James D. (Jim) Litton, a pioneer of GPS, passed away at home with his family at his side. He was 89. Jim helped develop the earliest GPS receivers at Magnavox. He also co-founded and was CEO of NavCom, which is now part of John Deere.
Jim was a recognized PNT industry leader with a long and successful career in senior management positions at a number of high-tech companies. He served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Magnavox’s commercial satellite communications and GPS businesses.
Jim founded NavCom Technology in 1995 with three partners, Ron Hatch, KT Woo and Jalal Alisobhani. NavCom was acquired by Deere & Co. in 1999.
Aside from receiving a number of patents and writing numerous technical papers in plasma physics, navigation systems and communications systems, Jim’s organizations accomplished a number of “firsts” ranging from the first microprocessor-based commercial satellite navigation receivers to the first digital TV tuning system. Under his direction, NavCom became a technical leader and rapidly growing commercial enterprise in GPS and wireless communications technologies.
Most recently, Jim was CEO of the Litton Consulting Group, Inc (LCG). LCG has been in continuous operation since 1993, consulting in the general areas of precise positioning systems, machine control and sensor system development.
