Tag: unmanned aerial

Spirent’s new GNSS Foresight checks reliability for BVLOS

Spirent GNSS Foresight predicts where and when unmanned vehicles, air taxis and drones can operate safely and dependably beyond visual line of sight

Spirent Communications plc has launched Spirent GNSS Foresight, a cloud-based solution that lets operators know in advance where and when GPS or GNSS positioning is reliable for unmanned and autonomous journeys.

GNSS Foresight accurately predicts where and when unmanned vehicles, air taxis and drones can operate safely and dependably beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), especially in urban areas where buildings frequently obstruct GNSS signals.

The service addresses a key issue facing developers and operators of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and autonomous vehicles. Because GNSS performance can be unpredictable in urban and suburban areas from signals being obscured or blocked by buildings, autonomous systems have not been able to rely on GNSS for accurate positioning.

GNSS Foresight will be shown publicly for the first time at ION GNSS+ 2021 in St. Louis, Missouri (Sept. 22–24).

“Accurate, reliable GNSS performance is a key enabler of game-changing innovations that are shaping our future — autonomous drones, air taxis, cars and trucks,” said Spirent’s vice president of PNT Assurance, Jeremy Bennington. “GNSS Foresight overcomes navigation and positioning challenges by providing real-world situational awareness ahead of time for pre-flight, or for real-time performance improvement, through a cloud-based service. It can be used to determine areas that are always safe to fly or operate in, in addition to finding the exact time in a degraded area when specific operational requirements can be met. GNSS Foresight enables operators to enhance efficiency, safety and ROI through the resulting operational improvements.”

Spirent GNSS Foresight’s ability to accurately predict where and when autonomous systems will perform enables users to scale operations or services by expanding operational areas, reducing the number of system disengagements, and providing a greater level of safety and reliability assurance when reducing — or ultimately removing — human involvement in the driving or piloting task.

GNSS Foresight can produce forecasts using data from any of the world’s satellite constellations, and is of particular interest to the aviation and UAS sector, as well as the automotive industry. It will be shown publicly for the first time at ION GNSS+ in St Louis (Sept. 22–24).

Image: acavalli/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images

September 20, 2021
VDOS Global and Cunningham Lindsey partner for drone insurance claims

Cunningham Lindsey, a global loss adjusting and risk management services company, is partnering with VDOS Global, an unmanned inspection services company, to incorporate drone technology solutions into the insurance market.

As the first FAA-authorized UAS-inspection company in the United States, VDOS is a provider of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) services whose commercial pilots are seasoned and fully licensed with FAA certifications. Cunningham Lindsey and VDOS will work together to achieve improved efficiencies in daily claims scenarios by assisting insurers with the creation of a drone program into their claims process, providing safer pre- and post-loss assessments with aerial flyovers, and customized UAV-training tailored to the needs of field adjusters and additional experts seeking certification.

The partnership will provide carriers immediate access to aerial data for application efficiencies in the underwriting process as well as catastrophic claims situations for all types of property. When claims occur that require a forensic investigation, VDOS will also work with EFI Global, the forensic division of Cunningham Lindsey, to provide the UAVs needed to expedite the gathering of field data in challenging locations.

“We are excited to partner with a highly respected and recognizable brand like VDOS to share the benefits of the emerging drone technology with our clients,” said David Repinski, president and chief client officer of Cunningham Lindsey, Americas. “It is undeniable our industry is changing constantly, and the data application possibilities using drone technology are tremendous. This partnership represents the best path forward to help insurers incorporate a UAV strategy to gain a competitive and differential advantage across all channels in the claims and risk assessment process.”

“Working with VDOS in using UAVs in our forensic evaluations is a natural complement to EFI’s investigation process,” said Jeremy Mele, president of EFI Global. “This type of technology will enhance our technical experts’ investigative reach, and add a level of safety and security in the field when accessing sites with unsafe property conditions.”

“We are truly excited to partner with such an incredible team at Cunningham Lindsey who understands how drones are changing traditional business models,” said Brian Whiteside, CEO of VDOS stated. “Our enterprise deployment program using UAV technology is the first of its kind, and will accelerate safe and efficient claims services for adjusters through the team’s integrated training and operations structure.”

December 8, 2015
Field Technology Conference: The forest and the fish

PORTLAND, Ore. — Two weeks ago, I attended (and hosted) the Field Technology Conference here in Portland, Oregon. This is the fifth year of the conference. In years past, it’s had a forestry emphasis primary because the Western Forestry and Conservation Association has been a major partner in organizing it.

This year, the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission and Pacific Northwest Aquatic Monitoring Partnership joined the organizing committee. The result was a 50-percent increase in attendance and a more diverse audience.

Another newcomer to the conference was a Civil GPS Service Interface Committee (CGSIC) U.S. State and Local Government Subcommittee meeting, which was co-located with the Field Technology Conference, offering a direct connection between civil GPS users and U.S. government representatives who are involved in GPS.

The conference was a two-day event comprised of three technology tracks: a track for general field technology and two tracks for industry-specific (forestry and fisheries) subjects, hands-on technology demonstrations and a field trip. Although forestry and fisheries professionals were the featured user groups, nearly all of the subject matters — GPS, UAVs, smartphones, tablets, laser rangefinders, lidar, photogrammetry, and field data-collection software — is applicable for a wide range of natural resource users involved with GIS (geographic information systems) technology.

As one of the hosts of the conference, I started out moderating the general session with all of the attendees in one room. This year, my general session topics include geospatial awareness and growth, GPS/GNSS technology, mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) and UAVs.

Something new I tried this year, which worked out really well, was using audience response “clickers.” These small handheld devices were given to each audience member and allowed them to answer multiple choice questions that I posed in my Powerpoint presentation. I’ve always been a fan of audience input, and started polling the audience during webinars I conducted many years ago. For this conference, I used an audience polling system from Turning Technologies. I’d like to share with you the questions I asked the audience and the responses that I received.

Question #1: Are you here?

Comment: This was a test question to see if the audience response system was working properly. I’m still not sure if the audience just had a great sense of humor or a technical problem. I think the former was true. ☺

Question #2: Have you attended this conference before?

Comment: This was great news that the conference is attracting new attendees. It’s an annual event held in November, so keep your eyes on it for next year!

Question #3: After a brief discussion about the availability of higher accuracy geospatial data (eg. GNSS, UAVs, etc.), I was curious about the level of accuracy the audience required in their typical tasks.

What geospatial data accuracy do your typical tasks require?

Comment: I wasn’t sure what to expect with this question, but since I’ve polled a fisheries audience before, I had a feeling accuracy requirements would vary, and they did. Previously, a fisheries audience had told me that they were satisfied with 5-meter accuracy.

Question #4: The last question leads to this one. I wondered if the audience accuracy requirement was driven by requirement or by availability.

Are you satisfied with the accuracy of the geospatial data you use?

Comment: The answer is clear that, generally speaking, the audience would use higher accuracy geospatial data if it was available.

Question #5: The next question was a pure technology one. In the day of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), I’ve been very interested in monitoring the trends in mobile devices. The question about operating systems is relevant because it determines which data collection software you can use. For example, if a specific data-collection software is written only for Windows, it will not run on an Android or Apple (iOS) device.

Which operating system do you use on your mobile device(s)?

Comment: These responses surprised me a bit. They certainly don’t match the global market share figures that I’ve read. Following are the latest mobile device operating system market share numbers reported by IDC and Statista.

Question #6: The next part of my presentation discussed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, also known as UAS or drone) technology. UAVs were a significant part of the conference this year. We had many presentations and some static demonstrations on UAV technology. On this subject, I had several questions for the audience.

Do you currently use a UAS?

Comment: These answers were not surprising. Flying UAVs commercially in the U.S. requires a special permission from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). To date, the FAA has only issued about 2,000 such exemptions.

Question #7: Do you anticipate using a UAS?

Comment: These answers surprised me a bit. I had no idea the audience would be so interested in personally flying a UAV. This has me thinking about this the same way I think about GPS receivers — just another tool in the toolbox.

Question #8: How much are you willing to spend on a UAS?

Comment: These responses don’t surprise me, although I polled another audience at a different venue that was more engineering-oriented, and the answers were a bit different. The engineering-oriented audience was willing to spend more for a UAV.

Furthermore, in speaking with various attendees during the conference, there was quite a bit of interest in attaching different sensors to UAVs for various requirements. For example, lidar, multi-spectral and thermal (temperature) sensors were commonly mentioned as payloads they would like to see. The challenge is that the cost of a UAV rises sharply when these types of payloads are accommodated, and conflicts with the audience’s response about how much they are willing to pay for a UAV.

In next month’s column, I’ll post links to the papers presented at the Field Technology Conference as well as videos of papers presented by the CGSIC folks.

See you next month.

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Source: FTC

November 30, 2015