NextNav answers critics to its FCC petition in our paid subscription feature (photo: NextNav).
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Top News:
🌒 LuGRE Sets Another Record: First GNSS Signals Detected in Lunar Orbit. “New record for LuGRE. On Feb. 19, the receiver successfully acquired and tracked signals from GPS and Galileo satellites even in lunar orbit, at 63 Earth radii, approximately 401,814 kilometers from Earth. LuGRE was developed in Italy by Qascom on behalf of the Italian Space Agency, in collaboration with NASA and scientific support from the Politecnico di Torino.”
👌 GPS Jamming, a Weapon in Hot and Hybrid Wars, Will Soon Be Obsolete. “Gyroscope-on-a-chip technology could soon enable us to navigate over long distances without GPS.”
🌍 Globalstar Details Next-Generation LEO Constellation in FCC Filing. “Globalstar GSAT 0.00%↑ detailed plans for its next-generation low-Earth orbit (LEO) constellation to support Apple AAPL 0.00%↑ satellite connectivity in a filing last week to the FCC.”
🏛 FCC Adopts Location-Based Routing for Wireless 911 Calls and RTT-to-911 Messages. “At its January 25, 2024, Open Meeting, the FCC adopted a Report and Order requiring all wireless carriers to implement location-based routing nationwide for wireless calls and real-time text (RTT) communications to 911 call centers. With this approach, 911 voice calls and RTT texts will be routed based on the location of the caller as opposed to the location of the cell tower that handles that call.”
📌 Geo Week Continues to Break Attendance Records; Sold Out Exhibit Hall Floor Largest in Event History. “The geospatial conference and tradeshow convened a record-breaking 3,222 professionals from more than 3,600 registrants, representing 49 countries. The sold-out exhibit hall was the largest in event history, featuring 215 exhibitor.s”
😮 TV-based PNT for 70 Percent of Americans in Three Years – Petition to FCC. “The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has asked the Federal Communications Commission to require television stations to start using the ATSC 3.0 standard for broadcast. The ATSC 3.0 signals will include the Broadcast Positioning System, a PNT service.”
Expert nationwide installation services for fleet technologies.
Maps:
🤷♂️ ‘Gulf of Fragile Masculinity.’ MapQuest Allows Users to Rename the Gulf of America. “MapQuest has not yet updated its map to reflect Trump‘s order. In what appears to be a joke, MapQuest is allowing online users to rename the gulf whatever they want.”
🚙 New Waze Update Enables Navigation on the Instrument Panel in BMW, Ford, Other Cars. “The latest Waze version enables the application to run on the instrument cluster in several cars, including select models from BMW, Ford, F 0.00%↑ and Polestar.”
🙂 what3words Acquires Swiftcomplete. “Adding Swiftcomplete to what3words means we are now able to offer a consolidated address entry solution.”
🗺 New Services in ArcGIS Location Platform. “Batch Geocoding, Last Mile Delivery service, Static Basemap Tiles service, Elevation service and new Static Map service coming soon in beta.”
🌎 TomTom Continues Partnership With Bee Maps. Editor’s Note: Not much made public about this partnership…and Bee Maps’ ongoing partnership with Mapbox.
😕 Google Maps Loses a Key Feature on CarPlay, Users Hope It’s Just an Error. “One of the most important benefits of navigation apps is the added predictability, as they make driving to a destination safer by providing drivers with turn-by-turn guidance, traffic data, and hazard notifications. Additionally, most include a route preview screen that allows users to get prepared for the road by inspecting each turn and viewing traffic data before they hit the road. This ability has recently gone missing in Google Maps on CarPlay for a reason nobody can decrypt.”
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Connected and Autonomous Vehicles:
🤔 Elon Musk’s DOGE Comes for Agency That Regulates Autonomous Vehicles. “Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is firing nearly half of a small government team that regulates autonomous vehicles, The Washington Post reported.”
🎖 RoboSense Reaches 1 Millionth Lidar Delivery Milestone. “RoboSense produced its one millionth lidar and delivered it to a humanoid robot company. [The company’s] sales in 2024 were 544,200 units, 95.52 percent of which were automotive lidars.”
🚘 Stellantis Has Developed a Level 3 Self-Driving Function. “Called STLA AutoDrive 1.0, the new hands-free system only works up to 37 mph, and Stellantis confirms it’s not scheduled to go on the market for now.”
🚕 Thales Partners With Cubic to Launch Next-generation eSIM Solutions for Connected Vehicles. “Cubic will integrate Thales‘s eSIM technology to address the latest GSMA standards.”
💲 Oklahoma State University Awarded $4M for Autonomous Vehicle Research.
🤨 AAA: Fear in Self-Driving Vehicles Persists. “According to AAA’s latest survey on autonomous vehicles, 13 percent of U.S. drivers would trust riding in self-driving vehicles – an increase from last year, when this number was 9 percent. Despite this slight increase, six in 10 U.S. drivers still report being afraid to ride in a self-driving vehicle.”
👍 Autonomous Robotaxi Successfully Completes 75 mph Highway Testing. “Motional’s IONIQ 5 robotaxi just nailed high-speed tests, cruising at 75 mph.”
🚗 Tesla Rolls Out Advanced Self-Driving Functions in China. “Tesla TSLA 0.00%↑ has started offering advanced self-driving functions for its cars in China, including Autopilot on city streets, the company announced on Tuesday.”
😐 Pony AI Becomes First to Offer Robotaxi Operations Connecting Guangzhou’s City Center to Key Transportation Hubs. “Pony AI PONY 0.00%↑ announced the launch of paid robotaxi services from multiple locations in Guangzhou’s city center to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and Guangzhou South Railway Station.”
Fleet Telematics:
🚍 GearTrack and NexGen Delivering Comprehensive Asset Tracking Services. “GearTrack and NexGen Tech Solutions have announced a continued partnerships that combines GearTrack’s IoT-based asset tracking and protection technology with NexGen’s IT infrastructure expertise.
Financial:
✔ Ituran Presents Fourth Quarter & Full Year 2024 Results. “2,409,000 subscribers at year-end, adding 157,000 net, during the year at the high end of the guidance range. Record financial metrics across the board with revenue at $336.3 million, an increase of 5 percent year-over-year.”
✔ Innoviz Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Results. “Partnership announcements with Mobileye and NVIDIA position the Company to further scale business and pursue opportunities with new OEMs. Targeting 2025 revenues of $50 million to $60 million.”
The D-Day Visitor’s Handbook: Your Guide to the Normandy Battlefields and WWII Paris by Kevin Dennehy and Steve Powers. The guidebook uses location technology from what3words to locate monuments, museums and other attractions. Get your guidebook today.
