Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
Broadcom Corporation has announced a combined GPS/FM/Bluetooth device — the BCM2075 — designed to provide location based services (LBS) and advanced multimedia in a single chip.
By Glen Gibbons
RF Micro Devices (RFMD), which last year announced plans to exit the GPS solutions business in order to focus on core semiconductor component opportunities, hasn’t abandoned the GNSS marketplace completely.
By Glen Gibbons
A 2008 version of the Federal Radionavigation Plan (FRP) has been published by the U.S. government, providing the latest documentation of the policy and plans for radionavigation systems used for positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) applications.
By Inside GNSS
EZ-Guide 500 VRATrimble has introduced a series of new products targeting the agriculture market where the company has been doing particularly well in recent years. These include an integrated display for manual or automated machine operation, a variable rate application (VRA) option for the company’s lightbar guidance system, and two new differential GPS receivers.
Trimble has introduced a series of new products targeting the agriculture market where the company has been doing particularly well in recent years. These include an integrated display for manual or automated machine operation, a variable rate application (VRA) option for the company’s lightbar guidance system, and two new differential GPS receivers.
The AgGPS FmX integrated display can operate as either a stand-alone manual guidance system or as part of an automated guidance, implement control or steering system. The FmX touch screen display is 12.1 inches, approximately 35 percent larger than the industry standard 10.4-inch screen, yet the display requires no more space in the cab than its predecessor, the AgGPS FieldManager, according to the company.
By Glen Gibbons
NavX-NCSBlaupunkt GmbH, a leading automotive electronics manufacturer, has selected the NavX-NCS multiconstellation, multifrequency GNSS simulator from IfEN GmbH as the GPS reference for production testing of its car navigation systems.
The NavX-NCS RF constellation simulator supports all present and planned Galileo and GPS frequencies (E1/L1, L2C, E5AB/L5, E6) in one box, now including the composite binary offset carrier (CBOC) signal structure for the Galileo Open Service on E1.
By Glen Gibbons
The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded Thales Alenia Space Italia (TAS-Italia) two contracts for development of Galileo ground station receiver equipment.
One contract is for Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element (GIOVE) phase A/B ground station receivers capable of tracking the multiplex binary offset carrier (MBOC) signal that is common to both the Galileo Open Service (OS) and the new GPS L1 civil signal, which will be transmitted beginning with the GPS III generation of satellites.
By Glen Gibbons
Edward M. MorrisEdward M. Morris, formerly executive director for the U.S. Office of Space Commercialization, Department of Commerce, has joined ITT Space Systems Division (SSD) as executive director of strategic business development.
In his new position, Morris will be responsible for strategic program and business development of GPS navigation systems and additional space-related capabilities.
By Glen Gibbons
William J. Lynn III(Updated Jan.26) President Barack Obama’s nomination of William J. Lynn III, a senior vice-president at Raytheon Corporation, for deputy secretary of defense and his granting Lynn a waiver from the new administration’s own rules on former lobbyists has provoked considerable criticism from some quarters.
As the number two official in the Department of Defense (DoD), Lynn would report directly to Robert Gates, the current secretary of defense who has continued in that position in the new administration, the only holdover from ex-President Bush’s cabinet. Gates has come out strongly in support of Lynn, saying that he requested the waiver from the president.
Among other responsibilities, the deputy secretary serves as the co-chair of
the Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Executive
Committee (ExCom). Lynn would succeed Gordon England, who has paid a lot of attention to GPS during his term in office and enhanced the role of the PNT ExCom as an arbiter and advocate for the GPS program throughout the federal government.
PCTEL, Inc., announced today (January 5) that it has acquired Wi-Sys Communications Inc., an Ottawa, Ontario, Canada–based company that specializes in GPS antenna and receiver technology. PCTEL will pay $2.1 million for Wi-Sys and plans to fully integrate the latter company’s operations into its Antenna Products Group (APG).
By Glen Gibbons
Applanix Corporation has launched the POSPac MMS (Mobile Mapping Suite) 5.2, the latest release of its GNSS-aided inertial post-processing software for mobile mapping and surveying applications in multiple environments.
Applanix has announced that its POS AV products now support on-board OmniSTAR XP real-time differential GPS corrections using a purpose-built GNSS+L-band aircraft antenna and an embedded BD960 GNSS receiver.
By Glen Gibbons
Canadian GNSS manufacturer Baseband Technologies, Inc., has launched a “Build Your Own GPS Contest,” inviting would-be designers to submit brief written ideas for applications of the company’s software-based GPS receiver technologies.
Contest entrants write 500-word descriptions of an original proposal, suggestion, or hypothetical project may include images that help illustrate their concept. The deadline for entries is March 15, 2009.
By Glen Gibbons
NovAtel has announced its new SMART-AG antenna, an L1 GPS + GLONASS receiver plus antenna system housed in a single, low profile, rugged enclosure, designed for manual guidance and auto steer installations.
SMART-AG features 14 GPS L1 channels, 12 GLONASS L1 channels, and two additional channels for satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) as well as two NMEA 0183 compatible RS-232 serial ports, an NMEA2000 compatible CAN port, plus built-in mounting magnets.
By Inside GNSS
Cumbria, UK – Wikimedia Commons imageEven as the United States tries to decide whether to make good on a commitment last February to implement enhanced Loran (eLoran), agencies and private companies in the United Kingdom are demonstrating leadership in the field of modernized positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) services.
By Glen Gibbons
