CHC Navigation has released LandStar8, a field surveying and mapping application for Android devices. LandStar8 is designed to be flexible and user-friendly for surveying and mapping tasks.
LandStar8 is versatile, modular and customizable for topographic tasks such as surveying, stake out, cadastral, mapping and geographic information systems (GIS). Building on the legacy of LandStar7, the new LandStar8 provides features such as a refined user interface, streamlined workflows, faster operation, and integrated cloud services.
“With LandStar8, we want to provide our users with unprecedented field experience,” said Rachel Wang, product manager of CHC Navigation’s Surveying and Engineering Division. “LandStar8’s modular design allows users to customize the interface according to their usage habits, making it easier and more efficient for field crews to work.”
Cloud connectivity is built in, for backup, data storage or remote technical support.
LandStar 8 has a simple and intuitive layout with large map windows and sharp graphics. Users can hide features they rarely use and display only those they need.
On LandStar8, users can copy coordinate settings, control and staking points from another handheld controller by scanning a QR code. Projects can be edited and sorted by history and attributes. Custom coordinate systems, geoid models and coding libraries can be updated at any time by using resource packages. LandStar8 also features a terrain calibration wizard designed specifically for non-expert users.
A proprietary MetaCAD graphics engine opens DWG and DXF base maps faster and with smoother rendering. DXF files up to 200 MB can be opened in less than 10 seconds. LandStar8 also supports opening external reference files, automatically recognizes CAD length units, and allows editing of CAD base maps directly in the field.
LandStar8 is designed around a comprehensive cloud-based architecture that supports project backup, collaborative work and data storage. Its remote support capabilities help the office helpdesk resolve user problems and provide personalized technical assistance. A “share code” feature allows users to transfer project data between desktop computers and field controllers or among field controllers quickly to further boost work efficiency.
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is seeking information from the GNSS community on upgrades to its Stardust program.
Stardust develops models of the Earth used in geomatics. The upgrades will result in modernization of geomatics information technology systems and infrastructure. The update includes migration of models to the cloud.
Stardust is run by the NGA Foundation GEOINT Integrated Program Office, partnered with the Foundation GEOINT Group (NGA/SF) within the Source Operations and Management Directorate.
NavStar — a deformation monitoring company — has joined the Terra Insights platform of geotechnical brands.
NavStar develops specialized hardware and software for automated detection of movement on slopes and structures, with an emphasis on GPS/GNSS sensors. It provides a scalable and modular data-collection and presentation software platform.
“NavStar perfectly complements Terra Insights’ vision of being the global platform to provide trusted geotechnical, structural and geospatial monitoring technology and data delivery solutions,” said Mark Price, CEO, Terra Insights. “NavStar’s specialized expertise in automated deformation monitoring systems from both a hardware and software perspective expands Terra Insights’ core capabilities while pushing us further into the future.”
NavStar’s team of surveyors, engineers, technologists and software developers has been providing specialized GPS/GNSS solutions, products and support to clients around the world since 2001.
NavStar’s specialized GeoExplorer and deformation monitoring products are used by the mining, oil and gas, power, construction and government sectors.
“We are excited to join Terra Insights,” said Glen Bjorgan, manager of Field Operations at NavStar. ”Over the years we have worked extensively with the companies that make up the Terra Insights platform. Through that experience, we know that Terra Insights will be a great fit for NavStar and our customers.”
What works well and what needs improvement in the GPS program regarding technology, policy, or management?
Jules McNeff
“GPS technology and operational performance continue to set the standard for GNSS, but necessary modernization is late to need, and becoming later by the day. This reflects what I see as loss of focus on ‘Job 1’ (delivering effective GPS service to the Joint Force) and a diminution in the sense of ‘GPS uniqueness and exceptionalism’ in its management as it was fragmented within the old SMC and is no longer the ‘shiny new object’ within the evolving Space Force. Even so, its value to its global user base, and particularly to U.S. and allied militaries, is stronger than ever and it remains the cornerstone among diverse complements within the Department of Defense PNT Enterprise. It is incumbent on the DOD to ensure the GPS services our warfighters will depend on can sustain that vital role.”
— Jules McNeff Overlook Systems Technologies
Ellen Hall
“What works well? There is good focus on the areas that need development: M-code, CRPA, resiliency. What needs improvement? More thorough and timely sharing of information by the government with industry.” — Ellen Hall, Spirent Federal Systems
Mitch Narins
“The ‘GPS program’ has set the standard for all other GNSS efforts, but there are always lessons to be learned. I have full confidence that USSF leadership is well equipped to deal with both the technology and management aspects of the program. As for policy, which supports military and civil uses worldwide, there is a clear distinction, based on mission areas and acceptable risk. However, risks to civil users have increased as GPS PNT services permeate all civil critical infrastructure systems. Therefore, system improvements directed at civil user PNT resilience should be given a higher priority and funded through appropriate civil channels. I encourage a policy to enable more resilient PNT services from space — and to consider that by looking both ‘up’ and ‘down’ for PNT services, unfortunate ‘situations’ might be avoided.” — Mitch Narins,
Strategic Synergies
Bernard Gruber
“One of the most consistent and enduring enablers of the GPS program is national policy. NSPD-39 re-baselined requirements buttressed by GPS being provided to the world for free, that it must be sustained and have an ever-present focus on performance improvement and robustness. Accordingly, NSPD-7 acknowledges an ever-changing world with a nod to cybersecurity, augmentations and direction to “improve NAVWAR capabilities to deny hostile use of United States Government space-based PNT services, without unduly disrupting civil and commercial access to civil PNT services.” — Bernard Gruber,
Northrop Grumman
New-generation aircraft ELT meets new European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements
Photo: Orolia
Orolia has received certifications for yet another survival emergency locator transmitter (ELT), the Ultima-S.
The news follows Orolia’s announcement that it had received certification for the Ultima-DT model, as well as a personal locator now shipping to the U.S. Army.
The Ultima-S is a new generation ELT installed in either the cabins or liferafts of aircraft. It relays accurate aircraft location information to search-and-rescue teams.
Once activated, a 406-MHz distress signal is transmitted and includes the ELT’s location thanks to the Ultima-S internal GNSS receiver. This built-in GNSS capability increases both probability and speed of detection of the distress signal.
“With these key certifications for the Ultima-S, Orolia brings a long-awaited solution to the industry,” said Jérôme Ramé, Orolia’s Aviation & Military Product Line Director. “We have developed strong partnerships with several of the leading aircraft manufacturers that will enable operators worldwide to benefit from the Ultima-S for both their linefit and retrofit needs, allowing fleet standardization.”
The Ultima-S provides free, global coverage service through the dedicated Cospas-Sarsat infrastructure while meeting the highest aviation safety standards. Orolia offers non-rechargeable lithium batteries compliant with the latest FAA and EASA special conditions standards, also known under TSO-C142b/DO227A. The Ultima-S also meets the most recent ELT performance and environmental standards through TSO-C126c.
“What makes the Ultima-S unique is a new feature called the Return Link Service (RLS),” said Ramé. “Through this capability, the user is automatically notified when the distress signal is detected and located by the Cospas-Sarsat ground infrastructure. The Ultima-S links directly to the European Galileo GNSS satellite constellation, providing the most reliable and timely information for reaching aircraft crew members in distress.”
In addition to being available on a linefit basis on major aircraft programs, Orolia has launched an exchange program to make retrofit activities easier for airlines, especially those upgrading to safer battery technology.
The three new GPS satellites will be delivered under the third production option of the GPS III contract
Space Systems Command (SSC), a division of the U.S. Space Force, has exercised its third production option valued at $744 million for the procurement of three additional GPS III Follow-On satellites from Lockheed Martin.
The contract option covers GPS IIIF Space Vehicles (SVs) 18, 19 and 20.
GPS IIIF will provide several next-generation capabilities to meet increased demands of both military and civilian users. Building on the technical baseline of satellites 01 to 10, the newer satellites will provide increased anti-jam capabilities for the military with the addition of a Regional Military Protection capability.
Precision ranging measurements will be enabled by a laser retro-reflector array and will address the consolidation of telemetry, tracking and commanding frequencies.
Additionally, GPS IIIF leverages major international collaboration with the Canadian Department of National Defense and other U.S. government organizations such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, and the U.S. Coast Guard Office of Search and Rescue (SAR) by hosting a new SAR payload.
This payload provides enhanced capabilities to the SAR mission with distress alert detection and location to 100 percent continuous global coverage and reduces location uncertainty to less than 5 km in support of 49 international partners.
Finally, the program will host a redesigned Nuclear Detonation Detection System that has a lower overall size, weight and power requirement.
“Along with our industry and government partners, the GPS IIIF team continues to add world-class capabilities that underpin U.S. national security needs to both our warfighters and civil users across the globe as the most utilized United States Space Force capability,” said Col. Jung Ha, GPS Space Vehicles senior materiel leader for SSC Military Communication and Positioning, Navigation and Timing.
The GPS IIIF SV11-12 satellites were included in the original GPS IIIF contract awarded to Lockheed Martin in September 2018 to build up to 22 GPS IIIF satellites. Under that contract, SSC exercised the first production option for SV13-14 in October 2020 and second production option for SV 15-17 in October 2021.
Artist’s rendering of a GPS III satellite. (Image: Lockheed Martin)
About Space Systems Command
Space Systems Command is the U.S. Space Force field command responsible for rapidly identifying, prototyping and fielding resilient space capabilities for joint warfighters.
SSC delivers sustainable joint space warfighting capabilities to defend the nation and its allies while disrupting adversaries in the contested space domain. SSC mission areas include launch acquisition and operations; space domain awareness; positioning, navigation, and timing; missile warning; satellite communication; and cross-mission ground, command and control and data.
“Seen & Heard” is a monthly feature of GPS World magazine, traveling the world to capture interesting and unusual news stories involving the GNSS/PNT industry.
Photo: Alexey_Seafarer/iStock/Getty Images Plus
HOW BIG IS THAT BEAR?
Monitoring the weight of polar bears — an important health factor — usually means tranquilizing them from the air and lifting them with a tripod attached to a scale. However, technology might provide a non-invasive solution. Various zoos and sanctuaries are testing the accuracy of lidar scanners to measure the weight of polar bears, reports Geo Week News. The scans could be done using drones and mobile mapping equipment and techniques, according to Joel Cusick, a GIS specialist for the National Parks Service.
Photo: PaulFleet/iStock/ Getty Images Plus
SLIP SLIDING AWAY
Researchers used a combination of GNSS and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data from Sentinel-1 satellites to determine subsidence in
99 cities around the world between 2015 and 2020. Subsidence rates in Tianjin, Semarang and Jakarta exceed 30 mm per year. Even in mostly stable cities, areas are sinking faster than sea level is rising, with Istanbul, Lagos, Taipei, Mumbai, Auckland and Tampa sinking faster than 2 mm per year in some areas. Besides climate change, causes include groundwater extraction, mining, reclamation of natural wetlands, infrastructure projects and ecological disturbances. The study is published in Geophysical Research Letters.
Photo: NOAA Fisheries/Raymond Boland
FINDING NEMO
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ocean mapping ship Rainier completed a five-month expedition to the Mariana Islands in September, combining mapping and charting with coral-reef ecosystem surveying. Collection of high-resolution mapping data in near real time improved the effectiveness of the traditional marine science data collection as the combined team mapped 4,000 square nautical miles of seabed and conducted 1,800 SCUBA dives. The data will improve navigation safety through updated NOAA nautical charts and increase understanding of coral reefs through the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program. Besides charts, the seabed mapping data supports marine protected areas, sustainable fisheries, and offshore wind siting — and, in the Marianas, is important for tsunami modeling.
Photo: mikulas1/iStock/Getty Images Plus
GRAVITY DOWN UNDER
An airborne gravity sensor is flying above 80,000 square kilometers of New South Wales (NSW), Australia, collecting data that will improve the accuracy of real-world heights from GNSS positioning to just a few centimeters. Data for the 18-month NSW Gravity Model project will be captured in five stages, starting in Western NSW. The resulting model is expected to enable better resource management, infrastructure planning and natural hazard preparation. It is also a critical building block for developing digital twins, replacing datasets that predate GNSS positioning.
GNSS researchers presented hundreds of papers at the 2022 Institute of Navigation (ION) GNSS+ conference, which took place Sept. 19–23 in Denver, Colorado, and virtually. The following five papers focused on atmospheric effects on GNSS signals. The papers are available at www.ion.org/publications/browse.cfm.
Addressing Scintillation Error
Mitigating the scintillation effect at low latitude is a complex matter: several kinds of experimental data must be collected, realistic models must be developed, and, most importantly, useful real-time indices and alerts must be made available.
The authors introduce a prototype based on a patent owned by SpacEarth Technology to address scintillation error detection and mitigation, supporting precision GNSS-based services at low latitudes in any season and space weather conditions. The patent relates to a method of total electron content (TEC) and scintillation empirical forecasting, in particular short-term forecasting (seconds to minutes). The output of the method is necessary to feed mitigation algorithms aiming at improving accuracy on GNSS precise positioning techniques (RTK, NRTK, and PPP) under ionospheric harsh conditions.
The prototype is designed with a Central Elaborating Facility, which collects the data provided by a network of GNSS monitoring stations detecting scintillation events, and broadcasts foreseen scintillation parameters. Users with a rover mitigation device can apply the parameters from the central facility for scintillation error mitigation.
Vincenzo Romano, INGV and SpacEarth Technology; Claudio Cesaroni, INGV; Luca Spogli, Alessandro Fiorini, INGV and SpacEarth Technology; Marco Fermi, Gter; Lorenzo Benvenuto, Gter and University of Genoa; Tiziano Cosso, Gter; Marcin Grzesiak, SRC/PAS; Joao Francisco Galera Monico, Italo Tsuchiya, UNESP; Gabriel Oliveira, Marcos Guandalini; “Ionospheric Scintillation Mitigation at Low Latitude to Improve Navigation Quality.”
Ring of Fire GUARDIAN
Commonly, natural hazards release energy into the Earth’s atmosphere in the form of acoustic-gravity waves, which propagate up to the ionosphere. The resulting traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) can be detected using GNSS signals, through the computation of the integrated total electron content (TEC) along the lines of sight between GNSS receivers and satellites. The global distribution of ground-based GNSS receivers constantly tracking multiple GNSS constellations (GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, BeiDou, and others) provides excellent spatio-temporal coverage around the world, including in areas of limited coverage by existing warning systems.
The authors present the operational GNSS-based Upper Atmospheric Real-time Disaster Information and Alert Network (GUARDIAN). Based on dual-frequency GNSS data from the Global Differential GPS (GDGPS) network of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the GUARDIAN architecture computes slant TEC time series in near real time.
As part of the GDGPS network, 78 stations around the Pacific ring of fire monitor the four GNSS constellations: GPS, Galileo, GLONASS and BeiDou. Cycle slips are corrected and the time series are filtered, both in real time. The resulting data stream is output live to a user-friendly public website, benefitting the general public and the scientific community.
The current GUARDIAN focuses on the Pacific region. However, the architecture can readily be extended to a worldwide coverage.
Léo Martire, S. Krishnamoorthy, L. J. Romans, B. Szilágyi, P. Vergados, A. W. Moore, A. Komjáthy, Y. E. Bar-Sever, A. B. Craddock, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology; “GUARDIAN: A Near Real-Time Ionospheric Monitoring System for Natural Hazards Early Warnings.”
Civil Aviation Interference
The authors provide a survey on GNSS receiver architectures with emphasis on new carrier-tracking techniques for mitigating the adverse effect of ionospheric scintillation within the context of civil aviation. The survey is complemented by results gathered from simulations on the impact of ionospheric scintillation in conventional receiver architectures. A review on scintillation mitigation techniques is carried out, covering several “technique families,” highlighting their potential for performance improvement, as well as their shortcomings and challenges in implementation.
A semi-analytical simulation campaign is carried out for different modulations: L1, L5 for GPS, and E1, E5a for Galileo. Here, the performance of a standard receiver tracking a set of GPS and Galileo satellites affected by ionospheric scintillation is analyzed to pinpoint existing vulnerabilities to this effect.
The simulation results show that ionospheric scintillations are responsible for large variations in carrier-to-noise ratio, which in turn can be responsible for losses of lock and large phase variations, increasing phase RMSE and in some cases leading to cycle slips of the phase estimation. Thus, the adopted solution must be robust to signal power fluctuations and the occurrence of cycle slips and able to maintain phase lock.
António Negrinho, GMV-PT Pedro Boto, GMV-PT Marta Cueto, GMV-ES Mikael Mabilleau, EUSPA Claudia Paparini, EUSPA Ettore Canestri, EUSPA; “Survey on Signal Processing Techniques for GNSS Ionospheric Scintillation Mitigation.”
Tonga Eruption Data Analyzed
Extreme natural disasters, such as volcanic eruptions, can create visible pressure waves in the atmosphere and trigger observable ionospheric wave responses that can travel hundreds of kilometers in the ionosphere. The acoustic and gravity waves generated can cause ionospheric TEC perturbations and variations. The TEC determines the GNSS ionospheric delay and can cause significant positioning errors, which may affect the performance of GNSS-based applications.
The researchers processed GNSS data collected from the Hong Kong Satellite Positioning Reference Station Network to analyze the ionospheric activity and positioning performance responding to the Tonga volcanic eruption on Jan. 15, 2022. To detect and repair cycle-slip jumps, the researchers applied theTEC rate and Melbourne Wubbena Wide Lane (MWWL) linear combinations. A Savitzky-Golay low-pass filter with a 30s window was used to improve the TEC accuracy.
The team investigated the changes in TEC, Rate of TEC index (ROTI) and positioning errors in the eastward, northward and upward directions after the anomalous ionospheric propagation to Hong Kong between 11:30 and 14:30. The team found the ionospheric anomaly could generate large changes in the three parameters, with peaks up to three times the calm period. Their prompt research contributes to a better understanding of the coupling of extreme ionospheric activities and dynamics caused by volcanic eruptions.
Xiaojia Chang, Kai Guo, Zhipeng Wang, Kun Fang, Hongxia Wang, Beihang University; Hailong Chen, China Academy of Aerospace Electronics Technology; “Ionospheric Anomaly and GNSS Positioning Responses to the January 2022 Tonga Volcanic Eruption.”
Toolbox for Monitor Network
The MONITORtoolbox is a set of Python-coded software tools to perform automatized large-scale processing of data from the Monitor network of the European Space Agency (ESA). The Monitor network aims to continuously monitor ionospheric scintillation events from multiple ground stations strategically located around the globe. It accommodates a repository with a large number of GNSS measurements containing scintillation events for users to analyze scintillation data or for research purposes.
This paper shows the potential of the MONITORtoolbox for providing access to a large amount of data that otherwise, without a systematic processing, becomes practically useless. The software developed implements the means to collect data and store it in a local database for quick offline access. It detects the presence of scintillation events based on certain conditions and criteria defined by the user and identifies its properties in terms of duration, time of occurrence, intensity and satellite location. It implements the tools to compute relevant statistics, providing insights on ionospheric scintillation phenomena.
Sergi Locubiche-Serra, Alejandro Pérez-Conesa, Diego Fraile-Parra, Gonzalo Seco-Granados, José A. López-Salcedo, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, IEEC-CERES; Juan M. Parro-Jiménez, Raúl Orús-Pérez, ESTEC, European Space Agency; “MONITORtoolbox — Software Tool for the Analysis of Ionospheric Scintillation Data from the ESA Monitor Network.”
Multinational technology firm GMV has signed an agreement with Lockheed Martin Corporation to develop the processing and control centers for the Southern Positioning Augmentation Network system (SouthPAN). Lockheed is contracted to establish SouthPAN.
The project is a joint initiative of the Australian and New Zealand governments to provide a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) for navigation and precise point positioning (PPP) services. GMV will also be responsible for monitoring both of these services in the region and for ensuring compliance with the committed performance levels.
SBAS and PPP systems have applications in industries as diverse as agriculture and road, air, maritime and rail transportation, as well as in the field of geomatics. SouthPAN is expected to accelerate development of applications in these areas.
SouthPAN is also the first system with these characteristics available in the Southern Hemisphere. With this new program, Australia and New Zealand will be contributing to improved global coverage and interoperability for services of this type, joining the list of countries and regions that already have their own SBAS system: the United States (WAAS), Europe (EGNOS), India (GAGAN) and Japan (MSAS).
On Sept. 26, two weeks after the agreement was signed, the first services were provided by activating transmission of the system’s first signals. This was a significant milestone, because SouthPAN is the first project where an industry consortium provides an SBAS as a service, rather than as a turnkey system.
Image: SouthPAN
GMV’s role
GMV will be responsible for developing two key subsystems for SouthPAN: the Corrections Processing Facility and the Ground Control Center. The company will also be responsible for monitoring the system and ensuring it complies with the committed performance levels.
GMV also will provide support for the system’s operation and maintenance.
Corrections Processing Facility. The facility generates correction messages for signals transmitted by GPS and Galileo, improving precision for users by improving accuracy to as little as 10 centimeters.
The facility also detects malfunctions in the satellites and generates warnings for users. This will allow use of SouthPAN by civilian aircraft as a navigation system during various flight operations, including precision approaches to runways for landing.
Safety-of-life services such as these will be available in 2028.
SouthPAN early Open Services coverage. OS-L1 covers mainland Australia and New Zealand. OS-DFMC and OS-PVS cover Exclusive Economic Zones in both countries. (Image: Geosciences Australia)
Ground Control Center. The control center remains in operation 24 hours a day seven days a week, and will perform all the functions needed to monitor and control the system. It will also provide information to users about the system’s operation and availability of services.
In Australia, SouthPAN development, entry into service and operation are being supervised by Geoscience Australia in collaboration with Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand.
In 2020, the two agencies signed the Australia New Zealand Science, Research and Innovation Cooperation Agreement (ANZSRICA). Over the next 20 years, the Australian government will be contributing 1.4 billion Australian dollars to the SouthPAN project.
Innovative chip offers multiple ultra-low power connectivity options and low-power processing for internet of things (IoT) market
Sony Semiconductor Israel has launched the ALT1350 for the global market. The ALT1350 is a cellular LTE-M/NB-IoT chipset designed to enable additional low-power wide-area (LPWA) communication protocols, as well as GNSS, in a single chipset.
The ALT1350 incorporates a sensor hub to collect data from the sensors while maintaining ultra-low power consumption. It also provides cellular and Wi-Fi-based positioning and is tightly integrated to provide power-optimized concurrent LTE and GNSS to accommodate various tracking applications, which can be demanding with a single chip.
“The market demand for this multiprotocol, ultra-low power IoT chipset is intensifying, and Sony’s ALT1350 chipset meets that demand,” said Nohik Semel, CEO at Sony Semiconductor Israel. “This is the game changer we’ve been waiting for, which will enable IoT deployments, utilizing universal connectivity on edge processing and multiple location technologies.”
Diagram: Sony
The ALT1350 is an advanced cellular IoT solution, with architecture that resolves IoT service provider’s power-consumption concerns. Its optimized standby mode (eDRX) reduces power consumption by 80% when compared to the current generation and by 85% when using it to send short messages.
Overall improvements in the system’s power consumption will enable four times longer battery life for a typical device, enabling additional functionalities and use cases with smaller batteries.
The ALT1350’s sub-GHz and 2.4 GHz integrated transceiver enables hybrid connectivity for smart meters, smart cities, trackers and other devices. This enhances coverage, reduces costs and further decreases power consumption using IEEE 802.15.4-based protocols such as Wi-Sun, U-Bus Air and wM-Bus, in additional point-to-point and mesh technologies.
The chipset is designed to support the wide-ranging market needs of utilities, vehicle, tracking devices, smart cities, connected health and other verticals. Device manufacturers across all verticals can take advantage of its low power consumption, long-lasting battery life, mature Release 15 LTE-M/NB-IoT software stack, and future compatibility with 3GPP release 17.
All these guarantee longevity and ensure the ALT1350 will operate with 5G networks. It contains an additional LPWA radio transceiver with targeting operation in <1 GHz and 2.4 ISM bands for universal connectivity options.
The chipset provides advanced on-the-edge low power processing capabilities, ranging from data collection, low power AI/ML processing of the data, and MCU to enable IOT applications on the chip.
The device is now sampling to lead customers and will become commercially available in 2023. The ALT1350 also includes a secure element for application usage and integrated SIM designed for PP-0117 to meet GSMA requirements.
The IMU-FI-200C FOG IMUs are a fully integrated inertial measurement solution that combines the latest closed-loop FOG and MEMS sensors technologies
Inertial Labs has released the IMU-FI-200C high-performance fiber-optic gyroscope (FOG) inertial measurement unit (IMU), a compact, self-contained strapdown, advanced tactical-grade IMU that measures linear accelerations and angular rates with three-axis tactical-grade, closed-loop FOG and three-axis high-precision MEMS accelerometers in motionless and high-dynamic applications.
The IMU-FI-200C FOG IMUs are a fully integrated inertial measurement solution that combines the latest closed-loop FOG and MEMS sensors technologies. It is designed for a wide range of higher order integrated system applications, such as
antenna and line-of-sight stabilization systems
passenger train acceleration/deceleration and jerking systems
motion reference units
motion control sensors
gimbals
electro optical components/infrared
platform orientation and stabilization.
Fully calibrated, temperature-compensated and mathematically aligned to an orthogonal coordinate system, the IMU contains gyroscopes with an accuracy of up to 0.5 deg/hr and accelerometers with a bias repeatability of less than 2-mg over their operational range, very low noise and high reliability.
The IMU-FI-200C FOG IMUs have been thoroughly tested to perform in significant variations in temperature, high vibration and shock, and is designed to be used in air, marine and land environments.
“New technology creates new opportunities, and the new IMU-FI-200C represents the innovative approach we take every day at Inertial Labs,” said Jamie Marraccini, president & CEO of Inertial Labs. “The high performance and flexibility to integrate into different systems and applications is what we have striven to provide to our customers with this new release.”
A new partnership between all-in-one navigation app and Waterway Guide gives U.S. boaters an enhanced user experience, integrating comprehensive marina details and user reviews into the navigation app.
The savvy navvy app, described as “Google Maps for boaters”, has grown by 132% this year in the United States.
Waterway Guide is a resource for cruising boaters. Its data on more than 4,000 marinas and thousands of anchorages are now integrated into the savvy navvy app for all the users to access.
“One of the most significant factors in deciding where to go with your boat is reviews from other boaters,” said Jelte Liebrand, CEO and founder of savvy navvy. “With a wealth of information on all marinas and anchorages and honest reviews, it’s an amazing addition to our offering for our growing American customer base.”
Image: savvy navvy
Liebrand, a former Google software engineer and avid sailor based in the UK, developed and launched savvy navvy, bringing an all-in-one navigation solution to the market. This season alone savvy navvy users have plotted more than 40 million nautical miles of routes. Earlier this year, the navigation app launched a freemium plan and functionalities for paddleboarders, kayakers and jet skiers.
Waterway Guide is continuously updated by a network of on-the-water contributors, marina partners, NOAA data, the Waterway Guide team, and crowd-sourced information.
Data from the Waterway Guide is live in the savvy navvy app for users to see now when pressing the blue POI icons across the United States and Canada, giving users information on services and facilities alongside marina reviews.
