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Volpe Center Highlights - January/February 2001

Economic Growth and Trade

Director's Notes | Focus | Safety | Mobility | Human and Natural Environment |
Economic Growth and Trade | National Security | Papers and Presentations

Advance America's economic growth and competitiveness domestically and internationally through efficient and flexible transportation.

Volpe Participates in Inauguration Ceremony for the Installation of Differential Global Positioning System in Honduras (RSPA)

In November 1998, the navigational capabilities of ports in Honduras and Nicaragua were ravaged by Hurricane Mitch. In response, DOT initiated a humanitarian program to install advanced navigation systems at the three maritime ports that suffered the most damage. There were two goals for the undertaking. The first goal was rapid installation of reliable navigation systems at the ports to permit the resumption of maritime commerce and, in particular, the delivery of sizable quantities of relief goods. The second was to "build back better" the navigational capabilities of the afflicted ports. This approach is called sustainable restoration. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), through the Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA), funded the project for the restoration of maritime navigation systems in Central America.

The sustainable restoration project capitalized on experience the Volpe Center staff acquired during the development of advanced navigation systems for the Saint Lawrence Seaway and the Panama Canal. The plan was to equip ports in Honduras and Nicaragua with systems that employ signals from the Global Positioning System (GPS). Once signals are acquired from GPS satellites, they are further refined by a technique called differential GPS (DGPS). This type of system provides users with very accurate position reports. The DGPS system has transmitters that use a radio beacon to broadcast special GPS correction signals to vessels transiting the ports. Mobile navigation units were developed for maritime pilots. Each mobile unit has a GPS receiver, a radio-beacon antenna, and a laptop computer. The onboard systems allow harbor pilots to accurately determine the position and progress of their own ships as they navigate narrow inland waterways.

Following the formal speeches and ribbon cutting, Mr. Hector Masmela and Mr. David Phinney of the Center for Navigation (second and third from left, foreground) gave guests a tour of the DGPS transmitter station. (Photo courtesy of Mr. David Phinney)

Messrs. David Phinney, Henry Wychorski, and Hector Masmela of the Center for Navigation traveled to Honduras to participate in the official inauguration ceremony for the first DGPS station. The historic ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Port of San Lorenzo on December 5, 2000, marked the official transfer of the fully operational system from the U.S. Government to the Honduran Government. The event included speeches by Honduran officials including Antonio Hepburn, Manager of Ports; Claros Enamorado, Vice Minister of Transportation; and Oscar Kafati, Minister of Commerce. Mr. Masmela, representing RSPA and the Volpe Center, also spoke at the ceremony. The audience included Mr. Raymond Lynch, the Environment & Disaster Mitigation Manager for USAID, and members of the USAID mission in Honduras.

Each onboard navigation system consists of a laptop computer, radio-beacon antenna, and GPS receiver. (Photo courtesy of Mr. David Phinney)

In addition to participating in the official proceedings, the Center for Navigation team trained San Lorenzo pilots in the use of the mobile navigation units. The pilots were very enthusiastic about the new technology because it facilitates their negotiation of the 16-mile-long, narrow, twisting port approach. Previously, approaches to and departures from San Lorenzo were attempted only during daylight hours and at high tide. Now, because of the DGPS system the port can operate for 24 hours each day in all weather conditions with a very high degree of safety and efficiency. During the trip, the Volpe team also visited the Port of Corinto in Nicaragua to inspect the installation of a DGPS transmitter station that is targeted for completion in April 2001.

Volpe Staff Receive Prestigious Hammer Award

On November 15, 2000, the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Collaborative Decision Making (CDM) Working Group received the "Hammer Award" from former Vice President Al Gore's National Partnership for Reinventing Government. This award, which was presented by then-DOT Secretary Rodney E. Slater, rewards teams for carrying out innovations that put customers first, empower employees, cut red tape, go back to basics, and achieve results that Americans care about. The 26 team members honored include three from the Volpe Center: Mr. Rick Oiesen of the Automation Applications Division, and Mr. Ken Howard and Ms. Melia Stefanescu of Computer Sciences Corporation (a Volpe Center contractor). Other organizations represented in the award include the FAA, the nine U.S. airlines participating in the CDM program, the Air Transport Association, and Metron, Inc.

The CDM Program is one aspect of the Volpe Center's work on the FAA's Enhanced Traffic Management System, the real-time, operational computer system developed by the Center that the FAA uses to predict, detect, and handle airspace congestion problems. The CDM Program emphasizes improving the level of cooperation between FAA and the airlines by providing simultaneous, real-time access to information about current and projected air traffic volume, aviation system constraints and restrictions, weather, equipment problems, and delays.

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