GLONASS TOP News for APRIL, 2012

17 Мая 2012

1.Results of the VI International Satellite Navigation Forum

The VI International Satellite Navigation Forum has taken place in Moscow in April. The event was organized by non-profit public association “GLONASS/GNSS-Forum” and the company “Professional Conferences” endorsed by Russian Federal Space Agency and International Committee of GNSS.

The members of the Russian government, representatives of 450 manufacturers of navigation equipment, heads of largest international companies from 16 countries of the world, representatives of space agencies and related state structures from USA, India, China and Japan have taken part in the Forum. Total number of participants has reached 1300 person. The event was solemnly opened by the Deputy Prime Minister – Vladislav Surkov. In welcome address he noted that the Russian government is interested in the development of navigation-and-information systems and ready to support their commercialization. “Last year 117 billion rubles were invested in the projects based on satellite technologies. By 2020 this figure will increase up to 300 billion”, – Vladislav Surkov specified.

Within 2 days of the Forum were held plenary session, 5 round tables, 7 sections for professionals, the ceremony of awarding the annual prize of “GLONASS/GNSS-Forum” assocoation in the field of navigation “For the contribution to the creation and development of the GLONASS system”.

The International Forum gives an opportunity to companies-manufacturers of navigation equipment to present their products, technical solutions and services. The participants and visitors noted that the Forum had been held in a new format. From a professionals-oriented event it had turned to the Forum focused on the mass consumer sector. The accent was put on the practical application of satellite navigation technologies in the different economical areas.

2.Russian Minister of Agriculture Elena Skrynnik held a meeting on the use of satellite navigation technologies in agricultural manufacture.

For today the Ministry has identified key areas for the implementation of satellite navigation technologies in agriculture. The deliveries of GLONASS/GPS -based equipment have been organized to the agrochemical services stations and centers of the Russian Ministry of Agriculture, worked out techniques of use navigation equipment in agriculture machinery parallel driving, implemented the monitoring system of agriculture machinery and vehicles based on global positioning systems.
Moreover the number of agriculture Universities developed techniques for determining the level of humus content in soil, so called fields mapping for soil fertility with the use of satellite navigation technologies. Universities carried out a comprehensive improvement of technologies such as adaptation of navigation equipment to the domestic agricultural machinery. In particular the State Russian Agrarian University of Timiryazev has established “the Center of precision agriculture” for further implementation of GNSS-based technologies.
At the meeting it was noted that precision farming is the basic element for application of GLONASS system in agricultural sector.

3.Tests of the system increasing the GLONASS signals accurasy will be carried out in summer.

Russian Federal Space Agency planning to carry out tests of the system providing the accuracy of receiving GLONASS signal across Russia within 0.5 meter, said the head of Agency Vladimir Popovkin.
We are speaking about the development of ground stations network providing signal differential corrections.  Popovkin also noted that now only Moscow and its regions could receive the signal with such precision.  
In February Vladimir Putin said that over the past five years the accuracy of GLONASS "been improved in the order." According to him, it is comparable to the accuracy of GPS: "we have 2.8 meters and they have about 1.8 meters ".

4.The Russian NAVY equips their ships by navigation and communication systems of NATO.

Navigation and communication systems of NATO will be installed on ships of the Russian Navy to improve coordination between countries  in the struggle against pirates, particularly in the Gulf of Aden informed the journalists in Brussels Chief of General Headquarters of the Armed Nikolai Makarov.

According to him implementation of NATO's navigation systems will help in case of interaction between NATO and Russian sailors against pirates.

Russian warships are regularly being sent to the Gulf of Aden for solving problems of anti-piracy activities. In particular, earlier in this area have successfully carried out accompaniment of the civil courts the ships of the Northern Fleet – the heavy nuclear missile cruiser "Piotor Veliky", large antisubmarine ships "Severomorsk", "Admiral Chabanenko," "Admiral Levchenko".

5.The Federal Antimonopoly Service requires resetting the fees for all manufacturers of tablets.

The Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has continued to express dissatisfaction with the situation on the Russian market of tablet PCs where zero fees on import of equipment uses only by one company – Apple.

The Office has sent requests to 15 companies, including Acer, Samsung, Asus, HP, Lenovo and Sony. The FAS wants to find out what commodity nomenclature codes of foreign trade activities are most often given to the tablets at customs.
It is worth mentioning that in March 2012 the Russian Federal Customs Service (FCS) sent to the Customs explanations according to which iPad tablet of first and second generations (WiFi +3 G) may be imported into Russia free of fees. The FAS believes that this decision violates the laws of competition and offer to introduce a similar fee for other tablets’ manufactures. Primarily Apple Tablet PC taxed with a 5% fee, as they were positioned as radio navigation receivers.

Acer and Lenovo companies have already applied to the FCS in order to recognize the Tablet PC as computing machine. But according to the representatives of these companies they still do not have any response.

In order to support Russian navigation system GLONASS government offered to implements 25% fees of the devices imported in Russia with only GPS module. However this decision was not adopted.

Anastasia Lyubimova
http://vestnik-glonass.ru/en/

Источник: http://www.aggf.ru