(IntelliTours)(Product/Service Evaluation)
May 1, 2005... An automated system for GPS-guided audio tours has gained a popular reception among customers of the Montgomery (Alabama) Area Transit System (MATS). Created by IntelliTours, a Montgomery company, the system has been installed on three...

Abreast of the waves: open-sea sensor to measure height and direction.(DESIGN CHALLENGE)
May 1, 2005... Preventing large-scale maritime disasters requires accurate and timely information on open-sea wave conditions that can change suddenly, dramatically, and unexpectedly. A new method for measuring wave height and direction with centimeter...

What do users want? Gauging market acceptance.(MARKETING CHALLENGE)(Global navigation satellite system )
May 1, 2005... The answer to the question depends on whom you ask it of. Users in three vertical market domains--professional, consumer, and industrial/scientific--perceive the costs and benefits of wider coverage, increased precision, and continuous...

100 Million strong: industry eyes LBS tipping point; Location-based services have long hovered like a tantalizing mirage, seemingly attainable but just out of reach. Now wireless carriers, manufacturers of GPS-enabled devices, service providers, and application developers think LBS time has come.(MARKETING CHALLENGE)
May 1, 2005... The announcement in March that "more than 100 million handsets enabled by Qualcomm's gpsOne technology are in commercial use" raised a few eyebrows in the GPS community. That 100-million figure, if substantiated, would jump the total number of...

Assisted GPS: using cellular telephone networks for GPS anywhere.(INNOVATION)
May 1, 2005... THE FIRST TWO ARTICLES TO APPEAR IN THE INNOVATION COLUMN IN GPS WORLD more than 15 years ago were entitled "GPS: A Multipurpose System" and "The Limitations of GPS." In the first article, GPS was trumpeted as a revolutionary positioning and...

Singapore deploys hazmat tracking system.(GPS INSIDE)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... The Singapore Civil Defense Force (SCDF) is deploying a geo-location tracking system developed by Astrata Group Inc. to comply with new antiterrorist regulations restricting the number of approved routes for hazardous material transporters to...

CSI acquires Outback Ag guidance business.(GPS INSIDE)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... CSI Wireless Inc. has acquired the sales, marketing, and distribution assets of RHS Inc.'s Outback agricultural guidance business in exchange for US $9.6 million in cash, the assumption of US $1.2 million in RHS debt, and 4.4 million shares...

Stock tracker.(GPS INSIDE)(Illustration)
May 1, 2005... MARCH 15, 2005 COMPANY STOCK MARKET SYMBOL ADJ. CLOSE CSI Wireless Inc. Toronto Stock Exchange CSY.TO 3.78 Garmin Ltd. NASDAQ ...

Atmel, Thales introduce GPS IP.(LAUNCHES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... San Jose, California-based Atmel Corp. and Thales Navigation of Santa Clara, California, have co-developed the Baldur 14-channel GPS baseband IC offering stated position accuracy of three meters. Thales recently licensed the GPS IP, already...

Novariant multi-antenna units.(LAUNCHES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Novariant Inc. of Menlo Park California unveiled two multi-antenna GPS receivers, the 7DDuo and 7DQuad, capable of centimeter-level, real-time kine-matic (RTK) positioning for heading and three-axis attitude information. The two receivers, and...

Congress considers evacuation tracking.(LAUNCHES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... The U.S. House of Representatives is considering the adoption of various tracking technologies to locate House members, staff, and visitors during emergencies. In its official request for information, posted online at FedBizOpps.gov, the...

u-blox LEA-LA.(LAUNCHES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Thalwil, Switzerland-based u-blox AG introduced its LEA-LA GPS receiver module featuring the ANTARIS positioning engine jointly developed by u-blox and Atmel Corp. of San Jose, California. Measuring 17 X 22.4 X 3 millimeters (60 percent the...

Dallas Semi precision clock.(LAUNCHES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Dallas Semiconductor, a wholly owned subsidiary of Maxim Integrated Products, launched its DS3231 real-time clock providing stated accuracy of +/- two minutes per year over the -40[degrees]C to 85[degrees]C range. Integrating TCXO, RTC and a...

TomTom integrates Sarantel, SiRFstarIII.(LAUNCHES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Concord, Massachusetts-based TomTom has integrated Sarantel Ltd.'s (Wellingborough, United Kingdom) GeoHelix GPS antenna into its new Bluetooth GPS receivers embedded in the TomTom Mobile 5 for cell phones and Navigator 5 for personal digital...

DAP handhelds.(LAUNCHES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... DAP Technologies of Quebec City, Canada, offers three Microflex handheld computers for mobile applications--the CE3240, CE5000X, and 2240--integrating the 12-parallel channel Holux (HsinChu, Taiwan) 211 GPS chipset, built on the SiRFstarlle/LP...

Trace AGPS.(LAUNCHES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Omaha, Nebraska-based Trace Technologies LLC has developed a wireless assisted GPS (AGPS) for asset tracking applications. The TRACE asset tag combines Qualcomm's (San Diego, California) Snap Track Wireless Assisted-GPS and the ReFLEX wireless...

IXSea CHIRP.(LAUNCHES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Paris, France-based iXSea has developed the ECHOES CHIRP family of sub-bottom profilers designed to assist sub-sea positioning and imagery systems with the acquisition and distribution of navigation information. With 1.5, 3.5 and 10 kHz models,...

GpsGate software.(LAUNCHES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Stockholm, Sweden-based Franson Technology has developed Franson GpsGate, a Windows and PocketPC utility allowing users to run most NMEA-enabled GPS applications using a single receiver. With GpsGate, users can create multiple virtual serial...

Fastrax kit supports Sony GPS.(DEALS)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Fastrax Ltd. of Helsinki Ltd. is adding support for two Sony GPS chipsets (CXD2951 and CXD2956+CXA3355) to its iSuite 3 SDK (Software Development Kit), and will license the solution to Sony Corp. The move will allow Fastrax to offer iTrax OEM...

Marines armed GPSMAP 276C.(DEALS)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Homeland Security Technology Inc. (HST) of Del Mar, California, has delivered the first Garmin GPSMAP 276C units to the United States Marine Corps' (USMC's) 1st LAR (Light-Armored Reconnaissance Battalion) at Camp Pendelton, California....

Leica GPS over Czech network.(DEALS)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Leica Geosystems of Heerbrugg, Switzerland, will establish a nationwide network of GPS reference stations for the National Authority for Surveying and Cadastre in the Czech Republic. The network will comprise Leica GRX1200 Pro reference station...

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.(INDUSTRY BYTES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has selected 118 Grand Challenge 2005 teams for in-depth, on-site evaluations of their autonomous vehicles. A record 195 teams signed up for the contest, which will award $2 million to the...

Crossbow Technologies.(INDUSTRY BYTES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Crossbow Technologies, a manufacturer of inertial sensor systems for aviation, land and marine applications, has moved its corporate headquarters to an expanded facility located at 4145 North First Street, San Jose, California, 95134. All...

Enhanced GPS.(RECEIVER TECHNOLOGY)
May 1, 2005... Trimble and Cambridge Positioning Systems have partnered to develop an Enhanced GPS (E-GPS) for wireless networks and mobile device markets. E-GPS combines GPS technology with Matrix software using synchronization signals from cellular base...

CDGPS receiver.(RECEIVER TECHNOLOGY)
May 1, 2005... NovAtel introduces the ProPak-LB plus GPS/L-band receiver with Canada-wide differential GPS. The receiver utilizes NovAtel's OEM4 GPS engine and accepts OmniSTAR and CDGPS corrections. Configured as a single receiver and antenna, the module...

Automotive GPS.(RECEIVER TECHNOLOGY)
May 1, 2005... Tyco Electronics offers its A1032-ATP (Advanced Telematics Platform) high-sensitivity GPS for automotive applications. Delivering stated position accuracy of 1 meter, the A1032-ATP integrates a Sony Ericsson GM47 dual-band GSM/GPRS modem with...

Mobile locator units.(TRACKING & WIRELESS)
May 1, 2005... PlanetLink Communications offers a family of GPS mobile locator units (MLUs) under the PlanetTRAKS name that integrate a SiRFstarlle/LP GPS chipset. The devices communicate location data and other information over the general packet radio...

Geofencing services.(GPS-RELATED SOFTWARE)
May 1, 2005... Maptuit has integrated geofencing capabilities into its FleetNav and TrackServ ASP technologies designed for hazardous material transporters. The geofencing technology sends automatic alerts when assets deviate from expected courses. Customers...

NMEA-0183 software tool.(GPS-RELATED SOFTWARE)
May 1, 2005... Steelwater Solutions' GPS Express gives users the ability to view, scan, transmit, receive, and log NMEA-0183-based serial data, with features such as color-coded information, parity calculation, time stamps, graphics, error indicators, and...

Airborne recorders.(TIMING & SYNCHRONIZATION)
May 1, 2005... Heim Data Systems has added 20-channel L1+L2 Javad Euro-GD GPS receivers to its line of airborne recorders to provide a synchronization source for UTC time-stamping. The recorders use the GPS time data to produce modulated IRIG B, A or G time...

Calendar 2005.(Calendar)
May 1, 2005... * MAY 23-25 Integrated Nav Systems St. Petersburg, Russia. The 12th International INS Conference covers: navigation, control and guidance systems and components; INS tools for marine, land and aerospace; inertial systems and sensors;...