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NovAtel’s GAJT-AE-N anti-jamming antenna is aboard the Camcopter S-1oo UAS.
NovAtel’s compact GAJT anti-jam antenna is now on-board Schiebel’s Camcopter S-100 unmanned air system (UAS).
The Vienna-based manufacturer Schiebel is focused on the development, testing and production of the Camcopter S-100UAS, as well as innovative mine detection equipment, and is a long-time customer of NovAtel’s high-precision GNSS positioning technology.
In 2015, Schiebel was evaluating NovAtel’s GAJT antenna as an option for offering anti-jam capabilities on its Camcopter S-100 when an urgent call was received. A Schiebel customer had an immediate operations requirement to combat GPS jamming.
The commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) nature of its GAJT antenna allowed NovAtel to quickly supply Schiebel the requested anti-jam capabilities. In turn, Schiebel was able to rapidly deploy the strategically equipped Camcopter to its customer within the requested timeframe.
“It was the fast response, followed by the excellent performance of our GAJT anti-jam antenna that has led to Schiebel offering the GAJT antenna as a standard option on their Camcopter S-100,” said Peter Soar, business development manager for NovAtel’s Military and Defence group. “Every once in a while, timing is on your side. The opportunity to prove our ability to meet urgent supply requests, followed by demonstration of our antenna capabilities in real conditions, has allowed us to positively impact the success of our customer’s business.”
The Camcopter S-100 flies at Fogo Island, Canada. (Photo: Schiebel)
GAJT is a null-forming antenna system that ensures satellite signals necessary to compute position and time are always available. It is available in versions suitable for land, air, sea and fixed installations. It provides anti-jam performance comparable to much larger systems, but at a significantly lower cost. Easily integrated into new platforms, it can also be retrofitted with the existing GPS receivers and navigation systems on existing and legacy military fleets.
Schiebel’s Camcopter S-100 UAS is a proven capability for military and civilian applications. The Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) UAS needs no prepared area or supporting launch or recovery equipment. It operates during daytime and at night, under adverse weather conditions, with a beyond line-of-sight capability out to 200 km, both on land and at sea.
The S-100 navigates via preprogrammed GPS waypoints or is operated with a pilot control unit. Missions are planned and controlled via a simple point-and-click graphical user interface. High-definition payload imagery is transmitted to the control station in real time.
Using “fly-by-wire” technology controlled by a triple-redundant flight computer, the UAV can complete its mission automatically. Its carbon fiber and titanium fuselage provides capacity for a wide range of payload/endurance combinations up to a service ceiling of 18,000 feet.
Septentrio, a designer and manufacturer of GNSS solutions, has selected Innovelec as an authorized partner for GNSS positioning solutions in the United Kingdom and Europe. The new partnership will enable Septentrio’s products such as AsteRx-m UAS to meet the needs of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) customers in the European market, the company said.
Based in Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire, Innovelec will work directly with Septentrio to offer high-quality strategic services and technical expertise necessary to meet the current and future requirements of GNSS customers in the United Kingdom and UAS customers across Europe to develop new business opportunities in the market.
Since last year, Septentrio has introduced a new set of products that achieve a new benchmark for accuracy and reliably in GNSS solutions. Innovelec will supply the AsteRx product line — renowned for providing consistent and robust centimeter-level positioning under challenging interference and multipath environments.
The AsteRx-m UAS OEM is compact and lightweight module which offers the lowest power consumption on the market at 600 mW. Another product, the AsteRx4, is a robust dual-antenna receiver ready for rapid and straightforward integration into existing workflows or hardware.
“Septentrio’s AsteRx product line offer unbeatable performance, accuracy and reliability in the most challenging conditions,” said Koen Gutscoven, director of Sales at Septentrio. “Innovelec complement Septentrio’s skills to aid further growth in the UK and European market.”
“Septentrio presents an exciting opportunity for Innovelec to further develop its significant business within the GNSS market. Flexibility and support in conjunction with our partners have helped Innovelec to grow and it remains a benchmark of our operations,” said Martin Newman, sales director of Innovelec. “Septentrio bring a lot of expertise of the GNSS market to help us develop new sales opportunities and loyal clients for accurate and reliable positioning across the European market. “
The U.S. Air Force 746th Test Squadron has declared Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for its new truth reference, the Ultra High-Accuracy Reference System (UHARS), which employs LocataLite transceivers.
Even when GPS is being completely jammed, UHARS provides extremely accurate positioning, navigation and time (PNT) over the large area of White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) in New Mexico that the system was designed to cover.
To achieve these accurate reference solutions, UHARS requires a core Non-GPS Based Positioning System (NGBPS) component capable of operating and providing sub-meter position accuracy in a GPS-denied (jamming) environment. The NGBPS subsystem of the UHARS program employs a network of ground-based LocataLite transceivers and test vehicle receivers manufactured by the Locata Corporation.
Air Force Space Command began its 10th Schriever Wargame May 19 at Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, Ala.
The Schriever Wargame (SW 16), set in the year 2026, explores critical space issues and investigates the integration activities of multiple agencies associated with space systems and services.
The objectives of SW 16 center on identifying ways to increase the resilience of space that includes our intelligence community, civil, commercial and Allied partners; exploring how to provide optimized effects to the warfighter in support of coalition operations; and examining how to apply future capabilities to protect the space enterprise in a multi-domain conflict.
The Air Force announcement did not include specific mention of GPS jamming and spoofing, but these and related cyberthreats could reasonably be expected to appear in the pantheon of cyberspace competition.
The SW 16 scenario depicts a peer space and cyberspace competitor seeking to achieve strategic goals by exploiting those domains. Scenarios will focus on the European Command Area of Responsibility. They will also include a full spectrum of threats across diverse operating environments to challenge civilian and military leaders, planners and space system operators, as well as the capabilities they employ.
The Schriever Wargame team will conduct SW 16 on behalf of Air Force Space Command, headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Approximately 200 military and civilian experts from more than 27 commands and agencies around the country will participate in the Wargame.
U.S. commands and agencies participating in SW 2016 include: Air Force Space Command, Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Naval Fleet Cyber Command, the National Reconnaissance Office, Executive Agent for Space Staff, Air Combat Command, Office of the Secretary of Defense, U.S. European Command, U.S. Strategic Command, Defense Information Systems Agency, the Intelligence Community, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Office of Homeland Security, Department of Transportation, Department of State and Department of Commerce.
The Galileo satellite navigation system that will help Europe find its way in the 21st century now has 14 satellites in orbit after today’s double launch.
Galileos 13 and 14 lifted off together at 08:48 GMT (10:48 CEST, 05:48 local time) atop a Soyuz rocket from French Guiana.
This seventh Galileo launch went by the book: the first three Soyuz stages placed the satellites safely into low orbit, after which their Fregat upper stage hauled them the rest of the way into their target medium-altitude orbit.
The twin Galileos were deployed into orbit close to 23,522 km altitude, inclined 57.394 degrees to the equator, 3 hours and 48 minutes after liftoff. The coming days will see a careful sequence of orbital fine-tuning to bring them to their final working orbit, followed by a testing phase so that they can join the working constellation later this year.
Europe’s 13th and 14th Galileo satellites lifted off at 08:48 GMT from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana atop a Soyuz launcher. (Photo: ESA)
“Today’s textbook launch has added two more satellites to what has become Europe’s largest satellite constellation,” commented Jan Woerner, director general of ESA. “It was made possible by the fact that European industry’s manufacturing and testing of Galileo satellites has achieved a steady tempo.”
“Today’s launch brings Europe’s Galileo constellation halfway to completion, in terms of numbers,” remarked Paul Verhoef, ESA’s Director of the Galileo Programme and Navigation-related Activities.
“It is also significant as Galileo’s last flight by Soyuz this year before the first launch using a customised Ariane 5 to carry four rather than two satellites each time – which is set to occur this autumn.
“Meanwhile, hard work is proceeding behind the scenes to ensure the worldwide Galileo system, including its far-flung ground stations, is reliable, secure and robust for the start of operational services to users.”
The launch was carried out from the purpose-built ELS launch complex at Europe’s Spaceport,. Total payload lift performance was estimated at 1,599 kg.
The flight had an early morning liftoff from the Spaceport – coming at precisely 5:48:43 a.m. French Guiana time. This Arianespace Soyuz mission was performed at the service of the European Commission, which is managing the Galileo program’s ongoing FOC (Full Operational Capability) phase. Design and procurement agent responsibilities have been delegated to the European Space Agency (ESA) on the commission’s behalf.
It is during the FOC phase that the Galileo network’s complete operational and ground infrastructure will be deployed. Today’s Soyuz mission — designated Flight VS15 — was Arianespace’s fifth overall carrying FOC spacecraft in sets of two. It follows one launch in 2014 (VS09), then three performed last year (VS11, VS12 and VS13). The medium-lift workhorse also lofted a total of four satellites in the program’s IOV (in-orbit validation) phase in 2011 and 2012.
The satellites orbited today — named “Danielė” and “Alizée” after winners of a European Commission-organized painting competition for children — are the 13th and 14th Galileo spacecraft overall to be orbited by Arianespace.
The spacecraft’s onboard payloads were supplied by UK-based Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) — a company 99-percent owned by Airbus Defence and Space, which is an Arianespace shareholder, as well.
Israël acknowledged others that contributed to this latest Arianespace success, including State Space Corporation Roscomos and Russia’s industrial partners involved in the production and operation of Soyuz; along with the European support companies; the French CNES space agency; the ground contractors in French Guiana and Arianespace’s own teams.
Arianespace will conduct another launch for Galileo’s FOC phase later in 2016 — this time using an Ariane 5 and its heavy-lift capability to orbit a four-satellite payload. Two additional launches of the heavy-lift workhorse in 2017-2018 will bring total Galileo deployments to 26 spacecraft.
Iridium Communications Inc. has introduced its Satellite Time and Location (STL) service, an alternative or complement to traditional indoor and outdoor location-based technologies, and declared it ready for use. STL’s position, navigation and timing (PNT) technology is deployed through Iridium’s 66 cross-linked, low-earth orbit satellite constellation.
Through Iridium satellites and in GNSS receivers, STL technology can work to verify GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and other navigation services, and also can serve as an alternative for those services when GPS signals are degraded or unavailable. STL also can provide an alternative source of time when testing GPS signals.
Iridium is working with Satelles, a division of iKare Corporation, as its primary technology partner. Satelles enables Iridium’s paging channels to reach small, low-cost receivers in nearly any environment, the company says in a news release.
“We think STL can help solve an important and growing problem for governments and businesses, and serve as a platform for continued innovation,” says Matt Desch, chief executive officer at Iridium. “With STL, we are introducing a global capability that is already in space, technologically ready for use and is independent of any particular location technology. The team at Satelles has been able to leverage the unique capabilities that our network offers to create a solution that can ultimately be integrated into almost any kind of platform, including other Iridium machine-to-machine devices, heavy machinery, automobiles and even the power grid, to name a few. Once implemented, STL could revolutionize the way the world’s largest, global companies and governments operate and manage cyber security.”
In a chipset about the size of a postage stamp, the technology can be embedded into many devices. STL’s signal strength may make spoofing GPS systems more difficult, the company says. STL transmits its signals through Iridium’s satellite constellation to deliver a unique code to each position on the ground that can be independently authenticated, which allows operation or access only if the user is in the location expected.
“Commercial users are now able to use STL to deliver trustworthy timing solutions for critical infrastructure, such as LTE networks, transactional data centers and the power grid,” says Greg Gutt, president and chief technology officer of Satelles. “Military and government users can also acquire these commercial off-the-shelf solutions for the Department of Defense and other government applications. In addition to enhancing the security and resiliency of GPS, STL technology can be embedded into servers anywhere in the world to geo-fence data and applications, providing trusted time and location data as an independent factor for end-point authentication.”
The STL solution has been successfully demonstrated across multiple sectors, including military, academia and commercial applications. The technology is available today and will be supported by Iridium NEXT, the Iridium’s next-generation global satellite constellation, which is scheduled for completion by late 2017, the company says.
Maritime operations have been brought into focus in Europe by the unprecedented migrant crisis. As part of the response to this crisis, the EU border patrol agency Frontex is in the planning phase of adding remotely piloted aircraft to its existing portfolio of satellite and sensor technologies for monitoring vessel traffic and migrant flows.
The AR5 Life Ray UAS, developed by Tekever, has been selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) to demonstrate the first European maritime surveillance system where drones are integral to operations.
The first demonstration will be performed this summer over the Maltese waters of the Mediterranean sea, said Pedro Sinogas, Tekever CEO.
“During the demonstration in Malta, Tekever’s systems will be deployed from land and will perform operations across a range of maritime scenarios during the 4-6 weeks of testing,” Sinogas said.
This project is demonstrating the benefits of deploying unmanned aircraft in the dual roles of pollution monitoring and search and rescue. The project has developed the business case to deploy unmanned aircraft to augment, or even replace, existing assets such as satellites, manned aircraft and ships.
Tekever is working with maritime authorities from across the EU, coordinated with EMSA and will demonstrate operations in the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea across a wide range of environmental conditions.
The AR5 Life Ray UAS platform is a mature system, in the market since being presented at Farnborough in 2014. AR5 was conceived to be a system capable of delivering the endurance and payload of a larger system in a compact and flexible package. The Rapsody programme has seen this system be prepared for maritime missions, while maintaining a small logistics footprint.
With a wingspan of 4.3 meters and a payload of 50 kg, AR5 delivers performance of 8 to 12 hours missions. Typically systems in this class don’t offer Satellite Communications or on-board SAR. By delivering these capabilities the AR5 Life Ray UAS delivers unprecedented flexibility for maritime missions.
“Tekever is now working with specialist sensor manufacturers to increase the capability of the system as new technologies mature, offering increased capability for our customers. We are working to allow AR5 to operate from onboard a ship in the future, delivering a capability organic to the vessels existing tasks. There is also a planned increased wingspan AR5 variant, with increased endurance and payload to match, while remaining within the existing logistics footprint,” Sinogas said.
Tekever owns the entire technology stack within the AR5 Life Ray platform, allowing combined sensor modalities, data fusion and intelligent on board algorithms. This automates functionality and creates an excellent tool to support maritime missions.
Galileos 13 and 14 are scheduled to lift off at 08:48:43 GMT (05:48:43 local time, 10:48:43 CEST) on May 24 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana atop a Soyuz launcher.
The first three stages of the Soyuz rocket take the Galileo satellites and their Fregat upper stage into low orbit nine minutes after liftoff. Then the reignitable Fregat, as much a spacecraft as a rocket stage, takes over the task of hauling the satellites higher through a pair of burns.
The satellites will be released in opposite directions by their dispenser once they reach their target 22,522-kilometer-altitude orbit 3 hours and 48 minutes after launch.
On Wednesday, May 18, Europe’s latest Galileo satellites were placed atop their upper stage then enclosed within their protective rocket fairing. The encapsulation took place inside the Spaceport’s cleanroom, as a two-piece Soyuz fairing was closed around the satellites, attached to their carrier atop the Fregat upper stage.
Europe’s 13th and 14th Galileo satellites being encapsulated inside their launcher fairing. (Photo: ESA)
The satellites had been installed on Fregat the previous day. This versatile upper stage will haul them the bulk of the way to their target 23,500-kilometer-altitude orbit.
The sealed satellites, dispenser and upper stage are collectively known as the “upper composite.” Today, the plan is to roll out the first three stages of Galileo’s Soyuz to the launchpad, ready for mating with this upper composite.
This will be the seventh Galileo launch, set to bring the number of satellites in space up to 14. Four more Galileos are planned to take flight in the autumn, launched for the first time on a customized Ariane 5 to bring the total number of satellites in the constellation to 18.
Watch the launch live here. Streaming begins at 08:28 GMT (10:28 CEST) on 24 May for the liftoff, then resumes at 12:23 GMT (14:23 CEST) to cover the satellites’ separation.
For other upcoming GNSS satellite launches, see this page.
Early Operations Phase. According to the European Space Agency (ESA), a combined team of specialists is conducting final training at ESA’s ESOC mission control centre to prepare for the launch.
The team comprises over 40 experts drawn from ESA and from France’s CNES space agency, supported by additional specialists at both agencies in areas such as flight dynamics and ground stations.
Within the combined flight control team, each position is paired with its counterpart from the other agency and mixed CNESOC shifts will rotate to conduct operations around the clock.
The same team conducts all the Galileo early operations alternately from ESOC and from the CNES control centre in Toulouse, France.
By launch day, the teams will have completed a demanding series of joint simulation training sessions at ESOC, complemented by more specific training conducted separately at each control centre. Joint sessions are especially important to develop team bonds “on-console” — so individuals get to know who will be working beside them and can foster one-on-one teamwork and mutual support.
Three Flight Operations Directors and three Spacecraft Operations Managers will work together with their teams in each of three shifts during the nine-day early operations phase. From left: Hélène Cottet (CNES), Remi Lapeyre (CNES), Liviu Stefanov (ESA), Christelle Crozat (ESA), Thomas Cowell (ESA) and Hervé Côme (ESA).
Azuga, a provider of connected vehicle technology, expanded its sales operations to serve more than 100 fleets in 10 countries across Latin America, Europe, India and parts of the Middle East, the company announced in a news release.
“Our next-generation, easy-to-use connected vehicle solutions are now disrupting the fleet telematics market internationally with driver-friendly fleet telematics, dramatically lower costs and country-specific customizations,” says Ananth Rani, co-founder and president of Azuga. “Azuga’s expanded presence was made possible in partnership with Danlaw, a global provider of OBD II hardware with vehicle compatibility that’s unmatched in the industry. Millions of miles of road testing across the globe have given Azuga the platform for this international expansion. ”
In six months, Azuga has successfully helped Whirlpool Mexico’s home service technician division improve customer service and increase overall productivity. The company’s easy-to-install technology allowed for a very quick implementation into the fleet’s 100 vehicles, the company says. The fleet has saved Whirlpool 500,000 pesos per year in maintenance, fuel and operational costs.
With its roots in Detroit, the Silicon Valley-based telematics company couples automotive industry experience with leading technology and innovation in order to provide a suite of game-changing fleet solutions, according to the news release. The solution combines traditional GPS fleet tracking with driver visibility, gamification, employer-funded rewards, social sharing and Azuga-funded awards. Those additional social telematics driver-centric features have enabled fleet managers to experience significant and positive shifts in company morale, as well as an increase in overall ROI, the company says.
“We selected Azuga for its painless and quick installation and implementation as well as its geofencing and driver safety features,” said Tim Whittaker director of Leamoco, one of the UK’s leading car part specialists. “We are really excited that we had an option in the UK that allowed us to easily access rich engine and driver behavior data as well as gamification of the driver experience. This ensures we can improve and exceed customer expectations on delivery times, and continue to improve efficiency and safety across the fleet. Having had time to use this system properly, and seeing the positive impact it has had on the business, I can state that it has delivered all that we hoped for. We now wouldn’t be without it.”
Azuga’s connected vehicle solution for fleets is available internationally from select partners and resellers.
NovAtel Inc. has submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding Ligado Networks LLC’s (formerly New LightSquared LLC) License Modification Applications. NovAtel raises deep concerns about the testing methodology used and conclusions presented by Ligado regarding the impact of its proposed usage of L-band frequencies for a terrestrial wireless network.
In its filing, NovAtel identified serious flaws in the testing methodology used to evaluate high precision receivers. Although high-precision receivers were used during the testing, the high-precision position modes that are used to achieve centimeter-level positioning accuracy required by many professional and safety-critical applications were not evaluated. The study shows a lack of understanding of the uses of the GPS by assuming that all applications require the same positioning accuracy, NovAtel said.
The filing also raises a number of concerns about the potential harmful interference impact on GPS receiver performance. NovAtel is particularly concerned that Ligado has moved away from what it understood to be an agreed upon standard that interference tolerance should be limited to a received interference signal power level that causes no more than 1-dB degradation in the received C/No level. NovAtel disagrees with the conclusion in the RAA Study that there is no meaningful correlation between a 1-dB change and GPS performance. NovAtel submits any interference must not exceed 1-dB degradation in received C/No if robust, precise positioning is to be maintained. Ligado has not yet proven that its use of the spectrum will not be detrimental to high-precision users of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), which is what the 1-dB C/No degradation metric ensures.
“To date, Ligado has not proven that its use of the proposed spectrum can be made compatible with high-precision GNSS,” NovAtel said in a press release. “The interference impact on the other GNSS constellations such as Galileo, GLONASS and Beidou has not been addressed. These constellations are increasingly used in combination with GPS for many high-precision applications. Proposed, unverified mitigation methods such as narrowband antennas are presented in the Ligado filing without explanation of who will be responsible for the cost of such design modifications and retrofit programs.”
STMicroelectronics and Israel-based Autotalks have announced their fusion of GNSS technology and V2X ranging.
The new V2X-Enhanced GNSS ensures authenticated and secure vehicle localization for extreme accuracy and reliability of positioning information, especially in urban canyons, tunnels and parking structures, where accurate absolute and relative positioning-to other vehicles and infrastructure-is critical in progress toward semi- and fully-autonomous vehicles.
STMicroelectronics is a semiconductor company, and Israel-based Autotalks is a V2X-chipset market company involved in the first wave of V2X deployments.
Development of V2X-Enhanced GNSS builds on the companies’ successes in co-developing a V2X chipset that connects vehicles to other vehicles and infrastructure within wireless range for safety and mobility applications, the companies said in a press release.
The promise of efficient, coordinated, and safe driving of autonomous cars can result only from the accurate positioning that the fusion of GNSS with V2X technology achieves, the companies said.
“Autotalks fully recognizes that autonomous driving requires equal measures of reliability, accuracy, and security and no driver would sacrifice any of these,” said Hagai Zyss, CEO of Autotalks.
“Our solutions have been architected from the beginning to enable automated driving and because we recognize positioning for autonomous vehicles as critical, Autotalks, with ST, continues to optimize accurate V2X positioning-and we believe that our customers understand the value and potential.”
V2X-Enhanced GNSS technology, when coupled with V2X-enabled infrastructure, can uniquely provide absolute positioning to vehicles to assure lane-level accuracy. This precision improves navigation in urban canyons and tunnels and is also being used to develop myriad new applications, such as autonomous on-street and in-garage parking and available-spot identification.
“To fully realize the safety, convenience and other benefits of autonomous driving, we need confidence in the security, reliability and accuracy of the communications between our vehicle and its surroundings to know precisely how close we are to things, whether — and in what direction — they are moving, and what they are telling us — such as when there are roadworks or an accident ahead,” said Antonio Radaelli, director of Infotainment, Automotive Digital Division, STMicroelectronics.
“Building upon our successful collaboration with Autotalks, we are combining ST’s state-of-the-art positioning technology and roadmap for high-precision Automotive GNSS supporting satellite signal authentication with Autotalks’ expertise in advanced signal-processing algorithms for ranging, to smoothly pave the road to secure, accurate, and reliable V2X-Enhanced GNSS.”
Field trials in an Asian country, monitored by a government agency, are being used to test this technology in 2016.
