6 enterprise mobility things about the Motorola ES400

There has been much comment in the past week about Motorola's latest enterprise mobility EDA the ES400.
A replacement for the MC35 was sorely needed and adding a unit under the popular rugged MC55 MC75 MC9500 trio makes a lot of sense. Making a case for an affordable yet rugged enough device against the never ending list of "shineys" is a not easy.

We have picked out 6 points that might well make this a compelling price/performance device for many users in the enterprise. As you might expect a device like this has a long list of what have become standard elements such as enhanced ruggedness multiple radios, accelerometer, camera hi visibility screen and a fast chipset.

• Device support, deployments in the enterprise need longer than consumer product life cycles. The ES400 is shipping with a 3 year warranty and access to Moto's all inclusive service from the start plans that revolutionised the maintenance offer in the ruggedised device market when it was launched 5 years ago.
  
  
• Available 3080 mAh battery. Rated at 500 hours standby 12 talk time.
  
  
• Good quality illuminated camera for twilight pictures.
  
  
• Built in fingerprint biometrics for user sign on security.
  
  
• Support for Windows Mobile 6.5.3.
  
  
• Red line LED aimer for barcode scan through the camera. Scanning barcodes with the MC35 was hit and miss lets hope this implementation performs better.
  
  

As the wireless networks get more interested in enterprise mobility it will be interesting to see how many ES400's end up being sold as devices on data contracts rather than through traditional industry specific two tier distribution channels. The networks do not tend to specialise in line of business apps for enterprise scenarios that a unit like this is designed to address so we can expect software developers and VAR's still having a role to play.

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A simple Guide to how GPS works - Part 2 some techie stuff!

Whilst GPS is everywhere and is literally rocket science what are the nuts and bolts of how it works. Mike Forbes at Electric Compass explains more...

In standard GPS navigation, each GPS receiver produces “replicas” of the code transmitted by the various satellites. These replicas represent the code the receiver expects to receive from any given satellite. A satellite is located and verified when a replica of the code matches up with the code received(a process known as code phase tracking). At the beginning of each individual signal is a sort of time stamp.

When the two signals are examined by the receiver (called “correlation”), the time stamps of the two signals are compared and a time difference is ascertained. Given this time difference and the rate of propagation of the signal, the GPS receiver uses the simple formula of Rate times Time equals Distance (R*T=D) to compute the distance to each satellite. Due to the uncertainties introduced by the many variables this distance to each satellite is only an estimate, and is known as the pseudo-range.

Pseudo-Range Navigation
The pseudo-range from each satellite can be seen as a radius of a large sphere, and the location of the GPS receiver is one point on that sphere. When several pseudo-ranges from several satellites are used in conjunction, the position of the receiver is simply the intersection of these spheres at a given time. The position is first determined in what is known as the Earth-Centered, Earth-Fixed (ECEF) coordinate system, which describes the receiver’s position relative to the center of the earth. From this ECEF location the receiver then easily deduces the latitude, longitude, and altitude, which of course describes the receiver’s position on the surface of the earth.In solving for the ECEF position the receiver needs to examine four variables (three dimensions and time), and a minimum of four satellites is required. In the event that only three satellites are available, a two-dimensional fix can be calculated by assuming a certain altitude. The greater the number of satellites visible to the receiver the greater the level of GPS accuracy, as five or more satellites can provide position, time and redundancy.

Types of GPS Errors
GPS accuracy is diluted by errors that can be introduced by a number of sources. GPS errors can be any combination of noise, bias, and blunders.Noise errors combine the electronic noise from the space segment and the noise generated by the user’s device.Bias errors were historically a result of the intentional degradation of GPS accuracy by the DOD known as Selective Availability, but this source of bias error is no longer active.

There are many means of improving the accuracy and precision of Global Positioning System data. The most common method of improving position information is known as Differential GPS, or DGPS. DGPS is predicated on the concept that for two receivers positioned reasonably close to each other, several of the errors will be common to both devices, and can therefore be subtracted from the navigation solution. Errors common to both receivers are known as common mode errors, and do not include multipath errors or errors due to noise in the user segment. Specifically,DGPS requires that one receiver is stationary at a known location, and that it sends corrected signals to a roving station; the roving station then incorporates the new information into the range corrections for each satellite.The best DGPS corrections for the roving station occur when the common-mode errors are most similar, or when the receivers are 100 km or closer to each other.

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A simple guide to how GPS works - Part 1 rocket science

There are many many articles and websites well worth visting about GPS and how it works. Mike Forbes at Electric Compass takes a look at the main elements.The Global Positioning System, or GPS, is a satellite-based navigation system. It was developed by the United States Department of Defense (DOD) for military and government use, but the information it provides is available free for civilian and commercial uses.From satellite-guided bombs used in the war against terrorism to handheld receivers carried by hikers, GPS offers a wide range of applications and uses.The first GPS satellite was launched in 1978. The full constellation of 24 satellites was in place in 1994 and the system was declared fully operational in 1995.Another key date in GPS history is May 1, 2000, the day “Selective Availability” was discontinued, significantly increasing the accuracy of GPS signals.
In simple terms, GPS is a broadcasting (not receiving) system in which satellites transmit information toward Earth.GPS receivers take the transmitted information and use a form of triangulation to calculate the user’s exact location. The basic premise of the technology is that the GPS receiver compares signal transmission time with the signal reception time, and then uses the time difference and the propagation speed to deduce the distance from each of the visible satellites.

Of course, it is not that simple – GPS really is quite literally “rocket science.” The best place to start a review of the Global Positioning System is with the three segments that make it up:The Space Segment, consisting of the GPS satellites orbiting the earth.The Control Segment, consisting of a system of tracking stations located around the world.The User Segment, consisting of GPS receivers and the user community.

Space Segment

The Space Segment consists of a minimum of 24 satellites orbiting 12,600 miles above the earth. Each satellite travels at about 7,000 miles per hour, enabling them to orbit the earth in just under twelve hours; the altitude and orbital inclination are such that each satellite repeats the same ground track in each twelve-hour orbit. The satellites are arranged in six orbital planes, spaced equally at 60 degrees apart, and each inclined at about fifty-five degrees with respect to the equatorial plane.This spacing is intended to ensure that the required four satellites are viewable at any giventime from any spot on Earth, however there are often eight and up to twelve satellites visible. Each satellite weighs approximately 900 Kilo, is approximately 5 meters across, and uses solar panels to power its electronics and transmit the GPS signal. It’s worth noting that at 50 watts or less, the GPS signal is at approximately the same level as the background noise of the universe by the time it reaches Earth.

Control Segment

The Control Segment consists of a network of monitor stations located around the world used totrack the “health” of all of the satellites, as well as one master control facility located at a US Air Force Base in Colorado Springs. The orbital models for each satellite describes the degree to which each SV is on its proper flight path; the monitor stationsmeasure certain signals from the satellites, determine to what degree each satellite is off course,and compute new orbital data and clock corrections. The monitor stations then send the new orbital information (known as ephemeris data) and the clock corrections to the master control station, which then relays the information to the satellites.

User Segment

The User Segment consists of the GPS receivers in the hands of the community of GPS users. GPS receivers convert satellite signals into position and time estimates, and often use this information to calculate other information such as velocity and heading. GPS receivers make positioning, navigation, and time dissemination possible. This information is then used for recreational, educational, commercial, research, and many other applications including Navigation and Tracking.

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