GPS smart antenna with SuperSense
u-blox today announced the signing of a partnership with Conrad, the leading European mail-order electronics supplier. Conrad has developed a GPS smart antenna based on the u-blox SuperSense LEA-4H flagship module, which is now available at Conrad’s retail and online stores. With its built-in USB interface, low power consumption, unrivaled sensitivity and 17 x 22 mm format, the LEA-4H was chosen for its fantastic navigation performance and low cost.
New Trimble modular GPS receivers and Smart GPS antennas provide advances for construction applications
Trimble announced today a new series of Modular GPS Receivers and additions to the Trimble family of Smart GPS Antenna designed to provide contractors with state-of-the-art, future-ready construction Global Positioning System (GPS) positioning solutions.
The new product offering provides four levels of GPS operation — Location GPS, Basic, Max and Extreme — to cover a range of user price and performance requirements. The Extreme level receivers (Trimble(R) SPS850 and SPS880 receivers) can track next-generation GPS L2C and L5 signals plus GLONASS. The combination improves the contractor’s ability to work in tough GPS environments at longer ranges with faster initialization times, and provides for increased productivity and reduced downtime on the construction job site.
u-Nav Microelectronics picks Tensilica’s Xtensa processors for portable GPS systems
Tensilica Inc. today announced that u-Nav Microelectronics, a worldwide leader in ultra-low power Global Positioning Systems (GPS) semiconductors, has picked the Xtensa configurable processors for its next-generation GPS designs, which will be targeted for portable applications such as mobile wireless handsets and consumer devices.
u-blox announces assisted GPS Services for faster signal acquisition
u-blox AG, the leading Swiss provider of innovative GPS receiver technology, today announced the provision of Assisted GPS ("A-GPS") services that supply instant location information, reducing GPS receivers’ Time To First Fix ("TTFF") to just a few seconds.
A-GPS uses mobile phone networks to access satellite location data transmitted to and collected by a global monitoring network of u-blox GPS receivers. The collected data is stored at a u-blox aiding server which, in turn, makes the data available to users with mobile phone connectivity.
Volkswagen and Google team up to explore future Vehicle Navigation Systems
Volkswagen of America and Google recently presented the future of vehicle navigation at the 2006 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, and it’s closer to virtual reality than ever before.
Volkswagen, Google, and graphics chipmaker, nVidia, are working on an in- car navigation map system and display that is 3-dimensional and more real looking than anything that’s available today.
Driver and Passenger will be able to instinctively recognize where they are in relation to the surrounding topography, especially in urban areas that are depicted with depth and accurate size relationships between buildings and roads.
Solar GPS Receiver now with SiRFIII chipset
Taiwan’s famous GPS manufacturer, f-tech Corporation, released a more accurate version of Solar 7 Bluetooth GPS Receiver the high performance GPS receiver with integrated solar charger. The 2nd generation design is based on SiRF III chipset for better performance and accuracy. The built-in antenna is capable of acquiring satellite signals even in challenging situations such as under foliage or between tall buildings. It takes advantage of the Bluetooth wireless technology to offer hassle free installation on a Bluetooth enabled PDA, laptop and even smart phone.
The new SiRF Star III chipset is capable of tracking 20 satellites simultaneously. This translates into superior sensitivity and excellent TTFF (Time to First Fix).
