China Expanding its GPS Satellite Network
15 May 2012Space is getting more crowded with satellites. On April 30th, 2012, China completed a successful launch of two navigation satellites, which become satellites number twelve and thirteen of its rapidly expanding Compass Navigation Satellite System — the country’s second generation satellite navigation system.
Last March, China announced an aggressive goal to place 100 satellites in space by the year 2015, with the hopes to end its reliance on the United States operated Global Positioning System. If China’s global satellite coverage goal is achieved, China will be the third country — in addition to the United States (GPS) and Russia (GLONASS) — to have its own satellite GPS navigation system. They will be decades behind United States and Russia in doing so.
Last year, China launched 19 satellites, which surpassed United States 18 satellites by one. Still, Russia was tops last year by a long shot in its launching of thirty six satellites.
China’s April 30th was the first time the country launched two navigational satellites in one rocket. The one-rocket, two satellites method will help China reach their 100 satellites goal sooner, but the future may enable China to launch a rocket carrier capable of launching up to four satellites within one rocket.
Compass-M3 and Compass M-4 satellites were launches as a pair of navigation satellites using a Long March 3B launch rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. The country’s future satellite launches will contain satellites to expand its Compass Navigation Satellite System, but also other remote sensing satellites, used for such things as disaster monitoring, crop yield assessments, land survey, and scientific experiments.
China isn’t only just launching their own satellites into space either. To date, China has assisted the launching of over 20 satellites for other countries, such as Pakistan, Bolivia, and Nigeria.
According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, the United States have over 400 active satellites.
By the end of 2012, China hopes to place another three satellites into orbit, giving them a total of 16 satellites — and providing coverage for the entire Pacific-Asia area, including real-time navigation and weather monitoring. On average, the country plans to launch 20 satellites each year in pursuit of their 2015 goal.
Tsunamis can be deadly, and often without much warning. However, according to a new study published by researchers at the University of Hawaii – Manoa (UHM) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, using real-time GPS tracking on commercial ships could be a cost-effective and better way to track tsunamis and warn of their danger.
Currently, tsunami detection consists of tide-gauges and seismic stations on land coupled with a buoy pressure sea-floor sensor system located deep in the ocean and land-based GPS tracker networks. There’s also the natural warning of an approaching tsunami: the ground near the coast may shake, water my withdraw far from the shoreline, or there may be an unusual ocean disturbance.
Unfortunately, even with all of these current methods to detect a looming tsunami, the devastating waves of a tsunami continues to wreak a deadly path.
But that’s where commercial ships may be able to help, according to the UHM scientists. On its way from Guam to Hawaii, the UHM research ship named “Kilo Moana” — equipped with an advanced GPS tracking system — detected the tsunami generated by the 8.8 Chiliean earthquake in Febrary 2010. This was the first time a maritime vessel detected a tsunami.
Based upon this knowledge, study author Dr. James Foster along with his colleagues are currently working on coordinating a network of commercial ships — all equipped with a geodetic GPS system — which could become the go-to technology for real-time tsunami warnings in the Pacific ocean.
“Our discovery indicates that the vast fleet of commercial ships traveling the ocean each day could become a network of accurate tsunami sensors,” Foster said.
Given the improving satellite communication technology and the affordability of GPS tracking system, it’s possible to cover a significant portion of today’s shipping fleet with real-time GPS tracking systems to create an effective, practical, and economical that provides more widespread and focused tsunami discovery coverage.
Foster and his colleagues believe that this type of ship-based GPS tracking technology could have detected the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami within 60 minutes, possibly saving many lives. A geodetic GPS tracking system installed on a network of commercial ships could “improve our detection and predictions of tsunamis — saving lives and money,” said Foster.
The study finders are published in the journal Geophyiscal Research Letters.
UHM researchers hope to launch a demo system using at least two vessels by the end of 2012.
The Growth of GPS Personal Tracking Devices
8 May 2012Personal GPS tracking devices and applications are expected to grow at least 40 percent per year, according to technology marketing intelligence firm ABI Research. Additionally, the combined market for personal GPS tracking devices and their applications is expected to exceed one billion dollars by the year 2017, reports the firm.
While a National Defense Magazine study predicts that by the year of 2014 one million personal GPS tracking devices will be in use, ABI Research expects that 2.5 million units will be in use by 2017.
What are the areas of usage expected to see the most growth? Elderly, remote workers, and healthcare will likely see the most growth. Insurance companies will continue to encourage the use of dedicated and approved personal GPS tracking devices to decrease liability. Other markets that will be using GPS personal trackers in increasing numbers include pet, offender tracking, and luggage tracking.
Families are expected to use personal trackers more in areas of tracking toddlers, pets, and parents who have Alzheimer’s or dementia. An uptick in the monitoring of health conditions through EKG readings, heart rate, dehydration levels, and body temperatures is also predicted, with more medical professionals embracing the technology.
Additionally, wearable personal GPS tracking devices, like watches, shoes, and bras, are anticipated to grow as mobile technology opens up new channels for people to remotely monitor family members or others who need to be tracked. It’s also probably that we will soon see a line of infant pajamas equipped with sensors that send information about a baby’s vital signs (heart rate, oxygen level, and body temperature) to the parent’s mobile devices.
Two-way tracking devices have mostly been employed by the Defense Department, but hikers, skiers, and workers in remote areas will be seen using the devices with more frequency, particularly if price-points come down and device size continues to be smaller.
Currently, the GPS personal tracking market may be underserved as consumers lack knowledge of exactly what the technology can do and are unaware of the potential benefits. So, expect to see more ubiquitous, swift, and widespread rollouts of personal tracking devices not only in the military, government, and medical markets, but the consumer segment as well during the next five years.
