GPS World

Author: Tracy Cozzens

  • SPH Engineering launches marketplace to for specialized drone surveying equipment

    SPH Engineering’s new Marketplace acts as a specialized network connecting enterprises, research institutions, and engineers with a vetted network of drone equipment rental services providers. At launch, the network includes more than 30 partners spanning 38 countries.

    Heavy industry and research companies increasingly rely on drone-based data, but finding the right local team or renting a highly specific sensor is often a fragmented, slow, and expensive process. The new Marketplace is designed to help address this practical bottleneck. For project teams in oil & gas, mining, construction, hydrology and academia, the platform helps reduce the operational burden of building internal drone programs.

    Whether a university needs water depth-mapping for an environmental study or an energy firm requires airborne GPR for underground utility mapping, they can instantly source a verified team with the right equipment. This makes it easier to access professional data collection capabilities without investing in pilot training or hardware maintenance.

    Users submit a single project request through the SPH Engineering platform, which is then routed to relevant partners. The Marketplace launches with an initial partner base covering Europe, North America, Latin America, the Asia-Pacific, and Africa, with the network expected to expand.

    To ensure quality and reliability, partners are reviewed based on their technical capabilities, equipment availability, relevant project experience, and ability to support incoming customer inquiries.

    Beyond empowering enterprise end-users, the platform serves two additional groups within the ecosystem:

    • Engineers: For technical professionals who already have UAV capabilities but lack specific sensors, the Marketplace offers a robust rental network. Users can directly rent high-value, specialized payloads — such as drone-mounted lidar systems, ground penetrating radar, magnetometers, and echo sounders — for specific project windows. This approach allows engineers to validate a drone workflow or sensor capability before committing to a major purchase.
    • Drone partners and service providers: The Marketplace provides a channel for commercial drone service companies and hardware partners for hard-industry and environmental clients. By joining the network, partners gain visibility among a highly targeted audience of enterprise clients requiring specialized geophysical and hydrographic data. SPH Engineering facilitates the routing of incoming project inquiries to relevant partners, connecting local operators with complex, relevant enterprise opportunities and allowing them to maximize the utilization of their specialized equipment.

    To find a drone service provider with specialized equipment, or join the network, visit the Marketplace.

  • Murata and Xona Space sign MOU on LEO satnav for industrial applications

    Murata and Xona Space sign MOU on LEO satnav for industrial applications

    Murata Manufacturing Co. Ltd. and Xona Space Systems have signed a memorandum of understanding to improve the accuracy and reliability of satellite PNT technologies.

    The companies will explore the potential to provide optimal products and solutions by combining Murata’s long-standing expertise in high-frequency and wireless communications, sensors, timing devices and module design with Xona’s advanced low-Earth-orbit (LEO)-based positioning and timing synchronization technologies.

    Benefit of LEO satellites

    Because LEO satellites orbit closer to Earth, they can deliver stronger signals to the ground, which improves signal reception in city centers and indoor environments. Their higher orbital speed compared with GNSS enables observation data in a shorter period of time, which enhances performance in urban areas via accelerated convergence times and reduction in multipath errors.

    Against this backdrop, technologies that combine satellites in different orbital layers, including LEO, are attracting attention as an approach to complement and strengthen the accuracy and reliability of PNT, with growing interest in their adoption for higher precision and enhanced resilience.

    The role of Pulsar

    Xona offers Pulsar, a PNT service based on a satellite network composed of a constellation of dedicated LEO satellites with significantly stronger signals than traditional GNSS systems. Pulsar is compatible with GNSS, enabling these enhanced capabilities to be integrated with typical GNSS user equipment in a way that complements and improves existing systems.

    As a purpose-built modern PNT service, Pulsar aims to achieve centimeter-level positioning accuracy, greater performance in urban areas, and enhanced resilience against jamming and spoofing.

    Previous venture and latest MOU

    Murata has previously invested in Xona through Wonderstone Ventures, Murata’s corporate venture capital arm. This initiative represents part of an ongoing collaboration built upon the existing relationship between the two companies.

    Based on this MOU, the two companies will explore the potential to provide optimal products and solutions by combining Murata’s long-standing expertise in high-frequency and wireless communications, sensors, timing devices, and module design with Xona’s advanced LEO-based PNT positioning and timing synchronization technologies, with the goal of realizing highly accurate and highly reliable positioning and timing synchronization.

    Looking ahead, the companies will evaluate potential applications in data centers and financial institutions that require highly accurate timing synchronization to support 5G/6G communications, as well as in off-road industries such as construction and agricultural machinery, where positioning needs are high in environments where GNSS is difficult to use.

    Through these efforts, the companies aim to enhance performance and create new solutions across various sectors.

  • Broadcasters launch company to advance Broadcast Positioning System

    Broadcasters launch company to advance Broadcast Positioning System

    The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has launched Merkhet Solutions, an independent company focused on the commercial deployment of the Broadcast Positioning System (BPS).

    BPS, first conceived by the technology team at NAB in 2021, is a patented terrestrial, GPS-independent timing and positioning technology that leverages the high-power, geographically diverse broadcast infrastructure already covering the United States.

    BPS has been designed to address the more than $1 billion-per-day economic and national security risk posed by overreliance on GPS. Merkhet Solutions is engaging across critical infrastructure sectors, including energy, data centers, telecommunications and financial services – where a loss of precision time can trigger grid instability, outages and lost trades.

    “BPS represents a powerful intersection of innovation, public safety and opportunity for broadcasters,” said NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt. “Launching Merkhet Solutions is the next step in commercializing this technology and ensuring it reaches the critical-infrastructure operators who need it most, while continuing to create meaningful long-term opportunities for local stations.”

    “BPS solves a problem we can no longer afford to ignore: an entire economy and national security posture resting on a single, contested signal from space,” said Merkhet Solutions CEO Sam Matheny. “We built BPS at NAB because broadcast infrastructure is uniquely suited to deliver assured terrestrial timing at scale. We’re launching Merkhet Solutions because the time to operationalize this technology is now.”

    Under Matheny’s leadership at NAB, BPS has advanced rapidly from research concept to real-world deployment. NAB demonstrated the first BPS prototype to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) in 2022, followed by the first live broadcast demonstration in 2023.

    In 2024, NAB entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Nexstar Media Group. In 2025, NIST concluded in a peer-reviewed paper presented at the Institute of Navigation International Technical Meeting that BPS was “comparable to or better than GNSS” for time transfer stability and a “viable complementary PNT solution.”

    Later that year, the U.S. DOT awarded NAB a contract to deploy a BPS field trial with critical-infrastructure partner Dominion Energy.

    BPS is designed as a terrestrial complement to GPS, providing operators with an additional resilient source of timing and positioning that can be used alongside GPS or relied upon when satellite-based services are disrupted by jamming, spoofing, cyberattacks or natural events. The need for terrestrial complements to GPS has been recognized by the U.S. government through the National Timing Resilience and Security Act and Executive Order 13905.

  • U-blox GNSS tech powers telescope array searching for alien life

    U-blox GNSS tech powers telescope array searching for alien life

    The PANOSETI project achieves sub-nanosecond synchronization without fiber infrastructure using u-blox ZED-F9T 

    The u-blox ZED-F9T high-precision GNSS receiver is enabling sub-nanosecond synchronization in an advanced telescope array used in optical Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) research. 

    The results have been achieved for the SETI program called PANOSETI (Pulsed All-sky Near-infrared Optical SETI), a multi-institutional scientific initiative where precise time synchronization across distributed telescope arrays is critical. Institutions involved include the University of California Berkeley, UC San Diego, Harvard and Caltech.

    Discovery at unprecedented scale

    PANOSETI is designed to detect fast-transient optical and near-infrared signals across the entire observable sky, with the goal of identifying potential technological signatures or astrophysical phenomena. Achieving this requires extremely precise time synchronization between widely distributed telescope nodes.

    Traditionally, such synchronization depends on fiber-based systems such as White Rabbit, which can be costly and impractical to deploy in remote observatory locations.

    By leveraging GNSS-based differential timing with the u-blox ZED-F9T, the PANOSETI team demonstrated:

    • ~0.7 nanosecond standard deviation between 1PPS signals over a 1 km baseline 
    • Improved performance down to ~200 picoseconds using filtering techniques 

    This level of accuracy meets, and in some cases exceeds, the requirements for next-generation distributed sensing systems.

    Precision timing without constraints

    Credit: U-blox
    Credit: U-blox

    The results highlight a key benefit of GNSS-based timing: high-precision timing can be achieved in environments where fiber infrastructure is unavailable, impractical or excessively costly.

    These results show the capabilities that GNSS timing offers, not only for scientific research, but also for a range of other emerging applications, such as distributed sensor networks, remote timing systems and resilience of critical infrastructure, also in remote locations.

    Collaboration driving innovation

    “Achieving this level of synchronization without fiber is a significant step forward for distributed instrumentation,” said Dan Werthimer, chief scientist of the PANOSETI project at UC Berkeley. “It allows us to achieve the timing precision we need for our telescope array in locations where traditional fiber-based systems are not feasible.”

    “At u-blox, we are excited to support PANOSETI in their search for extraterrestrial intelligence,” said Samuli Pietilä, Director of Product Line Management, Timing and Infrastructure. “GNSS timing is used across many industries, but none quite like the advanced optical telescopes that PANOSETI is deploying.”

    The ability to move from physically-based precision synchronization to resilient GNSS solutions unlocks the potential for distributed sensor networks.

  • Point One, ST showcase combo autonomous solution at AutoSens 2026

    Point One, ST showcase combo autonomous solution at AutoSens 2026

    Point One Navigation is showcasing an ongoing collaboration with STMicroelectronics, a relationship that has made its real-time kinematic (RTK) and positioning engine solutions accessible to ST customers developing autonomous vehicles, robotics, and precision navigation applications.

    AutoSens 2026, taking place in Detroit, Michigan, June 9-11, will bring together experts in the field of automotive sensing technology.

    Point One Navigation’s software platform integrates seamlessly with ST’s new Teseo6 family of GNSS receiver chipset and module solutions to deliver a complete, off-the-shelf precise positioning system.

    By combining ST’s GNSS receiver and measurement engine with Point One’s RTK correction service and advanced dead-reckoning algorithms, customers can achieve centimeter-level accuracy for their navigation solutions without the complexity of developing these capabilities in-house.

    At AutoSens 2026, Point One and ST are collaborating to showcase an integrated solution that highlights the power of their joint technology. The demonstration features live precision location data and real-time performance analytics, illustrating the effectiveness of the Teseo6 automotive-grade solutions paired with Point One’s advanced dead-reckoning and corrections services in a variety of automotive and autonomous driving scenarios.

    “Through our strong collaboration with STMicroelectronics, we are able to deliver proven precision positioning technology to ST’s global customer base,” said Aaron Nathan, CEO, Point One Navigation. “Our RTK and dead-reckoning software, combined with ST’s Teseo6 GNSS receiver, provides developers with a ready-to-integrate solution that matches or exceeds competing systems while accelerating time-to-market for robots, autonomous vehicles, and other applications requiring centimeter-accurate navigation.”

    “The key to precise navigation is feeding the application a trusted position, that maximizes integrity and minimizes error,” said Mike Slade, GNSS product marketing manager, STMicroelectronics. “The collaboration between ST’s Teseo6 GNSS receiver and Point One’s complementary dead-reckoning and RTK correction services ensures high signal availability and the centimeter-accurate positioning needed for consistent and predictable operation.”

  • HRL Laboratories offers small, rugged IMU

    HRL Laboratories offers small, rugged IMU

    HRL Laboratories has introduced a new inertial measurement unit (IMU) that provides near navigation-grade accuracy in a palm-sized package.

    Smaller and lighter than grade-equivalent conventional sensors, HRL’s AXI-R100 delivers range-extending accuracy for GPS-contested navigation. The product is now ready for pre-production orders.

    Using silicon microelectro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology, HRL’s gyros exceeds the performance of many tactical-grade IMUs in the same or smaller package size, and is manufactured in high volumes at wafer-scale. This near navigation-grade performance is available at a tactical-grade price.

    The new IMU is suitable for use in defense, aerospace and automotive applications, including missile-guidance systems and drone navigation, as well as for commercial automotive applications with higher levels of autonomy. The product is ready for integration as it has been designed and tested against challenging vibration, shock and thermal conditions representative of those applications.

    HRL will present product specifications at the 2026 Joint Navigation Conference, taking place this week in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is exhibiting in booth 129.

      By leveraging high volume design automotive methodologies, HRL designed AXI-R100 navigation sensors to scale for high-volume automotive demand while maintaining performance superiority over traditional tactical-grade sensors. The result is a gyroscope compatible with foundry fabrication processes for high volume applications.

      “Our gyroscopes and inertial sensors support navigation, pointing and stabilization systems for autonomous vehicles, aircraft and guided missile and munition applications,” said Jeff Dickman, director, Precision Sensing, HRL Laboratories. “We leveraged our extensive microelectronics legacy along with innovations in micromechanical and manufacturing processes to pave the way for AXI-R100 to address the urgent needs from our industrial base.”

    • Calian announces two new pole mount controlled reception pattern antennas

      Calian announces two new pole mount controlled reception pattern antennas

      Calian has introduced two pole mount variants of its controlled reception pattern antenna (CRPA) line. The new models support L1/E1 + L2/E5b (CR8894PXF+) and L1/E1 + L5/E5a (CR8854PXF+), giving customers expanded deployment and frequency support options for resilient GNSS applications.

      The new architecture increases installation flexibility across critical infrastructure, timing, marine and defense environments while maintaining Calian’s CRPA and extended filtering plus (XF+) interference mitigation performance.

      Flexible deployment

      The pole-mount design integrates into fixed and marine installations such as communications towers, vessels, monitoring stations and critical infrastructure, supporting rapid setup and optimal antenna placement.

      With dual-band options, the platform aligns with modern multi-frequency GNSS architectures, improving accuracy, robustness, interference rejection and compatibility with current and next-generation receivers.

      Advanced anti-jamming features include:

      • GPS and Galileo support
      • Operation across L1/E1 and L2/E5b or L5/E5a
      • Mitigation of three jamming sources per band
      • Integrated XF+ filtering for superior out-of-band rejection and cross-band isolation
      • Real-time situational awareness messaging.

      Visit Calian during ION’s Joint Navigation Conference 2026, booth 207, Northern Kentucky Convention Center, June 2–3.

    • Oscilloquartz series provides timing for mission-critical harsh environments

      Oscilloquartz series provides timing for mission-critical harsh environments

      Oscilloquartz has launched its ruggedSync Series OSA 5510, a ruggedized timing and synchronization platform engineered for defense and other harsh, mission-critical environments.

      The OSA 5510 is designed for deployment in tactical communications networks, mobile command centers, aviation systems and other highly demanding operational environments. It combines PTP grandmaster and NTP server functionality with synchronization assurance and resilient holdover in a compact military (MIL)-qualified platform.

      Multi-band GNSS support, encrypted and authenticated timing options, and environmental protection enable operation in contested and GNSS-denied environments where trusted synchronization must be maintained.

      Built to support resilient defense timing architectures, the OSA 5510 integrates advanced synchronization technologies and flexible mission-critical interfaces within a hardened platform compliant with MIL-STD-810H and MIL-STD-461G. The solution supports IEEE 1588v2 PTP, SyncE and secure NTP services, while programmable I/O and timecode interfaces, including STANAG, Have Quick, IRIG and PPS/CLK distribution, support diverse defense payloads and operational requirements. Optical and copper SFP/SFP+ 1G/10G interfaces and dual power feeds further enable deployment across modern high-bandwidth defense networks.

      The ruggedSync Series OSA 5510 strengthens multi-source resilience through zero-trust architecture, with support for M-code, Galileo PRS and Iridium STL. Extended holdover, low phase-noise outputs, and jamming and spoofing detection and mitigation help maintain continuity during GNSS degradation or disruption, while White Rabbit readiness supports advanced timing distribution use cases.

      The launch also builds on Oscilloquartz’s expanding global aerospace, defense and government partnerships, including regional representative and VAR relationships supporting resilient timing and assured PNT deployments across the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific.

    • Viavi introduces GNSS-disciplined oscillator for precision timing in low SWaP platforms

      Viavi introduces GNSS-disciplined oscillator for precision timing in low SWaP platforms

      Viavi Solutions has launched the µPNT GDO-1000, a GNSS-disciplined oscillator built in the M.2 B-key form factor, suitable for low size, weight and power (SWaP) platforms.

      Measuring 22 x 42 mm (the size of a postage stamp) and weighing less than 4 grams, the GDO-1000 is designed for platforms requiring accurate timing in places where traditional timing modules do not fit or are too power-hungry, including defense and airborne platforms, unmanned systems, data center cards, and communications equipment.

      The µPNT GDO-1000 addresses these challenges through a combination of capabilities:

      • Dual-frequency L1/L5 GNSS reception with microsecond-class 24-hour holdover enables precise, resilient timing in compromised conditions.
      • The M.2 B-key form factor drops into modern compute platforms, time appliance cards, and embedded systems without custom mechanical design, drawing approximately half a watt.
      • Patented AI and ML algorithms developed by the Jackson Labs team, now part of VIAVI, predict and compensate for oscillator behavior across environmental conditions
      • The microelectro-mechanical systems (MEMS) oscillator delivers better thermal stability across the full military temperature range than traditional quartz oven-controlled crystal oscillators (OCXOs), with sustained phase noise and Allan Deviation performance under vibration and shock
      • It accepts an external 1PPS input, allowing it to be disciplined by M-code GPS, alternative navigation sources, or other external references without hardware modification
      • Multiple 1PPS and low-phase-noise 10MHz coaxial inputs and outputs for system integration flexibility, despite its miniature size.

      The GDO-1000 will be on display by Viavi at booth 407 during the 2026 Joint Navigation Conference, taking place June 1-4 at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center. As part of the event technical program, Lisa Perdue and Nino De Falcis of Viavi will speak on a “New Cesium-Less ePRTC Solution to Provide Timing for Homeland Critical Infrastructure.”

    • Russian sabotage of Baltic Sea states is analyzed in a new white paper

      Russian sabotage of Baltic Sea states is analyzed in a new white paper

      Russian acts targeting critical infrastructure, satellite signal interference paralyzing maritime and air navigation, and cognitive operations aimed at intimidating European societies are examples of Russian hybrid activities targeting the Baltic Sea region states.

      The paper, “White Paper on Russian Acts of Sabotage and Subversion against Members of the Council of the Baltic Sea States,” can be downloaded here. Authors Filip Bryjka, Anna Maria Dyner and Aleksandra Kozioł are with the Polish Institute of International Relations.

      The report explores GNSS signal disruptions in the Baltic Sea and how it affects the safety of maritime and air traffic.

      Scale and Methods of Russian Operations

      Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has intensified its hybrid activities against NATO member states, particularly those that have most actively supported Ukrainian resistance. This group includes the members of the Council of the Baltic Sea States. It is against them that the vast majority of acts of diversion and sabotage recorded in Europe since February 2022 have been directed.

      Russia deploys a full spectrum of tools against the region:

      • Acts of diversion and sabotage targeting critical infrastructure.
      • Border incidents: Violations of airspace and maritime borders.
      • GNSS signal disruptions (satellite radio transmissions), creating operational problems for maritime and air navigation.
      • Cognitive influence, aimed at causing measurable damage, testing state responses, and inducing a sense of growing threat among societies.

      Recommendations: How to Counter Hybrid Threats?

      The offensive nature of Russian actions demonstrates an intent to destabilize NATO and EU countries. Effective defense requires developing shared mechanisms:

      • Close cooperation among agencies: Ensuring a high level of situational awareness through the coordination of activities (at both national and international levels) among military and civilian intelligence, counterintelligence, border guard services, and the police.
      • A dedicated information exchange system: Leveraging the geographical proximity and potential of the CBSS states to quickly share threat data.
      • Unambiguous attribution of persuasions: Publicly naming Russia as the author of the attacks. A lack of clear attribution hinders coordinated preventive and retaliatory measures.
      • A catalog of best practices: Developing common rules for monitoring, reporting, and responding to known and repetitive Russian operational patterns.

      The authors conclude that only a full spectrum of coherent measures taken by all states in the region, alongside NATO and EU structures, can effectively influence Russia and reduce the risk of future incidents.

    • Xairos achieves free-space quantum and optical testing milestone

      Xairos achieves free-space quantum and optical testing milestone

      A two-kilometer free-space demonstration validates quantum-secure communications and resilient PNT capabilities

      Xairos Systems has met a significant milestone for its Ares Quantum Optical Terminal, a robust system designed to deliver quantum-secure, high-data-rate communications and resilient position, navigation and timing (PNT) in RF- and GPS-denied environments.

      The Ares terminal will combine 10 Gbps free-space optical communications, entangled photon distribution for timing and encryption key sharing, and a stable clock ensemble disciplined by Xairos’ exclusive Quantum Time Transfer technology.

      Xairos completed two-kilometer free-space range testing with Space Development Agency-compliant optical communications and established simultaneous quantum and optical links using a common Ares Quantum Optical Terminal. This free-space testing — distinct from fiber-based demonstrations — marks a critical step toward real-world operational deployment.

      The fully integrated Ares Quantum Optical Terminal will combine 10 Gbps free-space optical communications, entangled photon distribution for timing and encryption key sharing, and a stable clock ensemble disciplined by Xairos’ Quantum Time Transfer (QTT) technology — all within a ruggedized compact package. QTT provides unprecedented security and resilience for PNT where GPS and RF signals are unavailable or jammed.

      The Ares Quantum Optical Terminal underpins a communications and PNT mesh network for aircraft, uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), ships, and other assets in contested environments, and serves as a foundation for a future space-based architecture spanning satellites, air vehicles and ground nodes.

    • TRX Systems highlights DAPS assured PNT at JNC 2026

      TRX Systems highlights DAPS assured PNT at JNC 2026

      TRX Systems will introduce the latest innovations to its DAPS GEN II solution at the Joint Navigation Conference (JNC) 2026, taking place June 1-4 in Covington, Kentucky.

      Developed for a U.S. Army Program of Record, the TRX DAPS GEN II solution provides warfighters with a resilient, trusted source of position, navigation and timing (PNT) that remains operational in GPS-degraded, jammed or denied environments.

      The new enhancements strengthen DAPS GEN II system performance in extended-duration threat environments and include a new mounted capability that facilitates vehicle integration.

      The new mounted capability delivers a modular, open architecture that expands client support and provides future extensibility while leveraging the core DAPS GEN II capability.  To facilitate use of DAPS GEN II in vehicles, a vehicle interface adapter (VIA) is under development to provide the following capabilities:​

      • Hold the DAPS GEN II device securely in the vehicle, enabling improved inertial performance under threat
      • Accept and condition power from the vehicle, extending battery life
      • Extend the number of supported clients, enabling vehicle systems to consume a single assured-PNT feed
      • Provide RF and data interfaces to anti-jam antennas, enabling tight integration with the antennas, including sharing of electronic warfare situational awareness information
      • Provide a FLEX-IO port, enabling extensibility by supporting addition of new PNT sensors and simplifying transition of new assured PNT capabilities​

      JNC 2026 attendees can visit the TRX team in Booth #319 to learn how the DAPS GEN II solution supports dismounted and mounted operations by delivering continuous, assured PNT – even in contested environments.

      During the conference, TRX leaders will participate in technical sessions where they will discuss the latest DAPS GEN II innovations and share testing results for delivering assured PNT in both dismounted and mounted situations:

      • Session C6 (Tuesday, 11:30 a.m.): Speakers from TRX Systems and Combat Ready PNT will present U.S. Army Program of Record: DAPS Gen II Advancements, Interoperability, and Performance. This presentation will review DAPS GEN II innovations that increase resilience to extended-duration threats.
      • Session C6: TRX Systems is supporting an alternate presentation,U.S. Army Program of Record DAPS Mounted ECP (DME). This presentation will cover the functionality being developed with the VIA and provide results from the development and testing.