GPS Inside &#151 January 2006

January 1, 2006 GPS World

Compact GPS Tracks Footsteps Around the World

Paris, the City of Light. A young couple walks hand-in-hand up the Trocadero and explores the Eiffel Tower. Romance and young love. It stirs your spirits — but not in wistful romanticism — your daughter promised you that she would be staying in London for the weekend with friends. You know that she’s actually in Paris, because she’s carrying the WorldTracker SMS from Tracking the World (Millbrae, California), and you can trace every footstep from the comfort of your home using Google Earth. The aerial photo is clear to 1,000 feet: you can see cars and buses on the boulevards, boats on the Seine, and most importantly, a clear trail of her movements, like breadcrumbs dropped from her pocket.

The WorldTracker SMS is designed to send short message service (SMS) messages to as many as seven cell phone numbers or e-mail addresses, as programmed by individual users. When users send messages to Tracking the World’s web site and arrange for monthly service, the company’s software overlays the GPS data onto photographs generated by Google Earth using satellite imagery and 3D maps. By using Google Earth, users eliminate the need to update separate mapping software and pay monthly licensing and maintenance fees for mapping software. The unit will work anywhere on Earth where it can receive GPS and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) messages.

Equipped with a SiRFstarIII chipset and a Siemens MC-46 tri-band GSM module, the unit measures 2.56 by 1.7 by 1.1 inches (45 by 66 by 25 millimeters) and weighs 3.1 ounces (87 grams), which makes it small enough to carry, put it on a belt or in a purse, or to set it on the seat of a vehicle. It uses assisted GPS and an internal antenna to lock onto signals, whether the unit is inside or outside.

Tracking the World co-owner Gilbert Walz described an initial system test by one of the company’s software developers, “He put it on his five-year-old, and he went to a movie theater. So we have tracks of his little boy going to the theater with all of his buddies. It actually received the GPS signal inside the theater. Generally, GPS antennas want to see the sky. This particular unit does well without seeing the sky.”

The unit is programmable via SMS signals sent by cell phone or e-mail. Users can schedule regular location reports for any period from 2 to 120 minutes. With its geofencing ability, users can define an area of 100 meters in radius or more and set the unit in park mode. If the unit moves beyond its predefined limits, it will automatically send message to its programmed cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses to alert users about movement and to provide exact location. The unit also carries an emergency button, which a carrier can use to alert others in the event of an event such as a kidnapping.

The device is always active and has a rechargeable lithium ion battery that provides 24 hours of power. Optional battery packs can increase power life to as many as 15 days, and the unit also can be either plugged into or wired for 12 volt direct current power.

Data are sent in NMEA format, so the information can be used in any tracking program, in addition to Tracking the World’s website.

Although useful for tracking wayward teenagers, the device’s makers expect their major market will be vehicles and heavy equipment tracking.

TRACKING & WIRELESS

GPS Baseband Processor

A GPS baseband processor from Nemerix (Lugano, Switzerland) reportedly can provide indoor sensitivity better than -158 dBm while using 40 milliwatts of power for 1-Hz fixes. The NJ2020 GPS baseband processor measures 6 by 6 millimeters and uses memory and processor resources available through its host platform, such as a PDA or a cell phone. The NJ2020 has no real-time requirements of its host when used with the company’s NJ1006A GPS RF IC and Navigation software programs. The processor provides GPS/assisted GPS functionality in autonomous or assisted modes using GSM, WCDMA, CEDMA, and iDen wide-area networks. The processor’s total footprint is less than 90 square millimeters.

SURVEYING & MAPPING

Map Conversion Software

A new version of Geographic Map File Translator, version 3.0 from Blue Marble Geographics (Gardiner, Maine) adds the most-current map file and coordinate support system for industry-leading map files, rather than every format available. The software supports ESRI Shape, MapInfo Tab and MIF, AutoDesk DWG and DXF (previous versions and 2006), Bentley DGN, and ESRI 100 (read only) formats. The software also supports the latest updates included in the newest GeoCalc libraries that include Well-Known Text, PRJ file, full EPSG database, and custom coordinate systems. A map file viewer window lets user see a full set of standard map viewing tools. Raster support formats enables users to check data against DOQQ image libraries.

Monitoring Receiver

Leica Geosystems (Heerbrugg, Switzerland) has released the GMX902 high-precision, dual-frequency GPS receiver, designed to monitor structures such as bridges, dams, and high buildings and topography such as land slide areas and volcanoes. It provides dual-frequency code and phase data at rates as fast as 20 Hz, for precise data capture of accurate position calculation and motion analyses. The receiver can be used with the company’s GPS Spider advanced GPS processing software for coordinate calculation and raw data storage and GeoMoS monitoring software for movement analysis and limit check calculation.

INDUSTRY BYTE

Stephen W. Opel has joined Interstate Electronics Corp. (IEC, Anaheim, California) as senior program manager for IEC’s U.S. Air Force (USAF)-related programs. Before joining IEC, Opel was a colonel in the U.S. Air Force, serving as the USAF Material Command’s representative to the USAF Air Mobility Command at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.

CORRECTION

The December 2005 LBS news story “Location Services Massed for Breakout” severely underreported the number of Qualcomm gpsOne-enabled cellular handsets shipped worldwide. The correct figure is 150 million handsets.

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