Posted June. 01, 2011 22:46,
Private think tanks in South Korea will lead the development of technology for preventing jamming of global positioning system, or GPS.
The Korea Communications Commission in Seoul will also conduct a crackdown to curb the production and sale of GPS jamming devices, which are illegally sold in the market.
Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute said Wednesday that it started a project to develop technologies allowing detection of GPS jamming and locating its origin.
Lee Sang-wook, chief of the GPS research team at the institute, said, We will develop low-cost equipment that can quickly detect where GPS jamming originates, adding, We will conduct the research project over the next three years.
The Daejeon-based think tank will focus its research on technology that can promptly detect and trace GPS jamming.
The Korea Aerospace Research Institute also started last year a research on technology for tracing electro-wave threats for assuring safe aircraft takeoff and landing, which can cope with electro wave interference by civilian air carriers.
Heo Moon-beom, chief of the GPS navigation team at the institute, said, Aircraft can safely take off and land only when accurate location data is available, adding, We plan to develop a technology for use by the private sector within five years.
After The Dong-A Ilbo carried a report saying anyone in the private sector can commit GPS jamming as done by North Korea in March, the Korea Communications Commission announced Wednesday a crackdown on GPS jamming devices illegally traded via online shopping malls or other channels.