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The Need for GPS Receiver Standards

May 19th, 2013

GPS receiver standards have been an unspoken need for some time, but the recent conflict between the GPS industry and the LightSquared company has brought them into the public eye.

The Background

LightSquared is a company that hopes to develop a wireless broadband Internet network. To carry its signal, it purchased the L-band spectrum of bandwidth from the FCC. The company would send Internet data to its satellite, which would then send it back down to a receiver system. The signal would then be transmitted to users by means of ground stations. When the process was tested, it worked well, except for one small difficulty. The signals caused interference with all kinds of GPS receivers. As a result, the FCC did not approve LightSquared’s setup, and the company eventually declared bankruptcy. Despite the poor outcome for the company, the entire situation brought to light a bigger concern.

The Problem

GPS devices have been developed and manufactured for years without having any definite GPS receiver standards. As a result, most GPS receivers do not operate strictly within their own bandwidth. This means that when a signal is sent using a neighboring bandwidth, it interferes with the operation of the GPS receiver instead of being rejected as it should. It appears that LightSquared’s system caused interference not because it was operating outside its prescribed bandwidth, but rather because GPS receivers were not adequately constructed to reject signals from outside the GPS bandwidth.

The Fallout

Since this problem was brought to public attention, there has been some political discussion as to how it should be solved. In fact, a process to establish standards for GPS receivers has already been started. How they will be established and enforced and whether they will be applied to already-existing devices has yet to be determined.

These standards will likely be too late to help the rejected LightSquared system, but there are rumors that the company will emerge from bankruptcy and try again to implement its idea. This time, though, it will likely use a setup that has no connection to the GPS spectrum. Regardless of their impact on LightSquared, GPS receiver standards are most likely here to stay and will be very helpful as the industry continues to develop and expand.

GPS vs. the Cabbie

May 12th, 2013

Through the city they rush; what a commotion! What a hurried buzzing! Taxis, cabs; whatever you like to call them, they seem to hold a central role for residents of any big city. From point A to point B they can get you in a jiffy…usually. Sometimes they take so long you beg for divine intervention and other times they whizz past the traffic so speedily you wonder how they even manage it. Well, just maybe they used a GPS system to track a route and gauge the traffic before they even pulled out onto the road.

GPS tracking and navigation systems are tools vital to the travel, transportation, and monitoring needs of today. GPS tracking and navigation units are quickly becoming more and more commonplace in public transportation services. From airplane traffic monitoring, to public bus scheduling, to the quickest route from 42^nd Street to Broadway, GPS systems are helping public transportation providers to manage their work with much more efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Many bus companies have implemented GPS systems into all of their business. This has allowed them to provide civilian bus riders with near real time bus arrival and departure times; company officials have better opportunity to monitor bus routes and stops to help their companies streamline their operations; leadership in the companies is able to monitor drivers’ behavior and to increase bus safety and security; GPS system integration can also assist companies in calculating effective means of fuel usage and savings.

Some may have wondered about the legality of the usage of GPS units in public transportation, especially as concerns cab drivers. In an interview with Business Insider, one New York cab driver had stated that it was not permissible for cab drivers to utilize GPS systems in their work. This statement was later discredited by the cab driver’s employing company, the Taxi and Limousine Commission, who stated that portable GPS units were, in fact, allowed in New York cabs.

Thinking of that conversation in light of the benefits received by various bus companies across the United States when GPS systems were implemented, it would seem that the Taxi and Limousine Commission might do better to make GPS systems an integral part of their operations. Monitoring of company operations and employees can have quite a positive effect on business.

GPS Tracking for Water Lines

May 11th, 2013

Water authorities in Webster County, Kentucky now have GPS tracking for their water lines. With help from outside experts, the multi-step process is starting to pay off. Although the initial unit is operational, the system will require tweaking and more data entry to meet its maximum potential and usefulness. Authorities believe that the GPS system will transform the way it currently operates.

Water Line Database

The water authorities are in the process of building a database to contain all the information that employees would need to know in the field, such as the location of water lines, how deep they are entrenched, and where the nearest valves are located. This data, once collected will be accessible by GPS and therefore employees can get to it readily when they need to fix a problem.

Gathering Current Data

Current tasks for the water district employees include mapping all the existing water lines in the county. Special marking cable which is easily detected from the surface has been used in some of the newer lines, making them easy to find. Older lines are being located with the intent to map them to the GPS unit.

Informational Efficiency

Once it is fully operational, the GPS tracking on Webster County’s water lines will enable employees to locate water lines and shut off valves in just seconds. The GPS unit will provide information as to the depth of the line as well as its size and type. Shut off points will also be mapped and their nearest locations included in the data.

Future Implications

It will be interesting to see whether other counties inside and outside the state of Kentucky take Webster County’s lead to approve the use of GPS units in their water pipelines. Much will depend on exactly how much time the technology saves workmen who are trying to locate water lines and, in emergency or maintenance situations, shut off the water. Perhaps future technology will reveal the nature of problems in the pipe lines when customers call in, or maybe even control water flow from a remote location based on information gathered using the GPS unit. In any case, it is certainly a progressive step for these county water authorities to experiment with GPS tracking as it applies to water lines.

GPS on A Bicycle

May 8th, 2013

When one hears the term, “Global Positioning Satellite”, one might typically think of personal vehicle navigation systems or huge dishes floating in orbit thousands of miles above the earth. We all know that we use GPS for quite a spectrum of tasks, it is true. But for the most part, when speaking of using GPS systems in our day to day lives, we tend not to think of much past the bigger and broader applications. That is why, perhaps, it would be strange to some people to think of cyclists using GPS systems on their bicycles. All the same, the addition of GPS units is a growing trend among cycling enthusiasts and includes many attractive features.

Why would it be helpful for a cyclist to have a GPS system on their apparatus? Many bicycle enthusiasts have lauded the GPS unit available to them as indispensable in planning future routes or in planning alternate paths. GPS allows cyclists to save time and potential frustration by cancelling the need for stops to double check map reading. Perhaps best of all the elements made available to cyclists when the add a GPS system to their bike, there is no longer the constant recurring struggle with the question, “Did we just miss the turn back there?”

Route sharing is another attractive feature, allowing cyclists to connect with one another and create groups online. By creating accounts through internet websites, users of bicycle GPS units can upload favorite routes for sharing, learn about unfamiliar areas through the route experiences of other cyclists, and plan events or meet-ups with friends.

And then there is the element inherent in most GPS systems of today; tracking. How often does one hear of a bike being stolen? And how often does one hear a stolen bike being retrieved successfully? GPS units on bicycles have a definite knack not only for planning route to rides with fellow cyclists, but also for tracking a stolen or missing apparatus. GPS systems for tracking can be easily attached to bicycles and do not prove to be any sort of hindrance to the cyclist during regular riding usage.

Be it for route navigation and planning or for retrieval and tracking of a stolen apparatus, GPS systems for bicycles are quickly becoming invaluable to the cyclist of today.

Madrid, Spain: Sensor System To Improve GPS Location In The City

April 18th, 2013

A group of researchers in Spain claim a newly designed sensor allows GPS devices used in vehicles to more accurately pinpoint location by up to 90 percent. According to these researchers, this system of sensors that work hand in hand with a vehicle’s GPS device can be installed at a relatively low cost in any vehicle.

The research was conducted at Universidad Carlos III in Madrid, primarily because GPS as they currently experience it is not often accurate when traveling in the city. In an open field, the GPS device might locate to within 50 feet, but if you head to the city, you’ll see that location can be off by over 160 feet. Why? The tall buildings and narrow streets can cause GPS signal to bounce all over the place.

The system this team of researchers designed involves not only conventional GPS signal, but a series of sensors as well, like accelerometers and gyroscopes. These sensors aid in reducing the margin of error when trying to get a location fix.

The prototype was tested, and the testing vehicle has been successfully located to within a mere 3 to 6 feet in a city environment.

In the journal SENSORS, the researchers wrote, “Future applications that will benefit from the technology that we are currently working on will include cooperative driving, automatic maneuvers for the safety of pedestrians, autonomous vehicles or cooperative collision warning systems.”

If development continues, they say it could be possible to integrate the entire system in a smartphone as most phones already come standard with built-in GPS, gyroscopes, and accelerometers. “We are now starting to work on the integration of this data fusion system into a mobile telephone,” said researcher Enrique Marti, “so that it can integrate all of the measurements that come from its sensors in order to obtain the same result that we have now, but at an even much lower cost, since it is something that almost everyone can carry around in his pocket.”

GPS Technology: Cost Saving Devices or Invasions of Employee Privacy?

February 27th, 2013

As more local governments utilize GPS technology in their vehicles, questions are being raised about the devices’ cost-effectiveness and their employee monitoring capabilities. Many county offices have added the units to their fleet in an effort to save on fuel costs and increase employee productivity.

Advocates of the technology say that the devices will provide drivers with the most direct routes to their destinations, thus increasing agency efficiency and response times as well as limiting the use of costly fuel. After installing the GPS sytem in their vehicles, the Baltimore county fleet drove 493,463 miles in October 2012, as opposed to 613,737 miles during the same month of the previous year. This lower mileage resulted in a $8,300 savings in fuel, which translates to about $100,000 of savings in a year.

But is the savings worth the cost? Georgia-based NexTraq charges Baltimore County a yearly fee of $288,000 for the use of the system — about $188,000 more than the fuel savings. Of course, the savings due to improved agency efficiency and decreased wear on vehicles is difficult to quantify. Rob Stradling, the Baltimore County office of information technology director, said that the county expects increased fuel savings through continued use of the GPS devices. However, experts in the industry state that companies typically see their biggest savings soon after implementing the new system.

But, cost considerations aside, the greatest concern to many is the ability of GPS technology to monitor the behavior of the employees operating the vehicles. The system used by Baltimore County sends an alert when employees stay in one location for an extended period of time, when they exceed the speed limit by at least 12mph, and when they leave the county. Employers say that this monitoring is helpful to ensure that employees are making the best use of their time. Employees and unions are concerned that the information gathered will be used to pursue punitive action against employees. Their concern is heightened by fears that the reports produced by the devices may not always be accurate, causing an employee to be unfairly punished.

Despite the apprehensions of some, it seems that GPS technology is here to stay. As local governments attempt to provide the same services with fewer employees and less funding, any system that can save money and increase employee efficiency will be considered extremely valuable.

New Global Positioning System Satellite is Launched into Space

January 24th, 2013

On October 4^th of 2012, the brand new Global Position System satellite, labeled the Block IIF, was launched into space. Prior to its launch, a corporation called the Space and Missile systems center and workers from Space Wings, ran checks of the satellite over a period of three weeks. This was required before allowing the device to be placed among thirty other GPS satellites in the constellation designated for GPS satellites. Control of this device was given to a division of the Air Force on October 26^th of 2012.

This Global Positioning System satellite is specifically designed to transmit digital radio signals to receivers on the ground. Millions of people will make use of this device over the course of its time in space, making it necessary for the device to be highly durable and well programmed. Not only is it used by the military, but civilians will also use it commonly in their every day lives. It is intended to assist both military personnel and civilians around the world to be able to better calculate their speed, time and location.

This specific satellite is among the fifth generation series of the global positioning spacecraft that have been set into the GPS constellation. It is equipped with new and upgraded timing technology. Additionally, a higher tech military signal has been programmed into the device. This will allow for a clearer signal that resists jamming. Having a clear and jam-free signal is essential in military operations. Not only is has the signal designed for the military been improved, but also the civilian signal has been designed with a higher power frequency.

Because of its high tech design and stronger system, the new global positioning system satellite has been created to operate efficiently in orbit for a total of 12 years. It has also been designed with reprogrammable processor. This processor is made to be capable of receiving updates to its software and programming. This uploads will allow it to operate at maximum efficiency during its lifespan. Designers hope to launch the next Global Positioning Block IIF spacecraft by May of 2013.

Global Positioning Systems in a Nutshell

January 7th, 2013

Since the Department of Defense placed the first satellite into earth’s orbit in 1978, an entire network of 27 satellites, 24 currently transmitting and 3 emergency replacements as needed, have launched to form today’s Global Positioning System (also called NAVSTAR). Solar-powered and always active, the satellites allow the pinpointing of any location at any time on earth’s surface.

How is a GPS location calculated?

It’s all three-dimensional trilateration. The communication between a GPS receiver and GPS satellites in orbit uses radio signals to accurately determine a location on earth. First, the distance in space between the position on earth and one initial satellite of at least four is calculated. The satellite’s highly accurate atomic clock resets the receiver’s down to the correct nanosecond so that both are on the exact same time, which in turn syncs the clocks of the other three (or more) satellites alongside them to that time as well. When a signal is sent from satellite to receiver, the time (lag) difference between the two locations is recorded and used by the receiver to generate the distance from earth to satellite and, in turn, an approximate point on earth.

Then the other satellites also generate, in the same manner, approximate points near the first, and the meeting point of all satellite locations is determined to be most precise position on earth. Once it has a starting point, this system can calculate longitude and latitude, as well as elevation. When combined with other active satellites, it can also be used to find direction, velocity, and the distance to a predetermined end point.

Is GPS ever wrong?

Most errors occur because signal communication with the receiver is interrupted or lost. For instance, huge buildings or large natural formations on earth’s surface can hinder signals from hitting the receiver at the correct time. Certain conditions in the atmosphere also slow a signal. Inaccuracies in the receiver’s clock and satellite orbital shift may be taken into consideration and recalculated. Satellites are built with a 10 year average life span; in some cases perhaps the equipment itself has merely worn out.

What if GPS is wrong?

It’s not that likely. The GPS satellites are not only armed with an atomic clock and interior almanac but also are constantly updating themselves with receivers monitored by Department of Defense to check for data errors. A high-tier Differential GPS satellite, not permitted to be used by the general public, receives around-the-clock accurate information from a permanently placed receiver and sends updated corrections to all other local public satellites.

Japan Prepares Navigation System to Enhance GPS

December 17th, 2012

The United States isn’t the only country aiming to upgrade or improve their current GPS satellite constellation. The developer helping Japan create its own satellite navigation system, Core Corp., recently showcased a signal receiver unit at the 2012 Embedded Technology show that is designed to obtain more accurate global positioning information.

Japan is getting ready to deploy the Quazi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), regional navigation techology. Tokyo’s Core Corp. said on November 14. Their highly accurate signal receiver unit will not only function with the QZSS, but the current GPS system already in place. The first satellite in the QZSS constellation was launched in 2010,and was named Michibiki. The country has plans to launch an additional three QZSS satellites before the year 2020.

The goal of implementing this new navigation system is to enhance the current Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) regionally. Japan and other areas in the western Pacific Ocean will be covered by the QZSS signals.

Ryo Kurokawa, part of Core’s advanced embedded technology center, said the receiver the company has developed is capable of receiving both QZSS “availability enhancement signals,” offering better GPS coverage and QZSS “performance enhancement signals,” providing a more accurate and reliable method of acquiring more precise GPS data.

Japan isn’t the only country working on their own GPS satellite constellation. Russia’s GLONASS system is now operational, while the Galileo system is being in the works by the European Union. Compass is a GPS system currently being developed by China, and here in the US, we are overhauling our own GPS constellation by replacing aging vehicles with brand new GPS-III satellites.

“We are in an era of the gold rush for satellite launches,” Kurokawa said. He predicts that by 2018, there will be about 140 satellites launched.

Government and Commercial Drone Expenditures Could Top $89 Billion over the Next Decade

December 15th, 2012

Drones, also called “unmanned aerial systems,” are mostly used by the US government for search and rescue activities, forensic photography, law enforcement activities, border security, weather research, the collecting of scientific data.

But the commercial industry wants to also get their fingers in the drone pie to to be used in a variety of capacities such as inspecting farm fences, pipelines, and utilities; real estate photography; construction site photography; fishery monitoring and protection; crop dusting; and vehicular traffic monitoring.

The combined price tag for both government and commercial drone expenditures though, could top $89 billion over the next decade according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office.

The report given by the GAO, Congress’s research arm, warned that too many drones in US airspace could raise a variety of concerns surrounding security, GPS jamming and spoofing, and privacy. The report was in response to the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, which was signed into effect by President Barack Obama in February.

The push to expand drone usage from government to commercial raises many concerns. Not only is the price tag a little hard to swallow in this current economy, drones are not equipped with the type of navigation systems that can detect other drones to avoid complications and crashes in the air.

The report also noted that “GPS jamming can be mitigated for small UAS by encrypting its communications, but the costs and weight associated with encryption may make it infeasible.” Additionally, GPS signals in non-military drones that are unencrypted can be easily jammed or counterfeited.

The report also urged the Transportation Security Administration to devise a plan of their own to enhance security operations centers for unmanned aerial systems, and that the government should enact privacy protections to prevent abuses to safety regarding GPS jamming and spoofing.

What does a GPS spoofing scenario look like? A “spoofer” has the ability to counterfeit and overpower a drones GPS signal going back and forth from the ground control station to the drone. At the request of the Department of Homeland Security this scenario was played out by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin. “Once the authentic (original) GPS signal is overpowered, be unmanned aerial system is under the control of the “spoofer.”

According to the GAO report, “there is very little an American privacy law that prohibits drone surveillance within our borders,” once again raising concerns about legal privacy protections for American citizens.