Preview: October 2010 Issue - Inside GNSS - Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design

Preview: October 2010 Issue

COVER STORY
When GNSS Goes Blind: Integrating Vision Measurements for Navigation in GPS-Challenged Environment
Andrey Soloviev, University of Florida

COVER STORY
When GNSS Goes Blind: Integrating Vision Measurements for Navigation in GPS-Challenged Environment
Andrey Soloviev, University of Florida
Donald Venable, Air Force Research Laboratory, Sensors Directorate

Researchers investigate the feasibility of combining GPS and vision-based measurements for navigation in challenged GNSS environments such as urban canyons and indoors. Their approach integrates a limited number of GPS carrier phase measurements with features that are extracted from images of a monocular video camera. The integrated GPS/vision solution estimates position changes and orientation of the camera’s body-frame and initializes ranges to vision-based features. The article presents results from simulation testing and initial experiments.

FEATURE
China’s Compass: Report from Shanghai

Inside GNSS editor Glen Gibbons provides a first-hand report from the NaviForum Shanghai conference, where China’s Compass (Beidou-2) system has top billing.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES
Getting to Know GINA: Using GNSS and EGNOS for Innovative Road User Pricing

Konstandinos Diamandouros, European Road Federation
Sara Gutiérrez-Lanza, GMV
Denis Naberezhnykh, Transport Research Laboratory

A two-year publicly funded project explores ways to accelerate a large-scale adoption of road pricing and other value-added services in the European Union through use of GNSS technology to document the location of vehicles travelling on toll roads. The GINA project — GNSS for INnovative Road Pricing — capitalizes on the improved accuracy and integrity in vehicle positioning made possible by the use of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), a satellite-based augmentation system that came into operation last year, to protect users against incorrect charging due to large position errors that occur with stand-alone GNSS positioning.

GNSS Simulator Designs: Effects on Specifications and Testing, Part 3
Ivan Petrovski, iP-Solutions
Takuji Ebinuma, University of Tokyo

This article concludes the discussion about use of simulators and simulation techniques in developing GNSS receivers. Part three examines various simulator designs and whether the specifications of any given simulator design is suitable for a particular test.

Working Papers: S-Band for GNSS? Part 2
Isidre Mateu, Jean-Luc Issler, CNES (French Space Agency)
Matteo Paonni, Institute of Geodesy and Navigation, University FAF Munich

A team of European researchers continue their assessment of the potential use of S-band spectrum for transmitting GNSS satellite signals, addressing the issue of RF compatibility with nearby mobile satellite services as well as the possible use of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal modulation. 

(Note: Editorial line-up subject to change)

Conference Distribution

European Satellite Navigation Competition Awards
October 18, 2010, Munich
International Committee on GNSS, 5th Meeting
October 18–22, Torino, Italy

Ad closing deadline, October print and digital issue: September 8
Ad materials due: September 13
For advertising inquiries,
contact Richard Fischer: e-mail, <richard@insidegnss.com>; mobile phone, 609-240-1590

IGM_e-news_subscribe