NovAtel Inc. has introduced the GPS-713-GGG-N and GPS-713-GGGL-N ATEX-qualified triple-frequency GNSS antennas with an Inmarsat rejection filter.
Based on the company’s pinwheel technology, the antennas offer multi-constellation reception of L1, L2 and L5 GPS; L1, L2 and L3 GLONASS; B1 and B2 BeiDou; as well as E1 and E5 a/b Galileo frequencies.
The GPS-713-GGGL-N also supports L-Band from 1525 to 1560 megahertz. The same antenna can be used for GPS-only, dual or triple constellation applications, resulting in increased flexibility and reduced equipment costs, the company said in a news release.
The phase center of the antennas remain constant as the azimuth and elevation angle of the satellites change. Signal reception is unaffected by the rotation of the antenna or satellite elevation, according to NovAtel. With the phase center in the same location for the GNSS signals, and with minimal phase center variation between antennas, the antenna is suitable for baselines of any length.
The rugged antenna is enclosed in a durable, waterproof housing and meets MIL-STD-810G for vibration, corrosive environment and salt fog, NovAtel says. The GPS-713-GGG-N and GPS-713-GGGL-N are similar in form factor to our other high performance GPS-700 series antennas, and bth antennas meet IEC60945 specifications.
The two antennas deliver choke-ring level antenna performance, but without the size and weight, NovAtel said. Both antennas provide enhanced Inmarsat interference rejection, which allows tracking of GNSS signals in the presence of high-powered Inmarsat transmitters that are typically found on marine vessels.
Geneq Inc. has released the SXPad 800H, which the company describes as a feature-packed, rugged handheld GPS data collector at an affordable price.
The SXPad 800H is specifically designed for mobile GIS users in applications ranging from water, electric and gas utilities, transportation, mining, agriculture and forestry.
The high-performance 800-MHz device is designed to give users all the power needed to work with maps and large data sets in the field. It is designed for rugged outdoor use, the company says, with a waterproof seal (IP65) and ability to survive a 5-foot (1.5-meter) drop to concrete. Its 3.7-inch color touchscreen (full VGA) is sharp and is sunlight readable.
Standard features include an extra-long battery life of more than 12 hours on a charge, slots for MicroSD cards and SIM cards, and the Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system.
The SXPad 800H offers features typically seen in more costly mobile devices, the company says, including GSM/GPRS cellular modem, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a 5-megapixel camera, and an internal GPS receiver with external GPS antenna port.
The SXPad 800H is optimized for GPS/GIS field data collection using its 1 to 3 meter accuracy internal GPS receiver or one of Geneq’s high-performance SXBlue GPS receivers for sub-meter and centimeter-level accuracy.
It was not a big wager as wagers go, at least not in monetary value, but the underlying premise of the wager spoke volumes. It all began innocently enough in 2005 when the first test, or proof of concept, Galileo satellite known as GIOVE-A was launched.
In March of that year, a group of PNT experts made a simple wager that there will be:
10 or fewer operational Galileo satellites by 12/31/15
or
11 or more operational Galileo satellites by 12/31/15
Galileo’s GIOVE-A retired in June 2012.
About 20 PNT experts took the bet, evenly divided on both sides, which essentially said that given that the first test (GIOVE) Galileo satellites were launched in 2005 and 2008 respectively, surely there would be at least 10 operational satellites on orbit or about one per year by 2015.
The stakes were modest, but as I said, the import of the faith (or lack of faith) in the European Union and its ability and understanding of the difficulties involved in the Galileo endeavor spoke volumes. As the chief scientist at Air Force Space Command stated at the time, “This is rocket science; this is hard.”
Chutzpah and/or naïveté
But the Europeans refused to believe it was a very hard problem. Indeed, after the second GIOVE launch, GIOVE-B in 2008, the European ministers announced, with incredible chutzpah and/or naïveté, that the Galileo constellation would be fully operational (24 fully operational on-orbit satellites) by 2013.
Of course, nothing of the sort has happened. Following the in-orbit validation (IOV) satellites, the first operational satellite launch did not occur until October 2011, almost six years later.
As of May 2016, there were 12 operational Galileo satellites on orbit along with two in early orbit or checkout stages — a far cry from the predicted 24 operational satellites. This is not a criticism of the Galileo system; rather, a validation of those who took the pessimistic side of the wager and of the chief scientist who clearly stated the obvious: this is indeed, as a popular euphemism states, a DARPA hard problem.
So the Europeans have been going about this PNT business since the initial decision to proceed in 2003 — 13 years. The United States has been producing and launching GPS satellites continuously since the first test launch of a NAVSTAR satellite in 1977 (39 years), with a continuously fully operational system (FOC) since 1995 (21 years), and guess what? It is still a hard problem. No one denies that. Which brings us to GPS III.
GPS III Update
Since the United States — specifically the United States Air Force (USAF) — has been in the space-borne PNT business longer than any other nation, you would think we would have this down by now. But it is still a hard problem with, fortunately, a long string of successes and very few (only two) failures.
To date, the U.S. government has launched a total of 72 GPS satellites. There are 31 active operational GPS SVs (satellite vehicles) on orbit, with seven additional in residual or test status; 32 have been retired into a parking orbit where they will not interfere with the operational constellation. That equates to 1.85 GPS satellites launched per year on average, or one every 6.5 months — an enviable record, failures and all.
Plus, there are GPS IIA satellites still on orbit that have been there for more than 22 years. Not bad for a satellite built to last (contracted service life) for 7.5 years.
Amazingly, the payloads on every GPS satellite to date were built, in part, in partnership with or completely by one company, now known as Harris, nee Exelis, nee ITT. Of course, the complexity of the payloads being built by Harris for the GPS III satellites is a far cry from the payloads built in 1975 for launch in 1977. According to GPS III program manager and VP Mark Stewart and his cohorts at Lockheed Martin (LMCO), the aerospace company building the GPS III satellites, GPS III
“…will deliver three times better accuracy, provide up to eight times improved anti-jamming capabilities and extend spacecraft life to 15 years [ed. contracted life], 25 percent longer than the [ed. latest family of satellites on orbit today]. GPS III’s new L1C civil signal … will make it the first GPS satellite to be interoperable with other international global navigation satellite systems.”
While many of you may look upon that LMCO statement as marketing hype, in fact it is a rather incredible prophesy. To a PNT expert it translates to: almost all GPS users globally will have sub-meter level positional accuracy from a group of signals that will rarely if ever be completely jammed, from an SV with a projected lifetime of 30 years that has more signals and greater signal strength, flexibility and interoperability than ever before. By the numbers GPS is still, far and away, the world’s gold standard.
So exactly where are we in relation to a launch of the first evolutionary GPS III satellite? After all, the last IIF launch, number 12 in the series, built by Boeing, occurred in February, so by the law of averages we should have the first GPS III launch later this month. That is not going to happen, but then what is a few months among friends when iterated over 39 years?
Currently the first GPS III launch date, according to the USAF, is scheduled for May 2017. All indications are the government is on track to meet that date with, interestingly enough, the availability of a suitable launch vehicle being the LIMFAC (limiting factor), not the availability of an GPS III SV to launch.
SV 01 in testing at Lockheed Martin’s Denver facility. (Photo: LMCO)
According to my sources, GPS III SV-01 is fully integrated, has completed all environmental testing and is essentially ready to ship to Cape Canaveral,. It would be available for launch (AFL) sometime before the end of the calendar year if there were a launch vehicle, a ground control system and range availability.
GPS III SV-02 will undergo full integration (“core-mating”) completion sometime this fall and — following successful completion of its environmental tests — should certainly be AFL in 2017.
The complete navigation panel (from Harris) for GPS III SV-03 should arrive in the LMCO Denver facility early next year. Providing the vehicle stays on track through testing, it should be AFL in 2018.
The government has yet to complete the contract award process for GPS III vehicles SV-09 and SV-10 to LMCO, but I am assured the award is imminent.
My sources confirm that Harris is continuing to pump money, expertise and technology into the GPS III payload development process, a manufacturing tour de force, and the company should be back on schedule early next year.
As for OCX, the future GPS Ground Control Segment, that is another tale for another time. For all other GPS III segments, all in all it is a positive message for development and deployment. Which is an admirable feat — after all, it is rocket science!
By the way, the Galileo wager is open to interpretation. There were certainly more than 10 Galileo platforms on orbit on the last day of December 2015, but only nine of them were operational at the time. Both sides are claiming victory. What a surprise!
A product to save your hearing
The EB15LE with Hearing Defenders with accessories. (Photo: ERI)
Before I close, I want to mention a product I have tested as extensively as I can in a limited environment. I agreed to test this non-GPS product because of all the emails and letters I receive concerning tinnitus and how it negatively affects our warfighters. Several emails make clear the necessity and criticality of a good sight picture or display for GPS guidance, especially where exfiltration is concerned.
When warfighters or law enforcement officers are suffering the ill effects of extremely loud noises, it is often disorienting. Much like the effects of a flash-bang device, a victim can lose his bearings and needs to have a clear visual of how to exit the threat environment.
The best solution would be not to suffer the devastating effects of the loud noises in the first place. This is where a company named Etymotic Research Incorporated (ERI) comes into play. ERI has developed electronic hearing protection for law enforcement officers and military users.
The version I tested was designated the EB15 for law enforcement. It functioned well as electronic hearing protection and amplification where needed. The device is essentially an electronic hearing aid that amplifies natural or quiet sounds up to five times, and a hearing defender that electronically blocks loud, harmful sounds by up to 25 decibels.
While I was not able to test the hearing defenders in actual combat, the testing I did perform demonstrated that the EB15-LE is an impressive product with a plethora of earplugs for various noisy environments that may help save a user’s hearing. Our warfighters and law-enforcement officers deserve the best technology available, especially if it helps them retain their orientation in a dangerous environment and saves their hearing.
Until next time, happy navigating, and remember: GPS is brought to you free of charge courtesy of the USAF.
A team of Rohde & Schwarz engineers have found a new way to hack Pokémon Go, the massively popular app that debuted last month.
The engineers are generating GNSS data with a Rohde & Schwarz signal generator, and feeding the signal directly into the mobile device, making it possible to collect dozens of Pokemon right in the lab.
The team produced a video showing the hack, which has received almost 400,000 views on YouTube, and received coverage from Bloomberg and The Verge.
The Munich-based Rohde & Schwarz team provides the following hardware diagram of the setup:
The team also describes the technical details:
“The setup is a little proof of concept by simulating GPS signals with an HIL — hardware in the loop — interface, which can also be used for a flight simulator or similar applications.
“A R&S-SMBV100A vector signal generator serves as a source to simulate real-life GNSS RF signals. We use a custom PC software with a joystick controller for the ultimate gaming experience *wink* — it may as well be controlled with a mouse. This software streams HIL commands to the signal generator over a LAN interface and interpolates position and velocity changes. The interpolation will be done according to a desired inertia model — pedestrian/car/plain — we actually used a slow car here with a maximum speed of ~15km/h. This is useful, for instance, if you assume that cars will not make 90° turns.
“We set the GNSS coordinates of the signal generator to some arbitrary position in the world and start the HIL mode — this will result in a ban if you jump quickly from Moscow to Sydney! You have to wait a reasonable amount of time in between.
“The signal generator simulates a real-life GNSS RF signal, which is fed indirectly into the mobile phone and to a u-blox M8 GNSS receiver. This is why we use an RF splitter. The losses from antenna to device are roughly 30 dB. We therefore generate a signal of -80 dBm in order to achieve the common GNSS signal strength of -110 dBm at the device. The idea behind the shielding box is to protect the device from the signal from outside. You could also build the setup in a cellar.
“We use the corresponding u-center v8.11 software, which is connected to the GNSS receiver to visualize our current position using a Google Maps plug-in. The u-blox is connected via USB to the computer.
“By doing so, we create a closed-loop realtime GNSS simulation with user feedback and interaction.”
Clarion has adopted Furuno’s GV-86 in the NXR16 for in-car navigation and positioning. Clarion is a Japanese manufacturer of in-vehicle infotainment head units, including car navigation systems and car audio systems.
Clarion thoroughly evaluated the Furuno receiver for its robustness in heavy-use environments and the company’s long-term supply-chain capability.
The NXR16, which debuted in June, is designed to fill the needs of professional-use customers in the auto-leasing and rent-a-car industry. It supports multi-language and multi-display features that satisfy the increasing number of foreign tourists using rental-cars.
Clarion’s NXR16 car navigation system.
Furuno’s GV-86 is a dead-reckoning-enabled GNSS receiver that concurrently receives GPS, SBAS and QZSS satellite signals. Its dead-reckoning function enables it to provide high-accuracy positioning in environments where no GNSS signals can be received, such as tunnels, underground car parking and deep urban canyons.
The dead-reckoning function is realized by integrating the information from a gyro sensor and a velocity sensor.
Rockwell Collins is bringing its NavFire Precision Positioning Service (PPS) GPS to Leonardo-Finmeccanica’s Vulcano family for naval and artillery applications.
NavStrike military GPS offers high performance GPS for tightly coupled GPS/INS integrations.
Derived from the field-proven 12-channel NavFire Precise Positioning Service GPS receiver, Rockwell Collins’ NavStrike military GPS offers high performance GPS for tightly coupled GPS/inertial navigation system (GPS/INS) integrations.
“We have customized the NavFire receivers for the particular caliber of the ammunition, and provided full support to the customer during and after the firing trials,” said Claude Alber, vice president and managing director, Europe, Middle East and Africa for Rockwell Collins. “In the end, our product perfectly matched the demanding performance requirements of our customer.”
The NavFire GPS includes the Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM) to allow decryption of precision GPS observations through over-the-air rekeying. The positioning information is used by the guidance system of the projectile.
Nearly 30 years ago, Rockwell Collins assisted the U.S. Air Force in developing GPS technology and that legacy continued when the company created the world’s first all-digital miniature GPS receiver under contract with DARPA. Over the years, Rockwell Collins has produced more than 50 GPS products and delivered more than 1 million GPS receivers for commercial avionics and government applications. This recent GPS contract continues this legacy to create leading edge military navigation solutions.
Common sense tells us not to hold a smartphone while driving. But a new game is so addicting, it’s causing people to forget that rule.
Released July 6 for both Android and iOS, Pokémon GO instantly became the top free app and the top grossing app on Apple’s App Store, shattering social media records and shooting Nintendo stock through the roof. And it hasn’t even been introduced in Europe and Asia yet. (Japan, of course, is the birthplace of Pokémon.)
The game uses augmented reality to place the coveted virtual monsters (Pokémon) into real-world locations, so users have to travel to add to their collections.
However, much like in the early days of GPS navigation, when people ended up driving down railroad tracks or into ponds, the Pokémon GO app has led to accidents. Some users are playing the location-based game from inside their vehicles, stopping suddenly, while pedestrians are staring at device screens as they walk through busy cities, sometimes onto private property.
In the first week:
A 28-year-old Auburn, New York, driver ran his vehicle off the road and crashed into a tree.
A Massachusetts man woke up to a garden full of wandering Pokémon players after his home — once a church — had been marked as a “gym” (multi-player battleground).
A group of Missouri teenagers were arrested for armed robbery after allegedly using the app to anticipate secluded locations for holdups.
Police departments around the country are warning that anyone caught using the app while driving or jaywalking could end up with a hefty fine.
But there’s an upside, too. Gamers are going outside, getting exercise and making new social connections.
And, apparently, helping police. One 19-year-old Wyoming woman, on a quest to catch a Pokémon from a natural water resource, instead discovered a dead body floating in the Big Wind River.
Pointer Telocation Ltd. – a developer, manufacturer and operator of Mobile Resource Management (MRM) — signed a contract July 18 with CET RIO (the Rio de Janeiro Transit Authority) to provide technology and integration services during the 2016 Olympic Games, managing the vehicles and personnel responsible for transit control, emergency and contingencies.
More than 200 vehicles will be monitored in real time which will be managing, controlling and supporting the traffic management systems starting Aug. 5 and throughout the games.
The system will use Pointer’s Web Fleet Software Platform and will be integrated into the CET Control Center as well as the COR (the city’s Operation Center), providing a unified view of traffic information throughout Rio.
“We are very pleased to be playing an important role in the smooth running of the Olympic Games this summer,” said David Mahlab, chief executive officer of Pointer. “Our selection by Rio’s Transit Authority for this very high profile event and mission critical task, demonstrates a strong level of trust in our solution. We look forward to successfully delivering on this contract, and we believe this will provide us with very strong references for further work in the region.”
The Air Force has released a Request for Proposal (RFP) for launch services for the GPS III-3 mission, scheduled to launch in 2019. Proposals are due Sept. 19; the contract will be a standalone contract for a single GPS III launch.
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) and SpaceX are expected to compete for the contract. In April, SpaceX was chosen to launch the GPS III-2 satellite in May 2018. ULA chose not to compete.
The RFP seeks an Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Launch Service. The draft RFP was released on June 14 to obtain industry feedback to inform the Final RFP. After extensive industry engagements, the Final RFP was released on Aug. 3 with proposals due back to the Air Force no later than Sept. 19 in accordance with the solicitation instructions.
After evaluating proposals through a competitive, best-value source selection process, the Air Force will award a firm-fixed price contract that will provide the government with a total launch solution including launch vehicle production, mission integration and launch operations for the GPS III-3 satellite.
Artist’s concept of the nextgen GPS III satellite (courtesy of the USAF).
The Air Force’s acquisition strategy for this solicitation achieves a balance between mission success/operational needs, and lowering launch costs, through reintroducing competition for national security space missions, the Air Force said in a press release.
“Launch system certification is a key element (high technical bar) within this solicitation to provide insight into the technical capabilities and rigorous processes that demonstrate a launch vehicle contractor’s ability to design, develop, manufacture, and launch national security space missions and contributes to the overall flight worthiness process,” said Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, Space and Missile Systems Center commander and Air Force program executive officer for Space. Prior to contract award, the contracting officer will verify that the Offeror has a certified launch system as part of a responsibility determination resulting in a high technical bar.
“Through this competitive solicitation for GPS III launch services, we hope to continue fostering competition in order to promote innovation and reduce cost to the taxpayer while maintaining our laser focus on mission success,” Greaves said.
GPS III is expected to provide improved anti-jamming capabilities as well as improved accuracy for precision, navigation, and timing. It will incorporate the common L1C signal which is compatible with the European Space Agency’s Galileo global navigation satellite system and compliment current services with the addition of new civil and military signals.
The first GPS III satellite undergoes system-level thermal vacuum testing. (Photo: Lockheed Martin)
This is the second competitive launch service solicitation under the current Phase 1A procurement strategy. The Phase 1A procurement strategy reintroduces competition for national security space launch services. Under the previous Phase 1 strategy, ULA was the only certified launch provider. In 2013, ULA was awarded a sole-source contract for launch services as part of an Air Force “Block Buy” of 36 rocket cores that resulted in significant savings for the government through FY 2017.
In May 2015, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) was certified for EELV launches resulting in two launch service providers that are qualified to design, produce, qualify and deliver a launch capability and provide the mission assurance support required to deliver national security space satellites to orbit.
Most of you are familiar with hackathons, but this one was focused on geospatial solutions for first responders with NGA’s GeoQ as a foundation. The goal was to hack unclassified geospatial datasets and open-source tools to build effective solutions for disaster response and recovery.
The foundation – NGA’s GeoQ
Ray Bauer, who heads up the NGA GeoQ effort, was the keynote speaker. He explained how GeoQ meets the goals set by former NGA Director Latisha Long and current Director Robert Cardillo to take advantage of open-source data, applications and most important talent. Ray explained how the growing complexity of the GEOINT world forces NGA to take advantage of every geospatial resource available while keeping their classified work secure.
Ray stated NGA’s hackathon goals, specifically:
“We are interested in working with participants to identify and create new, interactive and efficient ways of reading, disseminating and analyzing tons of data from disparate systems. We highly encourage leveraging open-source tools and other software solutions participants bring to the table. This hackathon is not just for those entrenched in the geo world! We’re interested in everything from new mapping interfaces, mobile solutions, lightweight and portable information dashboards, hardware integrations with commercial off-the-shelf tools like sensors and UAVs, and everything in between!
“The intent of this event is to think outside the box and employ new tools and alternative open-source data to more efficiently and accurately send the most relevant data to emergency responders quickly. Currently there are dozens of data sets that make it difficult to quickly search and integrate into a common operational environment, particularly across the sectors: firefighter, police, hospital, dispatcher, HEMSI, air evacuation, utilities, Department of Transportation, etc. How do we share information among these groups during disaster situations such as tornadoes, hurricanes, shootings, flooding, significant traffic events, chemical spills and other potentially catastrophic events?”
For those of you not familiar with GeoQ, there is an excellent overview produced by NGA that is on Youtube.
GeoHuntsville hackathon goals
The pre-event announcements listed the following goal.
Combine commercial and proprietary hardware and software solutions to create unique concepts/solutions. Specifically:
Solve disparate data problems among current open source data sets (i.e. overlaying multiple shape files with real-time data from multiple sources such as emergency responder software, sensors in the field, social media, e.g.).
Recreate more aesthetically appealing user interfaces considering numerous data sets — to include mobile solutions.
Suggest new solutions leveraging a subset of currently available data. (Use the data we give you, use the data you bring, use the data we don’t know about — and create a solution to a problem we don’t know exists.)
Integrate new solutions or disparate data into open source tools, like GeoQ.
Identify ways to more efficiently and accurately receive and analyze updates from the field. (This could be anything from a tool an emergency responder uses or social media resources.)
Come up with a way to disseminate critical information across agencies and geographic locations.
First responder involvement
The aspect of this hackaton that was particularly valuable was the direct involvement of numerous Huntsville first responders. Policemen and firemen were able to explain their difficulties and needs face to face with the programmers and engineers who were participating in the hackathon, so the participants were not operating in a vacuum. See my interview with the Huntsville fire chief.
Fueled with sodas, chips and snacks, the hackers worked overnight to accomplish the goals. At stake were three prizes, including a top prize of $1,000. The prizes were not huge, but they provided some incentive including bragging rights.
Although some results were similar to existing applications, the different approaches were still very impressive for a two-day event. You may find one or two applications worth your further investigation for integration in your systems.
The teams
Mobile Damage Assessment
Micah Cleveland and Larry Wilbourn provided firefighters with a way to directly report the status of damaged structures or casualties and triage via a smartphone.
Situational Awareness
The team of Larry Mason, Tyler Hughes and Michael Carroll built an application displaying real-time locations of all emergency vehicles and the display of preplan floor plans and imagery to show details such as electric and gas cut offs.
Virtual Reality GIS Display
Jason Rade and Jason Nofki demonstrated their system of displaying GIS data and imagery using a virtual reality headset. They indicated that the next step was to display the data as augmented reality.
OpenSensorHub
Steve Jones demonstrated a system to display Internet of Things (IoT) devices as live links on a map to display data, imagery and video from those sources. (Steve participated in the event, but did not enter into the competition.)
WEBEOC data to current devices
Two team members worked a problem proposed by Madison County Emergency Management Agency. They read legacy format WEBEOC data and converted the information into more modern device data structures.
And the winners are…
First Place: Mobile Damage Assessment
Second Place: WEBEOC data to current devices
Third Place: a tie between Situational Awareness and Virtual Reality GIS Display
A few gems developed at the hackathon may be useful with your applications effort. If you need additional information regarding the hackathon and participants, contact Chris Johnson of GeoHuntsville at [email protected].
DigitalGlobe is supporting security at the Summer Olympics with its Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympic Security Package. The package provides international governments and security agencies with professional-grade imagery and information to enhance the safety of athletes, dignitaries and spectators.
The package includes cloud-based access to historical and near-real time high resolution satellite imagery, a robust data set describing the local environment, and a highly detailed Digital Surface Model (DSM) of Rio de Janeiro and the Olympic venues.
The imagery and imagery-derived products are information-rich and analyst-ready, allowing security teams to quickly unlock critical information and spend the bulk of their time analyzing the data, rather than searching for information, the company said.
“Global event security requires rapid access to current, accurate, and complete geospatial information for enhanced contingency planning, risk management, and emergency response,” said Daniel L. Jablonsky, DigitalGlobe General Counsel and General Manager for International Defense & Intelligence. “As a trusted partner, DigitalGlobe will help governments and security agencies be confident in their ability to keep their athletes and spectators safe during the Summer Olympic Games.”
Included in the Summer Olympic Security Package are:
Basemap +Daily
DigitalGlobe Basemap +Daily is a premier subscription service that provides historical and the most current imagery of Rio de Janeiro leading up to and during the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
The Basemap +Daily service includes an online, historical foundation layer and the latest imagery collections from DigitalGlobe’s full constellation of imaging satellites, with resolution as sharp as 30 cm and terrain and perspective distortions removed to make for a suitable map base layer.
Users can view and download imagery within hours of acquisition to support a broad range of event security applications and ensure the protection of athletes, spectators and supporting resources.
Human Landscape
DigitalGlobe’s Human Landscape product delivers an intimate understanding of the local environment, including everything from details on transportation infrastructure, to population characteristics, to crime rates.
The Rio de Janeiro Olympic Security Package consists of more than 100 geospatial layers containing more than 80,000 features and 1.25 million building footprints extracted and compiled from DigitalGlobe imagery and publicly available data. The dataset provides a baseline of understanding that allows geospatial analysts to get a head start on pre-event planning, threat and risk assessment, and emergency response modeling.
The highly detailed database contains 600 percent more location-based content than public datasets, enabling analysts to quickly answer meaningful questions related to location, time, and context.
Vricon DSM
Vricon, a joint venture between DigitalGlobe and Saab, produces Vricon DSM from commercial satellite imagery with an automated 3D modeling technology.
Vricon DSM is delivered rapidly and with high precision over both urban and rural areas. It features 0.5 m post-spacing and 3 m absolute accuracy in all dimensions, enabling analysts to determine, for example, where helicopters can land, where radio communications are possible, and where lines of sight are clear or obstructed.
The package is designed for
Mission rehearsal and contingency (evacuation) planning
Situational awareness
Logisitics
Force protection
Personnel and civilian security
Cross-service collaboration
View-shed analysis and radio frequency (RF) propagation planning
Threat assessment and monitoring
Tipping and cueing
Anticipatory mapping
Velodrome, Carioca Arena 3, 2 and 1 and Future Arena (in the background), and the Olympic Tennis Center (on the right) at Barra Olympic Park. By André Motta/brasil2016.gov.br
what3word’s three-word addressing system has been integrated into numerous mapping and navigation services ahead of the Summer Olympics, being held in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, Aug. 5-21.
what3words is used in the RioGo app (which won the Rio Olympics Transport Challenge) and Navmii, an offline satnav app.
what3words makes it easy to find and get to any location in the world, the company explains. The service works both online and offline, and is based on a location reference platform that uses a global grid of 57 trillion 3 x 3-meter squares. Each square has a unique pre-assigned three-word address, no matter how remote. This makes it easy to both pinpoint an address and communicate it — in whichever of its nine different languages travelers prefer, including Brazil’s national tongue Portuguese.
At the Olympics, specifying exactly where to meet or where to go can be difficult. For example, there are four entrances to the Aquatic stadium: expired.stud.cucumber, carbon.padding.puddles, ducks.hillside.frocks and saying.rosette.slogged.
Meeting friends or family in the Olympic Park is easy — meeting at forgiven.milder.dragon (the handball entrance in the Future Arena). If medical attention is needed, tourists can navigate offline to the Jacarepagua Pharmacy is at hint.laws.squares, while the Victoria Hospital is at reheat.admit.take
Outside of the Olympic Park, tourists can park near the Christ the Redeemer statue at puff.goggles.really, or find the start of the walking trail to Sugar Loaf at replays.chain.assist.
Getting around with what3words
There are many different ways what3words will be used during the Olympics. what3words is in RioGo, the official Olympics public transit app — so visitors can use multi-modal journeys (bus, bike hire, walking, taxi…) to navigate around the city.
For navigation when walking or driving, users can type in three-word addresses into Navmii for offline routing to and from three-word addresses.
PocketEarth, an app available on Apple OS, lets users view worldwide street maps and key locations of hostels, cafés, bars, hiking trails and more. Guests simply download the offline map for Brazil and they can navigate the entire country simply, using 3 word addresses for every location.
When planning their trip, visitors can use TripUGo’s travel guide to find museums, swimming spots, adventure playgrounds, hiking and biking trails and much more. Every TripUGo location has its 3 word address listed — from the skatepark at akward.tilting.beams or the Casa do Pontal Museum at owner.includes.solo to the surf spot at Saquarema beach.
Guest houses are now listing their three-word addresses to make sure travelers can find them, even offline. Brazilrentmyhouse.com, for example, set up by entrepreneur Matthew Parker to help visitors find local accommodation during the Rio Games, lists three-word addresses for each rental.
Rio Security
DigitalGlobe has developed an extensive security package to ensure the safety of guests and athletes during Rio 2016. Using its fleet of WorldView satellites, DigitalGlobe’s package that detects disruptions to infrastructure, identifies high-crime zones and offers the most up-to-date imagery of Rio as seen from space, providing security officials with the information needed to formulate comprehensive security planning. It also will help people avoid mosquito zones (Brazil is facing a servere Zika virus outbreak).
what3words has been integrated into the platform. While GPS coordinates are accurate, communicating long strings of numbers between humans is prone to error. With what3words, security teams and those on the ground can quickly identify and easily communicate incidents, team rallying points, helicopter landing sites or temporary triage tents. They can share an accurate location with a paramedic, a security team member or even with civilians and guests.
The DigitalGlobe Rio Olympics security package consists of more than 100 geospatial layers containing over 80,000 features and 1.25 million building footprints, extracted and compiled from DigitalGlobe imagery and publicly available data.
Brazil doesn’t track addresses for its favelas, such as Rio’s largest, Rocinha.
what3words in the favelas
The residents of Rio’s largest favela, Rocinha, already know all about the efficiency of what3words. According to many official maps, Rocinha is just an empty space. More than 3,000 streets and the homes of more than 70,000 residents are invisible.
The Brazilian post office does not deliver in favelas, but a local co-operative, Carteiro Amigo, is using what3words to address every single house in the teeming favela to safely deliver letters and parcels.
NovAtel Inc. has introduced the GPS-713-GGG-N and GPS-713-GGGL-N ATEX-qualified triple-frequency GNSS antennas with an Inmarsat rejection filter.
