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WNCG professor Todd Humphreys and postdoctoral fellow Peter Iannucci of the Radionavigation Laboratory have developed a system using the constellation of SpaceX satellites to potentially deliver a low-cost, more accurate, and highly secure alternative to GPS. Their work was recently featured in the MIT Technology Review:

The New Yorker feature "How Vulnerable is GPS?" discusses WNCG professor Todd Humphreys' journey uncovering and demonstrating security weaknesses in the Global Positioning System. Humphreys is a pioneer in the the study of Global Navigation Satellite Systems. His research group was the first to demonstrate cm-accurate RTK positioning through a smartphone antenna, and in 2012 they demonstrated the first successful spoofing of UAVs. Since then, Humphreys has examined real-world instances of spoofing and jamming that raise serious concerns about the ubiquitous technology.

WNCG student Lakshay Narula received the Walter R. Fried Memorial Award for Best Paper at the 2020 IEEE/ION PLANSx Conference. The award recognizes “substantial contribution to the technology of navigation and positioning equipment, systems, or practices” judged on criteria including technical content, innovation, importance of topic, and writing quality. Narula’s winning paper, “Automotive-Radar-Based 50-cm Urban Positioning,” demonstrated how self-driving cars can use commercially-available, low-cost automotive radars to improve navigation.

Research done by WNCG alum Matthew Murrian was featured on the cover of the InsideGNSS January/February 2020 volume. Murrian, the lead author on the paper, conducted the work along with Lakshay Narula and Radionavigation Lab director Prof. Todd Humphreys. In 2017, the Radionavigation lab placed a custom software-defined receiver onboard the International Space Station as part of a larger effort to study GNSS signals in the low Earth orbit environment. Over a two-year period, the researchers analyzed data from the receiver and identified multiple sources of GNSS interference.

WNCG professor Todd Humphreys has received the Institute of Navigation’s (ION) “highest honor.” Humphreys was elected to the membership rank of Fellow at ION’s International Technical Meeting in January. He is one of only three recipients of the honor for 2020. Humphreys’ election cited his “significant and fundamental contributions to PNT security and precise GNSS positioning for the mass market, and for dedication to GNSS education and outreach.”

Envision an early cubist painting by the famous artist Pablo Picasso. To the untrained eye, the painting can look like a jumbled series of boxes overlapping and intertwining with each other. But the art of cubism is about exploring the world from multiple perspectives. The painting, which at first looks like boxes, is actually a city seen from multiple perspectives.

RCR Wireless spoke with WNCG Profs. Todd Humphreys and Constantine Caramanis, co-organizers of the Texas Wireless Summit (TWS) 2016. TWS will take place on October 18th at the Blanton Museum of Art Edgar Smith Building on UT Austin's campus. It will focus on the connectivity, sensing and data analytics of automated vehicles. Keynotes, panels and discussions will take place throughout the day. This year's event will feature a special startup showcase.

Texas Wireless Summit (TWS) 2016: Reshaping Wireless Through Automated Vehicles, recently announced their speaker line-up and other exciting special reveals for this year’s event. On October 18, 2016, TWS will explore how automated vehicles will reshape wireless over the next 10 years with their demands for coordinated sensing and decision-making. The event will look at the benefits and requirements of connectivity, the key challenges of vehicle sensing and shared data analytics, including lightly processed radar, lidar and camera data.

The Data-Supported Transportation Operations and Planning Center (D-STOP) from UT Austin met with representatives from local and state government, academia and industry in early April at a symposium designed to collaborate on the future of Smart Cities. The day-long event explored smart transportation systems, collaborative ecosystems, infrastructure-based technology, regional planning and analytics and connected vehicles through a series of panels featuring experts in the field.