Iran is in the process of initial field testing of a new drone aircraft carrier — the Shahid Bagheri — a converted container ship. Featuring an angled flight deck and ski-jump ramp, the ship seems well-equipped to launch large drones. Two additional drone-carrier vessels, the Shahid Mahdavi and Shahid Roudaki, have also been spotted during sea trials alongside this latest member of the Iranian Shahed drone-carrier fleet. The objective seems to enable Iran to extend […]

January 14, 2025 Whether you are backcountry skiing, hiking a mountain or even driving in a remote area, you should be prepared for an emergency — and your cellphone may not be enough. That’s where satellite devices such as a satellite communicator or a personal locator beacon (PLB) come in. When you’re out of reach of cell towers, these satellite devices help you get assistance in emergency situations. Which one is right for you? Read […]

HERE Technologies and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have entered a cloud infrastructure agreement aimed at advancing the development of software-defined vehicles (SDVs). This partnership combines HERE’s mapping solutions with AWS technologies to accelerate the creation of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), automated driving (AD) and new digital car experiences. The collaboration leverages HERE’s expertise in location technology and AWS’s cloud capabilities to address the growing importance of live mapping in modern vehicles. These data-intensive operations […]

“Seen & Heard” is a monthly feature of GPS World magazine, traveling the world to capture interesting and unusual news stories involving the GNSS/PNT industry. Smarter self-driving cars Photo: hoi dongsu / iStock / Getty Images Plus / Getty Images Researchers at Drexel University have developed a testing method to enhance the robustness of autonomous driving systems. Their approach uses dynamic visual patterns to evaluate object detection capabilities in self-driving cars, focusing on critical objects […]

January 10, 2025 By Jason McDowell A contributor for Flying Magazine and other publications, Jason McDowell is renowned in the aviation industry for his expertise in all things planes — especially his 1953 Cessna 170B. Nearly 130,000 accounts follow his Instagram page, @cessnateur. I realized long ago that the part of my 1953 Cessna 170B most in need of improvement sits in the left seat. New to tailwheel flying when I bought it, our time […]

Global coverage of Overture maps transportation data. (Photo: Overture) The Overture Maps Foundation has released the general availability of its global transportation dataset. This dataset encompasses 86 million km of roads worldwide and is designed to support various industries, including automotive, logistics, navigation, urban planning and humanitarian response. The transportation dataset incorporates detailed information from multiple sources: Aerial imagery for accurate road representations Clear road routes with recognizable highway signs Comprehensive rail and ferry route […]

January 8, 2025 The inReach® Mini satellite communicator and epix™ Pro adventure watch were instrumental in this explorer’s journey. Whenever Brian McVickers1 saw something amazing during his sailing expedition through the Northwest Passage — like a polar bear, for example — he reached for his inReach® Mini satellite communicator2 to tell his family. McVickers, crew member of the Dogbark! sailboat and chief development officer of Overland International, spent about a month sailing the Northwest Passage, […]

The European Space Agency (ESA) will host the first FutureNAV Industry Day on Feb. 18, 2025 — at ESTEC, the Netherlands — to address the growing demand for advanced positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) technologies. This event aims to bring together European stakeholders in satellite navigation to discuss future developments and foster collaboration within PNT and GNSS sectors. As the leading system developer and design authority for Galileo and EGNOS, ESA plays a crucial role […]

Following weather delays, the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) and Space Operations Command expedited the Rapid Response Trailblazer launch schedule to fulfill a specific warfighter requirement. On Dec. 16, 2024, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched the GPS III SV-07 satellite from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. For the mission, multiple Space Force organizations collaborated to retrieve an existing GPS III satellite from storage, expedite integration and launch […]

Photo: Advanced Navigation Advanced Navigation has finalized a multi-million dollar deal with Rheinmetall Defense Australia to provide fiber-optic gyroscope (FOG) inertial navigation systems (INS) for integration into Rheinmetall’s Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles (CRV), currently deployed by the Australian Army. This agreement builds upon a previous collaboration in 2021, where Advanced Navigation supplied over 200 FOG INS units for the Boxer CRV as part of the LAND 400 Phase 2 Program. Arming the Boxer CRV with […]