GPS coming to GSM handsets
After years of anticipation, GPS technology should finally arrive in a significant number of GSM mobile handsets in 2007, according to a new study by market research analyst ABI Research, USA. The report also says that 25 percent of WCDMA handsets will incorporate GPS by the end of 2008. The factors like government regulations covering location technology for emergency services such as E911 as well as a recognized demand for LBS will be responsible for the expected rise of GPS in GSM and WCDMA handsets, according to Alan Varghese, ABI principal analyst. www.eetimes.com

Leica GPro version 3.2 launched
With the new version 3.2 for its Leica GPro download and ground processing software, Leica Geosystems is now offering improvements and new capabilities to its Airborne Sensor customers, such as increased speed and simplified handling. In this new version 3.2, Leica GPro offers a new project information file structure, which enhances usability and productivity. Increased speed for pixel-wise orthorectification is provided. Plus, Leica GPro now supports the newly launched ADS40 2nd Generation sensor heads SH51 and SH52.
www.leica-geosystems.com

Ordnance Survey vision helps shape a VISTA for underground assets
VISTA (Visualising integrated information on buried assets to reduce street works) is a collaboration of 21 organisations developing an integrated infrastructure to enable data sharing for all buried assets across Great Britain. Ordnance Survey’s intelligent large-scale data OS MasterMap Topography Layer is the reference base underpinning preliminary trials by researchers at Leeds and Nottingham Universities to integrate disparate records of buried pipes, cables, ducts and wires. VISTA will combine this information with in-situ survey observations using real-time centimetre-level services provided by OS Net, Ordnance Survey’s GPScorrection network, and by Leica Geosystems’ SmartNet, which is enabled by OS Net. OS Net is a network of more than 90 GPS base stations that improves the standard accuracy of raw GPS readings to augment any application that requires GPS positioning. www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk

LBS subscribers will total 315 million in five years
In 2011, the total population of GPSenabled LBS subscribers will reach 315 million, up from 12 million in 2006, according to a new study from ABI Research, USA. This represents a rise from less than 0.5% of total wireless subscribers today to more than 9% worldwide at the end of the study’s 5-year forecast period. The LBS market took off first in South Korea and Japan, driven by personal navigation and some family- and people-finder services. In the United States, Nextel and Sprint initially drove LBS adoption with a focus on fleet applications. www.abiresearch.com

Leica AT504 Geodetic Choke Ring Antenna now supports GNSS
With the introduction of the Leica AT504 GG, Leica Geosystems is announcing a brand new version of its successful AT504 choke ring antenna for permanent reference stations and networks. This new antenna tracks GNSS observations, supplying high quality GPS and GLONASS data when used in conjunction with Leica GPS1200 GNSS receivers. The design of the AT504GG choke ring antenna effectively suppresses multipath effects and has a very stable phase center making it ideally suited for geodetic applications using GNSS observations.
Leica Geosystems also introduces the new V2.2.0 for Leica GPS Spider software for GPS reference stations and networks. With this new update of GPS Spider, Leica Geosystems continues its policy of continued product development and improvement of its GPS Reference Station solutions. www.leica-geosystems.com

EU and the Republic of Korea seal their agreement
During the EU/South Korea summit held in Helsinki, the two parties formally signed an agreement on cooperation on the European satellite radio navigation programme GALILEO. The agreement provides for numerous areas of co-operation, including cooperative activities in the areas of scientific research and training, industrial cooperation, trade and market development, standards, certification and regulatory measures. http://europa.eu.int

Innovative battlefield learning experience for soldiers
The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) has introduced an innovative training and learning system for its soldiers called Battlefield Instrumentation (BFI). Utilising modern laser and informationcommunication technologies, BFI System brings together soldiers, weapon systems and fighting platforms. It uses the GPS, computer simulation and data communication to record details of battlefield engagements between opposing forces. www.channelnewsasia.com

German government makes funds available for Galileo development work
The German federal government will provide funds to the tune of 2.5 million Euros for research and development work in Rostock on the European satellitebased navigation system Galileo.
In the course of a visit to the Rostockbased technology company RST, Wolfgang Tiefensee, the Federal Minister responsible for promoting the industries of the eastern federal states that used to make up the German Democratic Republic, said that the groundwork R&D in the field of aerospace technology carried out by companies in Mecklenburg West-Pomerania was of an outstanding quality. Substantial funds would now be invested in Galileo application research, he added.
Within the context of research undertaken by RST, four transmitters will be set up in the port of Rostock capable of giving off Galileo signals. During the test phase the signals, which allow the receiver to pinpoint the position of the sender exactly, will be picked up by a ship of the ferry line Scandlines. www.heise.de

Arirang 2 sends first photographs
A multipurpose satellite that South Korea launched into space in July, has sent back its first photographs, proving that the images provided by Arirang 2 are vivid enough to distinguish small objects on the ground. The Ministry of Science and Technology and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) unveiled the images from the high-resolution cameras of Arirang 2.
http://english.hani.co.kr

China ‘tightens’ control over foreign surveying, mapping…
China will step up supervision of foreigners who conduct surveys and map areas of the country. Foreign organizations and individuals, who engage in surveying and mapping in scientific research and teaching programs, travel or exploration, must obtain approval from the government and accept supervision, the State Bureau of Survey and Mapping said.
The bureau notice said that foreigners who illegally survey, gather and publish geographical information on China will be severely punished. Chinese partners or translators will be fined if they fail to stop illegal mapping activities as soon as they find out about them. http://english.people.com.cn