Russia Says Intercepted US Drone Over Crimea: Arms Group

As reported by Yahoo News: A United States surveillance drone has been intercepted above the Ukranian region of Crimea, a Russian state arms and technology group said Friday.

"The drone was flying at about 4,000 metres (12,000 feet) and was virtually invisible from the ground. It was possible to break the link with US operators with complex radio-electronic" technology, said Rostec in a statement.

The drone fell "almost intact into the hands of self-defence forces" added Rostec, which said it had manufactured the equipment used to down the aircraft, but did not specify who was operating it.

"Judging by its identification number, UAV MQ-5B belonged to the 66th American Reconnaissance Brigade, based in Bavaria," Rostec said on its website, which also carried a picture of what it said was the captured drone.

The photograph appeared to show an apparently armed drone in flight, rather than debris.

The Crimean port of Sevastopol is home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet, which is believed to be equipped with detection equipment.

Crimea, where pro-Kremlin forces have control, is to hold a referendum on Sunday on the peninsula joining Russia, in what Moscow says is a fair expression of self identity but the West views as an illegal annexation of sovereign territory.

Smart Engines, New Data Strips, and a $40 Billion GPS System Make Air Travel Safer

As reported by FastCompany: The mysterious disappearance of Flight 370 has reignited public interest in airplane safety--and in the technology that keeps aluminum tubes safely flying through the skies at hundreds of miles per hour. 

As with many other things, there's a burgeoning cottage industry in aviation safety that even has its own trade shows (headline speaker: astronaut Chris Hadfield).

LAST YEAR HAD ONE OF THE LOWEST RATES OF COMMERCIAL AVIATION INCIDENTS IN HISTORY.

The intense interest in the ongoing mystery surrounding Flight 370 notwithstanding, the many organizations and corporations developing safety tools for passenger jets are doing their job: 2013 had one of the lowest rates of commercial aviation incidents in history.

Here are some of the most interesting products and tools making the overwhelming majority of flights safe:

NextGen: Described by the Federal Aviation Administration as “one of the biggest public works projects in our lifetime,” the over $40 billion NextGen is an ambitious effort to rebuild America's air traffic control systems. Despite the rise of GPS navigation in everyday life and the rise of computers, most airports in the United States still use sheets of paper in binders and radar to track air traffic. While paper makes air traffic controllers more secure from hacker attacks, it also slows response time, creates massive gridlock in the skies, and hampers response in emergency situations. The ambitious NextGen project is a government-funded attempt to switch air traffic control from ground-based radar systems to satellite-based GPS systems.

NextGen's goals consist of creating--for the first time ever--real-time displays of air traffic for both pilots and air traffic control, the introduction of digital communications between planes and air traffic control, the introduction of a single national reporting system, and replacing nearly 20 separate voice systems used across the United States with a single system. Originally scheduled to be fully implemented by 2025, NextGen keeps on getting delayed and having costs spiral out of control; a recent internal FAA paper said full implementation might be delayed by 10 years, and cost two or three times more than the original $40 billion estimate.

Electronic Data Strips: Air traffic controllers record flight information on paper strips in the United States; the small pieces of paper are used in the hectic control centers to quickly record necessary information. But in Canada and Europe, air traffic controllers have increasingly adopted electronic flight strips by manufacturers such as Frequentis and AviBit.

A NEW TECHNOLOGY USES SATELLITE UPLINKS TO SEND REAL-TIME DATA FROM THE AIRCRAFT.

A tablet-sized screen displays a series of tiles which visually resemble paper flight strips; these strips are then filled in via stylus, keyboard, or mouse. The main innovation here is the increase in speed for retrieval: Past records are electronically searchable, which cuts down on the considerable expense of searching through large quantities of paper records.

Satellite Radio for Pilots: When aircraft fly over oceans, they have traditionally used high-frequency radio to communicate. While this has been an accepted solution for a long time, radio also comes with considerable static. A new technology called Automatic Dependent Surveillance (ADS), increasingly used by airlines, uses satellite uplinks to send real-time data from the aircraft instead. This allows for changes like aircraft being able to choose faster flight paths over the ocean and getting much more reliable information. ADS is part of the NextGen program and is also being adopted by the European Union. There's also an environmental bonus; ADS allows air traffic control to receive much more precise info on aircraft locations, which means planes can be spaced more closely together--saving considerable amounts of jet fuel.

Smart Engines: The much-heralded Internet of Things consists of putting sensors and data-collecting devices into every imaginable consumer and industrial good, which then pings far-away servers every so often with all sorts of information. Airplane engines are a part of that revolution too; Rolls-Royce's jet engines contain sensors which constantly send information about all sorts of engine performance to ground-based monitors. Boeing has an very similar system which Malaysia Airlines reportedly opted out of. (U.S. officials aren't so sure.)

THE SENSOR SYSTEMS IN BOEING AND ROLLS-ROYCE'S ENGINES CAN ALSO BE USED TO DIAGNOSE IN-AIR INCIDENTS.

The sensor systems in Boeing and Rolls-Royce's engines are primarily used for maintenance purposes; they detect when parts are failing or suffering wear before they impact aircraft performance, which saves airlines large sums of money. However, they can also be used to diagnose in-air incidents. U.S. officials believe smart-engine data from Boeing indicates Flight 370 flew for hours after it disappeared. Malaysian officials dispute the report.

AFSC Commander: Suspected Chinese ASAT Weapon could threaten GPS

As reported by GNSS: The head of Air Force Space Command (AFSC) told lawmakers today (March 12, 2014) that the GPS system could be put at risk by what appears to be a new anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon being developed by China.

“The November 2013 U.S.–China Economic and Security Review Commission (report) raises concerns about China’s efforts to militarize space and develop an anti-satellite weapon capability,” Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama, ranking member on Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, told hearing attendees.

Sessions asked Gen. William Shelton, commander of Air Force Space Command, if he agreed with the commission’s assessment that available data on a May missile launch “suggest it was intended to test at least the launch vehicle component of a new high-altitude ASAT capability,” despite Beijing’s claims it was a high-altitude scientific experiment.

“‘If the launch is part of China’s ASAT program,’” Session continued reading from the annual Commission report, “‘Beijing’s attempt to disguise it as a scientific experiment would demonstrate a lack of transparency about its objectives and activities in space. Furthermore, such a test would signal China’s intent to develop an ASAT capability to target satellites in an altitude range that includes U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) and many U.S. military and intelligence satellites.’”

“Is that accurate to your knowledge?” Sessions asked Shelton. “Is it a concern to us?”

“Senator, at this level all I can say is we’re concerned about all orbits now,” said Shelton. “We are concerned about low Earth orbit because we saw the 2007 Chinese ASAT test, which was a success. We’re concerned about work that we have seen since then that includes all the way up to geosynchronous orbit. Some of our most precious assets fly in geosynchronous orbit.”

Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Indiana, had the following exchange with Shelton:

Donnelly: “If China is conducting tests targeting objects like up to 12,000 miles away from the surface could this affect our GPS capabilities — our GPS satellites?”
Shelton: “Yes Sir.”
Donnelly: “In a significant way?”
Shelton: “Yes Sir.”
Donnelly: “Would their efforts, if they do this, indicate a significant improvement in China’s space weapon capabilities as well?”
Shelton: “No question.”

Sessions wanted to know if there were ways to deter potential adversaries from attacking American spacecraft, saying the U.S. needed to be direct about the consequences of attempts to harm its space assets.

“What do we consider (an attack on a satellite) to be?” Sessions asked Shelton. “Is it the equivalent of shooting down a military plane or attacking a ship? How do we respond to any potential attack on our satellite capability and shouldn't we make that clear now?

“Those are policy questions that we are addressing right now,” Shelton said, deferring to panel member Doug Loverro, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy. “I’ll tell you from a technology point of view,” Shelton added, “we are addressing that very issue.”

“Sometimes ambiguity encourages aggression, as many people stress,” Sessions said to Loverro. “So, should we have a clear position with regard to the consequences of aggression against a satellite of the United States?”

“Our national policy makes it clear that we view U.S. space assets as our sovereign assets,” Loverro said, who served as director of the GPS Joint Program Office from 1999 to 2002. “And an attack on them is equivalent to an attack on any sovereign asset. So, we have stated in our DoD space, in our national space policy, that we intend to go ahead and defend those assets in times and places of our choosing, because we do view those as critical to U.S. national security.”

Wisconsin Committee Defines Illegal GPS Tracking

As reported by The Sacramento Bee: A legislative committee in Wisconsin has approved a bill that would outlaw secretly placing GPS devices on people's vehicles.

Under the bill, anyone who secretly places a GPS device on another person's vehicle or obtains information about a person's movement using a GPS device would be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by up to $10,000 in fines and nine months in jail.

The Assembly's criminal justice committee held a public hearing on the bill Thursday. The bill's author, Republican Rep. Adam Neylon, was the only person who spoke. He said secret GPS tracking amounts to an invasion of privacy.

The committee approved the measure unanimously after the hearing. The vote clears the way for a full vote in the Assembly. Time is running out, though. The legislative session wraps up next month.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/03/13/6233039/wisconsin-committee-to-take-up.html#storylink=cpy

How to Introduce GPS Tracking to Your Employees

As reported by Utility Products: Fleet Managers across the country are quickly turning to Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) software—also known as global positioning system (GPS) tracking; but many of them don’t know how to introduce the program to their employees.

Many fear employee push-back or have big brother concerns and need tips on how to best approach employees about adopting the GPS technology. If you touch on these three main topics, the conversation should be relatively smooth.

Eliminate Big Brother Theory
The term Big Brother in the fleet management world is a term that is talked about far too often and not really relevant once explained correctly.

The truth is, every business measures employee performance and coaches employees to be better at their jobs. Sales managers listen to calls to improve performance. Football coaches review tape with their team to make adjustments to improve for the next game. GPS tracking software for fleet management is no different if you think about it. If you want to be known for having reliable on-time arrivals, for example, how can you accomplish that goal if you don’t know where you stand today and don’t have the tools in place to monitor and measure how you stack up moving forward?

Sometimes it is as simple as making someone aware of what they are doing and explaining how it effects the business. Many times people do not realize what they are doing is wrong, and simple coaching will go a long way to improve how your crews operate on a daily basis.

GPS tracking is not about getting people in trouble, it is about helping your company make improvements and cut costs. This is not Big Brother—this is good business.

Explain the Benefits for Your Employees
GPS tracking software can exonerate drivers from false traffic violations or customer complaints. Surely your company has taken calls from the public complaining about how one of your trucks almost ran them off the road or one of your trucks ran over their mailbox. The ability to have irrefutable evidence to exonerate your employees in any of these types of situations should be supported.

Dispatch will be able to see the entire fleet in real-time. That means fewer phone calls from dispatch and fewer distractions for drivers. GPS tracking technology allows crews and dispatch to communicate without having to pick up the phone.

Using GPS tracking software, your company is able to provide proof of completed jobs. This will eliminate the stress of trying to defend oneself in the case of he said/she said. Your employees are covered with the reports that show when they arrived, how long they were on site and when they left.

No one likes paperwork. Many of the administrative tasks that crews used to do on a regular basis will be eliminated with GPS tracking software. This includes recording mileage, hours worked, any notes taken about each job, etc.

It is not uncommon for businesses using GPS tracking to put incentive programs in place. Drivers that reduce fuel consumption by reducing idle time, reduce mileage by improving routing, reduce speeding violations, or save the company money in other ways are often rewarded in the form of bonuses or put into consideration during their yearly reviews.

Explain the Benefits for the Business
As you may know, GPS fleet tracking will save the company money in fuel, labor, vehicle maintenance, accidents and insurance, and much more to improve your overall bottom line. When your company is prosperous, everyone benefits.

You will increase efficiencies across the board within your company from techs/crews, vehicles, dispatch, maintenance, payroll and customer service. Streamlining procedures throughout different departments will make everyone’s lives easier. In addition, becoming more efficient will allow your business to focus on what it does best.

Besides eliminating the Big Brother theory and explaining the benefits for employees and your business, be upfront and honest with your employees about how you intend to use the technology. Don’t keep it a secret; answer any questions they might have, but remember GPS tracking software is in place to help everyone, not to single anyone out.

GPS fleet tracking software is the tool used to oversee your crews, fix bad habits, become more effective and efficient, and ensure everyone has the company’s bottom line at the forefront of their minds.

Electronic Logging Proposed Rule Clears OMB

As reported by The Trucker: The Electronic Logging Devices and Hours of Service Supporting Documents Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking has cleared the Office of Management and Budget.

The rulemaking was removed Wednesday morning from the list of regulatory matters under review by OMB as posted on the website of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of the OMB where it has been listed since early last August.

The OMB review is typically the last step before a proposed rulemaking is published in the Federal Register.

The removal from the OMB list means that the rulemaking’s long-awaited release is imminent.

“Use of electronic logging devices across both the interstate trucking and the passenger transportation industries will strengthen compliance with federal Hours of Service regulations, reducing the risk of fatigue-related crashes of commercial motor vehicles, and most centrally, save lives,“ Duane DeBruyne, a spokesman for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, said. “FMCSA is pleased that the Office of Management and Budget has completed its review of the SNPRM allowing its imminent publication in the Federal Register and commencing public review and comment.“

It is highly unlikely that the FMSCA has been sitting idly by while OMB reviewed the rule. Rather, it is likely the agency has been in constant contact with OMB, making any changes to the rule requested by OMB, and especially analyses of the economic impact of the rule and at the same time carefully planning the release of the rulemaking, which will certainly be hailed by many and criticized by others.

The FMCSA has been attempting to put in place an electronic logging device rule since January 2007 when the agency issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would have required motor carriers that were deemed serious violators of HOS to install electronic on-board recorders, or EOBRs as the logging devices were called until FMCSA change the vernacular in the new proposed rulemaking.

That rule became final in 2010, but before it could be implemented, the FMCSA in 2012 rescinded the rule in the wake of Congressional pressure to extend the EOBR requirement to all commercial vehicles.

The agency then wrote a proposed rulemaking that required EOBRs in all commercial vehicles, but the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association sued, saying the rule did not prohibit the harassment of drivers.

The court agreed and the FMCSA was forced to work on the rule to eliminate the possibility of driver harassment and make other refinements, all of which are now supposed to be incorporated in the SNPRM.

A move by Congress put more urgency in the agency’s effort to get the rulemaking out for comment when lawmakers included an electronic logging device mandate in MAP-21.

Volkswagen Chairman: Cars Must Not Become ‘Data Monsters’

As reported by SlashDot: While automakers from Tokyo to Detroit rush to sprinkle their respective vehicles with all sorts of sensors and screens, the chairman of Volkswagen Group has warned about the limits of data analytics for automobiles.

“The car must not become a data monster,” Martin Winterkorn told an audience at the CeBit trade show in Germany, according to Re/code. “I clearly say yes to Big Data, yes to greater security and convenience, but no to paternalism and Big Brother.”

At the same time, Winterkorn endorsed a closer relationship between tech companies such as IBM and the auto industry, and highlighted Volkswagen’s experiments with autonomous driving—both of which will necessarily infuse automakers (and his company in particular) with more data-driven processes. The question is which policies from which entities will ultimately dictate how that data is used.

Data-analytics providers and IT vendors have increasingly turned their sights on the auto industry as a new source of business, driven—so to speak—by the increasing prevalence of electronics in vehicles. That prevalence, in turn, is thanks to a years-long effort to miniaturize processors and other components. Now a manufacturer such as Tesla can send over-the-air software updates that improve a vehicle’s performance; a dashboard screen can feed the driver a galaxy of information. In turn, manufacturers can use the aggregate data from thousands of vehicles to improve future models and create new services.

Winterkorn isn’t the first individual to voice concerns about how automakers (and their partners) store and analyze all that vehicle data. At this January’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, a Ford executive drew considerable controversy by suggesting that Ford collects detailed information on how customers use its vehicles. “We know everyone who breaks the law, we know when you’re doing it. We have GPS in your car, so we know what you’re doing. By the way, we don’t supply that data to anyone,” Jim Farley, Ford’s global vice president of marketing and sales, told show attendees.

Farley later attempted to clarify his statement to Business Insider, but that didn't stop a fierce debate over vehicle monitoring—and certainly hasn't stopped automakers and tech companies from collaborating over more ways to integrate data-centric features to vehicles. In February, Amazon announced that Ford SYNC Applink-equipped vehicles would include the Amazon Cloud Player, allowing drivers to access their music libraries via voice command or dashboard controls; supported vehicles include the Mustang, Fusion, F-150 and Ford Fiesta.

So who will ultimately regulate how data from cars ends up used? For the moment, the automakers (as well as the companies providing on-board and sensor-analytics services) have any leeway afforded them under their respective Terms of Service. But it’ll only take one massive data-leak to spark a very public conversation over who owns, controls, and uses data from the road.