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Volpe Center Highlights - January 1999

Mobility

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

Ensure that the transportation system is accessible, integrated and efficient, and offers flexibility of choices.

Volpe Staff Participate in Navigation Conference

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is the most accurate navigation aid currently available. Based on a constellation of 24 satellites orbiting approximately 11,000 miles above the earth, GPS receivers on aircraft, vehicles, or ships use radio signals emitted by the satellites to calculate their locations with great accuracy. However, the system has several limitations. The Volpe Center’s Center for Navigation, has been working to ensure that navigation aids currently available are effective. Ms. Karen Van Dyke and Mr. James Carroll, of the Center for Navigation, participated in the Institute of Navigation's National Technical Meeting entitled, "Vision 2010: Present and Future" in San Diego, CA. The three-day conference covered a wide range of Global Positioning System (GPS) applications and focused on the integration of navigation information in air, land, marine, and space systems. The meeting also covered issues pertaining to GPS integrity, Differential GPS navigation/communications integration, interference issues, and electronic charting. Additionally, Dr. Carroll presented a paper entitled "DGPS-Based Vessel Traffic Management at the Panama Canal" on behalf of the primary author, Mr. William Keepers, of the Panama Canal Commission. In a related effort, Ms. Van Dyke chaired a TRB session on DGPS Expansion and Augmentation.

Office of Research and Analysis Team Makes Three TRB Presentations (BTS)

Mr. Michael Rossetti, of the Office of Research and Analysis, and his team presented several projects at TRB. Mr. Rossetti presented "Classification System Changes" at the Data Developments in Transportation session. The talk showcased the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS), which is replacing the U.S. Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system and will reshape the way we view our changing economy. The NAICS was developed jointly by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to provide new comparability in statistics about business activity across North America. The Volpe Center provided transportation expertise to this joint project of the U.S. Bureau of the Census, Statistics Canada, and Mexico's National Statistics, Geography and Informatics Institute (NEGI). Mr. Rossetti’s talk helped kick-off the week of data programs at TRB. In another session, the new data sources that were uncovered through Mr. Rossetti’s National Transportation Indicators Project were presented in "Transportation Indicators from Data Developed for Other Purposes." Ms. Malinda Foy and Ms. Linda Sharpe, both of Cambridge Systematics, Inc., were joined by Dr. Basav Sen, of EG&G Services, to talk about transportation data that is regularly collected by the federal departments outside of the Department of Transportation. Sources that were described include: Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the Energy Information Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Dr. Sen also presented his and Mr. Rossetti’s work on the Enhanced Transportation Weather Services (ETWS) initiative at a TRB Special Session, " Partnering for Technology Deployment." The ETWS initiative, sponsored by the White House’s National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), promotes partnerships to increase the use of weather information for enhanced transportation safety and efficiency.

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