In News 
Thales acquires Magellan satellite navigation and positioning businesses
Thales and Orbital Sciences Corporation of the United States have reached an agreement whereby Thales will acquire all of Orbital Sciences' satellite navigation and positioning businesses for approximately US$70 million. Two Orbital Sciences subsidiaries are involved in the transaction: Magellan, one of the leading global suppliers of GPS equipment, and NavSol, which is in charge of the Hertz car rental group's satellite-based car navigation service. The two subsidiaries generated combined revenues of US$114 million in 2000. The closing of the transaction is expected by the end of June 2001. The acquisition should also support growth in Thales subsidiaries with an involvement in positioning applications (Thales Geosolutions and Global Telematics) through the development of common technologies. Thales has a leadership position in GPS equipment through its subsidiary Thales Navigation in Europe.
It offers significant opportunities for synergies with the Group's defense and aerospace businesses.
Visit: http://www.orbital.com/ , http://www.magellangps.com/
|
Top Stories
|
Water resources map of Beijing
New underground water resources were found in north-eastern Beijing, which may quench the
city's thirst, according to the Beijing Hydrologic Survey Group. The survey group sank a well in Zhongqiao Village, Pinggu County last month and found plenty of high quality underground water. The newly found water resources are expected to be able to provide the city's urban areas with more than 100 million cubic meters of water per year. The survey group plans to drill 20 wells in the county to help establish a new groundwater base for urban areas of Beijing. The plan will be submitted to the local government for approval. After years of investigation, the survey group has drawn a map of water resources in Beijing and have discovered that abundant groundwater resources are held in store in certain suburban areas including Pinggu County and Fangshan District in southwestern Beijing.
IBSystems introduces new web publishing paradigm
IBSystems, a leading provider of web portals targeted at professional audiences, today launched its EDAVision online magazine (http://www.edavision.com/), the first of four `Webzines' aimed at professionals in the Electronic Design Automation, Mechanical Computer Aided Design (http://www.mcadvision.com/), Geographical Information Systems (http://www.gisvisionmag.com/), and Architectural Engineering (http://www.aecvision.com/) computer modeling fields. The IBSystems' WebZines have the look and feel of a print magazine with all the added advantages of the web. For the reader, he or she can read an article in the format they're used to reading it in, while being able to see accompanying movie clips, listen to audio, or view a whole range of multimedia possibilities. Because IBSystems does not allow self-activated flashing advertisements in its publication the reader has a flicker-free reading experience -- just like in a magazine.
Visit: http://www.ibsystems.com/ , http://www.edavision.com/
@Road Introduces FCC-Certified LocationSmart Product
@Road(SM, a leading provider of location-enhanced wireless Internet services for mobile resource management (MRM), has announced the availability of the new @Road iLM 2500 Internet Location Manager. The iLM 2500 is designed to provide connectivity to the @Road LocationSmart(TM) network, which combines wireless, positioning and XML technologies with the Internet to power MRM solutions such as @Road FleetASAP. It has been granted equipment authorization by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) relating to the licensed non-broadcast station transmitter equipment class, supports all FleetASAP features including location, monitoring, messaging, reporting and scheduling. The new unit is reduced to a smaller form-factor, which is designed to simplify and reduce installation time. The iLM 2500 is ruggedized for improved resistance to moisture and dust. New input configurations provide flexibility for added application needs. Additionally, the iLM 2500 power management capability enables users increased flexibility for vehicle battery use and conservation.
Visit: http://www.atroad.com
Field Engineers given direct WAP access to SAP and Geo-Information Systems
Actional Corporation, a provider of adaptive integration solutions for e-Business, and mobilkom austria, Austria's largest mobile operator, have announced a deal to use Actional Control Broker (ACB) for the integration of SAP, its geo-information system (GIS) and WAP telephones. The deal will give field engineers direct access to current information about system faults, with the ability to report or be informed of faults instantly. The solution allows engineers to log the results of their actions via a WAP device, with these results updated automatically in the SAP back end as well as the GIS. Actional's Control Broker integration software ensures that mobilkom austria's systems are constantly up-to-date, with details about the status of all individual transmission stations accessible from any location at any time. Every piece of equipment throughout the network carries an inventory number, administered by the SAP system. This allows hardware to be located and its use to be coordinated more simply.
Visit: http://www.actional.com/
|
Asia News
|
GIS to Reap Rs 550 crore revenue and 6000 jobs: NASSCOM
The NASSCOM has projected job opportunities for 25,000 persons in the business process out sourcing, management, back office operations, data entry and data conversion areas of the IT-enabled sector during 2001-2002. According to a study conducted by the NASSCOM - McKinsey I 1999 the revenue expected to be generated in this area was about Rs 2050 crore. In the customer interaction services and help desk area job chances were expected to be at 21,500 with a revenue of Rs 1650 crore, NASSCOM said. The digital content and website services offered placement opportunities to over 18,000 persons with a revenue generation of Rs 1500 crore.
However, the transcription, translation localisation services was projected to make only Rs 180 crore despite its scope of creating job opportunities to 7500 persons, NASSCOM said. The engineering & design and GIS AVENUES WERE EXOECTED TO REAP Rs 550 CRORE AS REVENUE WITH ABOUT 6000 PERSONS LIKELY TO GET JOBS IN THE AREA.
The specialised knowledge services, remote education fulfilment, remote network management, data search and analysis and the like areas were expected to generate Rs 370 crore and about 3500 persons were likely to get jobs, NASSCOM said.
Source : Press Trust of India
Japanese adventurer found dead in Arctic
TOKYO - A Japanese adventurer who scaled some of the world's highest peaks and crossed the Sahara Desert was found dead in the Canadian Arctic by a search team, his support group said Thursday.
The six-member volunteer team based in Resolute, N.W.T., discovered the frozen body of Hyoichi Kohno near his sled at about 6:45 a.m. Japan time on Thursday, said Toji Goto, director of Kohno's Japan-based expedition office.
The team chartered an aircraft to continue looking for Kohno after the Canadian air force called off its search earlier this week, Goto said from Kohno's home town Matsuyama, about 680 kilometres southwest of Tokyo. "We still don't have any details on what went wrong. All we know is that his body was found near his sled,'' Goto said.
Kohno, 43, had been out of contact since he last turned on his GPS, satellite location finder last Thursday, the support group said. He also missed a scheduled radio contact Saturday.
Kohno, who in 1997 became the first Japanese adventurer to reach the North Pole on foot and by himself, was on a 15,000-kilometre journey. Planning to travel by kayak, sled, skis and on foot through Canada, Alaska and Russia's Sakhalin Island, Kohno left the North Pole on March 27 after being delayed two weeks by a radio that malfunctioned in the cold temperatures. He was expected to return to Japan by 2007.
ISRO to approach foreign agencies to track GSAT-I
Space scientists are considering approaching foreign space agencies to salvage the GSAT-1 experimental satellite that has failed to reach its intended space home. ISRO is exploring various plans to ensure that the satellite is continuously tracked from the ground after the master control facility at Hassan lost contact with it on Monday, according to ISRO sources. Since GSAT-1 was unable to reach its desired orbit after it was launched by India's first successful Geo-Stationary Satellite Launch vehicle on April 18, its communication services could not be switched on when it went out of MCF's sight. GSAT can be monitored from ground stations based in Canada and southeast Asia when it pulls out of MCF's sight. However, space scientists conducted a few communication experiments through the GSAT-1 when the spacecraft came into the view of MCF between May 15 and 27.
Source : Press Trust of India
Laws mooted for quake-proof houses
New Delhi: The constant nudging by the Union urban development ministry asking states to enact legislation to make buildings quake safe finally seems to be bearing fruit. Delhi and Gujarat have already put laws in place that will ensure quake proof structures.
This was revealed by Union urban development minister Jagmohan recently during the inauguration of the three-day Seventh Annual Convention and Seminar on Earthquakes in Built Environment, organised by the Indian Buildings Congress. Jagmohan said Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Pondicherry and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have also submitted draft legislations to the ministry for scrutiny.
Calling for a far more pro-active approach towards prevention, preparedness and mitigation of quakes, Jagmohan drew attention to the fact that India ranks tenth among the countries ravaged by quakes. The Himalayas, he noted, are located in one of the seismically most active belts. And in the last 100 years, the country has experienced five quakes measuring eight or more on the Richter scale, he added. Noting that so far ``efforts have been towards post-disaster action like rescue, relief and rehabilitation,'' Jagmohan said little has been done by way of pre-disaster mitigation.
Source : The Times of India News Service
Delhi Bus-stops may soon have city maps
New Delhi: The DTC might soon put up maps of Delhi at its new bus queue shelters. The bus shelters would also give the route numbers along with the stops along the route. Said DTC chairman Rakesh Mehta,``We are talking to Eicher (the company which makes popular road maps) to put them up in our illuminated bus shelters.'' The DTC is implementing the suggestion of the joint commissioner of police (traffic) Maxwell Pereira. ``The city is inundated with people from outside the city, be it tourists or strangers. It is a simple solution to remove the hurdles in their movement,'' said Pereira.
The Capital has a floating population of about 20 lakh. In fact, the traffic police in its annual review had found out that many casualties on the roads near ISBT are due to the ``confused movement by migrants''. Pereira says,``It would not cost the government anything. The DTC can have an arrangement with companies who would sponsor the maps.''Pereira's suggestion is that one side-panel of the bus shelter would be devoted to the city map. It would indicate the location of the bus shelter with a ``You are here'' red spot. Another side panel, Pereira says, should be devoted to the route numbers of buses halting at the stop. Against each route number would be given all the halts in a bamboo ladder form.
|
|
|
|
