Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
Spider v7.0 now supports all known GNSS. Photo courtesy of Leica Geosystems.Leica Geosystems has released Leica Spider v7.0 software suite, which supports Galileo and QZSS constellations as well as the GPS-L5 signal for improved network RTK correction services.
By Inside GNSS
The event’s venue is Hotel The Ashok, Nitti Marg, New Delhi (http://www.theashok.com).The 38th Asian Conference on Remote Sensing (ACRS-2017) will take place in October at New Delhi, India. The main theme of the conference is Space Applications: Touching Human Lives. The venue is Hotel The Ashok, Nitti Marg, New Delhi. Delhi is connected to all major cities, and the venue place is at the heart of the Delhi City.
By Inside GNSS
Maj. Gen. Roger Teague, the director of space programs in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Acquisition. Photo courtesy of Air Force.The White House is asking Congress to boost overall funding for the GPS program back over $1 billion, with the largest infusion of new money earmarked to cover the cost growth of the Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX).
If approved, overall spending on the GPS program would reach $1.09 billion in fiscal year 2018 (FY18) with funding for OCX surging to $510.94 million from the $393.27 million allocated by Congress for FY17.
By Dee Ann Divis
The White House has thrown its support behind a proposal to privatize the nation’s air traffic control (ATC) system as part of its plan to improve the country’s infrastructure.
The administration is seeking to create a nonprofit organization empowered to take over the ATC system from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and finance its operations by charging fees to flyers. The new group would also be expected to reach out to the financial markets and borrow against that income stream to support, and hopefully accelerate, ATC modernization.
By Inside GNSS
The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed a contract with Thales Alenia Space for an upgrade of EGNOS, Europe’s satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS).
Designed by ESA and being exploited by Europe’s GNSS Agency (GSA) the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) improves the precision of U.S. GPS signals over most of the European territory, while also providing continuous and reliable updates on the “integrity” of these GPS signals.
By Inside GNSS
Sferic Maps empowers emergency management and business continuity professionals with real-time collaboration capabilities to make intelligent weather-related decisions. Photo source: Earth Networks.Advanced weather data is crucial to safeguarding business assets from severe weather. For example, energy companies build outage models utilizing their real-time hourly forecasting for every point in the country. These companies can then plan field teams accordingly, and plan drone operations to be conducted after the weather event to assess infrastructure damage that may have occurred.
By Inside GNSS
Last week marked a significant step toward providing a boost to the accuracy and reception of the existing GPS in Japan and to delivering a better positioning reading for the people in that country.
By Inside GNSS
The VG380 vertical gyros modules. Photo source: MEMSIC Inc. MEMSIC Inc., with headquarters in Andover, Massachusetts, recently announced the addition of the VG380 to its portfolio of inertial modules. These new vertical gyros are designed to provide highly accurate pitch and roll (with respect to gravity), in both static and dynamic conditions. The static and dynamic accuracy is specified at +/-0.2 and +/-1.0 degrees (respectively) over the -40C to +85C temperature range.
By Inside GNSS
The Virginia firm that had been hoping to use satellite frequencies near the GPS band to support a terrestrial broadband network has changed its pitch to regulators. Ligado, previously named LightSquared, is working to convince the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that its frequencies are the way to provide connectivity to the broad internet of things (IoT) including unmanned aircraft, driverless cars and other unmanned systems.
By Dee Ann Divis
The new GSS200D Interference Detector was developed as part of Spirent’s partnership with Nottingham Scientific Limited. Photo source: Sprirent.Spirent Communications has announced a solution that enables the civil aviation industry to evaluate the growing threat of GNSS interference, jamming and spoofing. The new GSS200D Interference Detector was developed as part of Spirent’s partnership with Nottingham Scientific Limited.
By Inside GNSS
With designs on providing a boost to navigation safety and efficiency for commercial and general aviation, Raytheon Company on May 18 launched its GEO 6 satellite payload into orbit for its 12-year mission. It is the latest payload to support the Federal Aviation Administration’s Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) which enhances the reliability and accuracy of GPS signals for directing air travel.
By Inside GNSS
Though civilian GNSS activities fared reasonably well in the just-signed 2017 federal budget, the White House has already forecast cuts across non-defense agencies next year leaving the funding outlook for civil GNSS programs uncertain at best.
President Trump signed the fiscal year 2017 (FY17) spending bill on May 5, preventing another government shutdown and ensuring funding for agencies including the Department of Transportation (DoT), which is responsible for supporting civil GPS needs.
By Dee Ann Divis
In an opinion released earlier this spring, the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal ruled against law enforcement use of data (including GPS-based data) from a car’s "event recorder" or "black box" without a warrant. The decision was just one of many in recent months that deals with the subject, as technology advances and privacy issues are clashing on a regular basis.
By Inside GNSS
