Tag: Institute of Navigation

ION celebrates 75 years of guiding navigators

The Mark 3 Plotting Board was used in single-seat aircraft flying in the Pacific. (Photo: National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution)

On June 25, 1945, in the last few months of World War II, troops from around the globe were headed home and navigation technology was in its infancy.

On that date, the first organization meeting of the Institute of Navigation (ION) took place on the Los Angeles Campus of the University of California with 55 people in attendance. A temporary organization was established to carry on until the fall, when a second general meeting would take place on the east coast.

The first ION Annual Meeting was held Oct. 25–26 that same year at the Hotel New Yorker, with 95 ION members and 35 non-members attending. Proposed Articles of Incorporation were adopted and a council was elected.

By late October, two organizational meetings, two regional meetings and the annual meeting had taken place; bylaws were adopted with plans for incorporation; a permanent organization was established; a National Office was set up at UCLA; and plans were made for future meetings and publication of a journal.

ION’s global impact is documented in more than 2,600 technical papers published in Navigation, the Journal of the Institute of Navigation, first published in March 1946.

On June 25, ION wrote to its members, “Thank you to the thousands of ION members who have committed themselves to our field; and thank you for 75 years of technological advancements that have helped us all discover where we are, where we are going, and when we will get there.”

July 27, 2020
ION cancels 2020 Joint Navigation Conference

The Institute of Navigation (ION) has canceled its 2020 Joint Navigation Conference, which was scheduled to take place Sept. 8-11 in Covington, Kentucky/Cincinnati, Ohio.

According to show organizers, the decision was made because of COVID-19 and the current U.S. Department of Defense and government travel restrictions that are limiting travel.

The restricted nature of the JNC conference does not make a virtual experience possible, show organizers added.

Attendees who made hotel reservations through the ION JNC website will have reservations canceled for them, and they will receive emails confirming the cancellations. Those who booked their hotel rooms using other methods will need to contact their hotels directly to cancel room reservations.

ION JNC 2021 will be held June 7-10 at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington, Kentucky/Cincinnati, Ohio, with the classified session hosted at the Air Force Institute of Technology.

July 20, 2020
Institute of Navigation celebrates 75th anniversary

The Institute of Navigation (ION) celebrated its 75th anniversary on June 25.

On June 25, 1945, ION held its first organizational meeting on the Los Angeles Campus of the University of California.

According to ION, 55 people attended this meeting, where a “temporary” organization was established until a general meeting could take place in the fall when articles of incorporation could be drafted and adopted, council members elected and the vision for ION could begin to take shape.

The global impact of ION has been documented in its more than 2,600 technical papers that have been published in Navigation, the Journal of the Institute of Navigation. Navigation was first published in March 1946.

The Institute of Navigation is a non-profit professional organization advancing the art and science of positioning, navigation and timing.

June 25, 2020
ION GNSS+ 2020 to be hosted virtually and in person

ION GNSS+ 2020 organizers have decided to host the event both in person and virtually. The ION GNSS+ 2020 virtual option will mirror the technical program being presented live, Sept. 21-25 in St. Louis, Missouri.

“This year, recognizing that some won’t be able to attend ION GNSS+ 2020 due to restrictions and with the goal of increasing global accessibility to everyone who wants to participate, the Institute of Navigation is excited to offer an ION GNSS+ 2020 virtual option,” the Institute of Navigation (ION) said.

Two session tracks will be live streamed, including the keynote plenary session, all panel sessions and mix of other sessions from various technical tracks. Virtual attendees also will be invited to participated in a moderated Q&A.

In addition, all technical sessions will be audio-recorded as they are taking place, with the slides uploaded to the ION GNSS+ 2020 virtual conference site. Virtual attendees will have the option of viewing all technical presentations on demand and on their own schedules, organizers added. The virtual conference option, however, does not include the pre-conference tutorials or pre-conference short courses.

All scheduled technical papers will be presented by authors in-person in St. Louis. The conference, however, will not include pre-recorded or off-site virtual presentations of technical papers.

ION will also provide an expanded online exhibitor profile that will allow exhibitors to upload a complete company profile with sales and contact information, company logos and company brochures. The online exhibitor profile also will include a link that allows attendees to email an exhibitor directly to ask questions or set up a phone or virtual appointment. Additionally, companies that purchased an island booth will be provided the opportunity to live stream an exhibitor demonstration during a scheduled conference break.

Virtual meeting attendance will be free for all first-time ION GNSS+ attendees. If an individual or organization requires assistance in order to participate in the show, ION is also offering a COVID-19 economic impact discount for the virtual option.

June 11, 2020
ION launches online job board for PNT community

The Institute of Navigation (ION) has launched an online job board for the PNT community.

Through the ION Online Job Board, ION corporate members can post job listings for free. For a limited time, non-ION corporate members can also post job listings for free. The job postings will expire automatically after 14, 30 or 60 days, depending on which expiration date the job poster chooses.

“To meet the burgeoning demand for a targeted talent pool specific to the PNT community, the new ION Online Job Board will help connect qualified job seekers with exciting and diverse employment opportunities for this niche audience, and in turn will help our corporate members continue to build talented teams to better ensure the success of their business,” said Lisa Beaty, executive director at ION.

The The Institute of Navigation is a not-for-profit professional organization dedicated to advancing the PNT industry.

June 3, 2020
ION to host webinar on sample correlation on SISRE overbound for ARAIM

The Institute of Navigation (ION) will be hosting a complimentary webinar, “Impact of Sample Correlation on SISRE Overbound for ARAIM,” at 12 p.m. ET on May 28.

This topic was originally presented at ION GNSS+ 2018 and published in the Spring 2020 issue of Navigation, Journal of the Institute of Navigation, Volume 67, No. 1, pp 197-212, by Dr. Santiago Perea Diaz, Prof. Michael Meurer and Dr. Boris Pervan.

According to ION, this paper analyzes the effect of error correlation on the SISRE bounding for GPS and Galileo satellites. For a given period of data collection, it computes the effective number of independent samples contained in a dataset applying an estimation variance analyses. Results show that the time between effective independent samples is highly dependent on the constellation and onboard clock type. On one hand, GPS satellites equipped with Rubidium clocks exhibit significantly longer error correlation than those with onboard Cesium clocks. On the other hand, Galileo satellites show substantially shorter correlation time among samples with less variability on a monthly basis, ION added.

This paper also introduces a methodology to compute SISRE bounding accounting for the limited number of independent samples, ION said. Using a Bayesian approach, it computes the so-called uncertainty factor by which the Gaussian distribution needs to be inflated in order to account for the observation data independence.

Register for the webinar here.

May 13, 2020
ION GNSS+ 2020 advanced conference program available online

The Institute of Navigation’s (ION) ION GNSS+ 2020 advance conference program is now available online.

The show, which is the the 33rd International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of the Institute of Navigation, is slated to take place Sept. 21-25 in St. Louis.

According to ION, the show will feature Commercial and Policy tracks and Research tracks with more than 36 technical sessions Sept. 23-25, in addition to a commercial exhibit.

ION GNSS+ 2020 will offer short courses on pre-conference tutorials to provide in-depth learning of specific GNSS-related disciplines and will again facilitate the CGSIC meeting. These will take place Sept. 21-22. ION’s Satellite Division will also bring back complimentary short courses, taught by internationally recognized PNT experts and educators on Sept. 21.

This year’s ION GNSS+ 2020 Plenary Session will feature two dynamic keynote addresses from Dr. Christine Darden, retired NASA program manager and one of the key researchers featured in the book Hidden Figures, and Dr. Bradford Parkinson, who will be presenting “Radio Navigation from Marconi to GNSS.”

Finally, nominations are currently being accepted for ION’s Johannes Kepler Award, which honors an individual during their lifetime for sustained and significant contributions to the development of satellite navigation, as well as the Bradford W. Parkinson Award, which recognizes an outstanding graduate student in the field of GNSS. Nominations, along with required reference letters, are due June 30.

Check out ION GNSS+ 2019 show coverage here.

April 16, 2020
ION 2020 Joint Navigation Conference rescheduled over COVID-19 concerns

The Institute of Navigation’s (ION) 2020 Joint Navigation Conference (JNC) has been rescheduled for Sept. 8-11 at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center.

The U.S.-only For Official Use Only sessions will be hosted at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington, Kentucky, and the U.S.-only secret sessions will be hosted at the Air Force Institute of Technology in Dayton, Ohio.

According to ION, the rescheduled conference will host the original program, which was scheduled to take place in June.

“We are aware of the importance of this community of dedicated public servants meeting in an environment where they can effectively collaborate, exchange research, and demonstrate technology,” said Lisa Beaty, executive director for ION. “The current global climate made our ability to hold this conference in June unlikely, and we needed to provide an alternative opportunity for all our stakeholders.”

Those scheduled to present at JNC 2020 will receive emails from ION asking them to respond electronically to confirm the rescheduled dates and times of their presentations. Those who have registered to attend will receive an email from ION letting them know what their options are.

April 9, 2020
Institute of Navigation releases GNSS SDR Metadata Standard

The Institute of Navigation (ION) has published its Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) Software Defined Radio Metadata Standard document.

According to ION, The standard is the product of a three-year long effort of the ION GNSS SDR Standard Working Group and defines parameters and schema to express the contents of SDR sample data files. The standard promotes the interoperability of GNSS SDR data collection systems and processors, ION added.

“In recent years there has been a proliferation of software defined radio data collection systems and processing platforms designed for Global Navigation Satellite System receiver applications or those that support GNSS bands,” ION said in a press release. “For post-processing, correctly interpreting the GNSS SDR sampled datasets produced or consumed by these systems has historically been a cumbersome and error-prone process. This is because these systems necessarily produce datasets of various formats, the subtleties of which are often lost in translation when communicating between the producer and consumer of these datasets. This specification standardizes the metadata associated with GNSS SDR sampled data files and the layout of the binary sample files.”

The standard is free and can be found here.

February 26, 2020
ION Fellows named: Rodriguez, Gao, Humphreys

The Institute of Navigation (ION) announced the recipients of the 2020 Fellow memberships during the ION International Technical Meeting (ITM) and Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications (PTTI) held Jan. 21- 24 in San Diego, California.

Election to Fellow membership recognizes sustained professional accomplishments that have significantly contributed to the advancement of the arts and sciences of Positioning, Navigation and/or Timing (PNT) in the areas of technology, management, practice or teaching and a demonstrated and sustained impact on the PNT community.

Fellows have maintained an observable presence in the ION community over the long term, including contributions to ION programs and publications.

José Ángel Ávila Rodríguez has been elected for his pioneering contributions to the design of the Galileo signal plan, and leadership in the modernization of Galileo.

Yang Gao has been elected for significant contribution to the development, dissemination and commercialization of high-precision GNSS technologies; and for significant educational and training impact on navigation engineers and professionals.

Todd E. Humphreys has been elected for significant and fundamental contributions to PNT security and precise GNSS positioning for the mass market, and for dedication to GNSS education and outreach.

With their new Fellowship plaques are (from left) Gao, Humphreys and Rodríguez. (Photo: ION)

January 27, 2020
ION award winners honored for GNSS and PNT contributions

The Institute of Navigation (ION) presented its annual awards during the ION International Technical Meeting (ITM) and Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications (PTTI) meeting in San Diego, California, Jan. 21-24.

The ION Annual Awards Program is sponsored by The Institute of Navigation to recognize individuals making significant contributions or demonstrating outstanding performance relating to the art and science of navigation.

Ramsey Faragher received the Per Enge Early Achievement Award for outstanding innovations in mobile positioning and navigation, and in particular for pioneering the revolutionary SuperCorrelation technology. The Per Enge Early Achievement Award is presented in recognition of outstanding contributions made early in one’s career.

Pascal Rochat received the Distinguished PTTI Service Award for advancing the state-of-the-art in high stability atomic clocks and for producing the only space-based H-maser in the world, operating on all Galileo satellites. The Distinguished PTTI Service Award is presented to recognize outstanding contributions related to the management of PTTI systems.

Jordan D. Larson, Demoz Gebre-Egziabher and Jason H. Rife received the Samuel M. Burka Award for their paper “Gaussian-Pareto Overbounding of DGNSS Pseudoranges from CORS” published in the Spring 2019 issue of NAVIGATION, Journal of The Institute of Navigation, Vol. 66, No. 1, pp. 139-150. The Samuel M. Burka Award recognizes outstanding achievement in the preparation of a paper advancing the art and science of positioning, navigation and timing.

Joseph J. Rushanan received the Captain P. V. H. Weems Award for sustained contributions to the design of GPS, including M-code, the L1C signal, and the promotion of assurance concepts for all GPS users. The Captain P. V. H. Weems Award is presented to individuals for continuing contributions to the art and science of navigation.

André Hauschild received the Tycho Brahe Award for outstanding and sustained contributions in the field of GNSS-based navigation, timing and attitude determination of space vehicles. The Tycho Brahe Award is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the science of space navigation, guidance and control.

James J. Miller received the Norman P. Hays Award for exemplary leadership in establishing and sponsoring the National Space-based Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Advisory Board to serve the worldwide user community. The Norman P. Hays Award is given in recognition of outstanding encouragement, inspiration and support contributing to the advancement of navigation.

Zaher (Zak) M. Kassas received the Thomas L. Thurlow Award for foundational work in the theory and practice of exploiting signals of opportunity for accurate and reliable positioning, navigation and timing. The Thomas L. Thurlow Award recognizes outstanding contributions to the science of navigation.

Suneel I. Sheikh received the Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his visionary leadership in promoting positioning, navigation and timing education through the establishment, promotion and administration of the ION Satellite Division’s Autonomous Snowplow Competition. The Distinguished Service Award recognizes extraordinary service to The Institute of Navigation.

January 27, 2020
ION seeks abstracts for 2020 JNC by Feb. 3
The Institute of Navigation is asking for abstracts for the 2020 ION Joint Navigation Conference. JNC 2020 will be held June 1-3 at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington, Kentucky/Cincinnati, Ohio.

The US ONLY CLASSIFIED sessions will be held June 4 at the Air Force Institute of Technology in Dayton, Ohio.

Abstracts are due Feb. 3, 2020.

JNC is the largest U.S. military Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) technologies conference of the year with joint service and government participation. The JNC theme is Enhancing Dominance and Resilience for Warfighting and Homeland Security PNT.

The event will focus on technical advances in PNT with emphasis on joint development, test and support of affordable PNT systems, logistics and integration with more than 150 operational presentations.

Abstracts will be accepted through Feb. 3, 2020. For more information about JNC 2020, visit ion.org/jnc.

Exhibit Opportunities
JNC features a technical exhibit and showcase of guidance, navigation and control technology products and services. The exhibit hall (June 2-3) will be open to all conference participants, exhibiting organizations, their employees and related organizations.

All materials displayed in the exhibit hall shall be publicly releasable (Distribution A). For more information on exhibiting, visitwww.ion.org/jnc.

Attendance Restricted Technical Sessions
Conference attendance for both FOUO US ONLY (June 1-3) and US ONLY Secret Clearance (June 4) sessions will be screened by the Joint Navigation Warfare Center and will be restricted to US ONLY. Advance visit requests and approvals are required for all technical participants.

Quick Links for ION JNC 2020
October 29, 2019