GNSS

Beidou Endorsed by IMO

China’s Beidou Navigation Satellite System had its performance standard ratified by the International Maritime Organization.The ratification marked the first time the Beidou standard was approved by an international organization, the first step in efforts to spread China’s self-developed positioning system globally. China is seeking to have global coverage for Beidou by 2020 and will support foreign companies developing and using the system. www.bloomberg.com

Russian space agency set to resume Glonass talks with US

Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) is set to resume negotiations on the possible deployment of Glonass global navigation satellite system elements in the United States, the newspaper Izvestia wrote.

“Roscosmos has done paperwork for the Americans and have filed the documents with the Foreign Ministry. They [the documents] state that our countries have made big progress in bilateral relations and this success should be developed for the sake of partnership and public interests. They propose to resume the consultations shortly and to pursue the path chosen earlier,” a well-informed source in Roscosmos told the newspaper.

Earlier the sides agreed that the program would have three stages – Stage I stipulates a real-time exchange of data from observation stations. Stage II suggests a broader option in the case the data is not sufficient: additional equipment may be installed at the request of a side so that the other side has more data. Stage III is the deployment of full-scale Glonass stations on the US territory and similar steps of Russia. http://voiceofrussia.com/news/

Belarus ratifi es agreement with Russia on GLONASS cooperation

The lower house of the National Assembly of Belarus has ratified an agreement on cooperation in the field of the deployment and development of the Russian GLONASS satellite navigation system. The agreement reached by the governments of Russia and Belarus, envisages the establishment of a legal basis for cooperation in the use of the GLONASS system and corresponding satellite navigation technologies. http://en.itar-tass.com/

Russia plans to place GLONASS ground stations in China

Russia plans to sign an agreement with China this year to place ground stations of GLONASS in China and to deploy Beidou in Russia, deputy head of the Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) Sergey Savelyev said.

Russia and China see prospects for cooperation between GLONASS and Beidou in the sphere of regional support and the development of chipsets. They consider ensuring compatibility of the national navigation systems, similar to the American GPS. http://en.itar-tass.com/

Russia May Suspend U.S. Satellite Operations in its Territory

Vice Prime Minister Dmitri Rogozin confirmed that the operation of 11 U.S. GPS satellite terminals in Russian territory is dependent on an understanding between Washington and Moscow regarding the location of its Glonass terminals in the US. Negotiators for both sides have until September 1st to reach a reciprocal agreement in respect to the Russian Glonass system.

Rogozin insisted that if an agreement is not reached regarding the placement of Glonass terminals in the United States, the operations of U.S. GPS terminals in Russia, the largest in the world, could be suspended.

The 11 U.S. stations are operating in Russia by virtue of bilateral accords reached in 1993 and 2011, as cited by the RIA Novosti news agency, which pointed out that the parties have until May 31 to reach an agreement regarding a Glonass presence in the United States. www.cadenagramonte.cu/english/

Iran to Host Russian Satellite Navigation Facility

A ground-based facility for Glonass is to be built in Iran, according to Izvestia newspaper. “The Iranian was ready to install elements of the Differential Correction and Monitoring System, as well as a quantum optical system on the Iranian territory to maintain the Glonass system,” http://en.ria.ru/world/

Faulty GPS signal processing design reason for problems in receivers

Widespread reports of intermittent GPS receiver outages may well end soon as the U.S. Air Force wraps up an “extended navigation mode” functional checkout of a GPS satellite, designated Space Vehicle Number (SVN) 64, a Block IIF spacecraft launched in February.

The problem affects only user equipment that erroneously uses navigation message data from the satellites, which had yet to be set “healthy.” Since March 15, the Air Force has been conducting the functional checkout on SVN 64. The satellite broadcasts a data message that clearly indicates that it is unusable for navigation. Nevertheless, the U.S. government has confirmed that certain models of GPS receivers are using data from SVN 64, disregarding relevant GPS interface specifications (IS-GPS-200) and resulting in receiver outages or corrupted, inaccurate position calculations.

Beginning in the early part of April, the U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center (NAVCEN) and other agencies received numerous reports of GPS errors encountered by users at various global locations. The Air Force emphasized that the problem is not related to the April 28, 2014, activation of civil navigation messages on the GPS L2C and L5 signals. www.gps.gov/

Port Metro Vancouver budgets $1.71m for GPS System

Between the federal government, BC provincial government and Port Metro Vancouver, they’ve put together $1.71 million to outfit the remainder of the Port’s container truck fleet with GPS technology.

“GPS technology will help manage congestion and wait times,” said Robin Silvester, president and CEO, Port Metro Vancouver. “The completion of this program is an essential step in carrying out the Joint Action Plan, with the opportunity to transform the container trucking industry and make our port a world leader.”

The Joint Action Plan is a 15-point agreement that convinced container port truckers to return to work after a month-long strike earlier this year. www.todaystrucking.com

Danish GPS expert to lead new Russian GNSS studies program

Samara State Aerospace University (SSAU), Russian Federation, will launch an English-language program in GNSS studies soon, headed by Kai Borre, founder of the Danish GPS Center (DGC) and long-time professor of geodesy at Aalborg University. Two master programs in GNSS under the Borre’s supervision: “GNSS Positioning Algorithms and Applications” and “GNSS Receivers: Hardware and Software.” The two programs are structured so as to enable students to become professional in GNSS technologies, including both design of efficient GNSS receivers and application of the data obtained by these receivers.

GNSS IC Revenue Heading for $3 Billion

The GNSS IC market continues to go from strength to strength with Cellular GNSS IC revenue alone forecast to break $2 billion by 2016, with a host of secondary markets starting to emerge. This may help to explain why both Intel and Samsung have recently acquired GNSS IC design capabilities, creating competition for incumbents like Broadcom, Qualcomm and Mediatek.

The arrival of wearables, in-store advertising, ambient intelligence, IoE/ IoT and the connected home has created a lot of justified excitement around indoor location. However, GNSS is still an essential technology in tying these disparate networks together and remains the cornerstone of ubiquitous location. www.abiresearch.com

GAINS-10 by Sparton Navigation

Sparton Navigation and Exploration has recently introduced its GPS/ GNSS Assisted Inertial Navigation System, GAINS-10. It provides accurate inertial navigation in the presence of mechanical shock, transient platform vibrations and extreme magnetic interference. It features high speed, synchronous sampling of all inertial systems combined with high rate coning and sculling compensation and is fully calibrated across temperature.

“The GAINS-10 delivers precise performance in complex environments,” said Jim Lackemacher, Group Vice President of Sparton’s Defense & Security Engineered Products. “Sparton’s GAINS-10 provides flexible integration options and platform customization.” http://online.wsj.com