GNSS

The GSA unveils the 1st GNSS User Technology report

The European GNSS Agency (GSA) unveils its first GNSS User Technology Report – designed to help users understand today’s receiver technology and the trends transforming the GNSS landscape. Written with contributions from leading GNSS receiver and chipset manufacturers, the GSA GNSS User Technology Report is as a valuable tool to support planning and decision-making in developing, purchasing and using GNSS user technology.

GNSS technology has advanced quickly – both on the side of global constellations and user receivers. With this development, EGNOS and Galileo are becoming standard features of GNSS receivers, providing enhanced performance to users across the globe. Even with the increased deployment of other positioning technologies, thanks to its widespread and cost-effective source of location information, GNSS will remain at the core of all positioning technology.

GPS is failing users in Moscow

What is happening to mobile apps that rely on GPS in Central Moscow? Apps ranging from Pokemon Go to Uber are not working near the Kremlin. Instead, apps that rely on GPS coordinates to work correctly are either shutting down, or showing users to be 18 miles away at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport.

Those near the Kremlin trying to grab a ride via Uber cannot give the ridesharing service their correct location. Pokemon Go players are having trouble in that area finding and catching Pokemon. The GPS issues started taking place in June, and seem to come and go in a pattern. Grigory Bakunov, a programmer with Russian internet firm Yandex, believes that the Russian government is playing around with the GPS near the Kremlin to prevent drones from flying over the area. He comes to this conclusion based on the GPS diversion to Vnukovo airport. Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said that he recently experienced the GPS issue himself while driving past the Kremlin. He says that he does not know the reason for the GPS malfunction. http://www.phonearena.com

NASA and ESA to Test GPS/Galileo receivers on board the ISS

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA) and Qascom, an Italian company specializing in Galileo, are collaborating to build the first GPS and Galileo receiver to be tested on board the International Space Station (ISS) Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Testbed. SCaN is a payload developed by NASA that has been hosted on board the ISS on an external truss since late 2012. It has the objective of testing navigation and communication experimentations with a Software Defined Radio (SDR) approach, which permits software, only updates for testing new experimental configurations.

In May 2016, Qascom was awarded with the “GPS and Galileo Receiver for the ISS” (GARISS) activity in support of collaborative experimentation with ESA and NASA, which has the objective of developing and validating the acquisition and processing of combined GPS and Galileo signals on board the ISS SCaN Testbed. This is also the first attempt to develop software for the ISS SCaN as part of an international collaboration between the United States and Europe, according to Qascom. To date, the team has successfully acquired and processed GPS and Galileo signals on dual-frequency bands. Initial operations will use a singlefrequency processing methodology, although the final mission will target dualfrequency GPS and Galileo operations.

Cars in Russia could be required to have black boxes

A proposal has been put forward in the Russian government on installing black boxes in vehicles that would be connected to the Glonass navigation system. The ERAGLONASS system would provide basic infrastructure for the proposed project. ERAGLONASS must be mandatory installed in all cars starting from 2020. Glonass JSC is the operator of the ERA-GLONASS system, providing data to emergency responders via Russia’s GNSS. It is designed to reduce emergency service arrival times by quickly pin-pointing incident sites. The system calls an emergency service number automatically if the on-board transponder signals an accident. https://sputniknews.com

New navigation system for cars launched in Abu Dhabi

A new car navigation system was launched in the capital to provide real-time updates about traffic, parking spots, routes and road conditions to motorists in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. Fact Box description starts here Fact Box description ends here. The system, which has been developed by Abu Dhabi’s transport sector regulator, the Department of Municipal Affairs and Transport (DMAT), will be made available to car dealers to be installed in vehicles sold in Abu Dhabi. Fact Box description starts here Fact Box description ends here

In the first year itself, the DMAT hopes to have 50,000 vehicles that install and use its navigation system, the official added. Fact Box description starts here Fact Box description ends here. http://gulfnews.com

ASTE readying military planes for using Isro’s SatNav

The Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE) is in the process of integrating ‘systems’ into military aircraft that will use the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (Isro) Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS). Speaking at a press conference to announce the 84th anniversary celebrations of the Indian Air Force on Tuesday, Air Vice Marshal and Commandant, ASTE, Sandeep Singh, said: “A navigation system like the IRNSS is a necessity for both the civilian and military use. All the three services and particularly the Air Force are in the process of integrating this in the aircraft.”

Further, he said that the high accuracy IRNSS will be a navigation system, which the country will use. With the use of the IRNSS, India will no longer have to rely on global positioning satellite system of the US. www.deccanherald.com/