Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
Ismael ColominaSIDEBAR: Ismael Colomina’s Compass Points
Ismael Colomina began his career in 1982. “So, in a way,” he says, “I grew up as a professional at the same time GPS was growing up and maturing. GNSS has always been present in my working life; so, I never experienced the ‘GNSS, aha!’ moment. Rather, I never stopped thinking ‘GNSS, of course!’"
By Inside GNSS
Establishing someone’s immediate whereabouts is emerging as a key element in preventing credit fraud and improving cyber security.
The technique uses location data, derived from GPS and other sources, to estimate the likelihood that the person making a request to enter a building, access a computer network, or use a credit card is actually who they say they are.
By Inside GNSS
EquationsDuring the past two decades, the Global Positioning System, together with other GNSSes, has become an essential element of the global information infrastructure, with myriad applications in almost every facets of modern businesses and lifestyles, including communication, energy distribution, finance and insurance, and transportation. Ever-growing dependence on GNSS creates strong incentives to attack civil GNSS, for either an illegitimate advantage or a terrorism purpose.
By Inside GNSS
Kalman state update equationNavigation — if you are reading this magazine, you almost certainly have some level of interest in navigation technology, which has seen an incredible explosion in use within many different fields.
By Inside GNSS
Averna Technologies has announced the availability of RF Studio for National Instruments Software Defined Radio Platform (USRP), converting the USRP into a portable RF system for the recording and playback of real-world GNSS signals.
IFEN GmbH, in partnership with WORK Microwave, have announced the release of software update v1.9 for their NavX-NCS GNSS multi-frequency simulator product line.
A key enhancement to the NavX-NCS solution is comprehensive support of China’s BeiDou-2 navigation satellite system, according to the companies. By enabling real-time simulation of second-generation BeiDou satellite signals, NavX-NCS expands a user’s GNSS signal capability beyond GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, and satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) constellations.
By Inside GNSS
Trimble AP15 GNSS-Inertial board
On Tuesday (August 13, 2013), Trimble used the forum of the AUVSI 2013 conference in Washington, D.C., to introduce new OEM GNSS products aimed at third-party manufacturers and system integrators.
The Trimble AP15 is the newest member of the company’s AP series of OEM GNSS-inertial board sets, and the Ashtech MB-One module delivers GNSS-based heading plus pitch or roll.
With a key Galileo patent dispute now set to enter its third year the European Union (EU) is moving to monitor GNSS patents around the world — a move that should give it insight into the competitiveness of European positioning, navigation, and technology (PNT) companies and a heads-up about future intellectual property (IP) issues.
By Inside GNSS
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will soon be taking new applications for its unmanned aircraft assessment program — a project that gives potential government customers at local, state, and federal levels an impartial evaluation of the strengths and costs of different systems.
By Inside GNSS
Alaska Lieutenant Governor Mead TreadwellThree key associations of state officials are recommending that states pass legislation banning the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for surveillance unless the person being tracked has given permission or a warrant has been issued.
The associations also recommended banning UAVs from carrying weapons and emphasizing in state laws that both UAVs and their smaller cousins, model aircraft, be operated in ways that do not “present a nuisance to people or property.”
By Inside GNSS
I was sitting on a train recently and a guy said to me, “What does GPS have to do with trains? Trains run on tracks, don’t they? How can they get lost or go the wrong way?”
The fact is trains have all kinds of things to do with GNSS. Most important are safety-related applications, including satellite navigation as a means of precisely determining train position. Being able to anticipate approaching curves and bends is important for tilting trains, for example.
By Inside GNSS
The spoofed route of the White Rose of Drachs was not detected on the ship’s navigation monitors. Photo courtesy of University of Texas at AustinIn a startling experiment a research team from the University of Texas successfully spoofed a ship’s GPS-based navigation system sending the 213-foot yacht hundreds of yards off course — without raising alarms or triggering a hint of the course change on the onboard monitors.
By Inside GNSS
Privacy concerns appear likely to continue slowing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) congressional mandate to integrate unmanned aerial systems (UAS) into the national airspace.
By Inside GNSS
