Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
Equations 1 – 4Working Papers explore the technical and scientific themes that underpin GNSS programs and applications. This regular column is coordinated by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Günter Hein, head of Europe’s Galileo Operations and Evolution.
By Inside GNSS
Dr. John Fulton, Ohio State UniversityNowhere has the fact that GNSS can guide things besides military weapons and transport manifested itself more profoundly than in agriculture.
While Google and automotive manufacturers struggle to figure out how to put autonomous vehicles on the highway, farmers have been using GNSS for well over a decade to guide equipment through their fields — along with a host of other ag-related, site-specific applications.
Indeed, GNSS — along with an array of other high-tech resources — is transforming agriculture at an accelerating rate.
By Inside GNSS
Equations 1 – 11Q: How does a GNSS receiver estimate velocity?
A: Stand-alone single-frequency GNSS receivers represent the largest slice of the commercial positioning market. Such receivers operate mainly in single point position (SPP) mode and estimate velocity either by differencing two consecutive positions (i.e., approximating the derivative of user position) or by using Doppler measurements related to user-satellite motion.
By Inside GNSS
Carlo des Dorides, El?bieta Bie?kowskaLast January, the European GNSS Agency (GSA) announced a new invitation to tender for the role of Galileo service operator (GSOp). Speaking at the recent EU Space Policy Conference in Brussels, GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides called it the largest contract ever to be awarded under the Galileo program.
“It will shape the future of Galileo,” he said.
By Peter Gutierrez
GPS+EGNOS tracking device able to use EGNOS OS and EDAS mounted on a containerThe European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) has a European regional coverage that could be extended quite easily to areas adjacent to the European Union. Backed by the European Commission, a public/private consortium is operating programs of technical assistance to prepare nations in the Mediterranean region to adopt and exploit European GNSS services in their priority market segments, namely aviation and road freight transport/logistics.
By Inside GNSS
The European Space Agency (ESA) announced today (March 13, 2015) that the second Galileo full operational capability (FOC) satellite launched into the wrong orbit last August has now entered its corrected target orbit, which will allow detailed testing to assess the performance of its navigation payload.
By Inside GNSS
Chris Blackford of Sky-Futures speaking at AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems Europe 2015. Peter Gutierrez photoJust as you do when you get in your car, the UAS, UAV, drone, RPAS and even ROAV communities — who probably need to agree on an acronym — are beginning to take GNSS for granted. But presenters at the AUVSI Unmanned Systems Europe 2015 conference held Tuesday and Wednesday (March 3–4, 2015) in Brussels had little to say on the subject, to our great disappointment, even though virtually all of the vehicle/vessel systems under discussion use it and need it.
By Inside GNSS
Vancouver, Canada–based Rx Networks Inc., announced the upcoming release of its GPStream PGPS v8 extended ephemeris solution yesterday (March 2, 2015) at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
By Inside GNSS
Airservices Australia graphicAirservices Australia and Inmarsat announced yesterday (March 1, 2015) that they would lead trials of a GNSS-aided aircraft tracking system to improve surveillance of aircraft over ocean regions.
By Inside GNSS
Graph showing the difference between UT1 and UTC. Vertical segments correspond to leap seconds. Source: Wikimedia CommonsDifferences between BeiDou and GPS and Galileo in designation of a “day number” for the date of applying leap second later this year could cause problems for GNSS receiver manufacturers, according to UK-based simulator provider Racelogic.
By Inside GNSS
New rules recently adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to help emergency responders better locate wireless 911 callers highlight the role of GPS and GNSS technologies while boosting the use of alternative positioning technologies in indoor locations.
However, the new enhanced (11 (E911) rules, adopted January 29 and published on February 4, explicitly avoided a decision on the use of GNSS systems other than GPS.
By Inside GNSS
Ray Clore, U.S. State Department. Peter Gutierrez photoAlmost half of the sessions at the International Navigation Conference (INC) 2015 held this week (February 24–26) in Manchester, England, were devoted to the theme of GNSS resilience and vulnerability, a topic that Dana Goward of the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation has been trying to drive home for years.
By Inside GNSS
U.S. lawmakers, dissatisfied with the pace of international efforts to prevent losses like that of an Malaysia Airlines plane last year, may push through legislation requiring tracking capability on planes operating in the United States.
Nearly a year after flight MH370 disappeared over the Indian Ocean, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is a year away from adopting a standard for aircraft tracking technology, Ambassador Michael Lawson, the U. S. representative to the organization told lawmakers on Wednesday.
By Inside GNSS
