text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|10 Jul 2001
|Filing date
|19 May 2000
|Priority date
|19 May 2000
|Fee status
|Publication number
|Wyatt Riley
|Original Assignee
|Sri International
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (6), Non-Patent Citations (5), Referenced by (70), Classifications (11), Legal Events (4)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
This invention relates generally to precision attitude, position, velocity, and time measurement systems using satellite navigation system measurements. More specifically, the invention relates to systems and methods for inferring the differential path length of carrier wave signals between the satellite transmitter antenna and two or more receiver antennas for a set of satellite signals to enable accurate inference of the relative geospatial coordinates of the receiver antennas.
The determination of the relative coordinates of points of a distributed physical system in a geospatial reference frame has application to a number of important problems. Attitude determination is a primary example. Early techniques for determining the attitude of a rigid body were based on the use of Earth-generated field phenomena. For example, one technique used sensors to detect the magnetic field direction of the Earth to determine magnetic compass heading of the rigid body and to sense the gravitational field direction of the Earth to determine the attitude of the rigid body with respect to the local gravitational vertical. These techniques have limited precision and accuracy because of complex local variations in the magnetic and gravitational fields of the Earth, difficulties in measuring such phenomena with high resolution, and unwanted coupling effects, such as acceleration effects on the sensors.
To determine the attitude of a rigid body in geospatial coordinates with high precision and accuracy, some techniques focus on measuring phenomena whose sources are more controllable than Earth-generated magnetic and gravitational fields. Optical techniques developed in surveying have achieved the desired levels of precision and accuracy, but are difficult to employ in many operating conditions, particularly with moving bodies. Recent techniques based on determining the transmission path lengths of code-modulated radio frequency signals transmitted from navigation satellite systems, such as the United States Global Positioning System (GPS) and the functionally-similar Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) operated by Russia, have transformed surveying.
The geospatial location of each transmitting GPS satellite, or other signal source, as a function of time can usually be inferred from data contained in the transmitted signal. At the typical distances from the satellite, or other navigation signal source, to the surface of the Earth, the signal transmission paths can be considered nearly parallel for a physical body whose attitude is to be measured. The difference in the path lengths of the transmissions received at two satellite receiver antennas, separated by a baseline of known length, can be used to determine the attitude of the body in the plane defined by the satellite and the two separated receiver antennas. By using three or more satellite receiver antennas, arranged on the body so that they are not co-linear, the three-dimensional attitude in geospatial coordinates can be determined.
The measurement of the transmission path length from the satellite to a receiver antenna depends on the measured characteristics of the signal. The coded information imposed on the satellite carrier wave allows an unambiguous determination of the length of the transmission path. However, path length based on the coded information can only be measured to a relatively coarse resolution. Finer resolution requires the measurement of the carrier wave itself. For example, where the chip width of the coded information for GPS is approximately 300 meters, the wavelength of the GPS carrier signal is approximately 19 centimeters. This allows resolution of the transmission path length to fractions of a centimeter by phase measurement techniques within the GPS receiver.
Note that all carrier waves are identical and indistinguishable from each other. As a result, when the phase of the wave is determined at the receiver antenna, it is ambiguous which specific cycle of the carrier wave is being measured. The total path length from the satellite antenna to the receiver antenna is the sum of the GPS receiver's measured fraction of a cycle and an unknown number of integer cycles. Determining the specific wave cycle of the carrier wave that is being measured in phase is called cycle ambiguity resolution (also referred to as integer ambiguity resolution).
Typically, the information coded in the transmitted signal is used to bound the range in which the possible integer carrier cycles can exist. The code measurement for an individual signal establishes the maximum and minimum transmission path lengths possible for that signal. This bounding process is performed for all the satellite signals employed in the solution. The projection of these bounds into the solution space according to the direction vectors between the receiver antenna and the transmitter antenna establishes the geometric structure of the solution space. The correct solution for the numbers of integer cycles between the transmitter and the receiver antennas is the set of answers that satisfies all the constraints within the solution space. In practice, this process is usually done with single differences of measurements between antennas when the inter-receiver clock delays are well known, and with double difference measurements between receiving antennas and between signal transmitters when the inter-antenna time delay is not well known.
Techniques have arisen to perform the steps of determining the correct number of integer carrier cycles and measuring the fractional phase within a cycle. The performance of these techniques is evaluated based on the reliability of correctly resolving the integer values and the accuracy of the resulting solution. The existing methods are suboptimum in each of these regards.
The use of carrier cycle ambiguity resolution is not limited to the determination of body attitude. Similar techniques can be used to determine the vector offsets between two or more GPS antennas that are not rigidly fixed to the same body. In one case, the first or "reference" receiver may be fixed at a known surveyed location, while the second GPS receiver may be on a moving body. The purpose is to correct errors in the moving GPS receiver using data calibrated in accuracy by the reference receiver. The use of carrier cycle ambiguity resolution for this mode of "differential" GPS is often referred to as kinematic or real-time kinematic (RTK) GPS.
In another case, the first receiver may be at one unknown or moving location, and the second GPS receiver may be at a second unknown or moving location. In this case, the relative vector between the two GPS receivers is of interest. In yet another case, the use of carrier cycle ambiguity resolution can be focused on correcting the time measurement between a GPS reference receiver and a second remote GPS receiver.
An object of the invention is to provide an improved technique for carrier cycle ambiguity resolution. In one aspect, the invention features a method for use in a positioning system having a pair of satellite navigation system receivers with an antenna. The antennas simultaneously receive signals emitted from a plurality of signal transmitters. The method determines a baseline vector between the antennas of the receivers. A plurality of potential solutions for the baseline vector are determined. Test results are obtained for at least two tests performed on each potential solution. Each one of the plurality of potential solutions is evaluated as a candidate for a correct solution for the baseline vector. The evaluation of each potential solution is based on every test result obtained for that potential solution without disqualifying any one of the potential solutions as a candidate for the correct solution based on any one test result.
In one embodiment, a continuum of grades is defined for a given test. The grade continuum corresponds to degrees of closeness of actual test results for that test to a particular test result. Grades are assigned to the results of each test of the potential solution. Grades can be numerical values or qualitative measurements. The assigned grade corresponds to a closeness of the test result to a particular test result. In one embodiment, the particular test result is a match with known parameters of the positioning system.
In one embodiment, the grades assigned to the test results for a given potential solution are combined such that every assigned grade for the given potential solution contributes to an overall grade for that potential solution. This overall grade is then used when searching for the correction solution from the plurality of potential solutions.
A variety of tests can be applied to each potential solution to determine the closesness of that potential solution to being the correct solution. In one embodiment, at least one carrier phase double difference and a code double difference from the received signals are computed. The computed code double difference is compared with each computed carrier phase double difference. A grade is assigned to the test corresponding to a closeness of the code double difference to each carrier phase double difference. In another embodiment, an expected standard deviation is estimated for the closeness between the code double difference and each carrier phase double difference, and the expected standard deviation is compared with an actual deviation for each potential solution to determine the assigned grade.
In still another embodiment, the test includes comparing each potential solution with known information relating to the receivers. For example, the known information can be a length of the baseline vector between antennas of the two receivers, an elevation angle between antennas of the two receivers, and/or an azimuth angle between antennas of the two receivers. The known information can be precisely known or include a degree of uncertainty. For example, the known information can be a range of potential angles between antennas of the two receivers.
Various criteria can be used to select the correct solution from among the potential solutions. In one embodiment, a particular potential solution is determined to be the correct solution if the overall grade of that particular potential solution is the only one of the potential solutions above a predetermined threshold value. In another embodiment, a highest overall grade and a next highest overall grade are determined for the potential solutions; and the potential solution with the highest overall grade is selected as the correct solution if that highest overall grade is greater than the next highest overall grade by a predetermined margin.
Various methods can produce the potential solutions for the baseline vector. One embodiment computes a code double difference measurement and performs the ambiguity resolution within a search range determined from that code double difference measurement. Another embodiment performs the ambiguity resolution within a search range determined from a known length of the baseline vector between the receivers.
Performing ambiguity resolution produces a plurality of possible integers representing a number of whole carrier wavelengths. A carrier phase double difference measurement is computed for each receiver for each possible integer within the search range. In one embodiment, an implied baseline vector is computed based on the carrier phase double difference measurements. The carrier phase double difference from which the baseline vector is computed is compared with the actual carrier phase double difference measurement. In another embodiment, a plurality of possible baseline vectors are estimated and a fractional carrier wavelength calculated for each potential solution. A degree of matching between the calculated fractional carrier wavelength for the baseline vector is compared the measured fractional carrier wavelength for each potential solution. A grade is assigned to each potential solution based on the degree of matching for that potential solution. The potential solutions with a highest degree of matching is selected, and a plurality of integers representing a number of whole carrier wavelengths is determined for each potential solution having a degree of matching that exceeds a predetermined threshold.
In another aspect, the invention features a positioning system having a pair of receivers. Antennas of the receivers simultaneously receive signals emitted from a plurality of signal transmitters. The system determines a baseline vector between the receivers. A processor determines a plurality of potential solutions for the baseline vector. A tester performs at least two tests on each potential solution. An evaluator evaluates each one of the plurality of potential solutions as a candidate for a correct solution for the baseline vector. The evaluator bases the evaluation of each potential solution on every test result obtained for that potential solution without disqualifying any one of the potential solutions as a candidate for the correct solution based on any one test result.
The above and further objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become clear from the following detailed description when read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment of an attitude determination system, including an array of antennas on a vehicle, embodying the principles of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating embodiments of a process that performs ambiguity resolution in accordance with the principles of the invention to measure the relative positions and attitude of antennas of the positioning system;
FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating an example of a multiple-valued scale or continuum of test results for a test statistic obtained from a potential solution;
FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating a standard test that uses hard cutoff thresholds to eliminate "bad" solutions, (i.e., solutions that are cut-off by the thresholds), from the set of potential solutions;
FIG. 3C is a diagram illustrating that the quality of a potential solution can be classified with more values than the binary choices of "good" or "bad", up to a continuum of values;
FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating a conventional process that uses binary logic or "hard" cutoffs to combine test statistics to eliminate potential baseline vector solutions from being selected as a correct solution;
FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a process that uses multi-valued variable thresholds to combine test statistics for a potential solution into an overall performance for that potential solution;
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a process that uses multi-valued variable thresholds to perform ambiguity resolution;
FIG. 6A is a diagram of an array of four antennas arranged in a conventional arrangement in which one antenna is a master antenna and the other three antennas are slave antennas;
FIG. 6B is a diagram of a four-antenna array and a five-antenna array wherein all antennas within an array are considered peers in accordance with the principles of the invention;
FIG. 6C is a diagram of exemplary arrays of four antennas in which two baselines are compared in the determination of the attitude of the antenna arrays;
FIG. 6D is a diagram of exemplary arrays of four antennas in which three baselines are compared to determine the attitude of the array; and
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating embodiments of a process used to determine the array attitude using multiple baselines.
FIG. 1 shows a positioning or attitude determination system 10 embodying the principles of the invention. The positioning system 10 includes an array 14 of antennas 18, 18′, 18″, 18″′ (generally 18) mounted on a rigid body 20, here a ground vehicle, and receiving signals 30 from a plurality of satellite transmitters 22. The satellites 22 broadcast the signals 30 from orbital positions that are known as a function of time. Each pair of antennas 18 defines a baseline, which is the line between two antennas 18. An important feature of each baseline is a vector, having both a scalar length between the antennas and an orientation of the line between the antennas in a three-dimensional geospatial coordinate system.
In this description, GPS is the satellite navigation system used to describe the principles of the invention, although such principles should work equally well with other satellite navigation system signals from sources other than GPS. The techniques described below should also work efficiently with any other navigation system signals with at least one coarse resolution component and at least one fine resolution component, including radio frequency navigation signals from non-orbiting sources, such as ground-based or airborne GPS pseudolites. The techniques described below should additionally function for other navigation system signals having two or more distinct path length resolution components that use other than radio frequency transmission mechanisms, including acoustic and optical signals. Such techniques may be used for, but not limited to, the geospatial attitude determination of the antenna array 14.
In one embodiment, the broadcast signals 30 are GPS signals that contain a sinusoidal carrier signal 32 transmitted at a frequency of 1.575 GHz (the GPS L1 signal) and modulated by a coarse acquisition (C/A) pseudo-random noise (PRN) code component 34. The code component 34 has a superimposed 50 bit per second digital data stream containing information about the satellite ephemeris, clock bias terms, and other data. The combination of the information in the PRN code component 34 and the digital data component allows the receiver 24 to compute the position of the satellite 22 and its onboard clock time when the satellite 22 transmitted a particular segment of the PRN code. The insert 28 of FIG. 1 shows an example of wave paths taken by the GPS signals 30 to the antennas 18 and 18′. In this example, the path to the antenna 18′ is longer than the wave path to the antenna 18 by an integer number of carrier cycles or wavelengths (here 1 cycle), plus a fractional number of wavelengths (here, 0.25 cycles).
A GPS receiver system 24 is in communication with the antennas 18 to receive and process signals 30 received by each of the antennas 18 from at least three satellites 22 that are in view. From the timing and satellite orbital position information in the PRN code and digital data components, the GPS receiver system 24 performs code range and carrier phase range measurements to determine the baseline vectors of the antenna array 18 in accordance with the principles of the invention. To perform such measurements, the GPS receiver system 24 can compute single or double differences of code and carrier phase range measurements between antennas. Single difference measurements, (e.g., in FIG. 1, (a-b) and (c-d)), involve GPS signals 30 received by two antennas 18 from one satellite 22. Double difference measurements (e.g., in FIG. 1, (a-b)-(c-d)) involve GPS signals 30 received by two antennas 18 from two satellites 22. Double difference measurements are used to eliminate the effects of receiver clock, satellite clock, and ephemeris inaccuracies. Techniques for computing single and double difference code and carrier phase measurements are known in the art.
Determination of the baseline vectors (i.e., length and orientation) of the antenna array 14 involves integer ambiguity resolution. Integer ambiguity resolution is the process of determining the number of integer wavelengths of the carrier component of a GPS signal 30 that lie between a given antenna and a given broadcasting GPS satellite 22 during a particular epoch.
Embodiments of the invention use multi-valued variable thresholds in place of binary pass-fail values for the definition of thresholds used to determine the likelihood that a certain ambiguity resolution and the resulting baseline vector solution is correct. In this description, the term "multi-valued" is used to describe the use of more than the two typical pass/fail states to describe the outcome of a test; this includes the possibility of using a continuous scale of numerical values. The use of multi-valued variables in this application is equivalent to the use of multiple variables in so-called "fuzzy logic" control systems.
Single Baseline Measurement
FIG. 2 shows embodiments of a process 100 that determines the vector for a single baseline between two of the antennas 18 in the antenna array 14 and resolves the corresponding integer carrier cycle ambiguities according to the principles of the invention. In brief overview, the process 100 computes a plurality of potentially correct solutions (hereafter, potential solutions) for the baseline vector and integer ambiguities from signals 130 received from the satellite transmitters 22. Then one or more tests are performed on each potential solution, and one of the potential solutions is selected as the correct solution based on the overall performance of that potential solution to every performed test.
In more detail, FIG. 2 shows two types of methods for producing potential solutions for the baseline vector and integer ambiguities. The first type is referred to as the "Physical Methods" 110; the second type as the "Ambiguity Methods" 120. Physical Methods 110 search for potential solutions in physical space, that is, the Physical Methods 110 search through potential 3-dimensional vectors, checking integer ambiguities, as described below in connection with steps 112, 114, 116, and 118. Ambiguity Methods 120 search for potential solutions in ambiguity space, that is, the Ambiguity Methods 120 search through possible integers for each satellite 22, checking redundant measurements and physical parameters, as described below in connection with step 122. After generating the potential solutions, by either a Physical Method 110 or an Ambiguity Method 120, the process 100 determines which of such potential solutions is the correct solution, as described below in connection with steps 124 and 126.
In one embodiment, the Physical Method 110 searches (step 112) all possible baseline vectors within a search range around the vector determined by the code measurement and any other available information (e.g., an elevation angle limit). The implied fractional parts of the carrier wavelengths are tested (step 114) to determine how well the candidate baseline vector solution matches the measured fractional carrier phases. For better matches, assign a higher figure of merit (e.g., here, a figure of merit is a value that corresponds to the closeness of the match). In step 116, local figures of merit are found with the highest values. In step 118, at each local maximum above a certain threshold figure of merit, the corresponding integer ambiguity values are determined. These sets of integer ambiguity values and their corresponding candidate baseline vectors make up the initial set of potential solutions.
In another embodiment, the Ambiguity Method 120 searches (step 122) all possible integer ambiguities for each satellite receiver carrier phase single or double difference within a search range determined by the measured code single or double difference. The search range can also be determined by, for example, the known (short) length of the baseline vector between the two antennas, or by the use of other information, such as elevation or azimuth angle limits. All of these sets of integer ambiguities and their corresponding baseline vectors make up the initial set of potential solutions.
For each set of potential solutions, produced by either the Physical Method 110 or the Ambiguity Method 120, the process 100 determines (step 124) how well all known measurements and additional information fit together. Examples of such known measurements and additional information include a known scalar length of the baseline between the two antennas, a known baseline elevation angle relative to the local horizontal, a known baseline azimuth angle relative to North in the local tangent plane, and/or a known range or probability density estimate of such lengths or angles. Such tests assist in determining which potential solution is most likely to be correct.
As described in detail below in FIGS. 3C, 4B, and 5, these tests use multi-valued variable thresholds, and each test applied to a potential solution is assigned a figure of merit. Here, a figure of merit is a value that corresponds to the closeness of the fit (i.e., consistency) of the potential solution with the known measurements and additional information. Each potential solution can undergo a variety of tests, with each test obtaining a figure of merit corresponding to the performance of that potential solution to that test. The figures of merit for a given potential solution are then combined to produce an overall figure of merit for that potential solution. Based on the overall figures of merit of the potential solutions, one potential solution is selected (step 126) as the best potential solution. A level of confidence that the selected solution is correct is then computed, based on the overall figure of merit of the best potential solution.
FIGS. 3A-3C illustrate an example of a multi-valued variable threshold test of one test statistic of a potential solution. When trying to decide how good a potential solution is, one relevant test is how well the baseline length of the potential solution fits with a known length of the baseline. For example, consider two antennas 18, 18′ that are mounted to the vehicle 20 of FIG. 1 and for which the baseline length has been accurately pre-measured. As illustrated in FIG. 3A, the baseline length of the potential solution may perfectly match the known (pre-measured) baseline length 128, or the baseline length of the potential solution may be a little too long, a little too short, much too long or much too short, or any level in between or beyond. FIG. 3B shows a standard test that uses hard cutoff thresholds 132, 132′ to determine that some potential solutions, e.g., the "x" 130, are good candidates for a correct solution and that some potential solutions further away from an exact match, e.g., the circle 135, are bad solutions that are eliminated from consideration as the correct solution.
Unlike the standard test, the FIG. 3C illustrates that the quality of the potential solution can be classified with more than just two values (i.e., good and bad). Rather, one can use several values 138 (e.g., very good, good, fair, poor, very poor . . . ) or even a continuum of values, represented by the shading, to determine how well this potential solution passes this test. For example, the potential solution represented by the "x" 130 is a better candidate for the correct solution than the potential solution represented by the circle 135, based on this one test statistic.
An advantage of using tests with multi-valued variable thresholds becomes apparent when the results from various tests are combined, as illustrated by FIGS. 4A and 4B. FIG. 4A shows two tests 140, 145, similar to the standard test in FIG. 3B, with one test 140 across the top of FIG. 4A and one test (145) down the left side. These two tests 140, 145 are for two different test statistics for two different potential solutions 130, 135. For example, test 140 can be "do the baseline length values match?" and test 145 can be "are the carrier phase residuals small?" A grid 150 represents the two-dimensional set of possible results of the two tests 140, 145. Note that if the result of either test for a potential solution is "bad," the overall result for that potential solution is bad. The effect of a binary or "hard" cutoff threshold is to eliminate any potential solution that fails one test, irrespective of the performance of that potential solution to other tests. For example, the "x" solution 130 barely passes both tests 140, 145, (i.e., is on the "good" side of the hard cutoffs 132, 132′, 132″, 132′″), but appears in a "good" region 160. In contrast, the circle solution 135 achieves a perfect result for test 145 and barely fails test 140, yet appears in a "bad" region 165.
FIG. 4B shows a combination of the same tests 140, 145 and corresponding test results of FIG. 4A using multi-valued variable thresholds, in accordance with the principles of the invention, to enable the results of all tests to factor into the evaluation of each potential solution 130, 135. More specifically, using multi-valued variable thresholds achieves a different overall result than the standard hard cutoff technique of FIG. 4A, namely, the circle solution 135 is valued more highly as the correct solution than the "x" solution 130.
In FIG. 4B, a multi-valued variable region 180 represents a two-dimensional set of possible combined test results for tests 140 and 145. The lighter shaded areas represent combined test results that are better than test results that appear in the darker shaded areas. In this case, the circle solution 135 is rated slightly more highly overall (in a lighter region) than the "x" solution 130, because the circle solution 135 performed perfectly on test 145, which made up for a somewhat worse performance on test 140.
Using a school analogy to look at combining more than two tests, consider two students who take ten tests. Student X receives a passing grade of D on all 10 tests. Student O receives a failing grade of F on one test and passing grades of A on all nine other tests. Using a hard-cutoff approach, similar to that in FIG. 4A, a student who failed any test (student O in this example) would be given a rating of "bad", while a student who passed all of the tests, even if just barely, would be given a rating of "good". Thus, the hard cutoff technique would consider Student X to be the better student, although arguably the better student is actually Student O. Using multi-valued variable thresholds, similar to that shown in FIG. 4B, the fact that Student O received nine A's along with the one F is taken into account, giving Student O a higher combined rating than student X who received all D's.
FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary application of multi-valued variable thresholds to carrier phase ambiguity resolution for baseline vectors. In general, FIG. 5 illustrates embodiments of various processes for (1) obtaining test statistics that evaluate potential solutions, (2) placing the test statistics in terms of standard deviations (one useful implementation of multi-valued variable thresholds), and (3) combining several test statistics into an overall figure of merit for each potential solution.
Test Statistics:
A variety of test statistics can be obtained for each potential solution to determine the likelihood of that potential solution being the correct solution. Each test statistic is a type of test that can be performed on a potential solution for which a figure of merit is determined. FIG. 5A shows three different examples of such test statistics. Figures of merit for any one, two, or all of such types can be obtained to evaluate the correctness of each potential solution. Other types of test statistics can also be used to practice the principles of the invention.
One example of a test statistic is, in general, a comparison of the physical baseline solution (step 200) to the individual carrier phase ranges based on the integer ambiguities. From the comparison, residuals are determined. Such residuals are compared (step 210) to an estimated standard deviation to determine how far off (in numbers of standard deviations) each residual is from the estimated standard deviation. In one embodiment, the estimated standard deviation is reduced (step 214) below the estimated carrier phase error to account for a typical three or four degrees of freedom of the physical baseline solution.
Another example of a test statistic is, in cases where the carrier wavelength and the code uncertainty are comparable in value (i.e., by using the wide-laning technique), a comparison of the carrier phase double-difference and an assumed integer ambiguity to the code double-difference. In addition to its use as a search starting point, the code double-difference also provides some value in preferring one potential solution over another. Specifically, the integer-resolved carrier phase based ranges are compared (step 200′) to the code double difference, and the residuals are determined. The residuals are placed (step 220) in standard deviations (or equivalent) as described in step 210 above.
Another type of test statistic is to compare (step 200″) information computed from the potential solution to other known information, (e.g., elevation differences between antennas, distance between antennas, and/or geographic azimuth of the line connecting the antennas). Such known information can also include a degree of uncertainty. For example, the azimuth angle with respect to North may be known to an uncertainty of plus or minus 45 degrees. Potential solutions that produce an azimuth angle that is outside of this range are valued less than potential solutions that are within the range. Using standard deviations of the known (or estimated) information, each potential solution is placed (step 230) in one of the standard deviations (or equivalent) as described in step 210 above.
Combining Test Results:
The figures of merits associated with all of the test statistics described above can be combined to produce an overall value or figure of merit (e.g., the relative likelihood of being correct) that represents a measure of the credibility of each potential solution. Figures of merit determined from other types of test statistics can also be combined with any combination of the above-described test statistics. In step 240, test statistics are combined by combining the standard deviations produced for each test.
One embodiment of a process for combining the standard deviations is described in connection with steps 250, 252, 254, and 256. Each standard deviation for a test statistic is converted (step 250) to a figure of merit (e.g., relative likelihood) as follows:
where xi is the number of standard deviations for the i individual tests.
In general, the process initially assigns a figure of merit of 1 to an untested potential solution and with each test (e.g., does the length match? are the residuals small?) the process adjusts the figure of merit of that solution. Depending on how far off a test result is from perfect, measured in standard deviations, the figure of merit is multiplied (step 252) by a normalized Gaussian probability density function. In order to reduce the additional scattering of the expected figures of merit caused by an increasing number of tests, the figure of merit is then normalized by taking a higher-order root of (step 254) the "scatter", where the order of the root is determined by the square root of the number of tests ({square root over (n)}). The overall figure of merit of a potential solution is then:
where xi are the standard deviations of each test and n is the number of tests.
In step 250, one standard deviation of error would give an exponential multiplier of 1 and a perfectly passed test would improve the figure of merit (before de-spreading), by a factor of 1/0.607=1.65. Thus, if the standard deviation estimates are accurate, a correct solution should end up with a figure of merit close to 1. If there is enough information generated by enough tests to distinguish between correct and incorrect potential solutions, incorrect potential solutions should end with a figure of merit much lower than 1.0.
One embodiment uses the natural logarithm of the previous formula for the figure of merit and drops the factor of 2, to reduce the complexity of the calculations. To accumulate the statistics needed for the figure of merit, the process accumulates the square of the standard deviations of error in each test (call these xi 2), and counts the number of tests (call this n). The overall figure of merit used has the form:
If standard deviations are accurately estimated, the correct solution should end up with a figure of merit close to 0, and the figures of merit of incorrect solutions will tend lower, especially as the number of tests increases. The threshold should be around −2 to −5, ensuring 85-99% availability of the correct answer, assuming standard deviations are correctly estimated.
Selecting the Correct Solution
After overall figures of merit are determined for each of the potential solutions, various criteria can be used to select the correct solution from among the potential solutions based on such overall figures of merit. In one embodiment, a particular potential solution is determined to be the correct solution if the overall figure of merit of that particular potential solution is the only one of the potential solutions above a predetermined threshold value (e.g., −2). In another embodiment, the potential solutions with the highest overall figure of merit and the next highest overall figure of merit are compared. The potential solution with the highest overall figure of merit is selected as the correct solution if that highest overall figure of merit is greater than the next highest overall figure of merit by a predetermined margin (e.g., two or three times greater than the next highest overall figure of merit).
Applications of Multiple Baselines
FIGS. 6A-6D show the use of multiple vector baselines between pairs of GPS antennas within an antenna array to perform cycle integer ambiguity resolution. The use of multiple measurements greatly reduces the ambiguity resolution search time. Solutions derived from measurements from some baselines are used to discard incorrect solutions from other baselines.
FIG. 6A shows typical prior art implementation of an array 300 of three or more antennas. One antenna 302 is designated the master antenna and the remaining antennas 304, 304′, 304″ (generally 304) are designated slave antennas. There is a single vector baseline 308 between each slave antenna 304 and the master antenna 302. In this implementation, baseline vectors between slave antennas 304 are not used to determine the attitude of the antenna array 300.
FIG. 6B shows two arrays 310, 310′ of antennas embodying the principles of the invention. Antenna array 310 includes four antennas 312, 312′, 312″, 312′″ (generally 312) and six baselines 314. All antennas 312 are treated as peers (i.e., no master-slave arrangement between antennas), and all baseline vectors 314 between pairs of antennas 312 may be evaluated to determine the attitude of the antenna array 310. As another example, antenna array 310′ includes five antennas 316, 316′, 316″, 316′″, and 316″″ (generally 316), and ten baselines 320. Again, all five antennas 314 are treated as peers and all ten baseline vectors 316 between pairs of antennas 314 may be evaluated to determine the attitude of the antenna array 310′. In general, for an antenna array having n antennas, there are n(n−1)12 baselines that can be used to determine the attitude of the array.
The ability to use of any one of the baselines improves robustness of the cycle integer ambiguity resolution, particularly when the measurement from one antenna may be unavailable or degraded due to antenna, receiver, or cable failure or other form of signal blockage or corruption. In contrast, any such unavailability of the master antenna 320 of FIG. 6A renders the ambiguity resolution of the typical prior art implementation inoperable. Also, the use of multiple baselines in accordance with the principles of the invention improves overall measurement accuracy. The orientations of multiple baselines with correct solutions are averaged (taking into account the angle offsets) to estimate the overall antenna array attitude.
FIG. 6C shows two embodiments of four-antenna arrays 320 and 320′. Each antenna array 320, 320′ illustrate an example of a 2-baseline comparison used to determine the attitude of the corresponding array as described in greater detail below. For example, baselines 324 and 324′ are the two compared baselines for array 320, and baselines 328 and 328′ are the two compared baselines of array 320′. FIG. 6D shows two embodiments of four-antenna arrays 330 and 330′. Each antenna array 330, 330′ illustrate an example of a 3-baseline comparison used to determine the attitude of the corresponding array. For example, baselines 334, 334′, and 334″ are the three compared baselines for array 330, and baselines 338, 338′, and 338″ are the three compared baselines of array 330′. As the FIGS. 6C and 6D illustrate, any baseline defined by two antennas of an array can be used in the attitude determination.
FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of a process 400 for determining the attitude of an antenna array using any of the multiple baselines defined by two antennas. The process 400 applies to a configuration of three or more antennas in an array that are to be located with respect to each other. These antennas can be fixed to a body, such as the vehicle 20, or they can be at unknown relative positions. When the antennas are fixed to a body in a rigid manner, there is a substantial amount of information in the relative locations of the antennas and their corresponding baselines, including the baseline lengths and relative orientations.
Within the antenna array, all of the antennas are selected (step 404) in pairs to define m=n(n−1)/2 baselines. For each baseline, a set of potential solutions is determined (step 408). Determination of such potential solutions can be achieved by following the Physical Method 110 or the Ambiguity Method 120 described above in FIG. 2. In one embodiment, figures of merit are computed for each of the potential solutions, also described above in connection with FIGS. 2 and 5. The potential solutions for the baselines can be determined at any time during the process 400, (e.g., all baselines at either the beginning, or when that baseline is needed).
For an antenna array in which the relative positions of the antennas are known, 2 or more baselines (2≦p≦m) are selected (step 412). Hereafter, p represents the number of selected baselines that are evaluated together as a set to determine if the baselines in the set are a correct solution for the attitude of the array. Using the orientations of each of the potential solutions of each of the p baselines, in combination, the best fit 2D or 3D array orientation to match all p baseline orientations is found (step 416).
The residuals between the best-fit array orientation implied baseline orientations and the potential solution baseline orientations are then found (step 420). For these p residuals, a standard deviation is estimated (step 424), for example, and a figure of merit is assigned for each of these fits.
In one embodiment, these figures of merit are combined (step 428) with the figures of merit, if computed, assigned to each potential solution. For example, following the implementation described in FIG. 7, there are now several tests from each potential solution, plus the inter-baseline comparisons, which can all be combined using the multi-valued variable threshold processes described above, such as the formula:
where n is the number of tests (on all p baselines plus the inter-baseline comparisons) and xi are the numbers of standard deviations of error on each test for the i tests. These comparisons augment methods such as those in FIG. 5.
When determining an attitude of an array of antennas of unknown relative position, three or more baselines (3≦p≦m) are selected (step 430) including at least one loop with closure. For example, with reference to the antenna array 310 of FIG. 6B, one loop of baselines is from antenna 312 to antenna 312′, from antenna 312′ to antenna 312″, and from antenna 312″ to antenna 312. The loop closure is compared (step 444) with an estimated standard deviation to get the "inter-baseline comparison" as described above.
After overall figures of merit are assigned to each attitude orientation, various criteria similar to those described above in FIG. 5 can be used (step 432) to decide which array orientation is best, or if one of the array orientations is most likely to be correct. If a correct array orientation cannot be found, the process 400 repeats (step 436) with another selected set of p baselines, if any remain to be evaluated. This p-baseline comparison process can be carried out for all combinations of p baselines, or just enough combinations that one such comparison provides a unique solution of sufficient confidence for the process 400 to pronounce it the "correct" solution, with an associated figure of merit.
Up to this point in the description, it has been assumed that all processes occur within a single GPS epoch. These processes can be combined from epoch to epoch, potentially keeping track of carrier cycles between epochs, to provide additional test statistics to compare. The carry forward to the next epoch can be done on a per-antenna, per-baseline, or per-array basis or some combination thereof. This provides for an even more robust solution and helps provide solutions when the correct solution is not obvious after a single epoch, especially as short-term noise-like errors will tend to more quickly disqualify wrong answers than correct answers. This method of combining information from multiple epochs can be done in real-time or post-processing, and with a static or dynamic antenna array.
While the invention has been shown and described with reference to specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.
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|Optical tracking vehicle control system and method
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|Systems and methods for facilitating enhancements to search engine results
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|Multi-frequency GNSS receiver baseband DSP
|18 Jan 2010
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|Raster-based contour swathing for guidance and variable-rate chemical application
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|GNSS control system and method for irrigation and related applications
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|Enhanced real time kinematics determination method and apparatus
|17 Dec 2002
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|15 Dec 2005
|Novariant Inc.
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|5 Apr 2007
|Csi Wireless, Inc.
|Attitude determination exploiting geometry constraints
|6 Mar 2007
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|Whitehead Michael L
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|8 Jan 2009
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|Whitehead Michael L
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|16 Apr 2009
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|Qualcomm Incorporated
|Method for position determination with measurement stitching
|11 Mar 2009
|16 Sep 2010
|Whitehead Michael L
|Removing biases in dual frequency gnss receivers using sbas
|15 Jun 2009
|16 Dec 2010
|Qualcomm Incorporated
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|17 Mar 2010
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|Cmc Electronics Inc.
|Aircraft landing system using relative gnss
|17 Nov 2011
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|Dai Liwen L
|Navigation System and Method for Resolving Integer Ambiguities Using Double Difference Ambiguity Constraints
|15 Dec 2011
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|Systems and methods for facilitating enhancements to search engine results
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|Relative position detecting apparatus, and relative position detecting system
|30 Jun 2004
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|Amconav GmbH
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|22 Apr 2009
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|Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
|Relative position detecting apparatus, and relative position detecting system
|U.S. Classification
|342/357.26, 342/357.77, 342/357.27
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|23 Jun 2000
Owner name: SRI INTERNATIONAL, CALIFORNIA
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:RILEY, WYATT;REEL/FRAME:010933/0872
Effective date: 20000517
|10 Jan 2005
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|12 Jan 2009
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|10 Jan 2013
|Fee payment
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text:
Concert will pay tribute to works of famed US composer Danny Elfman
On Saturday, February 25, at 8pm, the National Concert Hall and RTE Concert Orchestra will pay tribute to the American musical superhero -- composer Danny Elfman -- in a special concert entitled Batman: Danny Elfman Film Music.
Presented in association with the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2012, it features most of the well-known music he composed from films such as Beetlejuice, Sleepy Hollow, Batman, Alice in Wonderland, and Mars Attacks.
The concert will also feature music by composers who influenced Elfman, first and foremost Bernard Herrmann as well as Philip Glass and Erich Wolfgang Korngold.
The show starts at 8pm and tickets are available from the NCH box office.
Border farmers warned to be vigilant
The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association (ICSA) has urged vigilance amongst the farming community in border areas following recent reports of tractor and machinery thefts in the region.
As many as 12 tractors and a huge number of quad bikes have been stolen from farmers in border counties in recent times. Gabriel Gilmartin, president of the ICSA, has said.
"It is very worrying. Farmers are being directly targeted by criminals and the situation is particularly prevalent in the border region.
"In the last week alone, two tractors on the Monaghan-Armagh border were stolen from the same farm and countless other tractors and quads have been targeted over the recent months. It has gotten to be an epidemic at this stage," he said.
Lecture on past attitudes to violence
IN the next lecture of the annual College of Science, Engineering and Food Science (SEFS) public lecture series, entitled: Bodies and Souls: Performative Violence in Medieval and Early Modern Ireland, Dr Barra O Donnabhain will review of the use of violence in medieval and early modern Ireland.
He suggests that regimes of punishment can reveal changing attitudes to bodies and to souls. The lecture will be delivered at 8pm on Wednesday, February 8, in Boole IV Lecture Theatre, UCC. Admission is free.
Brian Rooney wins TG4 music award
Long-time London resident Brian Rooney heads the list of recipients of the TG4 Gradam Ceoil 2012 (Traditional Music Awards) announced last Thursday night.
The full list of award recipients is: Gradam Ceoil TG4 -- Brian Rooney; Ceoltoir Og (young singer) -- Caoimhin O Fearghail; Gradam Saoil (Hall of Fame) -- Danny Meehan; Cumadoir (composer) -- Paddy O'Brien; Amhranai (singer) -- Nell Ni Chroinin (above, with fiddler Caoimhin O Raghallaigh and piper Mick O'Brien); and Gradam Aitheantais (special contribution) -- Eithne and Brian Vallely.
Sunday Independent

subset: commoncrawl


text:
A vehicle is a big investment, and the smart thing to do with any investment is to take care of it. There are various ways to take care of your automobile, most of which fall under the category of routine maintenance from Meineke #557 in Granite City IL. This includes all the maintenance items you are supposed to do every few months in order to keep the car running smoothly, such as wheel alignments and tire rotations. Of course, this list is not complete without a mention of replacement oil filters. A regular oil change and auto filter change is an important way to keep your car running as smoothly as possible for as long as possible.
What makes oil changes so necessary? To understand that, you first need to know a few things about engine oil. The oil in your car does a couple of important things. The first is that it carries heat away from your engine, which prevents the car from overheating. Second, the oil acts as a kind of car lube that keeps pieces of the engine from grinding together and causing harmful friction. The bottom line is that engine oil protects your engine from undue wear and tear so that you can safely enjoy driving in streets of . Make an appointment at if you live near .
A common question we get at Meineke #557 is the question of how often an oil change is necessary. The short answer is that it just depends. There is no one right answer across the board; it simply depends on the make and model of your vehicle. What we can say without reservation is that it's much less often than it used to be. Oil and filter technologies have come a long way, so today's cars can go much greater distances without needing maintenance. To find out how often you should get your oil changed, consult with your owner's manual or bring your car to Meineke #557 2250 Madison Avenue for service.
When you don't get your oil filter changed regularly, there can be a number of negative consequences. For starters, the engine will overheat. This means it will not be functioning at its peak level. Additionally, when your engine overheats, it can cause the components to become warped or corroded. Friction can also cause the same effect. The bottom line is that without a regular oil and oil filter change, your engine will simply stop working and will need to be replaced. This is obviously a major expense, but it can be avoided by simply sticking to a regular, routine oil change schedule at your local Meineke in Granite City IL.
Not only is it a smart investment, but it can also be a highly affordable one. You can visit our oil change coupons page to see some potential ways to save money the next time you bring your vehicle to Meineke #557 in Granite City for an oil change!
Schedule an Oil Change today!Schedule Oil Change Appointment
2250 Madison Avenue
Granite City, IL 62040-4705
Phone: (618) 219-8570
M-F 7:30 AM to 6:00 PM
Sat 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM
Sun Closed


text:
Category: Furniture Collections
September 2, 2011 | Posted by: Simcolifestyle | Furniture Collections | Reply
The Riviera Collection is inspired by the romantic elegance of a modern European country home and the warm relaxing comfort of the Mediterranean seaside. The simplicity of contemporary, luxury living is captured by the soft wheat linen sectional and supple olive leather trim. The sectional is accented with a modern farm style coffee table with a port side polished stainless steel base. This contemporary artist inspired collection is rich in the tradition of art, design, and sophistication and captures the style and grace of breathtaking homes that line the Mediterranean coast. This collection is destined to transform your home with relaxed, contemporary, luxury living. More...
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text:
PARIS — The young woman politely asked the young man draped in an Australian flag for a photo, arm in arm with her. He obliged, and politely waited until after she walked away to say: "I probably should have told her I was German."
Among the hundreds of thousands who came to watch the final leg of the Tour de France bicycle race were an untold number of passport-waving Aussies — and then just as many fans and admirers of the winner, Australian Cadel Evans, who had the race stitched up a day earlier based on time trials.
The Australian on Saturday bounded — or leapfrogged, depending which nationality you identify with — over Luxembourg's Schleck brothers, Andy and Frank, to seize the maillot jaune (yellow jersey).
On the second-to-last day of racing Saturday, Evans "clawed back a 57-second deficit to leader Andy Schleck" in a final 42.5 kilometer time trial around the city of Grenoble, the Guardian reported. Going into the final day, Evans led Andy Schleck by 1:34, and Frank Schleck by 2:30.
All Evans had to do was stay upright on the cobblestones of France's most-famous avenue to win. Little wonder he was wishing for the sun to emerge from behind days of heavy rainclouds.
And emerge it did.
And at around 4 p.m. local time, Evans crossed the finish line to become not only the Tour's first winner from Australia, but its first from the southern hemisphere.
A day earlier, Evans had fought back tears — and characteristically failed — as he paid tribute to his late coach Aldo Sassi. A spluttering Evans said it was Sassi, who died last December of brain cancer, who inspired him to his win, the Herald Sun reported.
Like him or loathe him (and there are plenty of people who fall on either side of the equation, with Evans is known among enthusiasts for his prickly nature and seemingly often miserable demeanor), he is for many Australian cycling fans "the answer deep soul-searching that has greeted the unhappy spectacle of Australian teams faltering in the sports that they are best known for," wrote the Guardian's Peter Beaumont.
"It's going to be one of the biggest sporting achievements that an Australian has ever [done]. It's humungous,'' a less restrained Matt White, Australia's national road cycling co-ordinator, told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Someone who does love him — Evans' mum (mom) Helen Cocks — meanwhile, told Australia's Herald Sun newspaper earlier that she'd had just a handful of hours of sleep in the past week.
Cocks told the paper from her Australian home: "I think I'm becoming incredibly superstitious. I know he can win but I didn't want to think about it... I try not to take these things for granted," she said.
The authorities in the Australian state of Victoria, meanwhile, weren't nearly so reluctant to test fate, announcing that they planned a parade and perhaps even a statue in honor of the "boy from Barwon Heads."


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- Please select a date to see the proper prices!
- Meal can be requested on the spot
Best offer
219.57 € / person / night, no meal
Description of the accommodation:
Rooms, services 107 comfortably furnished rooms are offered by The Chesterfield Mayfair Red Carnation Hotel London to guests looking for accommodation in London. In case you ever feel like eating in, you may taste delicious local dishes in the restaurant of the hotel. Car parking possibility is available nearby. You may take a car rental service or an organized city tour to check the most important tourist attractions. Fans of actively spent leisure time will also have the chance to rent a bike nearby. Airport transfer is provided upon preliminary request. The bar can be an ideal place for a meeting or a pleasant evening talk. Your valuables may be the safely secured in the safe. If you have a suitable portable device, you can connect to the Internet via a wireless network (WiFi) available at the hotel. If you wish to learn more about the exact scope of services provided by The Chesterfield Mayfair Red Carnation Hotel London (including any available for an extra fee), you will find them on the information sheet below.
Payment For the reservation you may need to provide advance payment by credit card or credit card guarantee, depending on the exact date, room and price.
Arrival, opening hours The earliest check-in time to your room is 14:00, the latest check-out time from your room is 12:00. The personnel speaks English.
The Chesterfield Mayfair Red Carnation Hotel London rooms Rooms
- Please select a date to see the proper prices!
Accommodation services
Free WiFi in shared places
Relaxation: Bike rental at the accommodation
Organized sightseeing nearby, Car rental nearby
Default services: Pet friendly, Bar, Elevator, Safe deposit box
Airport transfer
Own restaurant
Bathrobe, Hairdryer, Desk in the room


text:
Guitar / Bass Amplifier Info & Education
Advantages of a Building Modular Guitar Rig
Today's gigging musician will play in a wide variety of venues: small bars, clubs, outdoor stages, and so much more! As such, it is important to have a rig that is suitable for a range of venues and performing situations. Conventional wisdom says it's better to get way more amp than you need to make sure you have enough juice for any situation. You can always turn down, right? That usually is not true, because the tone and dynamics change on guitar amps when turned up or down. It is also financially wiser to purchase a rig for the long haul, with the power and tone that you won't grow out of anytime soon. That's in a perfect world at least- in the real world, if your band is playing the local bar circuit or going on your first tour, you are going to be responsible for moving your rig around and setting it up onstage, so having a huge, powerful rig isn't always the best way to go. Having a modular rig is highly beneficial for players seeking the easiest setup and best sound at every gig, no matter where it may be!
Combos, Heads, and Cabs
Every night, on stages around the world, there are two different types of amps being played through: combo amps, or head/cab setups. Combo amps are generally more lightweight and portable than separate head and cab setups. However, a head and cab setup allows you to mix and match amplifiers and speaker cabinets to your heart's content, effectively building a custom rig for each and every show you play. With combo amps, on the other hand, you could be locked to the available tone from that particular amplifier and speaker combination. Some combo amps that are literally heads mounted in a speaker cabinet do have external output jacks and can accommodate running other cabinets with or without the internal speakers. There is no setup that is necessarily better - it is all about finding out which setup fits your needs.
Building a Modular Rig
The most important part of building a modular rig is to examine all your needs. You want to cover your main music passion, the type of shows, and the venues where you perform. After you find the amp, you need to pair it with speaker cabinets, or sets of speaker cabinets, that are suitable for the different playing situations and tone variations. This method allows you to bring what's needed and nothing that's not to the stage or studio, adapting your rig to any playing situation.
As an example, let's say you play guitar in two bands: a wedding cover band by day and a loud hard rock band by night. Now your passion is probably the hard rock band, so you look for a head that cranks out your passion and is versatile enough to cover the paying wedding gigs. We all know that usually the only passion in the wedding gigs is that you are still playing your guitar. You go with a Carvin Audio V3 head for the tone and volume of the hard rock band, and its versatility to dial in many other sounds for the wedding band. Since the wedding band plays mostly smaller stages at lower volumes, you can bring along the V3 and a two 12-inch speaker cabinet like the VX212 straight cabinet. You can turn it up as needed and it is a small simple rig to move around.
V3 100W Tube Head and VX212 Birch Guitar Cab
Because your hard rock band plays at a much higher volume, you can simply add another VX212 cabinet for twice the output, or instead switch to a four 12-inch speaker cabinet, like the VX412T slant cabinet. With the VX412T you would be able to leave the cabinet at the practice room for the hard rock band and just move the head between bands.
V3 100W Tube Head and VX412B Birch Guitar Cab
And lastly, let's say your hard rock band landed the arena gig of a lifetime. Instead of buying a whole new rig altogether, you can add an additional VX412B straight cabinet to make sure your guitar is heard loud and clear (and a full stack will make you look cool, too).
V3 100W Tube Head and VX412 Full Stack
For a quick second scenario, let's consider you are in a bar band that also plays larger outdoor city festivals in the summer. Here your passion may be from rock to blues or country and the gigs are usually small and late night, so you want vintage tone, in a small, light package. Here a combo amp like the Nomad with a single 12-inch internal speaker brings the sweet vintage tone in a very compact and light package. This alone will cover most bars and in the bigger clubs, with still small stages, it will be mic'ed through the PA. You are in and out quickly with plenty of tone and volume.
When you get to the huge festival stage if you crank your Nomad amp up enough to get comfortable, it may not put out the same tone or dynamics you enjoy. Here you can add another 12 inch extension like the matching 112E to double your output, or you can go big with a VX412T covered in tweed to match the vintage look with four times the output. This will make you louder due to more speakers, but the amp will be working in a similar spot as before, producing the dynamics and similar tone you enjoy. Also the VX Series lets you open the back for a tone like the Nomad's open back.
Building a rig is one of the fun parts about playing music. It is also important for every band member to adapt and have the proper equipment for each venue. Building a different modular rig to meet your current needs is a labor of love!
Posted On June 11, 2016 by
This article kind of states the obvious, but it does point out to beginners that you can pair a monster amp with a cabinet that you can easily move around and still be capable of melting the audience's faces. Then if you need a lot more bang, you can borrow (or rent) another cab for that outdoor gig and buy one if it gets to the point that you're going to need it a lot. In that vein, a 50 watt combo can be REALLY LOUD hooked up to a 4×12, should you need to be. The main thing is that you buy quality shtuff. If you can't afford a 100 watt full stack, buy a great 50 watt combo. Chances are you'll still be lovin' it years down the line, where if you get a cheap piece 'o' junk you'll grow out of it in no time. At the risk of sounding like an advert, I've got some ancient Carvin gear that's still as good as anything on the market today.
Posted On June 10, 2016 by
I am a weekend warrior club musician . I perform country, rock , and blues. I won a Nomad and have never found a situation my Nomad didn't shine in. In clubs , I never turn up past 3 , outdoors put a microphone in front of it and put it in the PA mix. EL 84 tone is where it is at for guitar.
Posted On June 10, 2016 by
This was a great article on the advantages of considering the modular approach to building a guitar amp rig. Recommendations make a lot of sense…
Posted On June 10, 2016 by
Thank You Carvin for the awesome article. I own a Carvin Belair combo amp, 2 Carvin Legacy combo amps, 2 Carvin MTS3200 heads, and a Carvin 412 cabinet for just the reasons you mentioned.


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Picture: Prince Charles, at 'Shrek the Musical' royal gala performance, held at the Theatre Royal - Departures. London, England - 08.06.11
Princess Diana Of Wales, the first wife of Prince Charles who was killed at the age of 36, features on the cover of Newsweek alongside her son's wife Kate Middleton, reports People Magazine. Princess Diana has been controversially superimposed into a photograph of the Duchess of Cambridge.
Newsweek editor-in-chief Tina Brown has defended the cover, in which a computer generated photograph of Diana imagines what life would have been like had she not died under tragic circumstances on 31st August 1997. Brown writes, "Diana would have been 50 this month. What would she have been like? Still great-looking: that's a given". Brown predicts the much-loved Princess would have moved to New York, kept her youth through Botox, and garnered over 10 million followers on Twitter. Ahead of Diana's 50th birthday on Friday (1st June 2011), a new book titled 'Untold Story: A Novel' by Monica Ali hits shelves, exploring the fictional possibility that Diana faked her own death.
The magazine's new issue also features an imaginary Princess Diana Facebook page, and a slideshow comparing the fashion styles of Diana and Kate Middleton. The cover has already courted controversy, with a recent Los Angeles Times headline asking, "Shocking, brilliant or just plain cheap?".


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Results 1 to 25 of 29
September 19th, 2005, 05:21 PM #1Web 2.0
I've been very interested in the new revolution going on with the internet lately. It's been coined Web 2.0 and has to do with the new way web sites are being used. Basically, we're moving away from websites as content containers towards websites as content services. Much like Amazon's XML datafeed interface, sites all over the net are offering their content through XML. Web 2.0 has to do with the way this XML/RSS is dealt with and organized. It also has a strong emphasis on Tagging and Folksonomies with some Social Networking. The internet is changing very quickly and I'm excited for all of this, but I just wish I'd known about it sooner! So it's time my fellow ABW'ers become enlightened.
Here are a few articles to get you started:
This is truly facinating stuff, so please let me know what you think about it!
- ScottHatred stirs up strife, But love covers all transgressions.
September 19th, 2005, 06:13 PM #2
"The proponents of this thinking expect that ultimately Web 2.0 services will replace desktop computing applications for many purposes."
Can you say Google...Jason
September 19th, 2005, 06:21 PM #3
Yes, I'm continually amazed at what's being provided by XML and such. I love to automate repetitive tasks, and I find myself looking for these types of things when I visit a site.
On the AM side of things, it makes it easier to pull in data and collate it with other sources. Sure beats screen scraping
September 19th, 2005, 06:24 PM #4From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0
* The site should not act as a "walled garden" - it should be easy to get data in and out of the system.
* Users should own their own data on the site
* Purely web based - most successful web 2.0 sites can be used almost entirely through the browser
September 19th, 2005, 08:50 PM #5
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Soon everyone will be able to pull data and they won't need the affiliate. It will probably get to the point where they could pull several feeds and run a program that will compare prices & services.
I want to turn the clock back to 1999. when it was easy to make money online.
September 19th, 2005, 09:03 PM #6Originally Posted by westgroup
September 20th, 2005, 12:57 AM #7Originally Posted by MichaelColeyOriginally Posted by westgroup
The real trick is to think outside the box. For example, you can offer an RSS feed that includes information about your coupons & promotions where the redemption links include your URL. That way your customers can plug your data into a container of their choosing, but when they actually need to use it they'll end up at your site. I've seen some successful affiliate sites transition to Web 2.0 and it's becomming more and more necessary. You want to offer just enough information to entice people to visit your site. This is a new form of marketing that goes around the entire link popularity and SEO avenue. You can now syndicate the information from your site all over the net so people may stumble on your services on another website. In order to get the real value from the content, they'll still need to visit your site.
The possibilities in affiliate marketing are just starting to become clear. The innovators and outside the box thinkers will do well with this.
- ScottHatred stirs up strife, But love covers all transgressions.
September 20th, 2005, 02:18 PM #8
Another application is to apply tags and RSS to product and service reviews. You can include an introduction to each review in your RSS feed as a sort of teaser to get people to click over to your site. Just so many possibilities for this!
- ScottHatred stirs up strife, But love covers all transgressions.
September 20th, 2005, 11:15 PM #9
Datafeeds are really just web 2.0 marketing tools. When we see keywords in the feeds, these keywords are product tags. Merchants have known about this for years and have been utilizing it effectively the entire time. We've only just now come up with a name for this. Blogs use syndication to get their word out just like merchants use datafeeds to get their products out. If you don't syndicate, you'll be left behind in the dust. How many times have you ignored a merchant because they don't have a datafeed. It'll get to the point that your customers will ignore your site if you don't provide some sort of RSS datafeed.
- ScottHatred stirs up strife, But love covers all transgressions.
September 20th, 2005, 11:34 PM #10
OUtta your comfort zome people! A whole new learning curve coming up.
Interesting and very relevant stuff Scott. Thanks for sharing and enlightening!
September 24th, 2005, 01:51 PM #11
Yahoo has a Web 2.0 portal. I didn't even notice it until I searched for 'web 2.0' in Google. I think they're keeping it quiet so the other search engines don't come in and copy them. It's actually a very nice implementation and may be an important place to be listed in the near future:
It's very clean and easy to use. I like it!
- ScottHatred stirs up strife, But love covers all transgressions.
October 6th, 2005, 02:03 PM #12
check out this web2.0 mashup matrix: http://www.programmableweb.com/matrix Some pretty interesting apps out there.
And if you guys haven't checked out ning.com, do it soon. Co-founded by Marc Andreessen & has some pretty interesting stuff. They'r trying to make the job of building web2.0 kinda social apps super easy.
October 7th, 2005, 02:24 AM #13
Some great resources there nish. I'd seen programmableweb.com before, but I hadn't seen the matrix. One site that caught my attention was the XBox Radar that uses Amazon and Technorati. It's really not much different from a normal Amazon affiliate site, except it's got blogs fed into it from Technorati. Might be an interesting way to go. Too bad I'm seeing tons of blog spam in Technorati. Unfortunately it all leads to those ugly Yahoo based search result pages with AdSense ads, ick!
- ScottHatred stirs up strife, But love covers all transgressions.
October 9th, 2005, 03:03 AM #14
True.. so much spam on Technorati. Instead they could have got xbox links from del.icio.us and maybe xbox related pictures from flickr.
November 21st, 2005, 01:51 PM #15
If someone wants to experiment with Google Maps, here is one simple to use PHP class that lets you customize Google Maps: http://www.system7designs.com/codebase
November 21st, 2005, 11:42 PM #16Originally Posted by nish
- ScottHatred stirs up strife, But love covers all transgressions.
December 13th, 2005, 01:09 AM #17
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Is this what you're talking about when you talk about tags, just noticed this at Amazon:
What are tags ?
Tags provide an easy way for you to "remember" and classify any item on the Amazon site for later recall. For example, you might be shopping for holiday gifts and tag items with the names of the people on your shopping list. At any time, you can review the items you've tagged and make final gift decisions. You might also want to tag items you've purchased in the past. This allows you to organize your collection in any way you wish. You can also use tags to help you remember items you're considering for purchase, e.g. if you are planning to buy a digital camera, you might tag several makes and models so that you can look at them side by side, organized the way you wish. Don't like the way Amazon has organized its science fiction or cookbooks? Tag the items you care about with the categories that matter to you. Because people's tags are (by default) visible to others, a great side effect of tagging is that you can navigate among items through other people's tags. What items have people tagged "gift" or "Tuscany" or "robot?"
Can Everyone See My Tags?
By default, everyone can see your tags. Your tags will help others find interesting products, and likewise you can see how other customers have tagged products. For example, suppose a book is tagged 'Philosophy'. By clicking on that tag, you can see what other products customers have tagged 'Philosophy', and you can see what other tags people who use the 'Philosophy' tag use. As you navigate using tags, you will find more and more interesting products, as collectively organized by other Amazon customers.
What If I Don't Want Others To See My Tags?
You can make your tags private if you want. Just go to your Home page, find the Your Tags area, and click on Manage Your Tags. From there you can edit and delete tags as well as choose whether they are public or private.
Can I Remove A Tag?
When you are on a product page, you can click on Edit to remove a tag. Or, go to your Home page, scroll to the Your Tags area, and click on Manage Your Tags. From there you can edit and delete tags.
December 13th, 2005, 01:14 AM #18Originally Posted by TrustNo1
Amazon is goooooood and they're equally good at using their visitor content to create a better site. Smart! Wish they paid a higher % though. Grrrrrrrrr
December 15th, 2005, 10:19 PM #19
Wow, now that is an impressive tagging example. They've successfully integrated tags with products and created a truly unique way to handle datafeeds. Gotta hand it to Amazon, they do a great job of keeping up with technology. Thanks for that info Trust!
- ScottHatred stirs up strife, But love covers all transgressions.
December 16th, 2005, 12:51 PM #20
It may be time for a renovation of what Affiliates are doing. Many of you already run many datafeeds and create comparisons. Perhaps the next step for affiliate marketing is packaging scripts for the home market that run through your feeds and pump out the information. Having consumers pay 5¢ per query may be the future
December 16th, 2005, 01:46 PM #21
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"Having consumers pay 5¢ per query may be the future"
Don't think consumers will ever pay to search when they can do it for free. Unless you're thinking about something different than I am?
December 16th, 2005, 02:00 PM #22
Affiliate marketing has a foundation in implied recommendation and pre-packaged legwork. Places like pricegrabber are only merchants who pay to be listed, where as an Affiliate's collection of datafeeds are a very different class. You are selling the time you have put in to finding packaging and sorting -- the big comparison engines don't provide that for their visitors. Affiliates have a market that is untouched since the majority of online stores are not listed on the comparison engines.
December 17th, 2005, 03:50 PM #23Originally Posted by inflatemouse
Affiliates have a market that is untouched since the majority of online stores are not listed on the comparison engines.
Back to the Amazon topic, I'm excited about this idea and see a great deal of potential for affiliates who adopt new forms of technology. Web 2.0 is truly redefining how people use the internet. If you aren't already using it, del.icio.us is a wonderful resource. Check http://del.icio.us/popular/shopping to see what sites are being shared most often.
- ScottHatred stirs up strife, But love covers all transgressions.
December 18th, 2005, 10:42 AM #24
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Hi All,
Not sure if this is the right place to post, but I have a question relating to feeds etc.
Basically, I'm setting up a business and I want to be able to divide my affiliate earnings with the users of my site. To do this I need to get the affiliate stats on to my own server and do some processing on them. This must be done automatically. So my newbie question is: how do you get your affiliate stats out of the affiliate program? Is there something better than screenscraping? Are there feeds of this info? What is the standard way to do this?
Thanks in advance!
December 19th, 2005, 04:11 PM #25
Looks like Yahoo is scooping up all the popular Web 2.0 technology. They bought Flickr a few months ago and just last week they picked up del.icio.us:
Just goes to show this sort of technology is turning some large heads.
- ScottHatred stirs up strife, But love covers all transgressions.
Similar Threads
Great Resources For Learning Web Design And Web Development (Article)By Rhia7 in forum Newbie Affiliate FAQs & Helpful ArticlesReplies: 1Last Post: February 24th, 2014, 11:44 AM


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Making Broxtowe's great schools even better
Throughout Broxtowe we have excellent schools, providing high standards of education to all our children. It's been a pleasure to visit so many of them and support them all. I have particularly enjoyed welcoming many of our pupils and their staff to Parliament.
Exam and test results have got even better and most of our senior schools have chosen to become Academies. It was disappointing that Labour opposed the changes locally and I'm pleased their predictions of selection and exclusivity have been proved wrong.


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Fix awview32.dll error
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Viral video: Mi Tierra customer's impromptu mariachi serenade...
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Monthly Archive for November, 2009
Colombo update
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Cowboys LT Marc Colombo's lower left leg is being X-rayed in the locker room. His return is uncertain. Look for the Packers to load up on Colombo's replacement, Doug Free. Cowboys …
Cowboys tackle injured
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Spencer showed up to play
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Cowboys had no problem getting into the red zone early. Scoring, though, was another matter all together. After reaching the Green Bay 19 on their first possession, the drive …
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – With Mark Tauscher out with a knee injury, the Packers are starting rookie T.J. Lang at left tackle against defending NFL sacks leader DeMarcus Ware. In the game's only other lineup …
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Phillips shows faith in youngsters
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During prosperous times, Bill Parcells always used to warn his players not to "eat the cheese," meaning don't lap up all the praise coming from the fans and the media. The Cowboys have received …


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Hi girls !
Me and Slovenian beauty bloggers were talking about how much we spend on products and you'll again see that I did not need all of these products, but I don't know what is it with some of us, that we like to shop so much. I do feel like I bought everything on sale, again *no s**t Sherlock* ! Also I'm sorry for not posting as much...I just didn't want to send out there any bad content as I'm trying to work on some new posts.
What I bought
Montagne Jenuesse Tea Tree Oil - sheet face mask
Essence discontinued products:
Stay all day long-lasting powder
Silky Touch blush - shade: 90
Lush sale products:
I love Juicy shampoo
Eau Roma Water toner
Peeping Santa bubble bar
Lush - Christmas Candy Box gift
Lancome Long-Lasting concealer - 01
I just wanted to see if an expensive concealer like that is really any different (I do own MAC one though) Plus it was on sale.
PR products
City Radiance foundation - 01
Radiance Reveal concealer - 01
Avon Cocoa Butter:
Hand cream, Body lotion, Lip butter, Face cream
- Friday, January 29, 2016
- 10 Comments


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China's Dalian Wanda Group will buy a controlling stake in Hollywood film studio Legendary Entertainment in a deal valued at $3.5bn (£2.4bn).
Daily Archives: January 11, 2016
Open Letter to the Banks
Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan Chase
Brian T. Moynihan, Bank of America
Michael Corbat, Citigroup
On Friday, I attended a digital money summit at the Consumer Electronics Show. I am writing to you to warn you about the disruption that is about to occur in banking. There are many startups (and larger companies too) that are gunning for you. Perhaps you have watched what Uber has done to the taxi business? Well, these guys are planning the same thing for the banking business.
Banks used to allow even a child with a $10 deposit to spread his risk across a large portfolio of loans. At the same time, banks made it possible for a corporate borrower to raise $10,000,000 from a large group of depositors. In short, the banking business is investment aggregation and risk management.
That business cannot be disrupted. The bigger it gets, the more difficult to displace. It's like eBay, all the depositors come to the bank because that's where they can earn interest. All the borrowers come, because that's where they can get the money they need. The bigger the bank gets, at least in a free market under the gold standard, the safer it is for depositors.
Today, however, you are quite vulnerable to disruption. That's because you are not really in the banking business any more.
Over three decades, you have worked with the Federal Reserve to eliminate interest. The end result is that you now offer depositors a return-free risk. Depositors cannot earn interest in a bank account (yes, I know that in the US the yield is technically not zero yet, but it's getting there). However, a growing number are aware of the risks. For example, you have incalculable exposure to derivatives. You own sovereign debt which the world now knows is not risk-free. In fact, you have a large staff and churn through a lot of activity in order to deliver scant yield to your depositors.
I can tell you what I observed in the digital money program. People, especially Millennials, now think of banking in terms of features like ATMs, payment clearing, fraud prevention, and point of sale solutions. However, these are just add-on services, not the core of banking. You have abandoned that core, and only the add-ons remain.
Startups can take these businesses. They have lower costs. They are more focused. They have hip new brands, untainted by the financial crisis and the bailouts. They have developed an array of new technologies. And, of course, they are less regulated (before you think to lobby to impose more regulation on them, think about that taint to your brand).
You're in a tight spot. After decades of smoking the drug known as falling interest, you're now dependent on it. The thought of a return to a 5% yield on the 10-year Treasury is not pleasant. Nevertheless, I urge you to think about it. The alternative is to let the fintech disruptors carve up your retail business.
Keith Weiner, PhD
The Gold Standard Institute
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text: The functions of oncogene products Authors Tony Hunter Tony Hunter Type Published Article Journal Prog. Clin. Biol. Res. Immunity to Cancer II Publisher Alan R. Liss Publication Date Jan 01, 1989 Pages 25–34 Source Hunter Lab There are no comments yet on this publication. Be the first to share your thoughts. Log in to comment