GPS World, June 2009

Industry news and developments GPS Galileo GLONASS BUSINESS THE MASS MARKET OEM LabSat Simulator Tests OEM GPS Devices With the ability to record replay and simulate GPS RF data Racelogics new LabSat is being marketed as a real world testing solution for original equipment manufacture OEM of GPS devices The influx of professional and consumer GPS products in the electronics and automotive markets has led to a demand for efficient and accurate validation through GPS simulators according to the company However one of the problems with GPS simulation has been the inability to accurately reproduce real world conditions The need to understand the effects of phenomena such as multipath reflections atmospheric effects and dropouts on GPS devices has therefore meant that products must be taken out into the field and laboriously tested The capacity of LabSat to record and replay real world data means that common conditions can be faithfully reproduced on the test bench the company said Connecting to a PC via USB 20 LabSat records raw signals from a GPS antenna directly to hard disk with no limitations on the number of satellites being tracked or the length of the recording When the data is replayed the GPS engine will faithfully re create the movement and satellite reception encountered during the test including all original multipath satellite obstructions and atmospheric effects Apisphere Unveils Out of the Box Geocaching GPS Apisphere Inc has announced the availability of the Geomate jr a GPS device designed to make geocaching accessible to families and children of all ages The unit comes pre loaded with 250000 geocache locations covering the 50 United States Its the extreme ease of use and out of the box ability that makes Geomate jr so unique and familyfriendly said Warren Hewerdine co inventor of Geomate jr and senior director of marketing at Apisphere It offers a way to reconnect our children with the joy of the outdoors and encourages them to take advantage of the natural environment Video games the Internet and television have captured more of childrens leisure time making them increasingly disassociated with the outdoors Apisphere said citing a study by the Outdoor Foundation that found outdoor activity among children ages 6 to 17 declined 11 percent in 2008 Recreational Equipment Inc REI and geocaching com will sell the Geomate jr JAVAD GNSS Customers Now Track GPS L5 Signal JAVAD GNSS triple frequency type OEM boards TR G2T TR G3T TRE G2T TRE G3T TRE G3TAJ and receivers TRIUMPH 1 Alpha TR G2T TR G3T DeltaS TRE G2T TRE G3T TRE G3TAJ SigmaS TRE G2T TRE G3T TREG3TAJ p GEOMATE JR provides geocaching sites to get kids outdoors can now track the L5 demonstration signal activated April 10 The white noise and multipath tracking errors are comparable to what is normally seen for the L1 and L2 signals Those interested in sample raw data with the triple frequency L1 L2 L5 code and carrier phase measurements from IIR M 20 can download sample data from www javad com Trimble GPS Mapping Solutions Receive EU Certification Trimble Sunnyvale California has announced that its GeoXT handheld computer GPS Pathfinder ProXT receiver and GPS Pathfinder ProXRT receiver have obtained TÜV certification under the European Union EU Agricultural Directive Commission Regulation 796 04 Article 30 The directive supports the validation of area measurement methods for agricultural parcels to comply with the current Common Agricultural Policy CAP of the EU The certification was performed for Category A of the regulation which requires a buffer accuracy of less than 040 meters far beyond the maximum tolerance of 15 meters MORE ONLINE In depth Coverage Find more details on these stories plus news as it happens at gpsworld com For timely news delivery to your inbox sign up for GPS World Alerts or Navigate weekly newsletter GPS World June 2009 www gpsworld com 10