INDUSTRY | LBS | GPS | GIS | REMOTE SENSING | GALILEO UPDATE

Galileo – the European Programme for Global Navigation …

There are numerous types of GPS receivers in the current international marketplace, ranging from inexpensive, low accuracy handheld devices to expensive, high precision geodetic equipment. By and large, low–cost GPS receivers (whether sold as a plug– in hardware device or as a complete navigation and positioning receiver) have almost assumed mass market status in the consumer electronics industry. Recent advances in micro and wireless technology, reductions in consumer costs, and the apparent growth of the Location Based Services (LBS) industry have somewhat fuelled the need for mobile (information communications and technology) consumers to become “location aware”.

Readers may recall that Coordinates printed Implementation Guidelines of the Indian National Map Policy (NMP) in June. We present here some more observations

IRNSS to be independent of other constellations
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will be establishing a satellite navigation system on the lines of the US GPS. The proposed Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), which will consist of a constellation of eight satellites, is likely to be operational in six years time.
The Union Cabinet had approved the Rs 1,600 crore project in May this year. According to Madhavan Nair, Chairman ISRO the IRNSS would be developed indigenously and will be independent of other constellations.

India, a happening place.
Right to information, New Map Policy, and now a government resolution on NSDI.
A visible change in …

The Government of India has formally approved the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) programme – I told myself AT LONG LAST, IT IS DONE!!! I also heaved a sigh of relief – a sigh which has been weighing on my mind for the past 5 years (from February, 2001 onwards). In that sense of relief – that marked a feeling of achievement and success for the benefit of the country, I closed my eyes and …

Six tiny FORMOSAT-3 satellites that were sped into space on April 15, 2006 are designed for systematic mass scale radio occultation (RO) studies of the Earth atmosphere and ionosphere at different altitudes by use of the GPS signals. Termed as the Formosa Satellite-3/ Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC) mission, the new constellation’s primary science goal is to obtain in near real time the vertical profiles of temperature, pressure, refractivity, and water vapor in the neutral atmosphere, and the electron density in the ionosphere with global coverage. The measurements during five years of mission life will provide about 2,500 soundings per day, thus generating extensive information to support operational global weather prediction, climate change monitoring, ionospheric phenomena, and space weather research. The theory of RO measurements has been described previously (Gurvich and Krasilnikova, 1988; Yunck, 1988; Yakovlev, 2002; Hajj et al., 2002). During last four years, essential modernization in the RO technique has been introduced (e.g., Liou et al., 2002, 2006; Pavelyev et al., 2004 and references therein).

FORMOSAT-3 GPS radio occultation mission YA LIOU, AG PAVELYEV, C-Y HUANG AND AA
PAVELYEV
India’s NSDI – back into the future MUKUND RAO
Guidelines for implementing national map policy of India SD BAVEJA, NK AGARWAL, KV RAVINDRAN, PROMOD K SINGH
Augmentation of low-cost GPS receivers ROGER FRASER, ADAM MOWLAM AND PHILIP COLLIER

602 series of Nikon total stations
Nikon-Trimble Co. introduced the 602 Series of Nikon® Total Stations, new high-precision mechanical total stations that includes both a prism and prismless (reflectorless) model. It also added a reflectorless model to Nikon 502 Series. The new Nikon products are expected to be available soon through Tripod Data Systems (TDS) in the United States and Trimble
internationally. www.nikon-trimble.com

Personal navigation most profitable LBS in Europe
Berg Insight made the survey among LBS professionals at mobile operators, vendors and consultancies. There were two sets of questions asked to the 200 respondents, one to operators and another set to vendors and consultancies. We asked the operators which LBS applications they already have deployed and got the reply that the most common services today are information services. On second and third place came navigation services and tracking. We also asked the operators which positioning technology they think will be the most important the coming years. The majority, 65 percent, replied a combination of two or more technologies, while 35 percent said A-GPS. It is obvious that satellite positioning is coming up as a preferred technology among operators in Europe.www.lbsinsight.com