According to UrsaNav Inc., the Wildwood, NJ eLoran transmitter will be continuously broadcasting from 0900 (EST) on 21 October 2016 through 1200 (EST) on 22 November 2016. Wildwood will be broadcasting as 8970 Master and Secondary most of the time but occasionally may operate at other rates.
The team will evaluate eLoran as a potential complementary system to GPS. The capabilities and potential utilization methods of eLoran will be explored in depth to identify all strengths, capacities, and potential vulnerabilities of the technology.
The sites are the legacy ground-based radio navigation infrastructure of the decommissioned Loran-C service that could be retained and upgraded to provide eLoran low frequency service.
Under the CRADA, Exelis will use the former Loran-C assets to put eLoran signals in space for research, test and demonstration of the ability of eLoran to meet precise positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) requirements of government and privately-owned critical infrastructure.
The first station Exelis is broadcasting from is in Wildwood, N.J. The broadcasts will provide a usable signal at a range up to 1,000 miles.
The ENVI Analytics Symposium (EAS), scheduled for Aug. 25-26 in Boulder, Colo., will bring together experts in remote sensing science to discuss technology trends and the next generation of solutions for advanced analytics.
Geospatial analytics are important because they can be applied to a diverse range of needs in environmental and natural resource monitoring, global food production, security, urbanization, and other fields of research, according to event organizer, Exelis.
The need to identify technology trends and advanced analytic solutions is being driven by the staggering growth in high-spatial and spectral resolution earth imagery, radar, LiDAR, and full-motion video data. Join your fellow thought leaders and practitioners from industry, academia, government, and non-profit organizations in Boulder, Colo., for an intensive exploration of the latest advancements of analytics in remote sensing.
Sponsors and attendees represent organizations such as Airbus Defence and Space, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services, DigitalGlobe, U.S. Geological Survey, Esri, Naval Post Graduate School, Oak Ridge National Lab and more.
In this special section, GPS World focuses on automous positioning and navigation technology, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs).
SenseFly Launches Intelligent Mapping and Inspection Drone
SenseFly launched the eXom, a quadcopter for mapping and inspection, at the AUVSI Unmanned Systems show, held May 4–7 in Atlanta.
The 3.7-pound quadcopter offers professionals such as civil engineers and land surveyors the situational awareness, imaging flexibility and durability they need for challenging tasks, senseFly said. The sensors — GPS, inertial measurement units, barometers, magnetometers and magnetic encoders — maximize stability and safety.
Septentrio Launches UAS Receiver, Software for Drones
The AsteRx-m UAS by Septentrio.
Septentrio has launched the AsteRx-m UAS, an RTK-accurate GNSS receiver solution specially designed for the drone market. The AsteRx-m UAS provides high-accuracy GNSS positioning with low power consumption, according to Septentrio.
The launch of the AsteRx-m UAS board is complemented by the release of GeoTagZ software suite. The GeoTagZ suite works with the UAS camera and image-processing solution to provide centimeter-accurate position tagging of images without the need for a real-time data link.
Despite being Septentrio’s smallest receiver, the AsteRx-m UAS provides consistent, robust and accurate positioning from Septentrio’s in-house GNSS+ algorithm technology. The receiver delivers cm-level accuracy at less than 600 mW with GPS and less than 700 mW with GLONASS.
Kairos Kit Makes Vehicles Unmanned
Kairos Autonomi’s Pronto4 robotic applique kit is an add-on vehicle autonomy system that provides unmanned capabilities to current manned vehicles, rendering them optionally unmanned. Pronto4 delivers the torque needed to control traction, braking, throttle and implements in heavy vehicles and equipment, as well as smarter robotic functions such as GPS path following and supervised autonomous behaviors. The kit can be installed in any heavy vehicle or machine, rendering that vehicle optionally unmanned, and the equipment can still operate manually.
Applications include government and academic research and development; military training and testing; range clearance; mining; and tactical military uses.
Kairos displayed its Pronto4 unmanned kits at May’s AUVSI show.
Exelis, FAA Test Sites to Research Safety
Exelis has signed agreements with four FAA-designated UAS test sites for airspace situational awareness and research. The research will use the Exelis Symphony RangeVue sense-and-avoid tool to aid in safe integration of unmanned aircraft into the national airspace. The test sites will gain situational awareness of the range airspace via Symphony RangeVue, while Exelis gains product feedback. Symphony RangeVue enables UAS operators to access real-time and historical surveillance information via a web-hosted platform, helping to manage mission operations across multiple locations.
FAA Names MSU as Its Center of Excellence
The FAA has selected a Mississippi State University team as its Center of Excellence for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (COE UAS). The COE will focus on research, education and training in areas critical to safe and successful integration of UAS into the nation’s airspace.
Bipartisan Bill Would Expedite Exemptions
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) have introduced the Commercial UAS Modernization Act, which would set temporary rules for those who want to fly commercial unmanned aircraft systems before the FAA establishes permanent laws regarding drone use. The senators believe the U.S. is falling behind other countries when it comes to creating rules for commercial drones.
Exelis, UrsaNav, the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T), and the U.S. Coast Guard have entered into a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) for testing and demonstration at former Loran-C sites.
The team will evaluate eLoran as a potential complementary system to GPS. The capabilities and potential utilization methods of eLoran will be explored in depth to identify all strengths, capacities, and potential vulnerabilities of the technology.
The sites are the legacy ground-based radio navigation infrastructure of the decommissioned Loran-C service that could be retained and upgraded to provide eLoran low frequency service.
Under the CRADA, Exelis will use the former Loran-C assets to put eLoran signals in space for research, test and demonstration of the ability of eLoran to meet precise positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) requirements of government and privately-owned critical infrastructure. The first station Exelis will broadcast from is located in Wildwood, N.J. The broadcast will provide a usable signal at a range up to 1,000 miles.
“eLoran is an ideal technology to complement GPS for critical, resilient and assured PNT,” said Ed Sayadian, vice president of Civil & Aerospace Systems for Exelis. “eLoran is a difficult to disrupt technology that offers PNT and wide area broadcast data capabilities indoors, in underground locations and other GPS-denied environments.”
“A preponderance of government, academic, and industry reports have concluded that eLoran is the best independent, multi-modal solution to provide assured PNT as a complement to GPS,” said Chuck Schue, president and CEO of UrsaNav.
Exelis and UrsaNav have entered into this CRADA because they believe that low frequency signals, such as eLORAN, operate independently of GPS signals and can provide alternative timing, either standalone, or as a component of a PNT service. Exelis also believes that as a result of its wealth of experience in its PNT portfolio, that there are many civil and defense applications that require precise time and/or position in GPS-denied environments. Examples include radio frequency interference, both intentional and unintentional; signal attenuation from heavy forest canopy, terrain or buildings; and indoor and underground locations.
Exelis has improved the way its CorvusEye 1500 wide-area airborne system processes and analyzes the vast amount of data it collects, which is crucial in helping customers make critical decisions, the company said.
CorvusEye 1500 is one of the programs Exelis is featuring at Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International’s (AUVSI’s) Unmanned Systems 2015 May 4-8 in Atlanta (booth #2449). From an altitude of 15,000 feet, CorvusEye 1500 provides color and infrared imagery of a city-sized area unavailable with comparable airborne systems. At Unmanned Systems 2015, visitors will see how users work with the real-time analytics and processed data to search for vehicle tracks based on location and time.
“It’s all about context,” said Dwight Greenlee, director, regional persistent surveillance, Exelis Geospatial Systems. “Conventional video surveillance systems with their ‘soda straw’ views can miss critical activities, making it hard to understand what’s happening over a wide area. CorvusEye now has real-time analytics that automate certain tasks. For example, users can set ‘watch boxes’ or ‘trip wires’ in as many as 10 areas of interest. Users are then alerted if anything moves in or out of that area, and they can automatically track that moving object. Because of the context provided by CorvusEye, users can be more confident in the data to make decisions.”
Another new capability in CorvusEye is the ability to cue a second sensor, such as a hyperspectral sensor, to scan a location for certain spectral “signatures” indicating the presence of a material or gas. Analysts also can easily integrate full-motion video sensors into the cueing capability.
Processing CorvusEye data post-flight provides analysts with a database of all moving objects in the entire scene, allowing them to gather critical forensic intelligence and enabling a better understanding of behaviors and patterns across the region.
At 15 inches in diameter and weighing less than 95 pounds, the CorvusEye turret and sensor package can fit on most midsize unmanned and manned aircraft and uses standard interfaces to swap into virtually any 15-inch airframe mounting location. CorvusEye is exportable to many military, intelligence and security customers around the world, Exelis said.
With Exelis RangeVue, a high-performance GIS visualization engine provides real-time updates of critical operational elements.
Exelis has signed agreements with four Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-designated unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) test sites for airspace situational awareness and research. The research will focus on using the Exelis Symphony RangeVue sense-and-avoid tool towards safe integration of unmanned aircraft into the national airspace system.
Under the terms of the agreements, the test sites will gain valuable real-time and historical situational awareness of the range airspace via Symphony RangeVue, while Exelis gains critical product feedback through operational usage. Participating test sites are:
Pan-Pacific UAS Test Range at University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Northern Plains UAS Test Site at University of North Dakota
Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance at Griffiss International Airport, N.Y.
Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership at Virginia Polytechnic Institute
“The partnerships with these test sites are win-win arrangements,” said Ed Sayadian, vice president of Civil & Aerospace Systems for Exelis. “The test sites receive air traffic control quality surveillance data, increasing safety and enabling beyond-line-of-site operations, while Exelis gains critical product feedback, which will be used to shape and validate our service offerings.”
Symphony RangeVue enables UAS operators and test range personnel to have access to both real-time and historical aircraft surveillance information via a web-hosted platform, helping to manage mission operations across multiple locations.
Symphony RangeVue can be used as command center decision support and post-event analysis tool, or in the field as a sense-and-avoid addition to UAS ground control stations. Flexible geo-fencing tools alert operators when a UAS approaches airspace boundaries or other aircraft are in the vicinity.
Additionally, Exelis is pursuing research and development opportunities with the test sites exploring detect-and-avoid algorithms; non-cooperative target tracking; command and control systems; infrastructure inspection and monitoring; big data analysis for air traffic; and integration of non-FAA surveillance sources. Exelis will leverage capabilities across multiple test sites for a wide range of operational testing and collection of safety data.
CorvusEye 1500 is one of the programs Exelis is featuring at Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International’s (AUVSI’s) Unmanned Systems 2015, held May 4-7 in Atlanta (booth #2449). From an altitude of 15,000 feet, CorvusEye 1500 provides color and infrared imagery of a city-sized area unavailable with comparable airborne systems. Bernard Brower, product manager for Exelis, shows us how users work with the real-time analytics and processed data to search for vehicle tracks based on location and time.
Marty Apa, chief engineer for Exelis’ Integrated Electronic Warfare Systems, shows GPS World the Disruptor SRx at Unmanned Systems 2015, held May 4-7 in Atlanta. The Disruptor SRx electronic warfare (EW) technology is small enough to fit into UAS (unmanned aerial systems). It also has the ability to switch between multiple functions in real time.
Christian Ramsey, UAS program manager for Exelis, explains that the Symphony RangeVue enables UAS (unmanned aerial system) operators and test range personnel to have access to both real-time and historical aircraft surveillance information via a web-hosted platform, helping to manage mission operations across multiple locations. Symphony RangeVue can be used as command center decision support and post-event analysis tool, or in the field as a sense-and-avoid addition to UAS ground control stations. Flexible geo-fencing tools alert operators when a UAS approaches airspace boundaries or other aircraft are in the vicinity.
With Exelis RangeVue, a high-performance GIS visualization engine provides real-time updates of critical operational elements.
Exelis has launched its first airspace situational awareness tool designed specifically for unmanned aerial system (UAS) operations in the United States. Symphony RangeVue puts real-time Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) surveillance data, flexible background maps and weather information in the hands of UAS operators and test range personnel. The system provides significant improvements to the safety and efficiency of UAS operations, whether on the test range or in the field.
Symphony RangeVue enables UAS operators and test range personnel to have access to both real-time and historical surveillance information via a web-hosted platform, helping to manage mission operations from multiple locations with full visibility of assets. Symphony RangeVue can be used as a command center decision-support and post-event analysis tool, or in the field as a sense-and-avoid addition to UAS ground control stations. Flexible geo-fencing tools alert operators when a UAS approaches airspace boundaries or when other aircraft are in the vicinity.
“For the first time, UAS operators and test range personnel will have the same situational awareness currently available to general aviation pilots through traffic information broadcast services. This capability is available without having to install avionics surveillance equipment on the UAS aircraft,” said Ed Sayadian, vice president of Civil and Aerospace Solutions for Exelis. “Leveraging the FAA’s own surveillance data combined with advanced sense-and-avoid alerting capabilities, Symphony RangeVue will significantly increase the safety of UAS operations.”
Symphony RangeVue combines a high-performance visualization engine with the vast network of Exelis NextGen surveillance data, including all of the FAA’s surveillance systems: automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast; en route radar; terminal radar; airport surface detection equipment-X; airport surface surveillance capability; and wide area multilateration. It also integrates locally deployed surveillance assets to deliver hyperlocal situational awareness.
Harris Corporation and Exelis Inc. today announced a definitive agreement under which Harris will acquire Exelis in a cash and stock transaction valued at $23.75 per share, or an approximately $4.75 billion enterprise value. The agreement has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies.
The transaction is expected to close in June 2015 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory and Exelis shareholder approval.
Exelis is a global aerospace, defense, information and services company with a 50-year legacy. It was previously under the ITT Corporation umbrella, but spun off in 2011. Headquartered in McLean, Va., Exelis employs about 10,000 people.
Exelis employs about 10,000 people. the combined Harris/Exelis company will have about 23,000 employees. including 9,000 engineers and scientists.
One of Exelis’ biggest product offerings in the past year has been its Signal Sentry 1000, which detects and locates sources of intentional and unintentional interference to GPS signals and provides users with actionable intelligence. Exelis navigation payloads and components have been on board every U.S. GPS satellite ever launched and have more than 700 years of accumulated on-orbit success.
Harris is an international communications and information technology company serving government and commercial markets in more than 125 countries. Headquartered in Melbourne, Fla., the company has about $5 billion of annual revenue and 13,000 employees. Harris is engaged in a five-year contract with Aireon LLC that will create the first global satellite-based aircraft tracking system. The company’s Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) 1090 Extended Squitter receiver payload has been successfully tested and qualified for simulated operation in the harsh environment of space for more than 12 years.
Under the terms of the transaction, Exelis shareholders will receive $16.625 in cash and 0.1025 of a share of Harris common stock, based on Harris’ closing price as of Feb. 5, for each share of Exelis common stock. Upon closing, Harris shareholders will own approximately 85 percent of the combined company, and Exelis shareholders will own approximately 15 percent. On a pro forma basis for the latest 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2014, the combined company would have had more than $8 billion in revenue and about 23,000 employees globally, including 9,000 engineers and scientists.
“Acquiring Exelis is transformational for Harris,” said William M. Brown, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Harris. “The combination of the two companies’ highly complementary core franchises creates a competitively stronger company with significantly greater scale. We are expanding in a market, where we have decades of success and a workforce dedicated to providing our customers with innovative and cost-effective solutions for some of their most complex challenges.”
“This agreement to become part of Harris Corporation represents an exciting new chapter for Exelis,” said David F. Melcher, chief executive officer and president of Exelis. “Combining the companies not only creates shareholder value, but the commitment to excellence and innovation that both companies share will significantly benefit customers and provide new opportunities for employees.”
Melcher also noted, “Our 2014 was another strong year, and we expect to report revenue of approximately $3.25 billion and adjusted operating margin between 12.4 and 12.5 percent, which is in line with our previous guidance.” Exelis indicated that approximately $25 million of its anticipated free cash flow for 2014 shifted into 2015 due to some delayed collections, but that its estimate for 2015 free cash flow is being increased to approximately $275 million. Exelis also expects depreciation and amortization of approximately $106 million in 2014, net debt of $139 million and a net unfunded pension liability of approximately $1.9 billion at the end of 2014. Exelis ended the year with an estimated $2.8 billion in funded backlog.
Integration plan. Harris said it has developed a detailed execution plan to ensure seamless integration and achieve identified cost synergies. The dedicated integration team will have executive leadership and be comprised of senior members of both organizations. Harris is confident in its ability to effectively combine these two companies and provide the organizational alignment to achieve full strategic value, the company stated in a news release.
At the 2014 ION GNSS+ Conference Sept. 9-12 in Tampa, Fla., Lori Thompson of Exelis provided GPS World readers with updates about the company’s activities.
Airbus Defence and Space and Exelis are teaming up to provide users of ENVI image analysis software a limited-time voucher offer for new imagery as well as easy access to the Airbus Defence and Space imagery archive through an application programming interface (API) plug-in integrated within Exelis’ ENVI software. The partnership between Airbus Defence and Space and Exelis helps to expand the network that makes imagery easily accessible to GIS users, the companies said.
The voucher program will offer a specific amount of Airbus Defence and Space imagery free of charge with any new ENVI license purchase, starting October 1, 2014. ENVI combines advanced spectral image processing and geospatial analysis technology with a modern, user-friendly interface. ENVI users will be able to integrate the Airbus Defence and Space imagery they receive through this program seamlessly into the ENVI software for use in applications such as feature extraction, change detection analysis, target identification, and more.
The partnership has enabled Exelis and Airbus Defence and Space to develop and integrate an extension in ENVI software that directly connects to the Airbus Defence and Space imagery archive via an API. This allows ENVI users the opportunity to search and discover the Geo-Intelligence imagery archive directly within their ENVI environment. Users will have access to a full range of fresh optical and radar imagery including 1.5m SPOT 6 and SPOT 7 and 50cm Pléiades data.
“This agreement between Airbus Defence and Space and Exelis gives ENVI users easy access to a full range of fresh optical and radar imagery, providing them with more accurate results for their projects and helping them make better decisions,” said Bernhard Brenner, head of the Geo-Intelligence programme line of Airbus Defence and Space. “We are excited to see new opportunities developing with this growing partnership.”
“This integrated approach modernizes the way that people will discover data and access new imagery in conjunction with their existing imagery or GIS layers,” said Stuart Blundell, general manager at Exelis Visual Information Solutions. “By letting ENVI users easily identify and geo-locate thumbnail previews of available imagery within an area of interest without leaving the ENVI environment, our customers will save time and make better decisions in mission and project planning and execution.”
The voucher program will be available to new ENVI users as of October 1, and soon after all ENVI users will be able to search and discover the Airbus Defence and Space imagery archive.
