GPS World

Tag: high-precision GNSS receiver

  • Trimble Ventures invests in autonomous surveying startup

    Trimble Ventures invests in autonomous surveying startup

    The CivDot UGV marks thousands of coordinates per day precisely and efficiently

    Trimble Ventures, Trimble’s corporate venture capital fund, is investing in Civ Robotics, a San Francisco-based construction tech startup focusing on transforming surveying layout for civil engineering and infrastructure projects.

    The investment supports Trimble Ventures’ mission to invest in early and growth-stage companies that are accelerating innovation, digital transformation and sustainability in the industries Trimble serves: agriculture, construction, geospatial and transportation. The investment terms were not disclosed.

    The construction industry faces a variety of challenges including shortage of skilled workers, safety and productivity. Civ Robotics addresses these challenges with CivDot, a new autonomous surveying solution that empowers efficiency, productivity and safety on the job.

    CivDot is an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) designed for civil engineering and infrastructure projects such as solar farms, roadways, data centers, power plants and more. Augmenting the surveyor’s work, CivDot marks thousands of coordinates per day precisely and efficiently, while delivering layouts faster than traditional methods.

    “We are focused on investing in companies that are seeking to address important challenges in markets that align with Trimble’s mission of transforming the way the world works,” said Aviad Almagor, vice president of technology innovation at Trimble and technology advisor for Trimble Ventures. “Civ Robotics technology supports surveyors and field workers and helps remove the burden of repetitive and risky work.”

    Civ Robotics uses Trimble’s high-precision GNSS positioning technology and surveying software to improve productivity and increase safety, Almagor said. “This is an exciting opportunity to help accelerate innovation in autonomy, surveying and construction.”

    “Trimble and our vision are in lockstep towards construction automation with a sharp focus on the highest standards of safety and quality,” said Tom Yeshurun, co-founder and CEO, Civ Robotics, which announced its $5 million seed funding round this morning. “Through Trimble’s latest GNSS technology in our autonomous surveying products, our customers can benefit from an end-to-end workflow.”

    Civ Robotics will be showcased at the Trimble Dimensions+ User Conference, taking place Nov. 7-9 in Las Vegas.

    The CivDot UGV, equipped with Trimble high-precision GNSS. (Photo: Civ Robotics)
    The CivDot UGV, equipped with Trimble high-precision GNSS. (Photo: Civ Robotics)
  • U-blox upgrades GNSS receivers for faster cm accuracy

    U-blox upgrades GNSS receivers for faster cm accuracy

    GNSS correction service receivers and the firmware-upgraded ZED-F9P upgraded to achieve reliable centimeter-level accuracies in seconds

    Photo: U-blox
    Photo: U-blox

    U‑blox is offering a suite of products and feature additions that simplify access to reliable centimeter-level positioning accuracies for the industrial, navigation and robotics markets.

    The upgraded ZED-F9P high-precision GNSS receiver module and the corresponding NEO-D9S and NEO-D9C GNSS correction data receivers offer customers flexibility in assembling scalable solutions for their specific use cases, including robotic lawnmowers, unmanned autonomous vehicles (UAV) and semi-automated or fully automated machinery.

    The software-upgraded u‑blox ZED-F9P-04B high-precision GNSS receiver is the first to support a secure SPARTN GNSS correction data format. It seamlessly connects to two new GNSS correction service receiver modules that stream correction data from communication satellites:

    • The u‑blox NEO-D9S will initially cover the European and U.S. markets before rolling out to the other areas of the globe.
    • The u‑blox NEO-D9C will cover Japan.

    The NEO-D9S receives correction data using the SSR SPARTN data format over the satellite L-band channel. It uses cryptography to securely deliver PPP-RTK GNSS correction data, such as that offered by u‑blox’s PointPerfect service.

    The NEO-D9C leverages the subscription-free Centimeter-Level Augmentation Service (CLAS) broadcast over mainland Japan provided by the Japanese Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) constellation on the L6-band channel.

    While u‑blox GNSS receivers are designed to work with most correction services on the market, pairing the ZED-F9P with the NEO-D9C or the NEO-D9S correction data receiver enables customers to save data transmission cost and operational efforts, the company said.

    ZED-F9P-04B offers a new feature called protection level, which increases the trust applications can place in its position output. By continuously outputting the upper bound of the maximum likely positioning error, referred to as the protection level, the receiver lets autonomous applications, such as UAVs, make efficient real time path planning, increasing the quality of their operations.

    In the case of robotic lawnmowers, the increased accuracy and reliability of the position will, for example, make it possible to do away with boundary wires, which today are buried under the turf to delimit the mowing area. Furthermore, it will allow lawnmowers to systematically cover a plot based on a digital map, as opposed to the random mowing approach commonly used today.

    First samples of these products are available today, in professional and automotive grade. The correction data receivers will be available in automotive grade for the automotive markets.