Author: GPS World Staff

Topcon NET-G5 Tracks New L3 GLONASS Signal

Topcon’s NET-G5 receiver and CR-G5-C antenna.

Topcon Positioning Group said that its latest GNSS reference receiver, the NET-G5, is capable of tracking a new signal from the GLONASS constellation.

The GLONASS-M 55 satellite was launched in June 2014 and is equipped with the experimental payload capable of transmitting signals in the L3 frequency band. Engineers successfully tracked the signal with the NET-G5 receiver during a series of recent tests at the Topcon Technology Center in Moscow. The use of signals in L3 band alongside L1 and L2 bands is expected to further enhance the competitiveness of the GLONASS system.

“Topcon is committed to continually investing in research and development to offer end-users and the industry the most up-to-date solutions,” said Ivan Di Federico, chief strategy officer for Topcon Positioning Systems. “Our premier engineers, scientists and designers bring world’s first products and technologies to market, and the ability of the NET-G5 to track the latest signal — a first for the industry — is an excellent example of that dedication.”

Using Vanguard and Universal Tracking technologies, the NET-G5 receiver incorporates 452-channels capable of tracking the full GNSS signal spectrum, including modernized GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS and SBAS signals.

November 13, 2014
NTLab Launches GNSS RF Front-End with Reduced Power Consumption

Photo: NTLab

NTLab, a fabless microelectronic company based in Belarus, is offering the NT1051 dual-channel multi-frequency (L1/L2/L3/L5) mutli-system (GPS/GLONASS/Galileo/BeiDou) RF front end.

Manufactured in 0.18 um TSMC BiCMOS technology, it provides operability of the GNSS receiver even if interference power is 120-dB higher than the satellite signal.

The chip was designed to bring benefits of high-grade GNSS receivers to portable devices. To allow reliable navigation in the presence of interference, NT1051 has a 1-dB compression point (on RF input) of -40 dBm. This allows stable tracking, even if the interfering signal is 120-dB higher (compared to -160 dB of typical tracking sensitivity) than the satellite signal.

Simultaneously, portable devices require reduced power consumption. There is always a tradeoff between receiver linearity and consumed current, so the task of combining high dynamic range with low consumption was successfully solved in NT1051 architecture, NTLab said. The resulting power consumption is below 60 mW.

To allow dual-antenna receiver configurations, NT1051 has two separate channels with a common fractional frequency synthesizer.

November 12, 2014
GPS Reflections Group Honored with Water Prize

The GPS Reflections Group of University of Colorado-Boulder has been awarded the prestigious Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Creativity Prize for Water. The prize is awarded biannually to acknowledge innovative work that contributes to the sustainable availability of water and the alleviation of the global problem of water scarcity.

The awards will be presented in a ceremony in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on December 16, concurrently with the 6th International Conference on Water Resources and Arid Environments (ICWRAE 6), December 16-18, 2014.

Professors Kristine Larson and Eric Small developed a new method to measure water at the Earth’s surface. The research team discovered that standard geodetic GPS instruments are sensitive to hydrological influences. They subsequently developed a cost-effective technique, GPS Interferometric Reflectometry (GPS-IR), to measure soil moisture, snow depth, and vegetation water content around GPS antennas. GPS-IR has the advantage of relying on an existing GPS infrastructure installed by surveyors and geoscientists that covers an increasingly large portion of the global surface.

Larson has written for GPS World magazine (see Innovation: How Deep Is That White Stuff?), and her team’s sea-level work has been reported here before.

Larson and Small collaborated with scientists at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research and the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration, also in Boulder.

The team uses the GPS-IR technique to analyze data streams from existing GPS networks in near real-time. Data from hundreds of operational GPS sites are downloaded and processed, yielding estimates of hydrologic variables within 24 hours.

Scientists and government agencies can access this information at the team’s web portal and use the data to improve monitoring and forecasting of hydrologic variables.

November 12, 2014
China Plans BeiDou Ground Station in Antarctica

China plans to build a BeiDou station in Antarctica this summer, according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald. China’s official Xinhua news agency disclosed the plans.

The facility at Great Wall station in Antarctica will include receivers, auxiliary equipment and a reference station key to improving BieDou’s accuracy, according to the Chinese enews.com website.

Project leader Wu Xuefeng said the BeiDou facility would greatly improve China’s Antarctic mapping autonomy and improving the system’s precision.

The BeiDou facility will join others, including Norway’s Trollsat, strategically located in Antarctica to fit that country’s global networks, but which some claim breach the Antarctic Treaty. The treaty says “Antarctica shall be used for peaceful purposes only” and prohibits activities of a military nature.

Norwegian Bard Wormdal, author of The Satellite War, told Fairfax Media, “The Chinese military wants to use BeiDou for instance for guiding all sorts of missiles. A BeiDou base in Antarctica makes the system more reliable and precise.” He first raised alarm over the Norwegian satellite base at its Troll Antarctic station, which he found had been used by the U.S. National Geospatial Intelligence Agency.

Russia has three GLONASS ground stations on the continent.

November 12, 2014
Report Looks at China, Global GNSS Industry over a Decade

A new market research report by WhaTech examines the global and Chinese GNSS industry, covering the decade 2009-2019. The report “Discover latest trends in Global and Chinese GNSS system industry, 2009-2019” analyzes quantitatively the global and Chinese GNSS market of 2009-2014 by calculating the main economic parameters of each company. The data is broken down by company, country, and application. The report also estimates future market development in the coming period of 2014-2019.

In its first segment, the report reviews basic GNSS information including its classification, application and manufacturing technology. It then explores top global and Chinese manufacturers of GNSS systems, listing their product specification, capacity, production value, and market share. The report then analyzes the upstream raw materials, downstream clients, and current market dynamics of the GNSS industry.

The report concludes with proposals for a new GNSS industry project before evaluating its feasibility. Overall, the report provides an in-depth insight to the global and China GNSS industry covering important parameters, according to WhaTech.

Table Of Contents

Chapter One: Introduction of GNSS System Industry

Chapter Two: Manufacturing Technology of GNSS System

Chapter Three: Analysis of Global Key Manufacturers (Including Company Profile, Product Specification, 2009-2014 Production Information etc.)

Chapter Four: 2009-2014 Global and China Market of GNSS System

Chapter Five: Market Status of GNSS System Industry

Chapter Six: Market Forecast of 2014-2019 Global and China GNSS System Industry

Chapter Seven: Analysis of GNSS System Industry Chain

Chapter Eight: Global and China Economic Impact on GNSS System Industry

Chapter Nine: Market Dynamics and Policy of GNSS System Industry

Chapter Ten: Proposals for New Project

November 10, 2014
OriginGPS Launches Nano Spider for Wearables, Watches
The Nano Spider by OriginGPS. Photo: OriginGPS

OriginGPS has launched the Nano Spider, a tiny yet fully integrated GPS receiver. The Nano Spider module is designed to support ultra-compact applications where size is at a premium, such as smart watches, wearable devices, trackers and digital cameras.

OriginGPS, which previously introduced the Micro Spider (5.6 x 5.6 mm) module, said the Nano Spider is 47 percent smaller than its previous solutions, measuring 4 x 4 x 2.1 mm. The Nano Spider’s proprietary structure is a multi-level circuit for surface mounting, built to reduce footprint size.

“The wearable technology trend requires components that balance a small size with high-performance and best-in-class power consumption,” said Gal Jacobi, CEO of OriginGPS. “OriginGPS aims to continue to shrink the size of components, while increasing features to make adding location functionality possible for every device.”

OriginGPS’ Nano Spider continuously tracks all GPS satellites in view and provides real-time positioning data in the standard industry format defined by the U.S. National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA). The Nano Spider offers a complete System in Package (SiP) that includes:
- Fully integrated features – The Nano Spider includes a low noise amplifier (LNA), surface acoustic wave (SAW) filter, temperature controlled crystal oscillator (TCXO) and real-time clock (RTC) crystal, a power management unit, and radio frequency (RF) shielding.
- Superior sensitivity and performance – The Nano Spider module offers accuracy of approximately one meter, and achieves a rapid time to first fix of less than one second and tracking sensitivity of -163 dBm.
- Continuous connectivity with minimal power consumption – It achieves a state of near continuous availability by detecting changes in context, temperature and satellite signals by maintaining and opportunistically updating its internal fine time, frequency, and satellite data, while consuming microwatts of battery power.
- Improving marginal signal conditions – It includes OriginGPS’ proprietary Noise Free Zone (NFZ) system to increase noise immunity even under marginal signal conditions, such as urban canyons, under dense foliage or a rapidly changing receiver position.
To see a demo of the Nano Spider and Nano Hornet modules, visit OriginGPS’ booth (Hall A4 Booth 271) at Electronica 2014 in Munich, Germany.
November 10, 2014
Car Dealership’s GPS Tracking System Saves Philadelphia Kidnap Victim

A GPS tracking device helped Philadelphia police rescue a woman who was kidnapped November 2 and apprehend the suspect who abducted her. A growing number of used car dealerships use the technology to protect their investments. This time it protected the life of an innocent victim of violent crime.

The NBC affiliate in Philadelphia covered the story on the air and posted it on its website.

Surveillance video showed the crime being committed. The brazen attack was shocking to watch — an innocent woman named Carlesha Freeland-Gaither was grabbed by a man who then forced her into a car parked at the curb. The man then got in the car and drove away.

Police investigating the crime immediately checked the surveillance video and discovered they could read the license number of the vehicle used by the kidnapper. When they checked the license number, they discovered the vehicle had been purchased from a used car dealership specializing in helping people with bad credit get car loans.

“‘Buy Here, Pay Here’ refers to the fact that the dealership is also serving as the lender,” said Eddie Bermudez, product development manager with Position Plus of Lake Forest, California. “These lenders take a big risk lending money to people who other lenders won’t touch.”

The BHPH industry found GPS tracking systems to be a big help when a borrower is delinquent on their loan payments. The Position Plus system is used by almost 1,500 dealerships across the country.

“The lender places a small GPS tracking device in the vehicle,” Bermudez said. “As long as their loan payments are current, there’s no problem. But if they go delinquent, the lender has the option of using the GPS tracking device to locate the vehicle. This makes the process of repossessing the vehicle much easier.”

The lenders each have a policy as to how they handle these situations. In most cases borrowers receive emails or text messages warning them they’re behind before repossession efforts are initiated.

Fortunately, the kidnapping in Philadelphia ended well. The vehicle was located in the parking lot of a shopping center. The suspect attempted to start the car, but he was completely surrounded by police. According to Bermudez, the PositionPlus system could have stopped him cold.

“If it had been our system, he wouldn’t have been able to start the car,” added Bermudez. “We can’t shut down the engine while it’s driving, but we can keep the vehicle from starting the next time the ignition is turned on.”

November 10, 2014
Telit Introduces Jupiter GPS Module for Migration to Full GNSS
The Jupiter SL871-S.

Telit Wireless Solutions has debuted the Jupiter SL871-S, designed for easy migration between a full-GNSS solution for top-ranked applications and a simple GPS-only solution for less demanding applications. The Jupiter SL871-S is designed to track and navigate GPS and QZSS constellations while ensuring pin-to-pin and protocol compatibility with its multi-constellation companion module, the SL871.

The module comes in a 9.7 x 10.1 millimeter LCC package with an ARM7 baseband processor, embedded ROM memory, and integrated LNA. It delivers geolocation data using NMEA protocol through a standard UART port. It supports ephemeris file injection (A-GPS) as well as Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) for increased position accuracy.

In addition, its extremely low power consumption in all conditions is suited to applications requiring long battery life.

SL871-S has been designed to ensure hardware and software compatibility with SL871, allowing customers to design once and take advantage of the xL871 common form factor. Benefits include:
- Pin-to-pin compatibility with SL871 family,
- Same protocol used in SL871,
- Straightforward migration between full-GNSS solutions and GPS-only solutions,
- Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) support for increased position accuracy, and
- Assisted GPS.
The SL871-S can replace the SL871, allowing customers to design once and interchangeably mount the appropriate solution depending on the required features.

“The new SL871-S module designed to be easily swapped with other xL871 modules for enhanced simplicity and scalability,” said Taneli Tuurnala, CEO of Telit GNSS Solutions. “It is an ideal example of how buying a module from Telit enables our customers to avert the need to keep track of the latest chipset technology on their own. We keep them on top of the best available technology, pre-packaged in a module that is easy to replace as needed, without having to redesign their entire application to stay up to date.”
November 10, 2014
Farmers Edge Closes Investment for Precision Farming

Farmers Edge, a precision agriculture and independent data management solutions company, has received an investment from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers’ Green Growth Fund. With operations around the world, Farmers Edge provides a plug-and-play technology solution that helps farmers optimize crop inputs and maximize yield. The investment from Kleiner Perkins will fund expansion of Farmers Edge’s technology platform and support the company’s continued growth in international markets, Farmers Edge said.

“We see a huge market opportunity for Farmer’s Edge approach to precision agriculture. They uniquely integrate real-time satellite imagery and in-field telematics to maximize yield and minimize environmental footprint,” said Kleiner Perkins Partner, Brook Porter. “Farmer’s Edge is leading the current disruption around how crops are grown, and ultimately how crops are valued as traceability becomes an increasingly important factor in the food supply chain.”

On the heels of a recent acquisition, Farmers Edge has introduced FarmCommand, a comprehensive solution that provides farmers plug-and-play real-time equipment diagnostics and logistics telematics to any brand of equipment. FarmCommand will become part of the Precision Solutions product line that incorporates field-centric data such as drone and satellite imagery, soil testing, weather stations and precision agronomy. By coupling cloud-based software, Precision Solutions and FarmCommand, with an agnostic hardware solution, growers gain the ability to make comprehensive precision farm management decisions.

“We rely on Farmers Edge to function as an independent advisor, providing us with a no-hassle, turnkey solution to increase our profitability,” said Jerry Machacek, grower at Canora, SK. “They bring a level of hands-on service that is unique in the industry which is the reason we trust them with the management of our acres.”

“From seed selection to yield data analytics, we bring all the information together to make a meaningful impact on production and we stick by our customers to ensure the job gets done right,” said Wade Barnes, president and CEO of Farmers Edge. “We have an established history of partnering with both farmers and leading distributors to deliver products which will benefit the farmer and his trusted advisors.”

November 10, 2014
u-blox Launches Indoor/Outdoor Positioning Module with 3D Sensors

The new NEO-M8L Automotive Dead Reckoning (ADR) module by u-blox has integrated motion, direction and elevation sensors. The module integrates gyro and accelerometer with u‑blox’ GNSS platform u-blox M8 to achieve high indoor/outdoor positioning performance for road vehicle and high-accuracy navigation applications.

In addition to accessing the integrated module’s gyro and accelerometer data, accident reconstruction systems can provide the location of an accident to facilitate insurance claims even if a collision occurs in a tunnel or park house. High-end navigation devices are able to guide drivers through tunnels of several kilometers because of the accuracy of u-blox’ ADR system. Stolen vehicles can be located instantly due to continuous monitoring of sensor data and storage of location in non-volatile memory.

“Devices for usage-based insurance, stolen vehicle recovery, road pricing, fleet management, emergency services, and vehicle navigation depend on reliable, uninterrupted positioning including tunnels, park houses and stacked highways,” said Thomas Nigg, vice president of product strategy at u-blox. “The NEO-M8L is the ideal solution for all road vehicle based applications, able to calculate a position in all circumstances based on its own internal sensors, regardless of satellite visibility and end-device orientation.”

The NEO-M8L module will be demonstrated at the u-blox stand at electronica 2014 in Munich, November 11-14, Hall A4 Stand 219.

The compact module is 12.2 x 16.0 x 2.5 mm, requires minimum host integration resulting in no risk, is low cost, and provides fast time-to-market design, u-blox said. With uncritical orientation of the installed module, odometer function and autonomous data logging, it is an all-in-one solution for all road vehicle applications requiring reliable and uninterrupted position in challenging environments such as urban canyons, tunnels and underground parking.

The NEO-M8L embeds u-blox’ 3D Automotive Dead Reckoning (3D ADR) chip technology. Using the vehicle’s speed information and the module’s onboard sensors enables accurate positioning in three dimensions, even when satellite signals are completely lost and the end-device installation is not horizontal, u-blox said. An odometer function, based on the ADR technology, also provides accurate and continuous distance traveled.

The module is able to track all visible GNSS satellites including GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, QZSS and all SBAS (European’s Galileo will be supported in a future firmware version). Concurrent reception of two GNSS systems is supported. The NEO-M8L module can output a position up to 20 times per second.

The module uses u‑blox’ M8 GNSS chip and is available in Professional Product grade. This grade includes qualification according to the ISO16750 standard “Road vehicles — Environmental conditions and testing for electrical and electronic equipment” and manufacturing in ISO/TS 16949 automotive-certified factories.

Samples and evaluation kits will be available in December 2014.

November 10, 2014
ESNC University Challenge Recognizes Hail Suppression Project

© Peter Zentgraf

A hail suppression project dubbed RO-BERTA by the University of Applied Sciences, Rosenheim (Germany), has been selected the winner of the European Satellite Navigation Competition’s (ESNC) University Challenge. Judged by an international expert jury, the University Challenge is a special prize to reward innovative ideas emerging from Europe’s universities.

The Hail Navigator system is designed to reduce damage caused by hail. Based on the premise of suppressing the formation of hail by injecting silver iodide into clouds, Hail Navigator combines navigation with a precipitation reporting system that can guide pilots to optimal locations for hail suppression missions.

The system is complemented by weather observations (including precise times and locations) reported by local citizens via a smartphone app, which aids the validation of weather prediction models. These models constitute an important factor in deciding whether a hail suppression flight is necessary.

The project team was awarded the prize on October 23 in Berlin at the ESNC Awards Ceremony. More than 300 guests attended, representing the top European players in the navigation sector. In addition to cash, the prize includes support through the GNSS Research & Applications Centre of Excellence (GRACE) and a free ticket to the Munich Satellite Navigation Summit 2015.

“Winning this prize once again demonstrates that interdisciplinary cooperation is feasible and successful,” said Project Manager Peter Zentgraf. “The positive feedback the competition provides helps drive our many students to continue their dedicated work, which made it possible to reach our project goals.”

Airbus Space & Defense won the regular ENSC competition.

November 10, 2014
Misplaced Galileo Satellite Moving to New Orbit

The fifth Galileo satellite is now pointing toward Earth. Photo: Galileo

The fifth Galileo navigation satellite, one of two left in the wrong orbit this summer, will make a series of maneuvers this month as a prelude to its health being confirmed. The aim is to raise the lowest point of its orbit — its perigee — to reduce the radiation exposure from the Van Allen radiation belts surrounding Earth, as well as to put it into a more useful orbit for navigation purposes.

Should the two-week operation prove successful, the sixth Galileo satellite will follow the same route, according to the European Space Agency (ESA).

The Galileo pair, launched together on a Soyuz rocket on August 22, ended up in an elongated orbit traveling out to 25,900 km above Earth and back down to 13,713 km. The target orbit was a purely circular one at an altitude of 23,222 km. Also, the orbits are angled relative to the equator less than originally planned.

The two satellites have only enough fuel to lift their altitude by about 4,000 km — insufficient to correct their orbits entirely. But the move will take the fifth satellite into a more circular orbit than before, with a higher perigee of 17,339 km.

“The new orbit will fly over the same location every 20 days,” said Daniel Navarro-Reyes, ESA Galileo mission analyst. “The standard Galileo repeat pattern is every 10 days, so achieving this will synchronize the ground track with the rest of the Galileo satellites.”

“In addition, from a user receiver point of view, the revised orbit will reduce the variation in signal levels, reduce the Doppler shift of the signal, and increase the satellite’s visibility,” Navarro-Reyes said. “For the satellite, reducing its radiation exposure in the Van Allen radiation belts will protect it from further exposure to charged particles. The orbit will also allow Galileo’s Earth Sensor to hold a stable direction for the satellite’s main antenna to point at Earth. Right now, when the satellite dips to its lowest point, Earth appears so large that the sensor is unusable. The satellite relies on gyroscopes alone, degrading its attitude precision.”

The recovery is being overseen from the Galileo Control Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, with the assistance of ESA’s Space Operations Centre, ESOC, in Darmstadt, Germany. France’s CNES space agency is providing additional ground stations so that contact can be maintained with the satellite as needed, ESA said.

The two satellites were previously Sun-pointing. “On 3 November that changed for the fifth satellite, as it transitioned to normal Earth-pointing mode,” added Daniel.

During November, some 15 maneuvers will take the satellite into its new orbit. Once there, it can formally begin in-orbit testing. The host satellite’s health is checked first, followed by more detailed navigation payload testing, ESA said.

Galileo orbits viewed from above: Orbits of the fifth and sixth satellites in red, compared to their intended position in dashed green, and the position of the four satellites launched in 2011 and 2012 in solid green. This view looks down over the South Pole to illustrate how the inclination relative to the equator is less than intended. The satellites are in an elliptical rather than circular orbit, with a maximum altitude of about 25,900 km and a minimum altitude of about 13,700 km, compared to a planned circular orbit of 23,222 km altitude. Photo: Galileo

Galileo orbits viewed side-on: The fifth and sixth Galileo satellites in red, compared to their intended position in dashed green, and the position of the four satellites launched in 2011 and 2012, in solid green. This view looks side on to the two satellites’ orbital plane, which is off-center relative to Earth. The targeted orbit was circular, inclined at 55º to the equator at an altitude of 23,222 km.They are in a safe state, correctly pointing towards the Sun, properly powered and fully under control of an ESA–CNES team. Photo: Galileo

November 10, 2014