UPS First to Use ADS-B

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved United Parcel Service’s (UPS) use of ADS-B technology for its flight operations at Louisville International Airport (SDF), the first such use of satellite-guided merging and spacing during airport approaches in the United States.

ADS-B, or Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, is a key component of the FAA’s GPS satellite-based NextGen program intended to replace the nation’s aging network of ground-based radar sites in the air traffic control system. The new system as designed will be 10 times more accurate than radar, according to the FAA.

ADS-B uses GPS signals to determine aircraft position (see figure). The code containing a plane’s flight data is automatically broadcast from the aircraft’s transponder once per second. Aircraft equipped to receive the data and ADS-B ground stations up to 200 miles away receive the broadcasts. Ground stations add radar-based targets for non-ADS-B-equipped aircraft to the mix and send all of the information back up to equipped aircraft, along with information on weather and flight restrictions. This data displays on cockpit screens and air traffic control displays.

Fewer Delays. The FAA claims ADS-B will reduce delays and improve safety by providing the precise location of aircraft to both pilots and controllers, resulting in more direct flight routes and airspace efficiency.

UPS will use ADS-B to handle merging and spacing of its planes on approach for landing at Louisville. The company has been an early proponent and developer of ADS-B technology; it says it can better manage both fuel consumption and emissions with ADS-B.

Use of the technology will soon spreading. In 2005 the FAA settled on ADS-B as the preferred technology path for air traffic control; it has set aside $165 million for fiscal years 2007 and 2008 to begin implementing the technology in the United States and begin replacing the existing ground-based radar infrastructure.

ITT Contract. In August 2007, the FAA awarded ITT Corp. a $207 million initial contract leading a team to develop and deploy the system. Under the initial three-year contract, ITT will be responsible for overall system integration and engineering, and under contract options will operate and maintain the system after deployment through September 2025. The contract has a potential value with all options exercised of $1.86 billion.

Essentially, ITT will be required to build and operate the ADS-B ground stations, which it will own. The FAA will pay subscription charges for ADS-B broadcasts transmitted to properly equipped aircraft and air traffic control facilities. ITT is required to have the system ready for use by 2010 and enable it to cover the entire nation by 2013.

The ITT team includes its partners AT&T, Thales North America, WSI, SAIC, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Aerospace Engineering, Sunhillo, Comsearch, MCS of Tampa, Pragmatics, Washington Consulting Group, Aviation Communications and Surveillance Systems (ACSS), Sandia Aerospace and NCR Corporation. Software in the ADS-B system used by UPS comes from ACSS. In the future, ACSS plans to add an alert feature that will tell flight crews that a runway is occupied or soon will be.

ADS-B uses GPS signals to determine aircraft position. Aircraft transponders receive satellite signals; transponders in turn transmit their precise location, along with other data from the aircraft’s flight monitoring system, such as the type of aircraft, its speed, its flight number, and whether it is turning, climbing, or descending. The code containing all of this data is automatically broadcast from the aircraft’s transponder once per second.

» UTILITIES & COMMUNICATIONS

Solar Cycle Could Disrupt GPS, Communications

A new 11-year cycle of heightened solar activity, bringing with it increased risks for military and civilian communications, including GPS signals, showed signs it was on it its way with the appearance of the cycle's first sunspot, NOAA scientists said January 4.

The sunspot appeared in the sun’s Northern Hemisphere, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). “This sunspot is like the first robin of spring,” said solar physicist Douglas Biesecker of Nova’s Space Weather Prediction Center. “In this case, it’s an early omen of solar storms that will gradually increase over the next few years.”

A sunspot is an area of highly organized magnetic activity on the surface of the sun. The new 11-year cycle, called solar cycle 24, is expected to build gradually, with the number of sunspots and solar storms reaching a maximum by 2011 or 2012, though devastating storms can occur at any time, according to NOAA.

During a solar storm, highly charged material ejected from the sun may head toward Earth, where it can bring down power grids, disrupt critical communications, and threaten astronauts with harmful radiation. Storms can also knock out commercial communications satellites and swamp GPS signals. Routine activities such as talking on a cell phone or getting money from an ATM could suddenly halt over a large part of the globe, NOAA warned.

“Our growing dependence on highly sophisticated, space-based technologies means we are far more vulnerable to space weather today than in the past,” said Vice Admiral Conrad C. Schoolteacher, Jr., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “[NOAA’s] space weather monitoring and forecasts are critical for the nation’s ability to function smoothly during solar disturbances.”

In April 2007, in coordination with an international panel of solar experts, NOAA issued a forecast that solar cycle 24 would start in March 2008, plus or minus six months. The panel was evenly split between those predicting a strong or weak cycle. Both camps agree that the sooner the new cycle takes over the waning previous cycle, the more likely that it will be a strong season with many sunspots and major storms, said Biesecker. Many more sunspots with solar cycle 24 traits must emerge before scientists consider the new cycle dominant, with the potential for more frequent storms, NOAA said.

The new sunspot, identified as #10,981, is the latest visible spot to appear since NOAA began numbering them on January 5, 1972. Its high-latitude location at 27 degrees North, and its negative polarity leading to the right in the Northern Hemisphere are clear-cut signs of a new solar cycle, according to NOAA experts.

» SURVEY & CONSTRUCTION

Javad GNSS Names Machine Control VP

Javad GNSS Inc. has appointed Zdenko (Kuzo) Kurtovic, former CEO of GeoAstor and Swissat, as vice president of Machine Control & GIS, a new division of Javad GNSS.

Kurtovic has 20 years of experience in the surveying industry, and for the past 17 years has been the CEO of Swiss-based GeoAstor and Swissat. Javad GNSS is in the process of introducing new GNSS technology for all applications, including complete sets of hardware and software for precision applications, according to the company.

Kurtovic’s experience as a systems integrator and knowledge of real-time GIS mapping will benefit the company, Javad GNSS said. He will also provide direction in product development and marketing.

» SURVEY & CONSTRUCTION

Trimble Acquires Crain Enterprises

In January, Trimble acquired privately held Crain Enterprises Inc. of Mound City, Illinois, in an all-cash transaction, the company announced. Financial terms were not disclosed.Crain manufactures accessories for the geomatics, surveying, mapping, and construction industries. Its product lines include tripods, bipods, leveling rods, measuring rulers, prisms, prism and GPS poles, stream gauges, and wire installation tools, as well as bags, packs, and sewn carrying cases for surveying and positioning instruments.

The purchase of Crain allows Trimble to provide the necessary accessories that can be offered as part of its positioning products used in the engineering and construction markets, the company said. Crain and Trimble will also be able to leverage distribution channels.Crain will enable Trimble to augment its existing product lines by offering accessories along with its current equipment, according to Jim Veneziano, general manager of Trimble’s Construction Division. Accessories are often key to achieving total system performance, Veneziano said, so the acquisition will enable Trimble to better satisfy user needs.

Steve Crain, president and CEO, and the staff of Crain Enterprises will join Trimble and operate as a wholly owned subsidiary as part of Trimble’s Engineering and Construction segment.

» MASS MARKET OEM

Russia Sells GPS-GLONASS PND

Device Offers Multimedia, 7-Inch Screen

The first 1,000-unit batch of Russian personal navigation devices (PNDs) that use both Russian GLONASS and U.S. GPS navigation signals sold out within 20 minutes, Russia’s Itar-Tass news agency reported in January, citing Anatoly Perminov, Russian Federal Space Agency director.

The Russian Federal Industry Agency is in charge of the production of navigation units, while the Federal Space Agency coordinates the entire GLONASS program. The navigation units can receive 12 GLONASS channels and 20 GPS channels, Itar-Tass reported.

The Glospace Sgk-70 is produced by the Russian Institute of Space Device Engineering (RISDE), a state-run enterprise first formed in 1946. RISDE has been involved with the GLONASS project from the start, developing the radio hardware used in the satellites.Glospace is Russia's first consumer navigation device to take advantage of its homegrown GNSS. It features a huge  seven-inch screen and multimedia playback.

While the first batch of units sold out immediately, the device is offered for sale through a number of Russian Websites specializing in consumer electronics; prices range from 11,500 rubles to 11,990 rubles, or about $470 to $490.

GLONASS Launches. The sale of the Glospace came a week after the space agency successfully launched three GLONASS satellites into orbit, bringing the GLONASS cluster up to 18 satellites. By 2010, Russia plans to have a fully operating constellation of 24 GLONASS satellites, providing positioning service over the entire globe, complementing the U.S. GPS constellation.

With this latest launch, GLONASS signals are available across 90 percent of Russia and nearly 80 percent of the globe, according to Anatoly Perminov, Russian Federal Space Agency director. Six GLONASS satellites are scheduled for launch this year, and the first two improved GLONASS -K satellites are scheduled for launch in 2009.

The Glospace features a combo 12-channel GLONASS/20-channel GPS receiver. Its color LCD is in wide-screen format, at 480 x 234 pixels . It is built around a Samsung S3C2440 400Mhz processor, with 128 megabytes of onboard memory (64 MB of RAM, 64 MB of ROM), with a Secure Digital flash memory card expansion slot.

The Glospace uses the Windows CE 5.0 operating system, and is capable of multimedia playback, including MP3 and Ogg audio files and AVI-, DivX-, MP4- and MPEG-4-encoded video files. As for I/O ports, the Glospace supports USB (v. 1.1), miniUSB, a 3.5mm audio jack, as well as an A/V port for video input.

» RESOURCES

GNSS, Inertial Nav Featured in New Book

Principles of GNSS, Inertial, and Multisensor Integrated Navigation Systems by Paul D. Groves of QinetiQ, Ltd. is now available from Artech House.

The practical resource explains satellite navigation, inertial navigation, terrestrial radio navigation, dead reckoning, feature matching, and integrated navigation. It provides both an introduction to navigation systems and an in-depth treatment of INS/GNSS and multisensor integration.

The book shows how satellite, inertial, and other navigation technologies work, and focuses on processing chains and error sources. In addition, practitioners find a clear introduction to coordinate frame, multi-frame kinematics, Earth models, gravity, and the Kalman filter.

Providing solutions to common integration problems, the book describes and compares different integration architectures, and explains how to model different error sources, according to the publisher. “Readers find a broad and penetrating overview of current technology and are brought up to speed with the latest developments in the field, including the new GNSS signals, GNSS operation in challenging environments, deep integration, enhanced Loran, urban and indoor positioning, and pedestrian dead reckoning,” the publisher said.

For ordering information, visit www.artechhouse.com; call 781-769-9750, ext. 4030; or e-mail artech@artechhouse.com.

» MILITARY & GOVERNMENT

National Space Symposium Set

The 24th National Space Symposium will take place April 7–10, with speakers including Michael W. Wynne, secretary of the U.S. Air Force (USAF), and Air Force General Victor E. Renuart, commander for NORAD/USNORTHCOM. Sponsored by the Space Foundation, the annual symposium will be held at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

James F. Albaugh, Boeing executive vice president and president and CEO of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, and Jean-Yves LeGall, Arianespace chairman and CEO, will deliver industry keynotes.

Experts leading panel discussions include:

• Lt. Gen. Michael A. Hamel, USAF commander, Space and Missile Systems Center, Air Force Space Command
• James Oberg, noted space consultant and author
• Lt. Gen. William L. Shelton, USAF commander, 14th Air Force, Air Force Space Command, and commander, Joint Functional Component Command for Space, U.S. Strategic Command
• Brig. Gen. Simon P. Worden, USAF (retired), center director, NASA Ames Research Center

The symposium’s theme, “Our Expanding Universe...50 Years of Space Exploration,” reflects the continued efforts and advancement in space while acknowledging how far the space industry has come in the last 50 years, the Space Foundation said. It anticipates more than 7,500 registrants, guests, speakers, exhibitors, and media members from across the United States and many foreign countries to attend.

» SURVEY & CONSTRUCTION

Septentrio Signs North American Distribution Deal

Western Latitudes, a wholly owned subsidiary of Meridian 104 Inc., has become the latest member of Septentrio's North American distribution network. Western Latitudes, based in Centennial, Colorado, and a reseller of GPS products to the survey and machine control markets, will immediately start providing Septentrio products to their locations across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Belgium-based Septentrio suggested that Western Latitudes would be a key part of its goal to expand the availability of its products in the North American Market.

Western Latitudes President David Atkinson cited Septentrio’s ability to provide single-centimeter RTK, including precise heading and 3D attitude measurements, in one compact receiver as an important aspect of its products. Another aspect was its development of contracts with the European Space Agency's Galileo satellite program.

IN BRIEF

Garmin and Panasonic Automotive Systems Co. are collaborating on custom OEM navigation products targeting various vehicle manufacturers, the companies announced January 14. The U.S.-based subsidiary of Japanese electronics company Panasonic is a supplier of OEM audio, video, navigation, and information products and systems.Germany's Navigon, which entered the U.S. PND market in 2007, has claimed the fifth spot in the market. In November 2007, it broke into the top five among PND sellers in both units and dollar sales, according to  data from market research firm NPD Group. Navigon’s entry-level Navigon 2100 PND was one of the top 10 best-selling GPS units in November. The company has centered its business model around providing real-time traffic data, including it subscription-free for the lifetime of its PNDs.Taiwan's Mitac International Corp. is formally merging its two GPS navigation device subsidiaries—Mio Technology and Navman—but will continue to maintain two brand names. The merger follows Mitac's acquisition of the Navman portable navigation business from Brunswick Corp. in March 2007. The formal merger will create a single operating company with a new brand identity, the company said. Nevertheless, the Navman brand will continue to exist in selected markets, including the United Kingdom, Spain, Australia and New Zealand.

U.K.-based CSR announced in January that it had cut the cost of embedded GPS receivers in half through a collaboration with South Korea’s Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co. The resulting products are based on CSR’s GPS software and Samsung’s module hardware. CSR’s software approach eliminates the need for a dedicated GPS baseband; this reduces the cost of the module to less than half that of competitors’ devices, according to the company.