News Briefs – Monday, July 24, 2006
ISA seeks proposals on wireless standards for industrial monitoring
ISA’s ISA-SP100 standards committee on wireless systems for automation issued a request for proposals for the creation of wireless communication standards for industrial monitoring and control. The committee is establishing standards, recommended practices, technical reports and related information to define procedures for implementing wireless systems in the automation and control environment. According to the ISA, the standards are directed toward managers responsible for designing, implementing, maintaining or managing manufacturing and control systems and will affect users, system integrators, practitioners and control systems manufacturers and vendors.
German air rescue service installs Iridium-based tracking system
Euro Telematik, a manufacturer of fleet-tracking and communication solutions for road and aerospace applications, has completed the first installation of an Iridium-based aircraft tracking and communication system for the Luxembourg Air Rescue (LAR) service. The AeroFleet system lets LAR operations monitor its fleet of jet ambulance aircraft and primary rescue helicopters by providing automatic position reports from the aircraft through Iridium’s satellite network. It also enables two-way voice and data exchange between ground operations and the flight crew, according to the company.
Enterprise Wireless Alliance offers new licensing worksheet
The Enterprise Wireless Alliance is offering a new licensing worksheet available for download at www.enterprisewireless.org in the Frequency Coordination section. The coordination fee is $100 for up to five frequencies, and the Federal Communications Commission licensing fee for a 10-year license is $105. According to the alliance, the worksheet has been designed for “mobile-only” use, which covers compact onsite radios and pagers.
WiMAX overall attach rate predicted at 60%
West Technology Research Solutions recently reported the overall attach rate of smart-antenna technology in mobile WiMAX will reach more than 60% by 2008 and will become a major revenue driver for those companies in the United States, Japan and Europe investing in the technology.
Weather alerts now available on BlackBerry
WeatherBug, which delivers live local weather information, announced a partnership with Handango to deliver WeatherBugMobile to users of RIM’s BlackBerry. The product features live, neighborhood-level weather conditions, satellite and radar views, as well as live camera views from the company’s network. In addition, it delivers forecast updates and severe weather alerts from the National Weather Service (NOAA).