Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
A Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals recent decision to suppress evidence in a criminal case obtained by placing a GPS-based tracking unit on a suspect’s van appears to strengthen the requirement for police to obtain warrants before taking such measures.
By Inside GNSS
Components of a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Crash Avoidance System. Sources: Crash Avoidance Metrics Partnership and GAOA Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on intelligent transportation system (ITS) technologies released today (November 1, 2013) identified concerns about GPS accuracy and relative positioning that could limit its use in vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) systems.
However, U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT) officials responding to the GAO study expressed confidence that the quality of GPS receivers in today’s automobiles will be sufficient to support V2V safety applications.
By Inside GNSS
Flight management system on Airbus 319. Wikimedia Commons photo by Ralf RoletschekActing on a set of recommendations by an advisory committee, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced today (October 31, 2013) the agency’s determination that airlines can safely expand passenger use of portable electronic devices (PEDs) during all phases of flight.
New guidelines for the airlines will allow the use of PEDs, typically consumer electronbics ranging from tablet computers, e-readers, and GPS receivers to small devices such as MP3 players and electronic toys, even during takeoff and landing under normal conditions.
By Inside GNSS
KVH Industries, Inc., introduced the multi-axis DSP-1760 fiber optic gyro (FOG) today (October 21, 2013) at the Association of the United States Army annual meeting and exposition, AUSA 2013, in Washington, D.C.
The unit’s novel design combines 1, 2, or 3 axes of high-performance FOGs within an easy-to-integrate housing, according to the company. Depending on the application, an optimal combination of axes can be integrated within an environmentally sealed, lightweight enclosure.
The European GNSS Agency (GSA) has released its third market report, which predicts an installed base of 7 billion devices worldwide by 2022 — almost one for every person on the planet.
By Inside GNSS
New technologies are emerging to fill the gap left by GNSS services whose signals cannot penetrate indoor spaces. Using everything from triangulation and flickering light bulbs to the Earth’s magnetic field, start-up companies are lining up to help brick-and-mortar retailers beat back their online competition with location-inspired service.
By Inside GNSS
Although delayed for a year for lack of funding — and delayed yet again by the government shutdown — research to help set GPS-protecting interference standards appears poised to get underway.
The ABC or Adjacent-Band Compatibility Assessment is part of a broad plan to draft spectrum interference standards covering all GPS civil receivers. The approach would give potential users of frequencies neighboring the GPS band clear limits so they can test and plan accordingly.
By Inside GNSS
Piazza Goldoni, Trieste, ItalyThe second session of Training EGNOS GNSS in Africa (TREGA), "GNSS Systems and Applications" and "Service Provision, User Support and Promotion of EGNOS Use in Africa," will take place at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy beginning January 20, 2013.
Attendance is open to participants from African or European countries. The application deadline is November 1, 2013.
By Inside GNSS
The 2013 International Symposium on Precision Approach and Performance Based Navigation will be held at the Maritim proArte Hotel in Berlin, Germany on October 23 – 24, 2013.
The symposium will focus on aircraft approaches and performance based navigation, including approaches using standalone GPS, technological aspects such as GNSS, augmentation systems, radio navigation, and new and emerging navigation services.
By Inside GNSS
The fourth international colloquium on scientific and fundamental aspects of the Galileo program will take place at the Ministry of Transport in Prague, Czech Republic from December 4-6, 2013.
Online registration is open. Early registration ends November 1, 2013. Abstract submission has ended.
By Inside GNSS
Trimble has announced a “preview” version of its CenterPoint RTX post-processing service, enabling GNSS observations using available Galileo and BeiDou Middle Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites.
By Inside GNSS
Hemisphere GNSS has launched the Eclipse P306 and P307 multi-frequency GPS, GLONASS, and BeiDou modules, the first products to incorporate the company’s new SX4 ASIC.
With 372 channels, the modules can simultaneously track code and carrier phase signals on up to 89 satellites, are are Galileo- and QZSS-ready, and can be configured to address several diverse applications through software, according to the company.
By Inside GNSS
A group of top frequency experts recommended last week that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) conduct a pilot test of the concept of “harm claim thresholds” (HCTs), an approach that requires receiver manufacturers to build devices capable of withstanding a predetermined level of interference from users in adjacent frequencies.
By Inside GNSS
