GEC REVIEW v14 no. 1 1999 Sample Issue

GEC REVIEW was published until 1999 when GEC renamed to Marconi plc.
A sample issue is available here in full and as individual papers and sections below:

 GEC REVIEW v14 no. 1 1999
* The Photonics Future by P. Griffin, B.Sc., M.Sc., M.I.E.E., C.Eng.
Unique developments by Marconi Communications deliver all the bandwidth-enhancing benefits of photonics technology to national and even metropolitan networks. This paper describes these developments - notably the world's first Reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer, providing ability to add and drop wavelengths in a fully-managed system. It illustrates how they augment existing wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) technology and assesses their overall market significance.
* Integrated Night Vision in Helmet-mounted Displays by A.A. Cameron, B.Sc.
Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) are a primary means of providing enhanced vision at night for many rotary-wing and fixed-wing aircraft. The drive to introduce Helmet-Mounted Displays (HMDs) into service has resulted in the desire to combine the function of the Night Vision Goggle with that of the HMD. This paper provides an overview of NVG technology and addresses the requirements and design issues surrounding integrated NVG and display systems. Several practical implementations are discussed that are either in service or are due to enter service shortly. The paper covers both the rotary-wing and fast-jet requirements and discusses the differing operational needs, and how these impact the practical implementation of integrated helmet systems in each case.
* Achieving 20cm Positioning Accuracy in Real Time Using GPS - the Global Positioning System by E. Masella, B.Eng., P.E.
Real-time kinematic carrier-phase differential GPS, or more commonly referred to as RTK, is becoming indispensable for an increasing number of applications requiring centimetre-level positioning accuracy. In order to respond to this demand and to offer this accuracy to a broader range of users with stringent price requirements, a cost-efficient solution is required. Canadian Marconi Company (CMC) has recently developed an RTK GPS engine called the RT•Star, a low-cost single-frequency RTK-capable sensor that can obtain nominal accuracies of 20cm or better under any given dynamics. The sensor is user-configurable, either as a reference station or a roving unit. This product is considered to possess one of the highest accuracy-over-price ratios in the OEM sensor industry and is targeted mainly at precision agriculture, control, and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) applications. The receiver's architecture and specifications are presented in this paper, along with supporting simulation data and test results.
* The SIMTEC Simulation Framework by D.F. Buckle, B.Sc., M.Sc.
SIMTEC is both a large model with a wide range of applications and an initiative in software re-use (that is, a 'framework'). It has the modelling functionality to simulate an arbitrary combination of air, land or sea scenarios involving the interactions of several platforms, each of which can be simulated at a variety of fidelity levels, and is capable of making its decisions and of participating in C3I (Command, Control, Communication and Information) hierarchies. The modelling functionality is supported by a powerful User Environment, which is automatically configured to the modelling code and thus completely generic. Software re-use is obtained by using an object oriented library approach which is disciplined by plug-and-play interfaces and constructed in a fashion that permits unprecedented data configurability by the user and involves both using and producing COTS/generic solutions. The SIMTEC framework is shown to be complementary to other initiatives such as DIS (distributed interactive simulation) and HLA (high-level architecture).
* Packaging, Interconnect and the Systems Integrator by S.G. Tyler, B.Sc. and T.P. Young, B.Sc., Ph.D.
New trends in packaging are explored in order to determine their strategic impact on system integration. Traditionally-cited benefits include increased functionality and reduced cost, weight and power consumption. Ultimately these may be overtaken by other factors such as the ability to integrate a wider set of functions into the interconnect fabric, the impact of this fabric on system partitioning, and the emergence of novel strategies to combat obsolescence. This paper describes several strategically-important aspects of the packaging scene and draws some conclusions about the position of such R&D in the systems community.
* The History of the General Electric Company up to 1900 - Part 1 by H. Hirst, M.I.E.E.
During 1920, Hugo Hirst gave a series of lectures to the GEC Debating Society, of which he was Chairman at that time. During these talks he described the events that took place during the five years leading up to the formation of the General Electric Company in 1886, through to the year 1900. These lectures were recorded in shorthand and subsequently transcribed into typescript. The final version, with annotation by Hirst himself, now resides in the GEC Archive collection. In this paper, which is divided between successive issues of GEC Review, we present selected extracts from these lectures, some 100 years after the events which he described took place. The concluding Part 2 is available here.
* In Brief
News updates from: Marconi Communications, Videojet, Matra Marconi Space, Picker, Woods Air Movement, Marconi Electronic Systems, Alenia Marconi Systems, Redring and Avery Berkel.
* Technology News
The Speechdat Project for Spoken Language Databases; The GEC Meniscograph, and VERA: an Experiment to Derive a Cost-effective Verification Process
* 50 Years Ago and 100 Years Ago
50: Typical mobile installation showing the transmitter/receiver in the luggage compartment of a car and the mobile controller on the dashboard, and
100: The Edison Phonograph.
"GEC" refers to the former General Electric Company, p.l.c. of the UK which had no connection with GE, General Electric of the US.
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