Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
The Russians may have taken a rain check, but Asian representatives were out in force at this year’s Munich Satellite Navigation Summit, held last week (March 25–27, 2014). The general message from China, Japan, and India was that they are moving forward quickly with their own GNSS systems, while seeking active cooperation, both technical and commercial, with international partners.
By Inside GNSS
The European Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC) 2014 will officially kick off on April 15 at the European Navigation Conference (ENC) in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, but the 11th round of the annual event opens Tuesday (April 1).
Launched by Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen in 2004 with three partner regions, the ESNC has grown into a network of GNSS innovation and expertise with more than 20 regions taking part worldwide. Since 2004, the ESNC has received almost 2,400 submissions from 4,263 teams and named 204 award winners.
By Inside GNSS
In this article, we will take a look at the various GNSS signals from the perspective of their cost-benefit tradeoffs. First, we’ll look at the evolution of consumer GPS architecture to date — where acquisition speed and sensitivity have been the main drivers of receiver architecture. That architecture has evolved rapidly to take full advantage of the characteristics of the GPS C/A code.
By Inside GNSS
Unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs comprise a category of aircraft that fly without a human operator onboard. They are more popularly referred to by the misleading moniker “drones,” which masks the wide variety in their design and capability.
By Inside GNSS
Sabine Dannelke, GSA Administrative Board chairperson. Inside GNSS photo by Peter Gutierrez Road transport has always been a key sector for European GNSS, but safety- and security-related applications bring special challenges along with the opportunities. European Union (EU) officials speaking at a conference in Brussels last week explained why.
“Road transport is largest GNSS market opportunity,” said Gian-Gherardo Calini, head of market development at the European GNSS Agency (GSA). “This is 46.2 percent of the current GNSS market. Road transport is the key market.”
By Inside GNSS
Anthony Foxx, U.S. Secretary of TransportationThe U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DoT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced today (February 3, 2014) that it will begin taking steps to enable vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication technology for light vehicles.
This technology would improve safety by allowing vehicles to "talk" to each other and ultimately avoid many crashes altogether by exchanging basic safety data, such as speed and position, 10 times per second.
By Inside GNSS
Highway safety officials are crafting guidelines aimed at pushing manufacturers to make portable electronic devices — including cell phones, hand-held navigation receivers, and navigation apps — less likely to distract drivers. They may face some push back, however, from members of Congress who are already questioning whether GNSS devices should be included under the proposed standards.
Components of a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Crash Avoidance System. Sources: Crash Avoidance Metrics Partnership and GAOA Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on intelligent transportation system (ITS) technologies released today (November 1, 2013) identified concerns about GPS accuracy and relative positioning that could limit its use in vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) systems.
However, U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT) officials responding to the GAO study expressed confidence that the quality of GPS receivers in today’s automobiles will be sufficient to support V2V safety applications.
By Inside GNSS
Spirent GSS6425 Record and Playback SystemSpirent Communications has unveiled a new system for recording real-world GNSS RF signals and replaying them in the lab.
“Record and Replay” is popular as a more rigorous — and, crucially, repeatable — approach to GPS and GNSS testing than using live signals in real time, where satellite positions and atmospheric conditions are constantly changing.
By Inside GNSS
Miguel Ortiz is a research engineer at GEOLOC Laboratory from IFSTTAR, the French institute of science and technology for transport, development, and networks.
He received his M.Sc. degree in mechanics, automation, and engineering from Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Arts et Métiers. He joined the lab after six years spent in a company where he managed systems architecture for automotive applications.
By Inside GNSS
In a Tuesday (July 23, 2013) hearing on two fatal school bus/truck collisions, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended adoption of “connected vehicle technology” on all newly manufactured highway vehicles as a way to reduce such accidents.
Such collision-avoidance systems — similar to those used in civil aviation — would typically depend on real-time transmissions of the GNSS-derived locations of nearby vehicles to provide enhanced “situational awareness” to drivers.
By Inside GNSS
Assuming that its deal to acquire ST-Ericsson’s GNSS business closes in August as expected, Intel Corporation will find itself with expanded opportunities — and competitive set — in the mobile location marketplace.
Over the years, Intel has dominated the now-mature, even declining personal computer and server markets, but has found the rapidly growing mobile device environment — including smartphones and tablets —tougher going. Its Atom processor reportedly resides in only 12 percent of the former and 15 percent of the latter.
By Inside GNSS
Spirent GSS6425Spirent Communications has launched its GSS6425 multi-frequency GNSS record and playback (RPS) test system, a self-contained and portable unit that allows users to record and play back data in the field without the need for an additional PC or external power.
The GSS6425 provides customers with RF recordings on for GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, and QZSS (Japan’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite System) constellations, including L1, L2, and L5 frequencies representing more than 30 megahertz of bandwidth.
By Inside GNSS
