Sweden-based Leica Geosystems’ Flight & Sensor Control Management System (FCMS), assists pilots and sensor operators to effi ciently control GPS-based survey fl ights. It performs all tasks, such as fl ight guidance, sensor recording and sensor monitoring, on a single man-machine interface, providing automated operation and minimized user interaction.Leica Geosystems also introduces the Rugby 50 and Rugby 55. With the Leica Rugby 50 and 55 are two new lasers that are designed for different applications: The Rugby 50 is dedicated to general construction contractors, being a tough, affordable laser with a single button. Whereas the Leica Rugby 55 is designed for the interior contractor – a versatile laser, perfect for almost any leveling and alignment job. In addition, Leica Geosystems has also announced a new enterprise software licensing program called Leica EnterpriseElite. Qualifi- ed companies benefi t from simplified software license management tools, fl exibility to immediately react to changing project demands, signifi cant software cost savings, and the ability to effi ciently standardize an entire global organization. www.leica-geosystems.com

For years Topcon’s GPS+ has been the only system that allowed its users the option to access the GPS and GLONASS satellite constellations. Now, with its new line of G3 receivers, TPS customers will also be able to receive signals from the Galileo system. www.topconpositioning.com

Symmetricom, Inc., announced its XLi IEEE 1588 Grandmaster Clock with GPS reference for IEEE 1588 protocol test and measurement applications. This protocol enables very accurate synchronization over Ethernet LANs and offers users the ability to synchronize clocks to better than one hundred nanoseconds accuracy with only a network connection. The XLi IEEE 1588 Grandmaster provides the precise time and is also equipped to physically measure how well that time is transferred through the network with precision down to fi ve nanosecond resolution. www.symmetricom.com

Globalsat, Taiwan announced release of GH-615 wristwatch. It houses a SiRF Star III GPS antenna, supports WAAS/ EGNOS, and offers up tracking, positioning, and time alert functions. It can also be connected via USB to double as a GPS receiver for laptops and other mapping applications, and it’s pre-programmed to record the user’s route by marking and saving tracking points. www.tabletpcs.engadget.com

Boeing has completed a critical US Air Force review of its GPS Space Segment III program and has been awarded a USD 50 million contract for additional system design activities. The Delta System Requirements Review, completed in November, featured an incremental capability insertion approach designed to ensure low development and delivery risks. The review is part of a USD 10 million follow-on order to the Phase A Concept Development Contract awarded in 2004. The U.S. Air Force is expected to award the multi-billion dollar GPS III contract in 2007. www.boeing.com

The Airports Authority of India (AAI), has awarded the NOCAS (No Objection Certifi cate Application System) project to NIIT , parent company of NIIT-GIS Ltd.. The project automates the prioritization and processing of NOC applications based on criteria established by AAI, which will greatly streamline the approval process. A NOC for height clearance issued by AAI is required for construction projects, that fall within 20 km of an airport. www.esri.com

It seeks service oriented partners interested in providing vehicle tracking solutions to their customers which will provide complete technology solution including hardware, software and tracking portal with maps. The portal and devices will be co-branded with partners www.eilabsindia.com

Contex, announces the release of JETimageNET version 6.3.2 software upgrade, which now offers support for an even larger number of large format professional printers. Contex is the “No.1 Market Share Brand in year 2006” and “Customers’ First Choice for Wide Format Scanners in the year 2007” awarded by the Association of Chinese Computer Users in January 2007. www.support. contex.com/software/jetimagenet/

u-blox AG, announced that it has extended its AssistNow A-GPS servicewhich which would provide A-GPS assistance data that enables instant positioning over extended time periods without the need for mobile connectivity. www.u-blox.com

Trimble has announced the new Spectra Precision® GL412 and GL422 Grade Lasers. It can perform three types of jobs for the construction contractors—level, grade and provide vertical alignment with plumb. The GL412 and GL422 Grade Lasers send a continuous, self-leveled 360-degree laser reference over an entire work area, and feature a wide grade range of -10 to +15 percent, so they can be used for a range of slope applications. Trimble has also introduced Trimble VX Spatial Station, an advanced positioning system that combines optical, 3D scanning and video capabilities – Trimble VISION technology – to measure objects in 3D to produce 2D and 3D data sets for spatial imaging projects. www.trimble.com

Blue Marble Geographics announces another update to their GeoCalc software development kit. This fully object-oriented, cross platform coordinate conversion library is now completely interoperable with most major GIS software tools available today. www.bluemarblegeo.com

Bank of America is teaming up with Tele Atlas to make branch locations part of GPS and in-car navigation system networks so as to ensure travelers can fi nd one of its branches as needed. www.localtechwire.com

The US Navy has awarded a USD 6.8 million contract to Raytheon Co. It will develop a landing system to guide aircraft safely onto ships using global positioning system technology. http://news.moneycentral.msn.com

Bentley Systems has unveiled ProjectWise Navigator. It complements the ProjectWise system of collaboration servers, which is already used by nine of the top ten ENR 500 design fi rms to connect people and information across their distributed enterprises. www.bentley.com

Navman, announced a tethered GPS receiver and antenna device, the Smart GPS Sensor with SiRFStar III technology. www.prnewswire.com

Taiwanese fi rm ASUS incorporates high-sensitivity antenna technology in its latest launch S102 PND. It utilizes advanced natural voice technology as well, enabling clearly pronounced turnby- turn instructions. www.asus.com

Beijing BDSTAR Navigation Co. Ltd., dealer of NovAtel Inc. in China, completed deployment of NovAtel GPS-based systems for the Shanghai Yangshan port Container Terminals (SYCT), one of the largest cargo ports in the world. The GPS engines will power a system used for positioning and tracking all container-handling equipment in Yangshan Port Phase I and Phase II terminals, including quayside cranes, rubber-tired gantry cranes, forklifts, reachstackers and trailers. NovAtel has supplied about 500 GPS receivers to BDSTAR.

CARIS releases Bathy DataBASE 2.0 for the creation and management of bathymetric surfaces. It was developed to allow hydrographers to overcome obstacles of large bathymetric data sets and data sources. The software allows users to validate, prepare and compile bathymetric data from multiple formats and sources to create products.

TopoSys introduces airborne laser sensor system - “5 Harrier 56/G3”. It allows scanning with world-leading 200,000 laser pulses per second and provides highest level of details for applications such as corridor mapping. The present system is an improved sensor than the previous Harrier 56 that was introduced in October 2005. Currently it is the highest pulse rate of an Airborne Laserscanning sensor system.

The Times Group, whose parent company Benett and Coleman is India’s most diverse and largest media house, has invested 7 Crores in SatNav for a minority stake. www.satnav.com

PCI Geomatics®, had a series of events in India in January, to showcase the success of the fi rst phase of the Agricultural GeoCapacity Network (AGCN) project. In partnership with the Punjab Remote Sensing Center, PAU, Info-Electronic Systems (Montreal and New Delhi) and CIDA Inc, the AGCN phase I project provides a proof of concept that illustrates how information on crop yields and trend analysis can be automatically generated and delivered to scientists, government offi cials and the general public via a simple web browser. www.pcigeomatics.com