The 2016 Esri User Conference, the mecca of geographic information systems (GIS) in the U.S., takes place June 28 to July 1 in San Diego, California. The conference is designed to give attendees practical advice and hands-on experience with GIS tools from Esri and other companies, as well as share ideas and best practices for improving our world through maps.
The event encompasses 16,000 GIS users, managers and developers; 300 moderated sessions; 450 hours of technical training; and 300 software vendors.
Laser Technology Inc. (LTI) is offering a close-up look at its new geospatial information systems (GIS) technology at the 2016 Esri User Conference, which is being held June 27 to July 1 in San Diego, California.
Attendees are invited to stop by booth #2525 to discover how LTI can help professionals stay connected and map smarter by using its lasers and a personal smart device. The company will be handing out vouchers for a complete mapping solution, which could save GIS professionals hundreds of dollars.
The New TruPoint 300 with MapSmart on Android, by LTI.
The company’s MapSmart on Android software combines all of the sophisticated technology that is typically required to collect field data and puts it into a straightforward app for smart devices. The software simplifies the mapping process by allowing users to establish an origin quickly and begin mapping in minutes, LTI said.
With MapSmart now available on Android, users gain an improved workflow that includes wireless data transfer, a larger display and built-in help support. Users also have the ability to integrate location data by utilizing the GPS from a smart device or improve accuracy with an external antenna.
LTI is redefining the traditional total station with its brand-new TruPoint 300. A lightweight, compact, simple point-and-shoot laser with survey-grade accuracy, the TruPoint 300 costs a fraction of alternative technology. The unit measures the distance between two remote points and has onboard solutions for volume, heights and 2D and 3D areas.
Users can collect 3D measurements from a single location using a personal smart device and capture a photo of every shot taken. With the ability to collect on-site, extremely precise data in half the time, the modern total station is a go-to tool for collecting measurements quickly, easily and safely, LTI said.
“Achieving survey-grade accuracy with a compact and affordable unit is very exciting,” says Derrick Reish, senior product manager for Laser Technology’s Professional Measurement division. “Having the TruPoint 300 and our flagship TruPulse laser products communicate with MapSmart on Android allows us to offer a complete solution for field measurement and mapping.”
Imagine if you didn’t have to occupy the location you needed to map. LTI has made this possible with LaserGIS for Esri’s ArcPad data-collection software. This software allows users to fully maximize field work productivity. Working seamlessly with the current ArcPad platform, LaserGIS improves the data-collection process by making laser integration faster and easier. Users can now cover more ground in less time and measure the slope distance, inclination, azimuth and position remote features with one, simple shot.
Laser Technology Inc. is a Colorado-based designer and manufacturer of reflectorless laser measurement devices for GIS, forestry, natural resource management, general construction, utilities, mining and telecommunication applications.
Septentrio will showcase its latest GNSS systems and software solutions for GIS professionals at the 2016 Esri User Conference in San Diego, June 28-30, with a special focus on the rapidly growing market for drone-based aerial survey.
At center stage will be Septentrio’s suite of products designed specifically for aerial surveys. They include the compact AsteRx-m UAS onboard GNSS receiver and GeoTagZ high-accuracy drone positioning software, which is optimized for automatic interface with Esri ARCGis and Drone2Map platforms.
“Demand for drone imagery is booming in the GIS marketplace as a fast and efficient alternative to ground-based surveys for applications such as mapping, photogrammetry, infrastructure inspection and natural disaster monitoring,” said Neil Vancans, vice president of Septentrio Americas. “To meet that demand, we are bringing to market a range of hardware and software solutions that will make it easier than ever for Esri users to capture, georeference, process and visualize drone-captured imagery.”
Septentrio is also introducing new firmware for its versatile NR2 GNSS receivers and the PinPoint-GIS utility software for terrestrial applications. NR2 V1.2.0 offers a host of new connectivity features, including direct dial-up, dynamic DNS, base-rover Wi-Fi point-to-point connection and other new features that will streamline field work. PinPoint-GIS has also been enhanced to provide seamless integration with Esri’s Collector for ArcGIS.
“Septentrio is pioneering the way by which Esri users collect data,” said Gustavo Lopez, product manager at Septentrio. “GeoTagZ and PinPoint-GIS bring more accuracy and flexibility into the field by combining the power of Septentrio’s GNSS products with the user-friendly interface of Collector for ArcGIS. From the air to your own device, you are guaranteed accuracy and reliability in your GNSS positioning by using GeoTagZ to georeference aerial photos and PinPoint-GIS to harness the power of GIS data.”
Esri User Conference attendees are invited to visit Booth 2633 for a first-hand look at Septentrio’s solutions for the full range of aerial and ground-based GNSS solutions for GIS, including the new-generation APS-3G multi-constellation RTK receiver, which was just introduced to the market.
Septentrio will showcase its latest GNSS systems and software solutions for GIS professionals at the 2016 Esri User Conference in San Diego, June 28-30, with a special focus on the rapidly growing market for drone-based aerial survey.
At center stage will be Septentrio’s suite of products designed specifically for aerial surveys. They include the compact AsteRx-m UAS onboard GNSS receiver and GeoTagZ high-accuracy drone positioning software, which is optimized for automatic interface with Esri ARCGis and Drone2Map platforms.
“Demand for drone imagery is booming in the GIS marketplace as a fast and efficient alternative to ground-based surveys for applications such as mapping, photogrammetry, infrastructure inspection and natural disaster monitoring,” said Neil Vancans, vice president of Septentrio Americas. “To meet that demand, we are bringing to market a range of hardware and software solutions that will make it easier than ever for Esri users to capture, georeference, process and visualize drone-captured imagery.”
Septentrio is also introducing new firmware for its versatile NR2 GNSS receivers and the PinPoint-GIS utility software for terrestrial applications. NR2 V1.2.0 offers a host of new connectivity features, including direct dial-up, dynamic DNS, base-rover Wi-Fi point-to-point connection and other new features that will streamline field work. PinPoint-GIS has also been enhanced to provide seamless integration with Esri’s Collector for ArcGIS.
“Septentrio is pioneering the way by which Esri users collect data,” said Gustavo Lopez, product manager at Septentrio. “GeoTagZ and PinPoint-GIS bring more accuracy and flexibility into the field by combining the power of Septentrio’s GNSS products with the user-friendly interface of Collector for ArcGIS. From the air to your own device, you are guaranteed accuracy and reliability in your GNSS positioning by using GeoTagZ to georeference aerial photos and PinPoint-GIS to harness the power of GIS data.”
Esri User Conference attendees are invited to visit Booth 2633 for a first-hand look at Septentrio’s solutions for the full range of aerial and ground-based GNSS solutions for GIS, including the new-generation APS-3G multi-constellation RTK receiver, which was just introduced to the market.
Insitu has been awarded a US$71 million follow-on contract to produce six RQ-21A Blackjack unmanned aerial systems (UAS), with options for two more, from U.S. Navy Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR).
The RQ-21A is recovered with the flight recovery apparatus cable aboard the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Mesa Verde after its first flight at sea. The tests were held in the Gulf of Mexico on Feb. 10, 2013.
The RQ-21A Blackjack has significantly larger payload mass, volume and power than other small UAS currently being used in theater, according to Insitu, a subsidiary of The Boeing Company. The system includes electro-optic and mid-wave infrared sensors with a laser rangefinder and infrared marker.
The Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) Lot V contract also includes an option year for nine Full Rate Production (FRP) systems. The FRP decision review is expected this fall.
“This contract award paves the road for Blackjack’s continued and future fleet integration,” said Col. Eldon Metzger, program manager for the Navy and Marine Corps Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program Office. “It is at the tactical edge for Marine and Navy units and the foundation to support future system enhancements.”
“Blackjack delivers an organic intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance UAS that is runway-independent and founded on an open architecture that allows for implementation of innovative payloads to meet critical operational demands,” said Ryan M. Hartman, Insitu’s president and CEO. “We are proud to provide the sailors and marines with reliable, capable systems that support their warfighting needs.”
NAVAIR awarded the STUAS Engineering Manufacturing Development contract to Insitu in 2010 to begin the development of RQ-21A Blackjack, a variant of the company’s Integrator unmanned system. The program achieved Milestone C in 2013, delivered the first LRIP system in 2014, and achieved initial operational capability in January.
u-blox’s has revealed its latest receiver, the miniature Untethered Dead Reckoning (UDR) EVA-M8E.
Measuring 7 millimeters by 7 millimeters, the EVA-M8E is designed to provide positioning for small-sized vehicle trackers. It provides untethered dead-reckoning performance without any electrical connection to the vehicle, using low-cost inertial sensors.
The EVA-M8E offers continuous positioning even before GNSS signals have been received, improves accuracy when GNSS signals are weak, and enables continuous low-latency positioning at 20 hertz to track highly dynamic events, the company said.
The EVA-M8E enables maximum flexibility in end-product design, requiring only a direct connection with the micro-electro-mechanical (MEMS) inertial sensor and SQI Flash memory. It adapts automatically to installations anywhere within a vehicle. It supports very low stand-by current consumption.
UDR with adaptive signal strength compensation helps reduce the effects of small antenna and poor installations, which means the EVA-M8E can support extremely small after-market road-vehicle applications such as usage-based insurance and theft alarms.
Along with all u-blox M8 receivers, the EVA-M8E supports GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, QZSS and SBAS constellations. It further provides superior positioning accuracy in urban canyons, tunnels and parking garages.
“The EVA-M8E enables innovative products and services for high-volume after-market telematics,” said Andrew Miles, product manager of dead reckoning at u-blox. “It also complements the main highlight of the NEO-M8U UDR module, which is ease-of-use.”
The C93-M8E enables immediate evaluation of the u-blox’s Untethered Dead Reckoning technology in most vehicle applications.
EVA-M8E samples and the C93-M8E are available now. The modules will be in full production in the fourth quarter of 2016.
Daniel Sällstedt (left), CEO of Sky Eye Innovations, and Erik Eklund, business development manager of Spacemetric, discuss their new partnership to develop inspection drones. (Photo: Patrik Hellström, Sky Eye Innovations)
To meet the growing demand for advanced industrial airborne inspection tools, Sky Eye Innovations and Spacemetric have entered a strategic partnership to provide turnkey solutions for collection, storage and management of data from airborne sensors.
Sky Eye Innovations produces a UAV solution with capabilities to control advanced sensing technologies, and Spacemetric is a provider of image data management software solutions.
More and more organizations see the enormous potential for increased efficiency in inspection, monitoring, asset assessment and preventative maintenance through use of drones (UAVs) equipped with various sensor technologies. The huge growth in drone use has been helped by software tools that support data collection and data processing, many of them provided through the cloud.
The new partnership connects a leading image management tool with a very high-performance UAV solution built for daily use in the most demanding conditions. The result is an integrated and highly effective inspection tool for preventative maintenance and decision making that uniquely combines imagery from UAVs, satellites and handheld sensor units.
“At Spacemetric we’ve actively developed our software to handle the growing volumes of data coming from UAVs. We’ve actively been looking for a UAV partner and are very impressed by Sky Eye Innovations and their unique offering, which is much in demand,” said Erik Eklund, who is responsible for Spacemetric’s new Airborne business area.
The partnership creates a unique set of expertise. Spacemetric specializes in solutions to manage large volumes of imagery and streamline the process of efficient capture and storage to accelerated sharing and delivery of geospatial imagery for users like the Swedish Air Force.
Sky Eye Innovations contributes with development and manufacturing of extremely performant UAV platform solutions that alone in the world are able to lift and control FLIR System’s most advanced cameras used for industrial inspection and monitoring tasks.
“Sky Eye Innovations are constantly working on improvements and looking at new ways to address the challenges the industry is experiencing. Our ultimate goal is to offer cost-effective solutions that drive productivity and improve working conditions. To achieve this we need our UAV platform to excel and collaboration with world-leading expertise is critical to providing high quality customized solutions that are in demand. Therefore we are proud to announce our partnership with Spacemetric, and the next generation of industrial inspection tools this will lead to,” said Daniel Sällstedt, founder and CEO of N.M.M Innovation Sweden AB (also known as Sky Eye Innovations).
Sentera LLC, a global provider of UAV hardware, sensors and data management platforms, has launched the Phoenix 2 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The Phoenix 2 is light-weight and highly durable, and can follow precise grid patterns.
“The Phoenix 2 brings a level of precision and accuracy to UAVs that hasn’t been seen before,” said Todd Colten, chief aerospace engineer for Sentera. “Users can now collect highly detailed data quickly, and with complete certainty about its accuracy.” Colten went on to describe the professional-grade autopilot: “The grid pattern you specify is mapped pre-flight. The drone knows exactly what line to follow to get the exact looping radius, and the exact flight level needed for perfect tiling.”
Sentera Phoenix 2.
At only 4 pounds, the Phoenix 2 is easily hand-launched in just a few steps, and can carry multiple sensor options for up to an hour of flight time. The professional-grade autopilot is part of what makes the precision possible. It constantly auto-calculates and auto-optimizes according to the grid pattern specified to ensure the data collected meets exact specifications.
“Growers are using the Phoenix 2 with agriculture-specific sensors to collect RGB, NIR, and NDVI imagery. That imagery is so precise – [the growers] tell us they’re targeting and treating specific parts of their fields, and then they’re using fewer chemicals, saving money and increasing yields,” continued Colten. “Follow-up flights can be programmed to use the same pattern for exact data comparison at multiple times throughout the growing season. We’re getting great feedback from our customers.”
Attributes
Payload Solutions: The Phoenix 2 is a highly-versatile UAV that accepts multiple sensors, including the Sentera Double 4K Sensor, providing true RGB and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data in a single flight. The Sentera Quad Sensor, a multi-spectral six-band imager with red edge capabilities is also popular in agriculture applications. Other compatible mapping sensors include the Sentera-Q for high-resolution orthomaps and the Radiometric Thermal Sensor, which quickly builds high-resolution true temperature maps. Sentera also offers EO and IR gimbaled payloads for live video public safety missions.
Precision: Up to a 60-minute endurance and cruise speed of 30 mph, the Phoenix 2 is capable of covering broad areas that other UAVs of the same size cannot. The highly reliable and accurate Kestrel OnBoard autopilot ensure images are captured with precise, even spacing and overlap that is auto-calculated and can be adjusted by the user at the click of a button.
Ease-of-Use: Effortlessly hand-launched in just a few steps, the 4-pound Phoenix 2 flies autonomously on a predetermined flight pattern that can be updated during flight by accessing the easy-to-use ground station software. Upon completion, the Phoenix 2 automatically returns to safely land.
End-to-End Solution: The Phoenix 2 includes the aircraft, ground station, transportation cases, batteries, chargers, and software with multiple training options available. Sentera offers a wide variety of sensors, ensuring every application has the perfect imagery solution. Sentera’s AgVault and OnTop Open Software Platforms manage the multitude of images and data collected during flight, and allow near-real time reading and analysis of the data, including working with other data sources via APIs.
LandWorks Inc., developer of land management software, has advanced its integration with Esri technology by creating a new Spatial Alignment Tool that runs as an ArcGIS Desktop extension and automates polygon editing tasks for land mapping professionals and land asset managers.
LandWorks will demonstrate the product at booth #2404 at the 2016 Esri User Conference, June 27-July 1, at the San Diego Convention Center.
The new software can be used in any country and in any industry that maps land boundary polygons using Esri’s ArcGIS Platform.
Previously, when a more accurate version of land grid (Public Land Survey sections, Texas abstracts, etc.) or tax parcel data was made available by a data vendor, any polygons in an updated area of the grid had to be manually realigned to snap to the more accurate grid. With LandWorks’ Spatial Alignment Tool, manual realignment is no longer necessary.
“Land grid and parcel data providers typically deliver quarterly updates to customers. The labor intensive task of realigning mapped land polygons to the updated version has been a long-term challenge that many companies choose to forgo rather than implementing the more accurate version of the land grid or parcel data,” said Jerry Bramwell, President and CEO of LandWorks. “With our new Spatial Alignment Tool, what once required months to complete now takes hours, resulting in more accurate land agreement polygon boundaries without the high cost of manually snapping them to the updated grid or parcel data.”
The Spatial Alignment Tool works with any vector land grid or parcel data. Users need an original source land/parcel grid and an updated source land/parcel grid. The tool detects vertex movements between the original land/parcel grid and the corresponding updated layers, then automatically aligns the selected polygons based on those detected changes.
Users can easily adjust the tolerance and alignment settings if not satisfied with the results. Once the alignment process is complete, users can review the aligned polygons before committing them to the enterprise geodatabase.
In addition to easily maintaining the accuracy of GIS data for better analysis, the new software also saves companies significant time and money if they choose to switch land grid or parcel data suppliers for quality, supply or budgetary reasons.
“Traditionally, companies have been hesitant to change land grid or parcel data vendors because of the seemingly Herculean task of transferring the polygons from one land grid or parcel layer to another,” said Bramwell. “Automating this task using the Spatial Alignment Tool now makes switching suppliers a viable option.”
Geneq has introduced a new NTRIP client app for iOS that works with iSXBlue receivers.
iSXBlue RTN is used alongside other geospatial information systems (GIS) and surveying apps to obtain real-time centimeter accuracy on an iPhone or iPad.
Key features include real-time kinematic (RTK) alarm configurations with NTRIP and DIP modes. The easy-to-use app allows users to update their receiver with the latest firmware, the company said.
Other features include real-time map location with accuracy and satellite skyplot for GPS, GLONASS and SBAS. The app supports all current and future constellations such as BeiDou and Galileo, the company said.iSXBlue and SXBlue GPS Receiver users include GIS and surveying professionals in industries such as agriculture, environmental, government, mining, natural resources, surveying and utilities.
Harxon, a high-precision GNSS antenna manufacturer in China, has released a new GNSS + L-band antenna.
The GPS1000 receives GPS L1/L2/L5, BDS B1/B2/B3, GLONASS L1/L2, Galileo E1/E2/E5a/E5b and L-band frequencies, which can be used in land survey, marine survey, channel survey, seismic monitoring, bridge survey, container operation and agriculture applications. Customers can use the same antenna for GPS only or dual-constellation applications.
It has high gain and wide beam width to ensure the signal receiving performance of satellite at low elevation angle. The phase center of this antenna remains constant as the azimuth and elevation angle of the satellites change. Signal reception is unaffected by the rotation of the antenna or satellite elevation, so placement and installation of the antenna can be completed with ease.
The GPS1000 is housed in a IP67 waterproof enclosure for permanent installation, and maintains good performance in a variety of harsh environments. Plus, it can be customized by Harxon for the best solution for customers. Orders can be placed at www.harxon.com.
Details of this Thursday’s Connected Car webinar emerged as speakers gathered today to share their presentation materials. (You can join this free webinar here.) A key concept is that no single technology can provide the required position accuracy in all environments. A combination of core GNSS technologies is needed: SSR-RTK with correction data (satellite and LTE), multi-GNSS for large number of measurements, Multi-band reception for minimal convergence time and 3D automotive dead reckoning.
Speakers from Renesas Electronics, Toyota InfoTechnology, u-blox and Denso will present technical material of interest to engineers and system integrators as well as product managers, strategic planners and executives.
The topics covered in the webinar include:
• Recent developments in – and the potential safety impact of – V2X technology, by Chaminda Basnyake, Renesas Electronics
Driver and Pedestrian intent are both expressed Over-the-Air (OTA). Key: Basic Safety Messages (BSM) / Personal Safety Messages (PSM) / Signal Phase and Timing (SPAT). OTA also broadcasts an intersection map and GPS corrections.
• The status of V2X standards (traditional DSRC and emerging 3GPP), and the status of US spectrum and NHTSA regulations, by John Kenney, Toyota InfoTechnology Center
Spectrum choices and the possibility of unlicensed device spectrum sharing.
• Considerations for GNSS and cellular/short-range connectivity for autonomous vehicles, and examples of implementations for connected vehicles, by Nikolaos Papadopoulos, u-blox America
There is no single technology capable of providing required position accuracy in all environments. A combination of core GNSS technologies is needed: • SSR-RTK with correction data (satellite, LTE) brins accuracy of Multi-GNSS for large number of measurements. • Multi-band reception for minimal convergence time. • 3D automotive dead reckoning to smooth multipath effect, bridge obstructions and maintain positioning in tunnels and parking.
• Connected and Automated Vehicles for Traffic Safety: How radar, lidar, cameras, dedicated short range communications (DSRC) and V2X will combine to create advanced Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS),by Roger Berg, Denso International
Video demonstrates in-car system giving audio warning of a hard-braking directly vehicle ahead, hidden from the driver’s view.
