A developing theme of long-haul operations is the desire for non-stop services between large centres of population and business areas. The delivery of modern aircraft with such long-range capability is evidence of airline commercial objectives and plainly demands improvements to the way in which air traffic is managed. There is now an opportunity to change radically the way in which over-flights are managed and operated. It is imperative to increase capacity in step with demand as it is the limitation in capacity that is fast limiting an expansion of the business.

Farmers are having to gather increasing amounts of data on their soils and crops. Precision agriculture – the targeting of inputs such as fertilizers and herbicides according to locally determined (‘metre-by-metre’) requirements – is based on a knowledge of the spatial variation of soil and crop parameters across a field. The data has to be spatially located and GPS is an effective way of doing this. A backpack data logging system with GPS position tagging is described which has been designed to aid a fanner in the manual collection of data.

The availability of an aeronautical mobile satellite service and the emergence of a global navigation satellite system should enable CNS services to be established for civil aviation, virtually worldwide. This paper discusses how the development of a low-cost ADS system, employing these satellite services, might be used to the advantage of European air traffic management (ATM). It indicates that the earlier action is taken, the greater will be the potential benefits. This paper is an updated version of that presented at the NAV94 Conference in November 1994.

Reduced manning levels, the lack of skilled maritime labour and new satellite navigation systems have created a need for electronic charts in merchant ships. Developments in information technology have made it possible to design and produce these charts and the equipment to display them. It is essential that shipowners and others understand the issues which affect the use of these charts and equipment. It is also important for users to understand the effects that the revolution in satellite technology is having on all types of charts, paper and electronic. Only with this knowledge can shipowners appreciate the economic and operational benefits of using electronic charts, and IMO complete its work on the safety rules for the carriage and operation of all types of electronic charts and equipment for merchant ships.