Archives

Faster? Shorter? Try Cheaper, Greener: Program Gives Drivers the Most Fuel-Efficient Route

August 1, 2011 - By

Most GPS devices in cars today give the driver two choices: shortest route or fastest route. GreenGPS provides a third option: most fuel-efficient route. With gas prices skyrocketing, many drivers would be happy to spend a few more minutes on the road, or take a different route, if it meant burning less gas. The answer could be the GreenGPS navigation service, now being developed by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC), which finds the most fuel-efficient route for your vehicle. read more

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Detecting Nuclear Testing: Software Under Development by OSU Could Pinpoint Treaty Violations

August 1, 2011 - By

Can GPS be used to detect underground nuclear explosions? A research team is developing a software program that uses GPS to analyze the ionospheric effect of nuclear explosions. Results would show when and where a country has conducted a secret underground nuclear test. read more

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Guiding the Troops: Operation Waypoint Puts GPS Devices into Soldiers’ Hands

August 1, 2011 - By

Operation Waypoint, a Minnesota-based, non-profit program administered by American Legion Post 621, has broadened its program from a state and regional focus to national in scope with its new website, gpsfortroops.org. Run by volunteers, the program is committed to increasing the safety of military men and women deploying to the Middle East with the guidance of highly accurate, handheld GPS units and mapping cards for Iraq and Afghanistan. Since its inception, Operation Waypoint has relied heavily on its partnership with GPS device manufacturer Lowrance to provide GPS products and charts to soldiers preparing to serve, as well as generous donations from service and social organizations and numerous individuals to fund the effort. read more

This article is tagged with , and posted in Defense, From the Magazine

Out in Front: A Pawn in Their Game

August 1, 2011 - By

Maybe we got played. But we put up a good fight. We really had no option to do anything but fight. So we did, and we’re still fighting the LightSquared attack on the GPS signal. It’s not over yet, not by a long shot. Suspicions now creep in that the attack may have been a feint, that the company never really intended to do what it threatened: broadcast a very powerful signal from ground towers, on a frequency immediately adjacent to the GPS signal. LightSquared had its eye on another prize instead. read more

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Zoning in on Assets: Cubic Global Tracking Gets Iridium Certification

August 1, 2011 - By

A system that tracks and monitors valuable high-risk assets for defense and commercial customers has received certification from Iridium Communications, increasing the system’s accuracy and effectiveness. The Iridium constellation of low-Earth satellites provides voice and data services for areas not served by terrestrial communication networks. The Global Sentinel System, by Cubic Global Tracking Solutions, tracks and monitors assets with two-way, redundant encrypted communications. The system provides up to 2,000 unique geozones for each Global Sentinel device to control precise reporting rules along the supply chain. It can monitor asset conditions including temperature, humidity, light sensing, motion, and container door status. read more

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The System: Technical Report on LS/GPS Interference

August 1, 2011 - By

Once again, developments in the news outpaced print technology’s ability to keep up in the LightSquared saga. Shortly after the July issue went to press on June 27, the TWG final report appeared on June 30. Thus you readers, who received the magazine circa July 15, held old news in your hands. Likely this will occur again. read more

This article is tagged with , , and posted in GNSS, OEM

New Dawn for Driver Nav: GPS World Takes a Spin in the Audi A8L

August 1, 2011 - By

While most automobile magazines do a great job of reviewing the performance of automobiles and trucks, they do not adequately address the vehicles’ GPS or positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) capabilities, sensors, or electronics suites. Nor do they endeavor to fully grasp how these sensor suites, many enabled by GPS and other PNT devices, add to their safety, peace of mind, and overall situational awareness. My pick of the best automobile currently on the market for driver situational awareness is the 2011 Audi A8. read more

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Letters to the Editor

August 1, 2011 - By

August's letters to the editor. read more

This article is tagged with , and posted in From the Magazine, Opinions
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