China to regulate its GI industry
Authorities in Guangdong are cracking down on illegal surveying and mapping to better regulate the geographic information industry in the southern province. Foreign organizations, businesses and individuals have been told that they must apply to the central government’s surveying and mapping authority for approval to gather geographic information in the southern province. www.chinadaily.com.cn

ISRO to develop Indian satellite security cover
ISRO will develop its own version of the US GPS and Russian Glonass system, albeit with a limited, regional capability, with the added advantage of providing the country’s defence establishment round-the-clock security cover. The constellation of seven satellites will keep an eye on a wide swath of territory – 2,000km – in and around the Indian sub-continent. According to ISRO chief, G Madhavan Nair, the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS) was being developed “considering security related issues”. www.domain-b.com

Survey of India maps for SatNav

SatNav Technologies and Survey of India (SOI) have signed an agreement that allows SatNav to use SOI maps in its consumer products. It will release SOIapproved digital maps and custom map content for commercial use in personal and mobile navigation and locationbased solutions. www.satguide.in

GSS6300 from Spirent
Spirent Communications plc. launched GSS6300 Multi-GNSS Signal Generator. It provides GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and SBAS test solutions from high-end R&D through integration and production applications. www.spirent.com

Telespazio takes control of Galileo Ground Facility
Telespazio has taken over management of a Galileo satellite constellation control centre. The company will begin cabling the entire structure as well as installing and integrating required systems and equipment for the satellite constellation and mission. Telespazio said its work will begin on the areas dedicated to security, navigation signal generation systems, orbital management and atomic clocks. The control centre is expected to be fully operational and will be inaugurated this fall. www.telespazio.it

ISRO gets 40% more funds
India’s space research programme recently got a signifi cant 40% boost from the union budget for 2009-10. The bulk of the funds will be used in ongoing projects like development of the GSLV Mark III. www.domain-b.com

OGC calls for Industry input on Geospatial Fusion

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC®) has issued a Request for Information to solicit industry input into a Fusion Standards Study to be conducted in preparation for the planned OGC Web Services, Phase 7 (OWS-7) Testbed. It will also partner with other Standards Development Organizations (SDOs) having technology relevant to fusion. www.opengeospatial.org

Delhi 3 months away from geogovernance

For the first time ever Delhi city will have a utility map through aerial photographs and also real-time monitoring of the ground situation throughout the city with the help of 64 wireless internet protocol cameras. 31 departments and agencies will be able to access this data in real time. The Rs 120 crore project called the Delhi State Spatial Data Infrastructure (DSSDI) project is in the last stages of completion. It is being done by Delhi government along with Survey of India (SOI). Times of India

Indian GPS augmentation goes ahead
ISRO has awarded an $82 million contract to Raytheon to build the ground stations for the GPS-Aided Geosynchronous Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) System. GAGAN will provide satellitebased navigation – nominally for civil aviation, but in practice for all users – over Indian airspace and adjoining areas in South and East Asia. It is a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) for GPS and other operational satellite navigation systems giving differential corrections. It is scheduled to be fully functional by 2013. http://raytheon.mediaroom.com

SatGuide PND Moov 300

SatNav Technologies launched the SatGuide PND Moov 300 in India. It will provide road navigation with features like voice prompted directions and a 4.3-inch touch screen. www.satnavtechnologies.com

4.7-inch Maestro PND by Magellan

Magellan announced the Maestro PND with new design, 4.7-inch Display, voice command capabilities, handsfree Bluetooth calling and highway lane assist. It has new feature “Find Your Car” which remembers the location of your car. http://promagellangps.com

Ordnance Survey works with GRACE

GRACE – the GNSS Research and Applications Centre of Excellence – has recently worked with Great Britain’s national mapping agency, Ordnance Survey. A team from GRACE carried out data collection at various sites to test potential new GNSS survey equipment. www.grace.ac.uk

Leica CloudWorx™ 1.0 for SmartPlant

Leica CloudWorx™ 1.0 for SmartPlant 3D was recently released by Leica. It is designed for Intergraph SmartPlant 3D users who want to take full advantage of accurate, laser scan asbuilt data directly in SmartPlant 3D. Leica has also released the QuickSteer motor – a new retrofi t option for farmers who want to add auto-steer functionality to their older tractors. It can be added to a wide range of agricultural vehicles that do not have factory-installed steering kits. www.leica-geosystems.com