Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
Three new market studies — from Berg Insight, ABI Research, and Markets and Research — focus on GPS chipsets and the high-volume consumer device markets that drive them, all predicting continued rapid growth.
By Glen Gibbons
The Department of Commerce has proposed legislation to boost the U.S. government’s space commerce activities. Specifically, the bill would reauthorize the Office of Space Commercialization (OSC), restore the office’s original name — Office of Space Commerce — and focus the office’s responsibilities to enable a robust and responsive U.S. commercial space industry.
By Glen Gibbons
At the premiere Location 2.0 Summit on October 23, SiRF Technology will roll out its “ecosystem” strategy for the location-based services (LBS) community, enabled by a set of SiRF-designed development tools, a test environment, and marketing support from the GNSS chip and software manufacturer.
By Glen Gibbons
STMicroelectronics has introduced Cartesio, its new automotive-grade application processor with embedded GPS for navigation and telematics. The processor couples with ST’s GPS RF chip (STA5620) to provide a core receiver unit.
Cartesio (STA2062) integrates a 32-bit ARM CPU core with a high-sensitivity 32-channel GPS subsystem and a large set of connectivity peripherals, including CAN, USB, UARTs, and SPI. It also provides on-chip high-speed RAM and real-time clock functionality, according to the company.
By Glen Gibbons
Ten-year-old u-blox AG has launched its initial public offering (IPO) of stock, which will begin trading October 26 on the Swiss Exchange. Price range for the offered shares is between 42 and 54 Swiss francs (CHF: US$35.53 and $45.68).
By Glen Gibbons
CAST Navigation VIP simulatorSimulators from CAST Navigation, Billerica, Massachusetts USA, that are being used in government and military labs around the world will now be made available to commercial markets, the company has announced.
By Glen Gibbons
Launch of GPS Block IIR-M satellite, October 17, 2007A Block IIR-M GPS satellite was launched successfully today (October 17, 2007) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Expected to be set healthy for use in early November 2007, the spacecraft will be designated as PRN15/SVN55, referring to its pseudorandom noise code and space vehicle number, respectively.
By Glen Gibbons
The University of Nottingham and the East Midlands Development Agency (emda) have signed a formal agreement that will create a £9 million (US$18.3 million) state-of-the-art GNSS facility built in Nottingham, United Kingdom.
By Glen Gibbons
Swedish technology group Hexagon AB, which acquired Leica Geosystems in 2005, launched its tender offer to acquire all the issued and outstanding common shares of NovAtel Inc., a Calgary, Alberta, Canada–based developer and manufacturer of OEM GNSS and related products, at a price per share of US$50 cash.
By Glen Gibbons
The stunning sequence of multi-billion-dollar buyout offers for the two leading navigable map data providers TeleAtlas and NAVTEQ — by TomTom and Nokia, respectively — raises issues not only of access to critical intellectual property (IP) and a long-delayed explosion of location-based services (LBS) but may also determine the outcome of the long-debated platform of choice for GNSS-enriched consumer applications.
By Glen Gibbons
Boeing technicians and first Block IIF satelliteThe Boeing Company has successfully assembled and integrated all flight hardware onto the first GPS Block IIF (follow-on generation) satellite. Launch is now scheduled for the second half of 2008.
GPS llF spacecraft will bring new capabilities to the GPS constellation, such as a new encrypted military code, a new civil signal, crosslink enhancements, increased signal power, and longer design life. Boeing is building 12 GPS Block IIF satellites under contract from the GPS Wing at the Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base.
By Glen Gibbons
Trimble has introduced a new, real-time kinematic (RTK) compact GNSS card — the Trimble BD960 — for high-precision guidance and control applications, such as unmanned vehicles and port and terminal equipment automation.
By Glen Gibbons
Selective Availability (SA), the contentious issue of degrading the open GPS civil to advantage military signals, is going away for good under the terms of a presidential decision announced September 18.
By Glen Gibbons
