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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THALES NAVIGATION AND GEODETICS, INC. TO PROVIDE FIRST FULLY AUTOMATED GPS SENSOR NETWORK SOFTWARE FOR MULTIPLE STATIC AND DYNAMIC PLATFORMS
SANTA CLARA, Calif. and SAN DIEGO, Calif. (September 10, 2003) Thales (TAL-less) Navigation, a leading global provider of GPS solutions, and Geodetics, Inc., specializing in high-precision real-time GPS software, announced today that Thales Navigation is marketing Geodetics’ RTD - Real Time Dynamics GPS Network software system. Through this relationship, Geodetics will gain enhanced distribution opportunities, and Thales Navigation will be able to offer even greater value to customers and dealers with a complete hardware/software solution, additional to the Thales Navigation suite of reference station hardware and software solutions.

RTD is a fully automated server-client application designed for real-time, high-precision GPS sensor tracking. The heart of the system is the proprietary Epoch-by-Epoch™ technology developed by Geodetics, Inc. that provides instantaneous initialization/re-initialization with five or more satellites for robust real-time positioning. For the first time, surveyors, engineers and GIS professionals, environmentalists, structural and safety engineers, geologists, seismologists, emergency services personnel, and others can determine position independent of previous positioning data at each instant in time, for real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning. Furthermore, it allows extended range for multiple static and moving clients through innovative single-epoch-based treatment of ionospheric and tropospheric effects.

The RTD server centrally controls a network of GPS base stations through a full suite of data communication, processing, and archiving functions. Data are made available to multiple clients through the Internet for real-time positioning with centimeter-level accuracies.

The RTD software suite is designed for controlling networks of GPS reference stations, including the iCGRS™ from Thales Navigation, which is the first direct Internet-connected reference station in the industry. Using RTD in conjunction with Thales Navigation reference stations, customers can reduce hardware and infrastructure costs as a result of using fewer reference stations and can still receive wide area RTK coverage.

Thales Navigation is currently offering RTD through its network of distributors. The software is offered along with Thales Navigation Micro-Z CGRS and iCGRS reference stations. RTD is available in two versions: RTD-Net and RTD-Pro.

  • TD-Net is a unique software solution for continuous monitoring of permanent GPS networks operating dual-frequency receivers. The RTD algorithms produce Epoch-by-Epoch (instantaneous) three-dimensional geodetic positions for a network of continuously operating GPS reference receivers. This revolutionary advance in high-precision GPS analysis technology provides for robust real-time integrity monitoring and enhanced early warning capabilities. For the first time, the user can determine the state of the network independently at each instant in time. This "network epoch" is the basic building block of RTD-Net and the software can easily manipulate sequences of independent network epochs to automatically monitor changes in the state of the network. RTD-Net controls the GPS receivers, downloads data and converts to RINEX. It analyzes the data, and generates alarms, statistics, reports and more. It carries out a continuous, simultaneous adjustment of the data modeling the dynamic state of the entire network caused by ionosphere, troposphere and other factors.

  • RTD-Pro, in addition to the capabilities of RTD-Net, supports Server/Client connectivity to conventional RTK clients with RTCM messaging and provides true instantaneous RTK from multiple base stations, for PDA-based wireless clients using the unique Geodetics’ Smart Client.

The Thales Navigation iCGRS system provides direct Internet connectivity with a 12-channel, dual-frequency continuously operating geodetic reference station, making a laptop or other computer system unnecessary for data control, monitoring, or downloading.

About Geodetics, Inc.
Geodetics is a developer of real-time, centimeter-accuracy, and extended spatial coverage positioning software for static and dynamic applications based on the Global Positioning System (GPS). Geodetics' Epoch-by-Epoch technology provides instantaneous positioning relative to one or multiple reference stations and autonomous heading and attitude determination. This quantum leap in the state-of-the-art for precise real-time GPS positioning opens up a wide variety of previously unattainable applications in areas such as surveying and mapping, sports tracking, airborne navigation and landing, fleet tracking, intelligent transportation, environmental and structural monitoring, and machine control. Geodetics' technology and products can be utilized for wireless devices such as PDA's and smart phones.
Geodetics Inc., founded in 1999, is privately held with headquarters in San Diego, California. For more information, visit http://www.geodetics.com/.

About Thales Navigation
Thales Navigation is one of the world’s leading developers and manufacturers of positioning, navigation, communication, and guidance equipment with global operations. Thales Navigation markets its Magellan brand GPS products in the consumer electronics, recreation, and automotive markets, and its Thales Navigation GPS and GNSS professional solutions in the survey, GIS/Mapping, tracking, and OEM markets. Through its joint venture with Hertz, Thales Navigation has developed the Hertz NeverLost® vehicle navigation system. Thales Navigation’s key innovations include the first U.S. commercial hand-held GPS receiver for positioning and navigation, and the first handheld GPS with industry standard Secure Digital Memory Card capabilities.

Thales Navigation, headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., with European headquarters in Carquefou, France, is a subsidiary of Thales, a leading professional electronics company headquartered in Paris, France, with activities in aerospace, defense and information technology and services. For more information, visit http://www.thalesnavigation.com.
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iCGRS is a trademark of Thales Navigation, Inc.
Hertz NeverLost is a trademark of The Hertz Corporation.
Epoch-by-Epoch is a trademark of Geodetics, Inc.