GPS signal distortion by Hurricanes provides clues to wind speed

Global Position Satellites (GPS) have been used for several unusual purposes, but hurricane wind speed tracking counts as one of the most unusual.

Hurricane hunters flying for the National Hurricane Center, and based out of Keesler Air Force Base in Georgia, typically use dropsondes which are tiny tracking devices attached to balloons to track wind speeds.  However, these devices are expensive so the planes only drop a few per storm, which means only intermittent monitoring.  Dropsondes were first used in 2007, and about 1000 are used each year for hurricane tracking, at a cost of about $750USD per unit.

Instead the GPS system on-board the weather reconnaissance aircraft works almost continuously as the plane flies through the storm, giving researchers a list of readings.  The planes are listening for GPS signals that are being reflected from the oceans surface.  When the oceans are choppy due to high wind speeds, the waves reflect the GPS radio waves back in various directions distorting the signal.

Winds blowing over a body of water generate heaving waves.  "Imagine you blow on a hot bowl of soup," said Stephen Katzberg, a researcher at the NASA Langley Research Center and author of the study, in a press release. "The harder you blow, the bigger the 'waves' are in the bowl."  Scientists have figured out how to measure these reflected 'distorted' radio waves and use the measurements to decode the speed of the wind.

The first comprehensive test run was in 2000, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists have been refining the system every year since then.  They system today is almost always accurate for wind speeds between zero and 40 meters per second.  While it's not yet as accurate as dropsondes, the analysis is lower cost, lower weight, and requires less power.

Similar systems could be installed in weather drones in the future, and with further technology advances it may be utilized directly in satellites.  In 2016, NASA plans to launch a system of 8 small satellites called the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) to measure reflected GPS satellite signals from low earth orbit in order to monitor storm wind speeds from space for multiple storms.

The data collected helps to predict storm severity, and where the storm may be headed.

Geofence Alerts setup to help Aspen Police find stolen bikes

Channel 7 News reports: ASPEN, Colo. - Flashy cars used by police as bait to catch car thieves are taking a back seat to bait bicycles being used by Aspen police.

Police say more than 33 bikes have been reported stolen in Aspen since May and there has been a 30 percent increase in bike thefts from 2011 to 2012.

The Aspen Times reports police are using GPS-enabled bicycles at various locations that have been identified as hot spots for bicycle theft.

If the bicycle with the device is moved, the Aspen Police Department will be alerted and police will be able to track it down, with hopes of nabbing the culprits.

New Apple Patent could use Geofences to disable Smartphone Cameras

PetaPixel reports: "In June of last year, we reported on an unsettling patent filed by Apple that would allow certain infrared signals to remotely disable the camera on iPhones. It showed the potential downsides of bringing cameras into the world of wireless connectivity, which appears to be the next big thing in the camera industry. Now, a newly published patent is rekindling the fears of those who don’t want “Big Brother” controlling their devices."

U.S. Patent No. 8,254,902, published on Tuesday, is titled, “Apparatus and methods for enforcement of policies upon a wireless device.”

Here’s the quick description: "Apparatus and methods for changing one or more functional or operational aspects of a wireless device, such as upon the occurrence of a certain event. In one embodiment, the event comprises detecting that the wireless device is within range of one or more other devices. In another variant, the event comprises the wireless device associating with a certain access point. In this manner, various aspects of device functionality may be enabled or restricted (device “policies”). This policy enforcement capability is useful for a variety of reasons, including for example to disable noise and/or light emanating from wireless devices (such as at a movie theater), for preventing wireless devices from communicating with other wireless devices (such as in academic settings), and for forcing certain electronic devices to enter “sleep mode” when entering a sensitive area."

If this type of technology became widely adopted and baked into cameras, photography could be prevented by simply setting a “geofence” around a particular location, whether it’s a movie theater, celebrity hangout spot, protest site, or the top secret rooms at 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California.

There are some questions about how updates for the geofences would operate for the camera - since one way to potentially defeat the functionality would be to turn off wireless communications and the GPS sensor prior to entering these 'areas'.  You might not be able to send the data in near-real-time, but you would still potentially be able to send the pictures or video when back outside of the geofence.

Companies often file patents for all kinds of random technologies that never end up seeing the light of day, so you shouldn't be too concerned about this latest document. It’s just a warning of what the future could potentially hold.

The Future of Digital Mapping: Crowdsourced Maps

Crowdsourced OpenStreetMap (left) vs the same Nokia map (right)

In a recent article by Oliver Kühn Skobbler, he writes  that the future of digital mapping will be in crowdsourced maps; and I think he makes a compelling argument.

In his article he says "One of the most exciting opportunities for crowdsourced maps specifically, and digital maps generally, lies in car user data, which is just coming into its own. Cars are obviously one of the largest travel tools utilized by individuals on a daily basis, and, with the advent of the connected car, the data that they collect via internal/external sensors has grown more nuanced, granular, and specific over the years.  Cars are simply getting smarter, with sensors capable of providing everything from weather conditions to speed-zone information.

Making this information available in the cloud and combining it with data available via crowdsourced mapping platforms produces remarkable possibilities for innovation. Imagine adding road-condition data, as just one example, to crowdsourced mapping services. By marrying a crowdsourced map with crowdsourced car-sensor data, the map’s overall utility multiplies immeasurably."

He also mentions that with Google's recent acquisition of Waze, that they are hoping to improve their own efficiency in this area.  Google currently spends billions a year to maintain it's mapping platform.  How much will they likely save by having local drivers provide near-real-time updates for them?

When GPS fails, this tiny device could step in

From a report by Phys.org: In a pellet of glass the size of an apple seed, University of Michigan engineering researchers have packed seven devices that together could potentially provide navigation augmentation in the absence of the satellite-based Global Positioning System (GPS.)

Space-based GPS – convenient for civilians and essential for the military – is far from fail-proof. It doesn't work indoors, near tall buildings or in heavy cloud cover, and it's relatively easy to jam, researchers say.

"In some cases, there is no good solution for that yet," said Khalil Najafi, the Schlumberger Professor of Engineering and chair of electrical and computer engineering. "That's one of the reasons there's interest in developing this technology."

So-called "timing and inertial measurement units" similar to this new one are used nowadays as motion sensors in cell phones, game controllers and automotive systems, but the performance of these silicon sensors isn't good enough for navigation, positioning and guidance across larger distances or long times. Inertial sensors have been used to navigate ships and aircraft since long before GPS. Those still in use today in these vehicles are much larger.

"In the smallest commercial inertial systems, the volume is about the size of an apple, and most are larger – about the volume of four apples," Najafi said. "The volume of our device is less than an apple seed. The main breakthrough is that the technology we developed is hopefully going to allow us to build very high performing devices in extremely small sizes."

At 13 cubic millimeters, the package contains a highly-precise master clock and six sensors that detect movement in six different axes.

To make their advanced inertial measurement unit, Najafi and his research group developed special fabrication processes that allows them to stack and bond the seven different devices in layers. And to make their unit more robust, they built it out of fused silica – a high quality glass – rather than silicon, which is commonly used for these types of devices.

Timing and inertial measurement units track a path by measuring speed, time, direction and distance from a starting point. "In order to measure position, you need to know where you are and then how far you've moved in so much time and in what direction," Najafi said.

GPS receivers, on the other hand, calculate location based on their movement in relation to a network of satellites. The satellites continuously ping the receiver. Najafi envisions that the two approaches could be combined so navigation systems would have a backup component and seamless operation both outdoors and indoors. But that, he believes, is at least five years away.

Other researchers who contributed to the work include: post-doctoral research fellow Zongliang Cao; graduate student Yi Yuan; assistant research scientist Becky Peterson; and visiting assistant research scientist Guohong He, all in the department of electrical engineering and computer science. Najafi and his colleagues presented a paper on the device, "Fabrication of Multi-Layer Vertically Stacked Fused Silica Microsystems" on June 18 at the 17th International Conference on Solid-State Sensors, Actuator and Microsystems Conference (Transducers '2013) in Barcelona, Spain. Mina Rais-Zadeh, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, and her group developed the timing unit for this system. Najafi is also an Arthur F. Thurneau professor and a professor of biomedical engineering.

Garmin to release Navigation Heads-Up-Display this summer

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.

FAA NextGen GPS upgrade in doubt

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."