GPS World, May 2009

THE BUSINESS MASS MARKET OEM Furuno Completes Acquisition of eRide Furuno Electric Co Ltd of Nishinomiya Japan has acquired eRide Inc making eRide a majority owned subsidiary of Furuno In 2005 Furuno and eRide entered into a technology licensing agreement and in 2006 Furuno invested in eRides sale of Series A Preferred Shares Furuno is now acquiring a majority of eRide shares with eRide becoming a majority owned subsidiary of Furuno eRide a San Francisco based fabless venture company established in 1999 by former Trimble Navigation employees has been engaged in the design development and sales of high sensitivity GPS receiver technology u blox Announces Acquisition of Geotate u blox Holding AG has acquired Geotate B V a joint venture between Road Group Holding AG and NXP B V Geotate develops GPS geotagging solutions based on software GPS technology and related web services The acquisition represents a strategic step for u blox as it allows the company to expand its position in the consumer markets with GPS geotagging solutions for digital camera manufacturers and other portable device manufacturers ublox said Terms of the transaction include patented technology and products in the area of software GPS and geotagging GPS and total consideration 55 million euros in cash 2 million euros for a royalty free patent license arrangement with NXP B V for selected patents and 35 million euros for the outstanding shares of Geotate B V SURVEY CONSTRUCTION NavCom Astrium Take Precision to Europe NavCom Technology and Astrium Services have formed a strategic partnership to deliver precise positioning solutions throughout Europe NavCom based in Torrance California is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deere Company Astrium Services is part of Astrium a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS based in Europe Through this new alliance Astrium Services will become the sole European supplier of NavComs GNSS product and positioning solutions including the StarFire Network NavComs global decimeter accurate satellite based augmentation system GSBAS O M N I S T A R H I G H P E R F O R M A N C E T M D G P S B R I N G I N G D E C I M E T E R A C C U R A C Y W I T H I N R E A C H Introducing OmniSTAR High Performance HP our revolutionary new DGPS system that redefines the standard for differential correction OmniSTAR has developed cost effective reliable real time corrections enabling high accuracy applications over entire continents without deploying local base stations Our innovative HP signal provides five times the accuracy of standard DGPS for horizontal accuracy of 10 15 cms HP means a wide area solution offering previously unobtainable levels of accuracy opening the door for high precision uses such as auto steering guidance and automation of agri vehicles increased hit probability for GIS utilities rough grading for construction applications survey projects oil exploration aerial photogrammetry and more We just raised the bar on accuracy and reliability but its way within your reach OmniSTAR HP Others promise we deliver Contact us for more information www omnistar com E x p e c t h i g h p e r f o r m a n c e 2005 OmniSTAR www gpsworld com May 2009 GPS World 15