Inside GNSS News

Vehicle Positioning with GNSS — at the Speed of Sound

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:00:00 -0700

A team led by led by Seattle, Washington–area aerospace and computer experts is attempting to break the sound barrier to surpass the world land speed record of 763 miles per hour — they’re using GNSS technology to help them do it.

The North American Eagle is a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter — the U.S. Air Force’s first Mach II fighter that saw service from 1958 until 1967 — on wheels.

Galileo Program Recalibrates Schedule, Budget, Open Signal ICD

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:00:00 -0700

Galileo program managers appear to have bowed to the unavoidable and acknowledged that completing the European satellite navigation system will take longer and cost more than their revised estimates of 2014 and €3.4-billion ($5.04-billion), respectively

And, although a revised Galileo Open Service Signal-in-Space Interface Control Document (OS-SIS-ICD) will appear soon allowing manufacture and sale of Galileo equipment without a license, the ICD will still require a license for commercial use of the intellectual property contained in the document.

Estonian Wins NAVTEQ 2009 Global LBS Challenge. . . Now It's Time to Sign Up for the 2010 Competition!

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:00:00 -0600

Rolling deadlines begin on November 6 for application developers from five regions of the world who wish to register for the popular NAVTEQ 2010 Global LBS Challenge.

This year’s five grand prize winners will be announced just before the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next February 14.

Vincotech Announces First SiRFstarIV Modules

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:00:00 -0600

Vincotech GmbH, based in Unterhaching, Germany, has announced its first module based on CSR’s new SiRFstarIV technology introduced earlier this month.

CSR Unveils Newest SiRFstarIV Family Member

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:00:00 -0600

CSR plc. introduced the SiRFstarIV GSD4e GPS location processor, the newest member of the recently launched SiRFstarIV architecture, at the company’s Location 2.0 Summit in San Diego, California, earlier this month.

The GSD4e adds a built-in CPU and innovations such as SiRFGeoRecov technology that are optimized to ensure continuous location awareness in a new breed of digital cameras, portable game consoles, wearable platforms and other consumer devices, without loading the host processor.

CERGAL 2010, GNSS Certification Symposium, Issues Call for Papers

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:00:00 -0600

The 2010 CERGAL symposium will take place in the Baltic city of Rostock, in northern Germany, next April 28-29.

This year, the Symposium on Certification of GNSS Systems and Services will concentrate on maritime and inland waterways applications and GNSS testing infrastructure.

In addition to those topics, papers are invited on GNSS system aspects and aviation, road, rail and other special applications. Abstracts are due on November 30, 2009.

GLONASS Launch Postponed until February

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:00:00 -0600

Problems with a navigation payload on a recently launched GLONASS-M satellite appear to have become a greater cause for concern for Russian Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos) than previously expected, leading to a further delay in a scheduled September 25 launch until next February.

News reports from Russia and Europe cite a statement by Roskosmos this week that the launch will be postponed in order to carry out work to increase the reliability of the satellites.

China Will Release Draft Compass/Beidou-2 ICD on ‘Step-by-Step’ Basis

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:00:00 -0600

Chinese- and English-language versions of a draft Interface Control Document (ICD) for China’s Compass open service signals have been written and will probably be released within a year, a speaker at the Stanford PNT Symposium said in an October 22 presentation.

The draft remains subject to further refinements before release, according to Cao Chong, a researcher with the China Research Institute of Radiowave Propagation who works with the China Satellite Navigation Engineering Center responsible for building the Compass system.

Search and Rescue Dog Positioning System Wins 2009 European Satellite Navigation Grand Prize

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:00:00 -0600

The Spanish high-technology company GMV S.A. won three top prizes for its canine search and rescue positioning system at the sixth European Satellite Navigation competition awards ceremony held on October 21 in Munich, Germany.

Another eLoran Reprieve in the Works?

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:00:00 -0600

And then again, maybe not. . . .

The enhanced Loran-C (eLoran) project, which appeared doomed by plans to eliminate the Loran program) following a House-Senate Conference Committee report on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations Act, 2010 (H.R. 2892/S. 1298), may have a new lease on life.

Interstate Electronics Introduces New OEM Military GPS Receivers

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:00:00 -0600

L-3 Interstate Electronics Corporation IEC) has announced two additional configurations of its miniaturized, hardened GPS TruTrak Evolution receiver and a new configuration of its GPS-based guidance & navigation unit (GNU) Evolution board.

eLoran Appears Doomed Despite Possible GPS Backup Role

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:00:00 -0600

Enhanced Loran (eLoran), the proposed backup to GPS that has made a career out of surviving efforts to eliminate its Loran-C foundation, now appears to be only two signatures away from extinction — and both appear likely.

A House-Senate conference committee version of the fiscal year 2010 (FY10) appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) approved October 7 allows for termination of the Loran-C signal on January 4, 2010.

Navman Wireless OEM Launches Jupiter3 GPS Module

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:00:00 -0600

Navman Wireless OEM Solutions, based in Foothill Ranch, California, has announced the availability of its new Jupiter3 Ultra-Small GPS Receiver Module, the company’s smallest GPS module (11 x 11 x 2.2 millimeters) and the basis of its next generation of GPS receiver solutions.

Based on SiRF’s GSC3f/LPx chipset, the Jupiter3, is expected to eventually provide the core for all future Navman wireless GPS modules, offering low power consumption (11.5mA ATP), high sensitivity (-159dBm) and modest pricing.

InterSense Taking Orders for Miniature IMU Chip for Navigation and Stabilization

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:00:00 -0600

InterSense is taking orders for a new NavChip OEM Developer's Kit that includes a pre-release engineering sample of a miniature commercial inertial measurement unit (IMU) on a surface-mount chip.

The offer is open to qualified OEM partners for a limited number of kits to be delivered this month. Initial production is planned for early 2010, with fully-qualified NavChips available in the second quarter.

Artech House Technology Publishers Offer Discount to ION GNSS 2009 participants

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:00:00 -0600

Artech House book publishers is offering a "virtual tradeshow booth" to all who attended ION GNSS 2009 last month in Savannah. Use the promotional code on the website for any GPS/GNSS-book and receive fifteen percent off through Friday, October 23.