Indra and Others to Update EGNOS

The European Space Agency has chosen Indra and some other companies to update the EGNOS satellite navigation system, a European satellite-based augmentation system for GPS that provides air, sea, and land navigation information. The objective of the study is to analyze how it should evolve so that it can take advantage of the greater number of satellites and GNSS constellations that will be in place in a few years' time, which will offer a greater volume and quality of data.

About $2.2 billion has been budgeted for the execution of this project which will run for a year and half. It is expected that the update will usher in new opportunities including the fact that the update will attract many number of users.

The team will be working on the system requirements, technical specifications design of the necessary navigation algorithms for the system and the end-user application, features verification simulations, and system architecture. The team's goal is to analyze the possibilities for evolving the current EGNOS system, turning it into a multi-constellation system capable of improving regionally the features offered separately by different satellite systems – GPS, GLONASS, China's Compass/Beidou, and Europe's own forthcoming Galileo.

Other team members of the project are Astrium-EADS (Germany), Deimos Engenharia (Portugal), INECO (Spain), Novatel (Canada), and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (Spain).

Tele Atlas Announces Coverage Expansion in Europe

The provider of digital map, Tele Atlas recently announced that it has included some areas of Europe in its coverage. These include almost 100% coverage of places like Greece, Malta, Italy, Spain and Portugal.

The company, reacting to market force especially from tourist areas of Europe said that it became necessary for them to update and expand their coverage areas since it also means more market for them. This has also motivated them to expand their coverage to the east to include countries such as Bulgaria and Turkey.

The Tele Atlas Global Product Manager, Yves Muyssen, Speaking on this new development said "We live in a global world, where travelers are no longer bound by the dividing lines of countries drawn on a paper map. Consumers expect a seamless driving experience no matter their destination – whether staying within their home countries or exploring new places."

Tele Atlas is currently working on further expansion of its coverage areas.

Garmin Partners with Harley-Davidson Over Road Tech Zumo

The need to provide Harley-Davidson with a customized GPS product has necessitated the partnership between the company and Garmin International, a GPS manufacturing company.  The Road Tech Zumo is a customized version of Garmin's popular motorcycle-specific GPS device specially enhanced for Harley owners.

The device comes with an extensive directory and has a database preloaded with over six million points of interests that include hotels, restaurants, gas stations, ATMs, and attractions. A custom handlebar mount quickly secures the Road Tech Zumo while providing the option of easily transferring the Road Tech Zumo to your car or truck for four-wheel navigation. Those who love adventures will also find the device very useful, this is because the ride planner at Harley will help them find, create and adapt great rides and easily download them to the Road Tech Zumo. In addition, riders can swap routes and waypoints with other Zumo owners via the unit's SD card slot.

 According to Dan Bartel, Garmin's vice president of worldwide sales "The Road Tech Zumo helps Harley riders plan and navigate their route with ease. Packed with all of the preloaded features that Zumo users have come to expect and appreciate, the Road Tech Zumo anticipates the needs of Harley riders everywhere."

 Other interesting features of the device include; a glove-friendly design with left-handed controls and oversized touchscreen buttons, XM subscriptions (optional), XM antenna, and the Bluetooth wireless technology which makes it easy to talk on the phone safely without removing gloves or helmet. It also has many security features.

 Road Tech Zumo owners can also access trip information directly from the zumo's trip information page. The bright display shows the rider their speed, heading and a customizable fuel gauge that lets them define the motorcycle's maximum fuel range and find a gas station when necessary.

Mobile Location Request for Zoombak's A-GPS Locators

Mobile Location Request is the new addition to Zoomback's GPS device which affords its users to connect to their Zoombak in real time from their cell phone irrespective of their location and at all time. By sending the word "FIND" as a text message to ZMBAK (96225), the sender will receive a feedback about Zoombak's current location almost immediately.

Existing customers of Zoombak need not to worry, because the feature has been automatically enabled on all Zoombak devices through a wireless update and users need to pay only a flat rate of $9.99 per month to enjoy unlimited access to the service for that month. The activation process is very simple and free; users need to simply log on through the company's secure, interactive website by pre-registering up to five mobile phones and creating confidential PIN numbers that will enable them to have access to the service. Users access Zoombak.com to setup custom safety zones around virtually any location including homes, parks, malls and schools. When the device crosses one of the virtual boundaries, a text message or email alert promptly notifies users of the location of the device.

The device is quite portable and can be easily fitted to dog's collar or attached to a bicycle, it combines the coverage of cellular networks and the power of global positioning satellites to provide consumers with the most accurate, real-time location information available.

The company, speaking through its president, Kate Shevack, stated that its top priority has been to continue to pioneer the personal locator industry by providing consumers with enhanced features and functionality. She said "Mobile Location Requests gives all consumers, especially those with busy lifestyles, the flexibility to locate their possessions whenever and from wherever they are, and is the first in a series of significant new features that will be rolled out to Zoombak users this year."

 

Boeing Won Contract to Demonstrate High Integrity GPS

The US Naval Research Laboratory contract which involves demonstration of the High Integrity GPS technology concepts has been eventually awarded to the Boeing Company. The contract that is expected to run for a period of 2 years is worth $153.5 million. The company has been chosen partly due to its years of experience when it comes to supporting the operation of Iridium system, since it is able to integrate the system with GPS in a manner to create the first such combined navigation and communication "system-of-systems."

This presents an opportunity for Boeing to showcase their ability since the company claimed to have been working over the years to find new ways to maximize the effectiveness of GPS constellation.

The principle is based on the fact that High Integrity GPS effort utilizes satellite signals from the Iridium Low Earth Orbit telecommunications system and GPS Mid Earth Orbit navigational satellites to enhance navigation availability integrity, accuracy, and jam-resistant capabilities for warfighters.

According to David Whelan, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems chief scientist and vice president/deputy general manager, "High Integrity GPS is an effective near-term tool that will augment GPS satellites to provide critical new capabilities, including aggressive levels of additional anti-jam protection. Our research concluded that significant low-cost improvements to GPS can be achieved by using existing signal platforms and systems such as the Iridium constellation. The need to provide a more capable GPS for warfighters stems from the increasing sophistication of hostile jamming capabilities, GPS supports numerous military and civil applications, so the ability to jam the system presents a grave threat."

However, Boeing Advanced systems will be working along sides with others in the High Integrity GPS project and these include Phantom Works, Iridium LLC, Rockwell Collins, Coherent Navigation, and experts from academia. Iridium Satellite LLC, headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, operates the Iridium constellation to provide worldwide voice and data satellite communications services for the private sector and the U.S. government.

Tragedy Prompted Governor to Sign GPS Protection Orders Bill

Following the sad tragedy of Cindy Bischof who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in a parking lot outside her place of work in Elmhurst, Gov. Blagojevich finally signed what is called the Cindy Bischof law. This law gives judges the power to impose GPS monitoring device on anybody reported to be violating order of protection or any related issues.

The Governor signed the bill during a ceremony at the Jane Addams Hull House Uptown Center, and assured the people present that he will soon be making use of his extensive amendatory veto power.

Before she was murdered, Clindy had asked a judge to make her ex who had been stalking her for a number of times wear a GPS device that would warn authorities if he approached her at home or at her working place. The judge declined her request saying he had no authority to give such. Few weeks later, Cindy was shot dead after which her assailant killed himself.

Cindy's family pressed hard to ensure that the bill was passed, her brother Michael , expressing his view about the law said "She would have been notified in advance and known he was in the area."

The new law could also give victims of domestic violence peace of mind, according to Bischof, who added that before his sister was killed she was terrorized for nine months and had to move several times.

"From this day forward, victims of stalking and harassment will gain back some of their personal freedom by finally placing the burden of movement on the offender rather than the victims themselves," he concluded.

Contractors urge EC to Accelerate Procurement Plan of Satellite Navigation System

Expressing their worries over the unnecessary delay of the procurement of the satellite navigation system, two of the major contractors of the Galileo's Project have urged the European Commission to accelerate the pace of the procurement process.

The two companies, Astrium Satellites and Thales Alenia Space, speaking at the information conference of European Union space ministers which took place between July 20 and 22 in Kourou, French Guinea agreed that the procurement process which has been slated to be debated for 10 months is being delayed unnecessarily.

In his remarks addressed to French Research Minister Valerie Pecresse and Guenter Verheugen, the European Commission Vice President, the chief executive of Astrium Sattellites, Evert Dudok said that the procurement has been substantially delayed and this schedule introduces more delays and encouraged the EC to remove the "needlessly complicated rules" on the Galileo procurement.

Offering his views, Thales Alenia Space Chief Executive Reynald Seznec  stated

Astrium Satellites, Thales Alenia Space, and its major subcontractors have assembled a contract proposal that distributes work throughout Europe and limits the prime contractors' dominance in a way that complies with European Commission concerns. "We really believe we have come up with a contracting profile that responds to the commission's concerns and that we could negotiate a final contract much sooner" than mid-2009, Seznec said

Reacting to these, the commission agreed to enter into a competitive dialogue with bidders and promised that they will come up with a positive solution that will of mutual benefit to the parties involved.

First Internet-Connected GPS Now Available Courtesy Dash Navigation

The industry's first GPS device to be connected to the internet is now available for sales through Amazon.com and will be ready for shipping upon order, according to its author, Dash Navigation.

 Dash Express, as it is called has a two-way connectivity that ensures effective delivery of traffic information and up-to-date destination information to users in their vehicles. These services are available through Dash Driver Network.

Unlike the contemporary GPS devices, Dash gathers information about traffic in a quite unique way.  Data are gathered from people driving real commutes during the rush hour and real commute times. The Dash Express then relay its position and speeds automatically to remote Dash's servers which in turns make the information available to the internet for the perusal of its subscribers.

The servers have also been programmed to automatically update all the users of Dash Express within the vicinity with the latest information about the road speed and the volume of the traffic. One interesting thing is the fact that the larger the Dash Network grows, the better traffic information becomes thereby allaying fear of erratic and inaccurate information that are caused by traffic jam. Even the first Dash devices in an area receive great traffic data this is because Dash receives information from other sources which include road sensors, commercial fleets and other sources through its partnership with Inrix- the premier traffic data provider in the US.

About two million miles of roads in the US are being covered by Dash and it offers the only source of traffic flow data for arterials in addition to highways.

The device is available at Amazon.com and it goes for a price of $399.99.

iPhone with GPS Functionality

Dangling Dongle is a real iPhone that makes iPhone a desirable device to possess even at this age when iPhone appears to be redundant. What brings life to this device lies in its GPS functionality.

The device comprises a Holux M1000b GPS unit with improved features which enhance the overall GPS performance, and a custom dock-connector cable with software to be run on a system which will activate the GPS features on the iPhone.

Another interesting point is the fact that the iPhone has a built in Google Maps application which makes it possible for users to update their position frequently and from the screenshots of the demo video, which is available on the company's official blog, it appears to work perfectly well.

The iPhone is available at a price of $100 for both the cable and the GPS unit while the cable alone goes for $16.

BlackLine Releases LonerMobile

LonerMobile is a new and quite interesting application for GPS-enabled BlackBerry Smartphone released by BlackLine GPS Inc.  Employers who take safety of their employees very seriously will find this new application useful.The software has been designed in such a way that it can report on mobile workers' safety via connection monitoring. Through GPS reporting, it can also confirm workers awareness and location so that their boss needs not to worry about the condition of their field staff during the course of carrying out their duties.

In case a user working in the field does not report at the appropriate time or lost his/her communication line, through GPS location history en employer can quickly determine the most recent location of the worker.

This is a pretty useful application considering the fact that any awful thing can happen at anytime.

Mobile Phones with GPS Features Gaining more Popularity

The features, such as GPS navigation, once found exclusively in Smartphones are now available in mobile phones and these have caused increased the demand of mobile phone in the second quarter of this year.

The new design of mobile phones which allows for the incorporation of smartphones features are escalating competition between devices in a new way and this has created an outburst in the demand of such devices.

The IDC's Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker reported that, "Vendors shipped a total of 306 million units, an increase of 5.6 percent sequentially from Q1 and 15.3 percent from Q2 2007. Total shipments for the quarter were in line with IDC's expectations, even as vendors cited economic challenges and changing demands within key regions, the market research firm said.

"Since the start of the year, vendors have been wary of the potential decrease in demand for mobile phones," said Ramon T. Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC's Mobile Devices Technology and Trends Team. "That has not stopped vendors from experimenting with and releasing a host of mid-range and high-end devices with GPS, touchscreen, and multimedia. This also goes for hotly contested emerging markets, where vendors are introducing phones that offer features in addition to voice telephony. Reception towards these devices has been warm, and as we head into the holiday quarter, demand for these and other devices will no doubt increase."

"Smartphones are still seeing growth rates hovering around 40 percent year-over-year, while the rest of the industry is growing at roughly 10.0 percent," said Ryan Reith, senior research analyst with IDC's Mobile Phone Tracker. "However, grouping the rest of the handsets into one category is doing the industry no justice. The rise of the feature phone has created a battle at the high-end of the market, with the main difference between smartphone and feature phone being the high-level operating system. We expect the competition at the high-end will help drive growth within the market and help move volume to higher-end devices."

Despite rising food and oil prices, mobile phone growth in the emerging markets of Asia/Pacific continued to be robust, IDC said. Nokia reported its highest-ever shipments in India amid subscriber increases in rural areas, while domestic phone makers benefitted in China. Pre-empting the threat of the then imminent Apple iPhone 3G in June, converged mobile device vendors in the region, including HP and MWG, also took the opportunity to launch their own competitive offerings in Q2.

Volumes in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) rose modestly compared with the first quarter, and saw healthy growth from a year ago, according to IDC. In Western Europe, LG and Samsung increased market share with new line ups of medium and low-end products, while in the emerging markets of Middle East and Africa growth continued to be driven by sales of Nokia's entry level phones.