NEWSBRIEFS – INDUSTRY

Leica AT504 Geodetic Choke Ring Antenna now supports GNSS

With the introduction of the Leica AT504 GG, Leica Geosystems is announcing a brand new version of its successful AT504 choke ring antenna for permanent reference stations and networks. This new antenna tracks GNSS observations, supplying high quality GPS and GLONASS data when used in conjunction with Leica GPS1200 GNSS receivers. The design of the AT504GG choke ring antenna effectively suppresses multipath effects and has a very stable phase center making it ideally suited for geodetic applications using GNSS observations.

Leica Geosystems also introduces the new V2.2.0 for Leica GPS Spider software for GPS reference stations and networks. With this new update of GPS Spider, Leica Geosystems continues its policy of continued product development and improvement of its GPS Reference Station solutions. www.leica-geosystems.com

Septentrio announces dual frequency OEM receiver platform

Septentrio has announced AsteRx2TM, a compact high-end dual-frequency GNSS receiver for demanding industrial and professional applications. AsteRx2TM is the second product in the new AsteRxTM family of GNSS receiver boards from Septentrio. AsteRx2TM is a compact OEM board with low power consumption, featuring high-quality all-in-view dual-frequency GPS tracking and offering excellent measurement quality for high-precision positioning even in challenging environments. Moreover, AsteRx2 TM features optional GLONASS functionality. www.septentrio.com

BMW adds real time traffic information

BMW announced the availability of Real Time Traffic Information (RTTI) for major metropolitan areas across the U.S. The service will offer timely traffic information and dynamic rerouting on navigation systems in select 2007 BMW models. http://biz.yahoo.com

NovAtel launches SMARTV1 and FlexPak V Series

NovAtel, Canada has launched its nextgeneration SMART-V1 and FlexPak V Series products and Waypoint Products Group’s Inertial Explorer software version 7.61 at this year’s Institute of Navigation (ION) Global Navigation Satellite Systems conference in Fort Worth, Texas. Powered by the OEMV-1 single-frequency GPS+L-band engine, the SMART-V1 is a GPS receiver combined with an antenna. The product is available with support for CAN Bus or USB communication and features 14 channels for L1 code and phase tracking. www.geospatial-online.com

Spirent to provide GPS/Galileo test equipment for ANASTASIA

Spirent Communications, UK, a provider of satellite navigation test equipment, has been selected by DLR (German Aerospace Centre) for delivery of advanced GPS / Galileo test systems. DLR will be using Spirent solutions in the context of the EU & FP6 funded project “Airborne New and Advanced Satellite Techniques and Technologies in a System Integrated Approach” (ANASTASIA). www.spirentcom.com

Atmel and Magellan introduce new GPS chipset generation

Atmel Corporation and Magellan announced the availability of a new GPS chipset that integrates the world’s latest GPS correlation technology with an ARM926EJ-S™-based microprocessor. This new device includes an extended instruction set with DSP extensions and a rich set of peripherals, designed to simplify the design, and drive down system costs, for the rapidly expanding market for Personal Navigation Devices (PNDs), car navigation, and recreational applications. www.atmel.com

u-blox announces dual GPS and GALILEO chip

u-blox AG, Switzerland announced the u-blox 5 family of GPS and Galileo-ready single chips and chipsets featuring an acquisition performance of under one second. The new chips also feature SuperSense -160 dBm acquisition and tracking sensitivity, power needs of less than 50 mW and a footprint smaller than 100 mm2, making u-blox 5 receivers ideal for PDAs, personal navigation devices, cameras, cell phones, media players and other battery-operated portable devices. www.u-blox.com

Topcon robotic surveyor assistant

Topcon, USA, a developer and manufacturer of positioning equipment launches GPT-9000A total station series includes a field controller and tracking system designed to work as a complete robotic system. GTS- 900A and GPT-9000A series include Topcon’s FC-200 field controller and RC-3 tracking system. In addition, a new updated software release for TopNET CORS and TopNET RTK networking software has been announced by Topcon Positioning Systems. www.topconpositioning.com

MAPublisher 7.1 for Adobe Illustrator

Avenza Systems Inc., producers of MAPublisher cartographic software for Adobe Illustrator and Geographic Imager spatial tools for Adobe Photoshop announces the release of MAPublisher 7.1 for Adobe Illustrator CS and CS2. MAPublisher 7.1 is the latest version of this powerful mapmaking software used to produce high quality maps from GIS data. www.avenza.com

Location Intelligence to improve business processes

According to a survey conducted by MapInfo Corporation and BusinessWeek Research Services, 64 percent of business executives believe that location intelligence can improve business processes, and 21 percent are planning to investigate it in the next year. 1,700 business executives participated in this international study to gauge the role that technology can play in delivering powerful, business-relevant location intelligence to leading organizations. Location intelligence is a combination of software, data, services and expertise that enable an organization to detect patterns, risk and opportunities that CRM, ERP and BI overlook. www.mapinfo.com