Thales Navigation, a global provider of GPS solutions, including the Magellan and Ashtech product lines, introduced Aug 29 its A12 OEM 12-channel GPS receiver. According to the company, the A12 offers the most powerful combination of WAAS-enabled accuracy, low power consumption and compact size available in a low-cost board. Thales claims the A12 is accurate to within one meter using local DGPS corrections, and three meters through WAAS, EGNOS and MSAS compatibility. The A12 is expected to be a favorite among OEMs and integrators in a variety of applications, including fleet management, asset tracking, telemetry, automotive and hand-held computing. "There's a strong and growing demand for GPS within land navigation markets like fleet management and trucking, both as in-vehicle navigation aids and as control systems for managers keeping track of their fleet vehicles," said Neil Vancans, general manager of Thales Navigation's professional products business unit. "Thales Navigation has demonstrated its expertise in these markets -- with both our Ashtech professional solutions and our Magellan consumer products -- for several years. We're confident the A12 will set the standard for high-performance, low-cost GPS boards." In terms of power consumption, the A12 uses .23 watts at 3.3VDC. That compares to .70 watts for previous-generation boards and .47 watts for leading competitive units. About Thales Navigation Thales Navigation is a developer and manufacturer of positioning, navigation and guidance equipment with operations throughout the U.S. and Europe. Thales Navigation markets its Magellan brand GPS solutions in the consumer electronics, recreation, and automotive markets, and its Ashtech GPS and GNSS professional products in the survey, GIS/Mapping, and OEM markets. They say their key innovations include the first U.S. commercial hand-held GPS receiver for positioning and navigation, and the first professional Long-Range Kinematic (LRK) GPS receiver. Thales Navigation, headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., is a subsidiary of Thales, a leading professional electronics company headquartered in Paris, France, with activities in aerospace, defense and information technology and services. For more information, visit www.thalesnavigation.com.