GPS World articles from November 2006

GPS World archives from November 2006

Counter terror.(using global positioning systems)
November 1, 2006... October sunlight sparkles on the Thames, and a stiff breeze blows downriver through the dock-lands. One can almost see the ships of Drake, Cook, and Nelson cast off, prows pointed to deep blue water. Here through Greenwich, birthing ground...

Three critical issues.(Global Positioning and timing Service has a myriad of applications for military and civil communications services)
November 1, 2006... I'm going to discuss the three critical issues for GPtS. That's not a typo. It stands for the Global Positioning and timing Service. GPtS is a four dimensional service, with time as important as the other three dimensions. I credit Kirk Lewis...

The Year of IIR-M: five may rise in 2007.(Air Force and Lockheed Martin plans to launch navigation satellites)
November 1, 2006... GPS IIR-M-2 PRN31/SVN52, the second replenishment modernized satellite, launched on September 25 and was set usable on October 12. A third, GPS IIR-16/M3 PRN15/SVN55, is scheduled to launch on November 14. Five more of this generation remain...

NDGPS abandoned?(Federal Railroad Administration, national differential global positioning system)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... The Federal Railroad Administration has relinquished responsibility for national differential GPS (NDGPS), saying that it no longer supports NDGPS for positive train control. The Department of Transportation's Research and Innovative Technology...

Lockheed, ITT ally for III.(Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center contracts with Lockheed Martin and ITT Corporation)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Lockheed Martin and ITT Corporation announced a partnership to compete for the GPS III contract. The two companies will build on their existing Block IIR and IIR-M teaming in which Lockheed Martin serves as the prime contractor and spacecraft...

CGSIC roundup.(Civil GPS Service Interface Committee)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) will expand WAAS monitoring stations into Canada and Mexico by the end of 2008, and plans to secure operational approval for a 200-foot decision altitude for aircraft landings. A 2007 update of...

Galileo shows military face.(European Union consider using Galileo for military purposes)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... The European Union's (EU's) senior official in charge of Galileo, Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot, has proposed that the EU consider using Galileo for military purposes as part of a drive to recover rising costs. "Galileo was supposed to...

State and Galileo.(State Department and European Commission first meeting on trade issues with Galileo satellite service)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... The U.S. State Department announced the first meeting on trade issues with Galileo upcoming, and while "[our] relationship with Galileo is getting stronger and stronger," at the same time, "European cost-recovery measures could have unintended...

Galileo spurs new thinking.(Paul Verhoef, European Commission's Directorate-General for Energy and Transport)(Interview)
November 1, 2006... Paul Verhoef (PV), Head of Unit, Satellite Navigation System (Galileo), for the European Commission's Directorate-General for Energy and Transport (DG TREN), spoke with Alan Cameron (AC) during the ION GNSS 2006 conference in September. ...

Nokia paves way for GPS phones: company acquires GPS software maker gate5; strikes Trimble deal.(gate5 AG, global positioning system software)
November 1, 2006... Mobile communications company Nokia (Espoo, Finland) is taking decisive steps to participate in the GPS handheld market, acquiring a mapping software company and striking a licensing deal with a GPS manufacturer. Nokia is acquiring gate5...

Semiconductors offered by new GloNav Inc.(developing global posititioning system receviers)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... GloNav Inc., a new fabless semiconductor company developing GPS chips, will focus on providing semiconductors to the wireless handset and mobile device GPS markets. The company was formed on June 23 from the spin-out of the GPS business from...

Furuno selects SiGe to supply radio circuits.(Furuno Electric Company Ltd., SiGe Semiconductor)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Furuno Electric Co. of Hyogo, Japan, has selected SiGe Semiconductor of Ottawa, Canada, to supply GPS radio circuits for its navigation products. SiGe Semiconductor has already shipped more than 1 million GPS radio integrated circuits to Furuno...

Global LBS Challenge offers bigger prizes.(LOCATION-BASED SERVICES)
November 1, 2006... NAVTEQ officially launched the 2007 Global LBS Challenge at CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment in Los Angeles September 13. The contest challenges application developers to build innovative location-based services (LBS) that work with mobile...

Atmel and Magellan introduce GPS chipset generation.(global positioning system)
November 1, 2006... Atmel Corporation of Heilbronn, Germany, and Magellan of San Dimas, California, have introduced a new GPS chipset generation that integrates GPS correlation technology with an ARM926EJ-S-based microprocessor, designed for personal navigation...

OSI Geospatial wins $3.8m Defense contract.(MILITARY & GOVERNMENT)
November 1, 2006... OSI Geospatial Inc. received a three-year contract worth $3.8 million from the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). Under the contract terms, OSI will develop a Global Positioning System (GPS) Denied Navigation and Mapping System...

GPS World study reveals key industry trends.(global positioning system)
November 1, 2006... Expansion of consumer and business use of GPS and related technology is more significant than new efforts in Galileo or GLONASS, according to industry experts surveyed in a new research report sponsored by GPS World magazine. In July 2006,...

Tracking first responders: integrated Nav with software-defined radio.(MILITARY & GOVERNMENT)
November 1, 2006... A networked radionavigation approach that augments GPS signals with time-of-arrival observations using a software-defined radio can overcome attenuation, and often complete blockage, of GPS inside buildings or in urban canyons. The SDR can...

GIOVE's track: satellite laser-ranging campaigns.(European Space Agency developing Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element A and B)
November 1, 2006... In preparation for the deployment of the Galileo system, the European Space Agency (ESA) began development in 2003 of two Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element (GIOVE) satellites: GIOVE-A and GIOVE-B. The objectives of the deployment of these two...

Virtual trip: omni-directional photo database using probe cars.(TRANSPORTATION)
November 1, 2006... Want to see exactly where you're headed before you get there? With an omni-directional photo database developed by a Japanese automotive technology company, drivers can find the correct route by taking a virtual drive-through composed of...

GPS time transfer: using precise point positioning for clock comparisons.(INNOVATION)
November 1, 2006... Time and frequency transfer using GPS code and carrier phase is an important research activity for many institutions involved in time applications. This was recognized when the International GNSS Service (IGS) and the Bureau International des...

Flexible GPS receiver.(RECEIVER TECHNOLOGY)
November 1, 2006... The MAX2769 is a flexible, fully integrated GPS receiver with high performance and low power, designed for high-sensitivity GPS applications. The MAX2769 is a single conversion, low intermediate frequency (IF) GPS receiver targeting 1.5 dB...

Robots destroy mystery box.(GNSS technologies in the popular media)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Note to surveyors: If you have to leave equipment overnight on a job site, make sure people can identify your GPS unit. A Trimble 4700 base unit, left in a parking lot October 2, confounded and worried employees of the ARUP building at the...

GPS technology could have prevented jet crash.(Global Positioning System)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... A mechanical-voice GPS system might have prevented the August 27 crash of a Comair jet in Lexington, Kentucky, according to Jim Hall, former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, and reported by the Associated Press. The...

GPS flops; bait car lost.(Global Positioning System failure resulting in missing the thief)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... The failure of a GPS system in a police "bait car" resulted in a carjacker getting away with a car intended to catch thieves, reports the Dallas Morning News and NBC5i-TV of Dallas. On September 22, a car outfitted with GPS, cameras, and a...