As smartphones continue to make standalone GPS devices redundant, Garmin is trying something different with its upcoming heads-up-display (HUD). The HUD uses a dash-mounted projector to display turn-by-turn directions, either on a transparent film on the windshield or on an attached reflector lens. It’s designed to help you keep your eyes on the road by putting directions in your line of sight. The HUD also shows the current speed, speed limit, potential traffic delays and nearby safety camera locations. Some cars, such as the BMW M6 and Lexus HS, already have navigation HUDs built in. Garmin’s HUD is essentially an aftermarket version for any car, priced at about $130USD for the device itself. (You might also think of it as a cheaper alternative to Google Glass for putting directions in your peripheral vision.) But there’s is an additional cost in the smartphone apps that you must purchase along with the HUD. Instead of having GPS directions built-in, the HUD receives navigation instructions from Garmin’s Navigon (iPhone and Android) or StreetPilot (iPhone and Windows Phone) apps, both of which start at $30USD for regional maps, and more for nationwide or continent-wide coverage. The apps send directions to the device via Bluetooth or through the phone’s speakers. In other words, even if you've been enjoying the free turn-by-turn directions that are likely built into your smartphone, Garmin is hoping you’ll buy its apps along with a HUD for easier navigation. The downside to this approach, aside from the added cost, is that Garmin’s own apps are not tightly integrated into smartphones. You can’t use Siri to ask for StreetPilot directions on the iPhone like you can with Apple Maps, or use Google voice search to get Navigon directions on an Android phone like you can with Google Maps. That means you’ll still have to fiddle with your phone to open Garmin’s apps and enter your destination. Another consideration is that in some US States and Canadian Provinces, navigational displays mounted to the windshield and blocking the driver's view are explicitly prohibited. States in green, are a 'yes', yellow is a 'yes' in some areas of the windshield, and red is a flat 'no'. Since HUD's do not impair the user's view, they are not currently restricted - but are generally considered a luxury item for most vehicles. In any case, the phone-to-HUD concept is a welcome one, especially if states start considering smartphone map apps to be a form of distracted driving. The more ways for us to keep our eyes on the road instead of looking down at a small screen, the better. Garmin says the HUD will be available this summer.
Air travel in the future will be faster, cleaner and less expensive if the FAA's $40 billion overhaul of the nation's air control system is completed. The plan, known as NextGen, replaces outdated radar-based technology with global positioning systems (GPS) and digital communications to modernize the country's air control system. By allowing pilots to fly more direct routes and giving air traffic controllers more accurate information, the system is expected to cut airline delays 41% by 2020, compared with the delays without NextGen, according to a new report by the FAA. But with the federal sequestration fight in Washington, FAA officials say funding for the seven-year project could be in jeopardy. The efficiencies in the system are also forecasted to save 1.6 billion gallons of fuel and cut 16 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, with $38 billion in cumulative benefits to airlines, the public and the FAA, the report said. The related cost-cutting efforts of the sequester may actually force increases in spending. A key component of the system is that air traffic controllers using GPS will get more precise information on planes' locations and speeds, allowing controllers to better manage the 7,000 or so planes in the air at any given time, according to the FAA. Because the radar system is slower and less precise, controllers must add a bigger safety cushion of separation between planes. In a recent speech, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta slammed lawmakers for failing to reach an agreement on future spending plans. "Because of the financial uncertainty, we can hope for the best, but we have to plan for the worst," he said. "This is not a sustainable course of action, and it's no way to run a government."
GPS repeaters have been used for several years to provide GPS tracking signals inside of man-made structures such as buildings, parking structures, and tunnels. Due to the signal attenuation caused by construction materials or natural structures, the satellite based Global Positioning System (GPS) can lose significant power indoors affecting the coverage for receivers. In addition, multiple reflections at some surfaces (usually metallic) can cause multi-path propagation which can result in additional location related errors or 'null spots'. Repeater systems can help by providing strong GPS signals to areas that would not normally be capable of receiving the necessary signals for location tracking. The GPS repeater system operates by using an antenna with a good view of the sky cabled to a repeater, usually inside the structure, which then re-radiates the selected signals inside of the building or structure using a separate antenna. For complicated internal structures, multiple repeaters may be needed. For vehicle tracking systems, GPS repeaters are typically used with vehicles or assets that are stored indoors - such as fire trucks, construction equipment, and ambulances. The use of the repeater is two fold: the repeater system allows the GPS tracking systems on the vehicles to stay locked with a relatively strong signal while inside the building, so that after leaving the building the GPS will not be required to re-acquire the GPS signal, which can take several minutes for a moving vehicle - resulting in a potential loss of location data. Secondly, this prevents a weak GPS signal, caused by the building or structure, from causing invalid position reports to occur from the tracking devices on the vehicles as the GPS/GNSS constellation changes above the devices. This same repeater system can be used to help track hand-held GPS devices such as smartphones inside of large indoor structures, such as malls - though the placement of the repeaters requires that a radio propagation coverage analysis assessment be conducted in order to make sure there is ubiquitous coverage inside the structure under a variety of potentially changing conditions. This repeater system can also be used to help track important assets inside the structure, even if they only leave the structure infrequently - and combined with wireless systems using software that provide geofencing capabilities, an alarm can be sent out when the device leaves the indoor perimeter of the location it is being stored at. Keep in mind that the size of the geofence should include some margin for error caused by GPS drift, which can occur even with the repeater generating a relatively strong signal; so that false alarms are not generated by changes in the satellite constellation that provide less than optimum GPS signal coverage. Since GPS repeaters are a transmitting device, they are covered by local regulatory agencies such as the FCC in the US; and if used must be done so as to comply with local regulations.
The first satellite for the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) successfully launched on Monday. Solar panel deployment was confirmed and the satellite has power and is operating nominally according to reports. The IRNSS-1A satellite is the first of seven that will make up the IRNSS. The constellation will consist of four satellites in geosynchronous orbits inclined at 29 degrees, with three more in geostationary orbit. IRNSS-1A is one of the geosynchronous satellites, and is expected to be positioned at a longitude of 55 degrees east. Earlier in June the India Space Research Organization Navigation Center (ISRO) was inaugurated in Byalalu Bangalore. The launch had initially been scheduled for June 12th, but was postponed for a 'technical snag' (an anomaly in one electro-hydraulic control actuator) in the 2nd stage. The successful launch and satellite deployment stands in strong contrast to the Proton-M rocket failure that was slated to launch three GLONASS navigation satellites by Russia yesterday.
A Russian Proton-M rocket carrying three GLONASS navigation satellites crashed about 17 seconds after liftoff today from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome, reports rt.com (Russia Today) and gpsworld.com. About ten seconds after takeoff at 02:38 GMT, the rocket swerved, began to correct, but then veered in the opposite direction. It then flew horizontally and started to come apart with its engines in full thrust. Making an arc in the air, the rocket plummeted to Earth and exploded on impact close to another launch pad used for Proton commercial launches. The crash was broadcast live across Russia. Fears of a possible toxic fuel leak immediately surfaced following the incident, but no such leak has been confirmed, rt.com reports. The rocket was initially carrying more than 600 tons of toxic propellants.
No casualties or damage to surroundings structures or the town of Baikonur have been reported. An accident board headed by Aleksandr Lopatin, deputy head of Russia’s space agency Roskosmos, has been created to investigate the crash. Further Proton-M launches have been suspended until the end of the accident investigation. The failed launch has potentially cost the Russian Space industry around $200M.
Yesterday began the new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requirements for Hours of Service (HOS). Though the new regulations are being contested, the courts did not stop them before they took effect. One of the most contentious mandates of the new rules requires "34-hour restarts" - which requires more rest for drivers, in order to help reduce accidents and tighten up safety standards. Part§395.15of the new regulation talks about AOBRD systems as a possible alternative to part 395.8 regarding the driver's record of duty status. AOBRD systemsare defined by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) as follows: "Automatic on-board recording device means an electric, electronic, electromechanical, or mechanical device capable of recording driver's duty status information accurately and automatically as required by. The device must be integrally synchronized with specific operations of the commercial motor vehicle in which it is installed. At a minimum, the device must record engine use, road speed, miles driven, the date, and time of day". The AOBRD system as defined, is very similar to the EOBR device definition and requirement that is wending it's way through the Federal bureaucracy It has moved from the FMCSA to the DOT Secretary last month, on it's way to the White House Office of Management and Budget. It's expected to go into effect in October or November of this year unless it it sent back to the DOT and FMCSA for changes. The prior rule was struck down in 2011. Even if this new (EOBR/ELD) rule goes into effect in November, the full implementation isn't expected to go into effect till 2015.
Keep in mind, that the current 39.15 HOS regulations regarding AOBRD functionality are optional, and can even be rescinded by the FMCSA, as outlined in the current rules. If implemented it also doesn't change or bypass the HOS rules that the driver must conform to - it's just another way of maintaining the required driving logs. Several providers of tracking systems, AOBRD and Electronic On-Board Recorder (EOBR) or Electronic Logging Device (ELD) systems appear to be jumping the gun, indicating that these systems are now mandated - when that is not the case. Carriers should be careful about purchasing any new equipment that indicates it complies with these standards, as the standards may yet change - especially if the system locks the carrier into equipment and services over the next several years. It could put the carrier in a precarious position if the equipment doesn't end up meeting changing standards that may yet be required in 2015. We are advising patience and caution till the rules are accepted (or rejected) in Q4 of this year.
In an article from MIT Technology Review, the indication is that “vehicle-to-vehicle communications” could soon be synonymous with technology that makes driving safer, less
polluting, and is potentially less antagonistic. They indicate that Michigan's Transportation Research Institute will be providing demos to showcase how future vehicles can exchange information - including their position, direction, and speed - with other similarly equipped vehicles, as well as roadside equipment such as traffic lights and tollbooths. One of the largest ever real-world vehicle-to-vehicle experiments involving 2,800 vehicles, many belonging to ordinary drivers who have volunteered to take part, has been under way in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for the past 10 months. Each vehicle in the project, including 60 trucks, 85 transit buses, and some motorcycles and bicycles, is fitted with a transmitter and receiver capable of sending and receiving signals over a distance of about 300 meters. The equipment uses a specialized version of WiFi, called 802.11p or WAVE, which operates in a dedicated radio frequency in the 5.9-gigahertz range and was designed specifically for communications from moving vehicles. Some participating drivers received dashboard alerts, offering a glimpse of how the technology may eventually work. These participants were shown a warning if, for example, another driver several cars ahead applied the brakes suddenly, or if their on-board computer noticed another car approaching an intersection ahead at a speed that could potentially cause a collision. The primary thrust of the technology is to improve safety. European car manufacturers are working on a similar Car2Car system (in English V2V). Both systems would be used for various functions such as automated speed monitoring, speed limit warnings, or pull over commands from law enforcement. Some features are similar to those described in an earlier post regarding the Internet of Things - such as being used for toll and parking payments, traffic management (including accommodating police, fire, and ambulance), driver assistance, and support for automated driving systems. Toward the end of the year, the Department of Transportation (DOT) will decide whether to mandate that future cars include some sort of vehicle-to-vehicle communication technology or to leave it to the market.
Another consideration is that in some US States and Canadian Provinces, navigational displays mounted to the windshield and blocking the driver's view are explicitly prohibited. States in green, are a 'yes', yellow is a 'yes' in some areas of the windshield, and red is a flat 'no'. Since HUD's do not impair the user's view, they are not currently restricted - but are generally considered a luxury item for most vehicles.
