250 Village resources centres by March end

As many as 250 Village Resource Centres (VRCs), aimed at providing
locale-specifi c information to rural population by effectively using
satellite techonology, will be set up in the country by March end this year,
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman G Madhavan Nair said.

Digital Thailand to launch mapping service

A system has been developed to conduct satellite mapping specifically for Thailand. Starting in February,
Digital Thailand plans to begin distributing satellite maps on compact discs to interested public and students. Digital Thailand’s online map service, also being launched in February, also will be made available to the public.

Lockheed Martin GPS updates enhance system accuracy

Lockheed Martin has upgraded the software processing and modeling forthe Air Force’s Global Positioning System (GPS), enhancing the Air Force’s ability to monitor GPS satellites and improve system accuracy 10-15 percent for users worldwide. The recently completed update, named the Legacy Accuracy Improvement Initiative (L-AII), doubles the amount of navigation data collected and provided to Air Force operators.

Thales ProMark™3 reduces survey time

Thales has recently introduced ProMark3 with which surveyors can reduce their fi eld data collectiontime by up to 33%, saving critical time and resources that all add up to profi tability for surveyors. It is also the first all-in-one GPS survey solution in the industry to offer both centimeter accuracy in post-processing and GIS capabilities included in a single rugged package. It provides submeter, real-time accuracy using WAAS or EGNOS, centimeter level accuracy in post-processing,and keeps working even in urban canyons and dense foliage using optimized multi-path mitigation.

February 2006
International GIS Conference & Exhibition
13-15 February, Kuwait
http://www.gulfgis.com/

The interface
Seventy per cent of India lives in villages.
And villages mean not ‘big’ problems but very ‘basic’ problems.
Where the question is to fulfi ll the basic needs such as food and shelter.
Where access to clean water, education and health facilities itself is an issue.
Where there is a struggle for survival on a daily basis.

says K Ramalingam, Chairman, Airports Authority of …

First Galileo satellite launched from Kazakhstan
The EU’s fi rst satellite of the Galileo navigation program has been launched from Kazakhstan. The 600 kg British built spacecraft, named “Giove A,” took off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on a Soyuz rocket early Wednesday morning (28 December 2005). The satellite is part of Galileo, the €3.4 billion system from which the EU is aiming to deploy a total of 30 satellites by 2010. The network will provide access to precise timing and location services delivered from space to the bloc’s member states. The Galileo project aims to revolutionise industries including transport and will be used in maritime, rail and other navigation systems. According to reorts it will help the EU to set up a new air-traffi c control system, allowing pilots to fly their own routes and altitudes. Giove A will test technologies needed for the other components of the project, like the in-orbit performance of two atomic clocks or radio frequencies assigned to Galileo within the International Telecommunications Union. Galileo is a joint project between the EU and the ESA.
http://euobserver.com

says Lt Gen Ranjit Singh, SM, Engineer-in-chief and …

The 49th Annual General Meeting of Institution of Surveyors …