About Richard B. Langley
Richard B. Langley is a professor in the Department of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) in Fredericton, Canada, where he has been teaching and conducting research since 1981. He has a B.Sc. in applied physics from the University of Waterloo and a Ph.D. in experimental space science from York University, Toronto. He spent two years at MIT as a postdoctoral fellow, researching geodetic applications of lunar laser ranging and VLBI. For work in VLBI, he shared two NASA Group Achievement Awards.
Professor Langley has worked extensively with the Global Positioning System. He has been active in the development of GPS error models since the early 1980s and is a co-author of the venerable “Guide to GPS Positioning” and a columnist and contributing editor of GPS World magazine. His research team is currently working on a number of GPS-related projects, including the study of atmospheric effects on wide-area augmentation systems, the adaptation of techniques for spaceborne GPS, and the development of GPS-based systems for machine control and deformation monitoring. Professor Langley is a collaborator in UNB’s Canadian High Arctic Ionospheric Network project and is the principal investigator for the GPS instrument on the Canadian CASSIOPE research satellite now in orbit.
Professor Langley is a fellow of The Institute of Navigation (ION), the Royal Institute of Navigation, and the International Association of Geodesy. He shared the ION 2003 Burka Award with Don Kim and received the ION’s Johannes Kepler Award in 2007.
Posts by Richard B. Langley
Mode N could meet the need for a reliable alternative PNT system for aircraft navigation. It builds on aspects of existing navigation systems and aviation-certified signals not originally intended for navigation, including some used for communications and surveillance. In this article, a team of researchers from the German Aerospace Center describe Mode N, looking at its signal format, required ground infrastructure, aircraft avionics and the potential position accuracy this system could offer. Read more»
Getting It Better
While RTK positioning and attitude determination is readily done with high-end equipment, it is still a challenge to get good results for kinematic platforms with low-cost receivers. In this month’s column, we learn how a team of researchers in France is trying to do just that. Read more»
When GPS World published its first issue in January 1990, only 15 GPS satellites had been launched, including the 10 prototype or Block I satellites. And four of those early... Read more»
By Peter Steigenberger, Steffen Thoelert, Oliver Montenbruck and Richard B. Langley The first GPS III satellite, “Vespucci,” was launched in December 2018, started signal transmission in January 2020, and was... Read more»
Less than three weeks after its launch, the first GPS III satellite, SVN74, started transmitting navigation signals. SVN74 uses the pseudorandom noise (PRN) code number G04 previously used by the... Read more»
In honor of 3.14.2019, here is what GPS World’s Innovation column editor Richard Langley wrote about π in an article (“A Sideways Look at How the Global Positioning System Works“) nine... Read more»
A new map method opens up parking continuous-environment mapping for enhanced low-cost urban navigation. Collectively recorded context data by many identical platforms gather similar sensor readings when operating in a given area.... Read more»
Making It BetterReal-world tests show improved single-frequency GNSS positioning in urban environments using GLONASS alongside GPS, as well as the effect of different antennas and adaptive weighting of observations. Results? Single-frequency accuracies below one meter. Read more»
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