GPS Lab tests impress Putin

RUSSIA'S satellite navigation system is not fully operational yet, but it seems to work on Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's dog.



Mr Putin listened yesterday as his deputy Sergei Ivanov briefed him on the progress of the Global Navigation Satellite System. They then placed a collar containing satellite-guided positioning equipment on Mr Putin's black Labrador, Koni.

Mr Ivanov said the equipment goes on a standby mode when "the dog doesn't move; if it, say, lies down in a puddle". Mr Putin interrupted him jokingly: "My dog isn't a piglet, it doesn't lie in puddles."




After watching Koni outside his residence on Moscow's western outskirts, Mr Putin said "she wags her tail, she likes it".

Mr Ivanov told Mr Putin the system, the Soviet era's answer to the US GPS system, would have 21 satellites by the year's end - enough to provide navigation services over the entire Russian territory.

credit:smh.com.au

TriQuint rolls integrated GPS front-end module

SAN FRANCISO—RF device and foundry supplier TriQuint Semiconductor Inc. Monday (Oct. 13) introduced a front-end RF module for GPS navigation systems combining filter and low noise amplifier functions in a 3x3mm form factor.

"The market for GPS is clearly moving toward integrated modules," said Joshua Raha, TriQuint GPS product marketing manager, in a statement. "It's a similar pattern we've seen and continue to see in the mobile phone handset market."

Raha said the new GPS module, the TQM640002, is well-suited for size-conscious wireless handsets and new generations of mobile GPS consumer devices, industrial and automotive applications.

TriQuint said it engineered the TQM640002 in consultation with several major GPS and personal navigation pioneers, including SiRF Technology Inc. The device includes TriQuint's smallest two-in-one SAW filter and can operate with either 1.8 or 2.8 supply voltages, the company said.

TriQuint (Hillsboro, Ore.) said it has shipped more than 130 million filters to global GPS manufacturers including three of the top four personal navigation device vendors as determined by 2007 estimated from market research firm Canalys (Singapore).

The TQM640002, is now sampling, TriQuint said.


credit:eetimes.com



GPS could save airlines time and fuel

A World War II-era air traffic network that often forces planes to take longer, zigzagging routes is costing U.S. airlines billions of dollars in wasted fuel while an upgrade to a satellite-based system has languished in the planning stages for more than a decade.

The $35 billion plan would replace the current radar system with the kind of GPS technology that has become commonplace in cars and cell phones. Supporters say it would triple air traffic capacity, reduce delays by at least half, improve safety and curb greenhouse gas emissions.

An Associated Press analysis of federal and industry data found that if the new system were already in place, airlines could have saved more than $5 billion in fuel this year alone.

But funding delays and the complexities of the switchover have kept the project grounded. The government does not expect to have it up and running until the early 2020s, and without a major commitment, supporters warn that even that goal might be not be attainable.
"The United States has been to the moon and back. I think the public deserves that same level of effort for our national airspace system," Robert Sturgell, the acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, said in a recent interview.

The planned satellite-driven network, dubbed NextGen, would save fuel by ditching radar technology that is more than 50 years old and enabling GPS-equipped planes to fly the shortest route between two points: a straight line.

NextGen could save airlines at least 3.3 billion gallons (12.5 billion liters) of fuel a year — or more than $10 billion annually by 2025, based on today's fuel prices, according to FAA projections obtained by The Associated Press.

Currently, jetliners move in single-file lines along narrow highways in the sky marked by radio beacons. Many of the routes gently zigzag from one beacon to the next, sometimes forcing cross-country flights to follow sweeping arcs and waste hundreds of gallons of fuel.

It's "the equivalent of using an electric typewriter when others are using computers," said David Castelveter, a spokesman for the Air Transportation Association. "It's a huge, huge drag on productivity."

Some private and commercial aircraft already are equipped with GPS devices that pilots use to determine their position, but the NextGen system would dramatically expand use of the technology by creating a nationwide GPS network for air traffic.

Building the network involves gradually putting together the new system while still relying on radar for day-to-day operations.

Gerald Dillingham, director of civil aviation issues at the U.S. Government Accountability Office, likened the process "to changing a tire on a car that's going 60 miles (100 kilometers) an hour."

Hank Krakowski, the FAA's head of the air traffic system, called it "one of the largest project management challenges the federal government has had since we put somebody on the moon."

Airports also have to make improvements to accommodate the expected increase in air traffic.

U.S. airlines have struggled in recent years, in part because of rising fuel prices. Ten airlines have shut down and others are facing bankruptcy. Their financial troubles mean less-frequent flights and fewer amenities for air travelers, who must pay more for tickets, luggage, drinks — even pillows.

A report on NextGen released last month by the Government Accountability Office said major problems remained, including a lack of detail about just how the system would work and a shortage of the kind of highly skilled managers needed to see the project through.

Critics have said the Bush administration, while expressing support for a satellite-based system, never pushed hard enough for it.

"The next president needs to make the NextGen initiative a national priority and ensure that it is given the resources, management attention and sense of urgency that it warrants," said Rep. Bart Gordon, a Democrat from Tennessee and chairman of the House Science and Technology Committee.

Airlines are expected to contribute $15 billion toward the $35 billion project, and they must equip their fleets with GPS at a cost of more than $200,000 per plane.

But most carriers — which are otherwise enthusiastic about NextGen — are reluctant to retrofit planes years, maybe decades, before the satellite network is fully operational.

"It's like you buying a new car and the dealer saying, 'How would you like to buy this nifty GPS technology — but it won't be available in your area for years,'" Castelveter said.

The NextGen system could offer airlines a 10 percent savings in fuel costs per year. If the network were in place today, it would essentially pay for itself in just seven years.

GPS is already used in many parts of the aviation world. Many European countries, China and even Mongolia have established some GPS networks or plan to do so soon.

At least one major U.S. carrier, Southwest Airlines, says it's investing $175 million to equip 500 planes with GPS within a few years. That will allow pilots to fly more efficiently even before the full NextGen system is in place, including quicker landings that burn less fuel.

Getting each of its planes on the ground just one minute faster, Southwest says, would save $25 million in fuel a year.

The airline could wait until the new system is up and running, "but we're pouring gas down the drain," said Dan Gerrity, CEO of Naverus Inc., which is helping Southwest implement its GPS plans.

Cargo carrier UPS has also installed GPS gear on hundreds of aircraft for use at its Louisville, Kentucky, hub, saying the technology will save nearly a million gallons of fuel a year, as well as reduce noise and emissions by around 30 percent.

NextGen would also help airliners fly, land and takeoff closer together, minimizing delays. Even though the technology would allow more planes into the sky, the FAA and pilots agree that the technology would actually reduce the risk of accidents such as midair collisions and runway incursions.

NextGen would for the first time let flight crews view precisely where other aircraft are using a cockpit monitor. The current radar system takes more than 10 seconds to scan an area, so controllers keep aircraft separated by several miles as a precaution.

Most pilots see NextGen as the best hope for keeping flights on time. Rory Kay of the Air Line Pilots Association said the improved technology could also help relieve pilot fatigue by cutting the time planes wait on the ground.

Passenger groups generally support the project, even though they expect airlines to pass some costs onto customers.

"But we think it'll all be worth it in the long run," said David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association. "The alternatives look pretty bleak to us."

To the FAA's consternation, Congress has failed to pass a bill giving the agency permission to dip into the nation's aviation trust fund to spend nearly $6 billion on NextGen over the next five years.

Robert Poole, an aviation expert with the free market-oriented Reason Foundation, said some legislators are reluctant to vote for a satellite system that would make eliminate hundreds of jobs at radar stations in their districts.

Meanwhile, the air traffic controllers union, which is often at odds with FAA brass over labor issues, accuses the agency of seeing the whiz-bang satellite technology as a cure-all for aviation problems.

It says some of the millions of dollars earmarked for NextGen would be better spent maintaining the current system, citing an FAA computer glitch in August that delayed 650 flights at airports from Orlando to Chicago.

It's become fashionable, he added, to blame the radar system for aviation ills while ignoring other factors — such as overbooked flights and a lack of suitable airports and runways.

"GPS might be great to put in your car, too, but it's not going to get you to work any faster unless they open up another lane on the highway. And it's the same in the air," said Doug Church of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.

Poole said the FAA has a track record of proposing dazzling-sounding projects, then failing to deliver.

He cites an FAA initiative called STARS, which was launched a decade ago to give controllers advanced, multicolored radar screens. The project missed deadlines, went hundreds of millions of dollars over budget and had to be scaled down.

Poole doesn't doubt NextGen's potential, but he's pessimistic about the prospects for rapid progress.

"I just think it's very unlikely to be done in anything like the time frame and the budget now projected," he said. "And that will be a tragedy for aviation."

At least one major U.S. carrier, Southwest Airlines, says it's investing $175 million to equip 500 planes with GPS within a few years. That will allow pilots to fly more efficiently even before the full NextGen system is in place, including quicker landings that burn less fuel.

Getting each of its planes on the ground just one minute faster, Southwest says, would save $25 million in fuel a year.

The airline could wait until the new system is up and running, "but we're pouring gas down the drain," said Dan Gerrity, CEO of Naverus Inc., which is helping Southwest implement its GPS plans.

Cargo carrier UPS has also installed GPS gear on hundreds of aircraft for use at its Louisville, Kentucky, hub, saying the technology will save nearly a million gallons of fuel a year, as well as reduce noise and emissions by around 30 percent.

NextGen would also help airliners fly, land and takeoff closer together, minimizing delays. Even though the technology would allow more planes into the sky, the FAA and pilots agree that the technology would actually reduce the risk of accidents such as midair collisions and runway incursions.

NextGen would for the first time let flight crews view precisely where other aircraft are using a cockpit monitor. The current radar system takes more than 10 seconds to scan an area, so controllers keep aircraft separated by several miles as a precaution.

Most pilots see NextGen as the best hope for keeping flights on time. Rory Kay of the Air Line Pilots Association said the improved technology could also help relieve pilot fatigue by cutting the time planes wait on the ground.

Passenger groups generally support the project, even though they expect airlines to pass some costs onto customers.

"But we think it'll all be worth it in the long run," said David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association. "The alternatives look pretty bleak to us."

To the FAA's consternation, Congress has failed to pass a bill giving the agency permission to dip into the nation's aviation trust fund to spend nearly $6 billion on NextGen over the next five years.

Robert Poole, an aviation expert with the free market-oriented Reason Foundation, said some legislators are reluctant to vote for a satellite system that would make eliminate hundreds of jobs at radar stations in their districts.

Meanwhile, the air traffic controllers union, which is often at odds with FAA brass over labor issues, accuses the agency of seeing the whiz-bang satellite technology as a cure-all for aviation problems.

It says some of the millions of dollars earmarked for NextGen would be better spent maintaining the current system, citing an FAA computer glitch in August that delayed 650 flights at airports from Orlando to Chicago.

It's become fashionable, he added, to blame the radar system for aviation ills while ignoring other factors — such as overbooked flights and a lack of suitable airports and runways.

"GPS might be great to put in your car, too, but it's not going to get you to work any faster unless they open up another lane on the highway. And it's the same in the air," said Doug Church of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.

Poole said the FAA has a track record of proposing dazzling-sounding projects, then failing to deliver.

He cites an FAA initiative called STARS, which was launched a decade ago to give controllers advanced, multicolored radar screens. The project missed deadlines, went hundreds of millions of dollars over budget and had to be scaled down.

Poole doesn't doubt NextGen's potential, but he's pessimistic about the prospects for rapid progress.

"I just think it's very unlikely to be done in anything like the time frame and the budget now projected," he said. "And that will be a tragedy for aviation."

credit:iht.com

Infineon introduces GPS receive front-end module

Infineon Technologies has introduced the world's smallest GPS receive front-end module.

The BGM681L11 includes all key components to amplify a GPS signal and filter out interference in a module occupying 3.75mm The GPS receive front-end module incorporates Infineon's GPS LNA chip, two integrated filters with high ESD ruggedness and an input and output filter in a leadless TSLP11-1 package that measures 2.5mm x 2.5mm x 0.6mm

'The BGM681L11 helps handset manufacturers fulfil the toughest space requirements,' said Michael Mauer, senior marketing director silicon discretes at Infineon Technologies.

Infineon said that this package is more than 60 per cent smaller than the closest competitor offering with similar integration level.

Credit:electronicstalk.com

Alternatively, the GPS LNA chip is also available as the standalone device BGA615L7 based on silicon germanium process technology.


Navteq Plan Skirts Vehicle-Install GPS Navigation

The low-cost technology can be implemented on credit card-sized circuit boards or even distributed in vehicles' electronics architecture.

By W. David Gardner
InformationWeek

Digital map and location-based services provider Navteq has unveiled its Map and Positioning Engine (MPE) strategy, which includes plans to offer map-enabled driver assistance on cars without installed navigation systems or navigable maps.

Outlined at a trade show in Paris this week, the subsidiary of cell phone maker Nokia said the strategy calls for its MPE product to deliver map-enhanced Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) applications that will be embedded directly in the electronic control units of vehicles. The low-cost technology can be implemented on credit card-sized circuit boards or even distributed in vehicles' electronics architecture.

"The map and positioning engine reference solution is a fundamentally new way to think about digital maps and GPS positioning in the vehicle electronics architecture," said Bob Denaro, Navteq's VP of ADAS, in a statement. "The industry needs a solution that brings the value of digital maps and vehicle positioning to all vehicles."




Ever since Nokia's $8.1 billion acquisition of Navteq was approved earlier this summer, the automotive and wireless phone industries have been waiting to hear how Navteq would approach the Internet-based mapping market.

Navteq's MPE specification contains the company's Electronic Horizon algorithms, which enable the searching and interpreting of the road ahead. Unlike traditional ADAS, the Navteq application is always on and requires no stored navigation route.

Navteq, which has 194 global offices, indicated that its tech and customer support staff will be available to help customers use the algorithms with its maps.

Confused GPS Takes Driver Into Collison

Confused GPS Takes Driver Into Collison

Onboardnav

GPS systems really are a wonderful thing. They tell you where to go. With just a press of a button, you don’t have to deal with the considerable stress of “knowing where you’re going.” It’s a beautiful thing.

Then again, for all their convenience, GPS systems are also sort of scary. What if some mysterious person can see where you are at all times? What if your GPS system gives you the wrong directions? Such was the nightmare apparently suffered by a New York motorist when his GPS system turned him onto a pair of active train tracks. His car was stuck and he had to ditch the vehicle before it was crushed by an oncoming train. Fortunately no one was injured, but it’s a terrifying account nonetheless.


It’s not the first time this has happened, which goes to show that these GPS units aren’t infallible. Or there’s some kind of horrifying alien-GPS conspiracy going on. One of the two.
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More sex offenders tagged by GPS

A program using GPS locators to track sex offenders has expanded to include all the state's Level 3 offenders -- those considered most likely to commit new crimes -- for at least the first 30 days after their release from prison.

The Department of Corrections announced that the new criteria would take effect Wednesday and would likely boost the number of offenders being tracked through the Global Positioning System.

As of last week, there were 89 offenders monitored statewide through the program, said administrator Anmarie Aylward.

There are about 3,200 Level 3 offenders.

GPS tracking had little financial support in Washington state until the July 4, 2007, rape and murder of Zina Linnik, a 12-year-old Tacoma girl whose accused assailant was a sex offender who had failed to register.

In September 2007, Gov. Chris Gregoire ordered immediate funding for the GPS program, infusing it with $400,000 to start.

But the program began slowly, with 13 offenders as of last December.

Those placed under the GPS monitoring were Level 3 offenders who either had no home, no job, or failed to comply with some rule of their community supervision.


They also had to have been sentenced after July 1, 2000. In March, the program was expanded to include Level 2 sex offenders meeting the same set of criteria.

Now, GPS monitoring will be required of all Level 3 offenders upon their release from prison.

Aylward said the first 30 days after release have proved to be the toughest for offenders as they struggle to adapt to the rules of their supervision and find a place in the community.

The majority of these offenders will then be removed from the GPS monitoring.

But some sex offenders will have to keep the ankle bracelets on even after that 30-day period if they still lack stable housing, a steady job, or have violated some rule.

In Washington state, the equipment for the monitoring is obtained by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, which in turn leases it to the Department of Corrections and provides the training.

Don Pierce, executive director of the association, said the gradual growth of the program under the state agency has worked well.

"We couldn't be more pleased," Pierce said. "We've had a chance to grow our support along with the Department of Corrections."

Nationally, there has been a growing trend to use GPS tracking devices as a way of providing 24-hour monitoring of sex offenders, with more than 40 states having such programs as of last year.

The effectiveness of the programs in reducing crime remains a matter of debate and the programs are labor intensive.

"We know that offenses are still going to occur. But it really has enhanced the ability of the community corrections officers to know where their high-risk guys are, to double check what they're being told," Aylward said. "It's been really successful for those reasons."

But Pierce believes the monitoring changes behavior.

"The bottom line is, if they know they are being watched, they are less likely to re-offend," he said.

By HECTOR CASTRO
P-I REPORTER


 

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