Geoforce, Inc., an international provider of asset management solutions for the oil and gas industry, has announced the widespread commercial availability of the GT0, a tiny industrial GPS asset-tracking device. The device is designed to track and remotely monitor assets too challenging for other GPS devices, the company said.
“Geoforce is constantly trying to gauge what our customers will need next,” said James MacLean III, Geoforce’s president and CEO. “What we’ve been hearing out there is this: smaller, easier and whenever possible — more affordable. We’ve purpose-built this device to try and meet those needs without dropping the quality-level our customers deserve.”
The GT0 has a powerful omni-directional antenna, allowing for placement in almost any orientation on an asset. The tracking device is engineered with RFID and GPS technology for location and identification, as well as QR coding for mobile scanning of product information. Its compact size allows the tag to fit on equipment where previous larger and bulkier asset-tracking devices could not be implemented. It is an IP67 device (weatherproof) and has an optional metal bezel for added protection. It has an expected five to seven year battery life, making it a simple-to-deploy “slap and track” device.
More than 300 companies currently use Geoforce’s solutions to manage 100,000 assets across six continents. The GT0 was previously offered in limited release to several service and rental companies beginning in January of this year.
The Trimble BD930-UHF high-performance integrated UHF receiver.
Trimble has introduced the Trimble BD930-UHF receiver and communication module. As part of Trimble’s GNSS OEM portfolio, the new compact module features centimeter-level, Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) positioning capabilities coupled with an integrated UHF receiver for precise mobile positioning. The BD930-UHF module’s connectivity and configuration capabilities allow system integrators and OEMs to easily add GNSS, centimeter-level positioning to specialized or custom hardware solutions.
“The OEM and system integrator communities demand high performance, reliability and support for their positioning solutions,” said Dale Hermann, general manager of the Integrated Technologies division at Trimble. “The Trimble BD930-UHF delivers the latest GNSS and communication technology in an easy-to-integrate form factor for demanding conditions and applications such as field computing, port automation and lightweight robotic or unmanned vehicles. With the BD930-UHF module, customers are purchasing a solution not just a GNSS receiver.”
Taking advantage of Trimble’s expertise in both GNSS and UHF communications, the Trimble BD930-UHF module has been designed for applications requiring centimeter accuracy in a compact package. By integrating wireless communications on the same module, the task of receiving RTK corrections is significantly simplified.
The triple-frequency GPS/GLONASS/BeiDou/Galileo BD930-UHF provides customers with a multi-constellation solution that can reduce their integration effort and time to market. Ethernet connectivity and onboard web server allows high-speed data transfer and configuration via standard browsers. USB and RS232 ports are also supported. By tightly integrating communications with the GNSS receiver, integrators can reduce costs, power, weight and size.
The Trimble BD930-UHF is expected to be available in July 2014 through Trimble’s Precision GNSS + Inertial sales channel worldwide.
There has been a lot of GNSS-related news in the past month, so I thought I’d do a quick review of the importance (and possibly unimportance), of news you may have heard about.
Just because some GPS satellites weren’t broadcasting CNAV on L2C and L5 doesn’t mean your receiver isn’t using L2C or L5. On the contrary, if your receiver was designed to handle L2C and L5, it’s likely already been using them. The CNAV is just the message being transmitted on the L2C and L5 carrier along with the code. If your receiver tracks L2C and L5, it’s likely already using the carrier (phase) observations. However, even then there are only a limited number of satellites broadcasting L2C and L5 carriers. Specifically, there are 11 satellites broadcasting L2C and four broadcasting L5, meaning that your receiver is roughly tracking one L5 satellite at any one time during the day and several satellites broadcasting L2C.
The C/A code (NAV) message on L1 that your receiver already uses today is good enough. Your receiver doesn’t need the CNAV message on L2C or L5 to utilize the L2C or L5 carrier observations. That’s not to say there’s no benefit to CNAV on L2C and L5, but for RTK or post-processing, the value is largely in the carrier observations. In the future, when L2C and L5 are fully deployed (or near fully deployed), the L5 CNAV does have some distinct advantages, but that’s a few years down the road. To give you an idea of the benefit of L5 when there are enough GPS satellites broadcasting L5 , take a look at the following illustration published by Dr. Richard Langley from the University of New Brunswick comparing the reduction of code multipath on L1 and L5 of two WAAS GEO satellites.
Reduction of code multipath using L1 and L5 on WAAS GEO Richard B. Langley, Hyunho Rho
For the full text of the Langley/Rho article on L5 and WAAS that appeared in the May 2009 issue of GPS World magazine, click here.
Second GPS IIF Satellite of 2014 Launched May 16
On May 16, the second GPS satellite of 2014 was launched successfully from Cape Canaveral in Florida. It was the sixth model IIF GPS satellite, of which 12 are being built, before transitioning to the next-generation model GPS satellite named GPS III. It began transmitting on May 21, 2014, but is not yet set healthy.
Photo credit: Spaceflight Now.
The GPS model IIF satellite broadcasts the legacy GPS signals as well as the new civilian L2C and L5 signals.
Normally, a launched GPS satellite is set healthy (and automatically begin being used by your GPS receiver) within 30 days of launch, sometimes much sooner. However, the IIF GPS satellite launched in February of this year still hasn’t been set healthy, the reason reportedly being an extended navigation test reported here.
A third GPS IIF satellite is scheduled for launch this year on July 31.
During the post-launch interview last Friday, the Air Force stated that the remaining GPS IIF satellites (six) will be launched by the end of 2016. From previous conversations I’ve had with Air Force officials, they’ve stated that there could be an overlap between IIF and III satellite launches. In other words, the first GPS III satellite could be launched before all IIFs have been launched.
“Since March 15, 2014, the Air Force has been conducting functional checkout on a GPS satellite, designated Space Vehicle Number (SVN) 64. SVN-64 broadcasts a data message that clearly indicates SVN-64 is unusable for navigation. Nevertheless, the U.S. government has confirmed that certain GPS receivers are using data from SVN-64, in violation of GPS interface specifications, resulting in outages or corrupted, inaccurate position calculations.”
CGSIC reports that the GPS continues to operate and is fully functional.
In Australia, faulty GPS receivers on roughly 1,000 fleet vehicles caused an apparent GPS “outage” about a month ago.
The U.S. Air Force GPS Operations Center reported that in mid-May tests, “PRN 30 [was] broadcasting almanac datasets that do not reflect constellation changes that occurred since it was last uploaded with navigation message data. [. . . ] The utilization of these almanacs in a manner that regards the time of week, but neglects or mishandles the week number (effectively executing as if the current week number is the week number associated with these almanac parameters), will result in an increasing error in visibility determination and other almanac based estimations (elevation/azimuth, Doppler shift, SV clock offset from GPS time, etc) as the dataset’s actual week offset from the current week increases.”
First Two FOC Galileo Satellites Arrive in French Guiana for Launch Preparation
The first two Fully Operational Capability (FOC) Galileo satellites arrived in the French Guiana in preparation for launch this summer. When launched into orbit, they will join four IOV (In-Orbit Validation) Galileo satellites launched in 2011 and 2012.
The first FOC satellite launch may signal the beginning of Galileo “production” launches of one pair per quarter. Giuliano Gatti, Head of ESA’s Galileo Space Segment Procurement Office, stated that “A steady stream of satellites is foreseen, coming from OHB to ESTEC for acceptance testing and then on to French Guiana. Thanks to the preparatory work done with these pioneer satellites, future Galileos will be processed more rapidly.”
OHB is the prime contractor for a total of 22 FOC Galileo satellites. Those are in addition to the four IOV Galileo satellites.
The two Galileo satellites in the clean room.
Massive GLONASS System Failure
On April 1, the entire GLONASS system was inoperable for about 11 hours. A second, partial failure involving eight GLONASS satellites occurred on April 14 and lasted for about 30 minutes. There were many reports of RTK receivers not operating properly, and some manufacturers instructed their users to “turn off” GLONASS tracking capability on their receivers.
Subsequently, mathematical mistakes were blamed for the failures. The head of the Russian Space Agency, Oleg Ostapenko, stated that the problem would be fully resolved by mid-May and that there is almost no chance of a similar failure happening again.
Some news media are reporting that such an action by Russia would have an effect on GPS.
It would not.
What they’re talking about is discontinuing operations of some or all IGS (International GNSS Service) GPS stations in Russia. Those stations have nothing to do with the operation of GPS. They are simply CORS (Continually Operating Reference Stations). If anything, it will hurt Russian scientists (and scientists from other countries) more than anyone else.
Russian Rocket Launch Failure
Last week, Russia suffered its fifth rocket launch crash in the past four years. Fortunately for the GNSS user community, the rocket was not carrying any GLONASS satellites.
However, it raises serious concerns about the reliability of Russian rockets and launch procedures. Europe’s Galileo satellites are launched using Russian Soyuz rockets at Europe’s space port in French Guiana.
Available for iPhone, iPad and Android, VIIRS View provides mobile device users a look into the type of data meteorologists and climatologists use every day to track the weather and monitor Earth’s environment.
Based on data generated by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite aboard Suomi NPP, VIIRS View combines visible light imagery, low-light nighttime imagery and ocean chlorophyll concentration onto a full Earth globe, rotatable and zoomable on any location on the planet.
A desktop version of the VIIRS View app, launched in February, has been downloaded more than 90,000 times.
An original large format VIIRS View interactive tabletop display is being shown at Raytheon Booth #203 at the the 30th Space Symposium, being held this week in Colorado Springs, Colorado. GPS World Defense Editor Don Jewell is providing coverage from the symposium.
The app can be downloaded by searching VIIRS View at the Google Play and Android stores, or by clicking here:
The global space economy grew to $314.17 billion in commercial revenue and government budgets in 2013, reflecting growth of 4 percent from the 2012 total of $302.22 billion, according to The Space Report 2014. The report was issued this week by the Space Foundation during the 30th Space Symposium being held this week in Colorado Springs, Colorado. GPS World Defense Editor Don Jewell is providing coverage from the symposium.
Commercial activity — space products and services and commercial infrastructure — drove much of the increase. From 2008 through 2013, the total has grown by 27 percent. Commercial space products and services revenue increased 7 percent since 2012, and commercial infrastructure and support industries increased by 4.6 percent.
Government spending decreased by 1.7 percent in 2013, although changes varied significantly from country to country. Substantial space budget cuts in the United States outweighed gains in Canada, India, Russia, South Korea, and the United Kingdom, all of which increased budgets by 25 percent or more.
These new global space economic numbers come from the Space Foundation’s publication, The Space Report 2014:The Authoritative Guide to Global Space Activity, which was released today. Data was compiled from original research and a wide variety of public and private sources, and analyzed by Space Foundation researchers.
Key Findings
The 160-page book contains worldwide space facts and figures and is illustrated with photographs, charts and graphs. Within are myriad examples of the benefits of space exploration and utilization, the challenges facing the space sector, the opportunities for future growth and the major factors that shape the industry. In addition, The Space Report includes an overview of each sector, definitions, and up-to-date information on space infrastructure, facilities, launches and programs.
Following are just some of the many interesting facts and analyses found in The Space Report 2014: The Authoritative Guide to Global Space Activity:
Launches and Satellites
81 launch attempts took place in 2013, an increase of 4 percent from the 78 launches in 2012 (and above the five-year average of 79 launches per year).
The majority of these launches were conducted by Russia (32 launches), the United States (19), China (15), and Europe (7).
After two years of conducting fewer launches than China, the United States rose again to second place, partly due to an increased operational tempo as U.S. commercial providers launched cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station.
New launch vehicles made their first flights (or first successful flights) in five countries–the Antares and Minotaur V in the United States, Soyuz 2.1v in Russia, Kuaizhou in China, Epsilon in Japan, and KSLV-1 (also called Naro-1) in Korea.
The number of satellites launched during 2013 increased by nearly two-thirds compared to 2012. This was largely due to a significant uptick in the number of satellites with masses below 91 kilograms (200 pounds). These microsatellites constituted more than half of the 197 satellites launched in 2013.
Many of the microsatellites were short-lived technology demonstrations, but there is a considerable degree of interest in future possibilities for constellations of small satellites that provide valuable services on an ongoing basis.
Workforce
According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, the size of the U.S. space workforce declined for the sixth year in a row, dropping 3.5 percent, from 242,724 in 2011 to 234,173 in 2012 (the most recent full year for which data is available) – a decrease of about 8,500 workers. However, the changes varied by sector, with some portions of the space industry growing while others contracted.
The United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s civil servant workforce remained essentially flat, declining by less than 1 percent to reach 18,068 in FY 2014. Although the workforce continues to become more concentrated at higher ages, NASA has experienced moderate success in recruiting and retaining young workers below the age of 35 during the past five years.
Both Europe and Japan saw increases in space workforces; the European industry workforce grew by 1.5 percent in 2012, adding approximately 500 employees; in Japan, the overall workforce grew by 11 percent, while employment at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Japan’s government space agency, dropped.
The Space Foundation Index
As of December 2013, the Space Foundation Index was 94.22 percent above its value at inception in June 2005. The Space Foundation Infrastructure Index outperformed the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ during 2013, while the main Space Foundation Index and Space Foundation Services Index did not perform as well as the NASDAQ, but substantially better than the S&P 500. These indexes, which are updated daily on the Space Foundation website, are easy-to-understand mechanisms for gauging the financial performance of space industry companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges.
The Space Report is published annually by the Space Foundation, which works with a leading aerospace consulting firm, Futron Corporation, to research and analyze government and industry trends in space activity. The stock market analysis is provided by ISDR Consulting, LLC, a management consulting firm specializing in the space, satellite and technology sectors.
Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper signs a space-friendly bill at the 30th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs.
Colorado Ranks Third in Space-Friendly States
Governor John Hickenlooper (D) of Colorado made the trek from the statehouse in Denver yesterday to sign key space-friendly Colorado legislation at the 30th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs. The world’s largest annual space symposium takes place at the famed Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs and nominally draws a crowd of space aficionados and professionals, government and civilian alike, approximately 9,000 strong. Colorado House Bill #1178 is titled the “Sales And Use Tax Exemption for Qualified Property Used in Space Flight,” and it is hoped this legislation will help expand aerospace industry growth in Colorado. Spokesmen from the governor’s office and Tom Clark from the Colorado Space Coalition stressed that Colorado currently has the nation’s third-largest aerospace economy, and the new tax-exemption bill is part of Colorado’s strategic initiatives to support and grow one of its strongest industries. Indeed, Colorado Springs is known in government circles as the Home of Military Space. Several key space industry experts (both government and civil) present at the bill signing stated that the new tax exemption will add an important boost to keep Colorado ahead of the competition and further stimulate the state’s massive aerospace economy. Colorado is known as a national hub for geospatial technologies, remote sensing and satellite-based services. The space services and technology providers comprise the largest category of the state’s space economic activity, bringing in $6.3 billion in annual revenue. Currently, the Colorado space-based revenue is growing at a steady 8 percent annual rate. In conversation with Tom Clark, he admitted that in years past, Colorado has actually occupied the number-two raking for a state’s space-based economy, but was recently surpassed by Florida, which has similar tax-friendly legislation on the books. Clark was confident that with the new legislation Colorado would, like Avis, soon be number two again.
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper discusses space matters at the 30th Annual Space Symposium with Braxton Chairman of the Board Kevin O’Neil and Braxton CEO Frank Backes.
Report from the 30th Annual Space Symposium, May 19-22, Broadmoor Resort, Colorado Springs, Colorado
For the past five years, the first day of the National Space Symposium — now known simply as the Space Symposium, the largest symposium of its kind in the world — has started with an entire day dedicated to discussions of the cyber domain as it pertains to the DoD and civilian industry. The annual event highlights presentations from the major civilian cyber players and the senior cyber commander for the DoD, military services and government agencies. Several of the now-senior military officers worked for or with me as junior officers at some point in the past, and while that is an age-related humbling experience, it also makes me proud of them at the same time.
One major talking point, among many, is crystal clear: the U.S. government and civilian enterprises alike understand that cyber security is a critical mission and that cyber warfare, especially from a nation-state point of view, is a credible and viable threat to every government and civilian program and and to everyone today.
Major General Kevin McLaughlin, currently the commander of 24th Air Force and AFCYBER, the major command that takes cyber warfare to heart as a major mission, is one of those young officers in my past that make me proud today. Kevin was the luncheon speaker, and he put the Air Force role for cyber warfare in perspective as well as explaining how the Air Force role is integral to the overall Defense Cyber Enterprise. This integration role may seem like a small matter, but General McLaughlin’s explanation of Air Force and DoD cyber and IA (Information Assurance) synergy is critical to the success of his organization and mission.
This is critical because throughout my Air Force career and even today I constantly encounter commanders that are quick — too quick in my book — to explain, usually with great passion, why their particular mission(s) are critically important and “unique” to the Air Force writ large enterprise. Unfortunately, history shows us that “unique” organizations within services do not always fare well in budget scenarios, especially seques-castration budgets.
In my humble but experienced opinion, the senior officers commanding these “unique” organizations, be they cyber or otherwise, would fare far better if they conformed to Air Force budget requirements and still conducted their day-to-day unique missions just like a fighter pilot and fighter sortie. By that I mean you never know what you will encounter on a fighter sortie. You never know what the enemy will throw at you but you can rest assured that any plan, no matter how well conceived, will not survive initial contact with the enemy. The plan always changes and will hopefully be successful, but only because of flexibility, which has been described as the key to air power, and certainly not because of the “plan.”
So, I was assured when Gen. McLaughlin described “A Day in the Life of a Cyber Warrior” just as I would a fighter sortie. Prepare for the known threat and expect the unexpected. Be innovative and flexible, and you may win the battle and live to fight another day, because make no mistake about it, cyber warfare is a life-and-death struggle.
Fortunately, there do seem to be solutions that work, and a key point that was made numerous times by various speakers is that the small, small, usually local cyber warrior company is often times much more successful than the security behemoths that tend to get bogged down in their own administrative minutia. One of the companies mentioned was NDP, a small cyber and IA company in Boulder, Colorado, known for its work slaying the cyber dragons attacking the well-known SBIRS (Space Based Infrared System) program. The story goes that NDP, with only 50 employees, took on major global SBIRS cyber and IA issues and made it look simple. It is always the real experts that make it look simple. The chairman of one of panels really put it in perspective when he opined, “Would you really want Raytheon or Boeing providing anti-virus software for your home computer? Probably not! No slight to the mega companies intended, but I would go with the local, flexible and responsive small company, like NDP, every time.”
Thankfully, a lot of what I heard this year, as opposed to years past, conforms to the scenario I just described. Bad cyber actors (villains), local or nation state, are anticipated, and while the white-hat cyber warriors win more times than they lose, it is clear there is currently no panacea for cyber and IA threats — just hard work, diligence and flexibility to hopefully win the conflict.
Ubisense, a location intelligence solutions company, has become an Authorized Partner of solutions based on Google’s Enterprise Maps for Business technologies. This new designation from Google enables customers to more easily assess Ubisense’s expertise advising on and deploying Google products.
In conjunction with the partnership, Ubisense formally announced Ubisense myWorld 2.0, an intuitive location intelligence platform that integrates Google Maps for Business technologies and provides visibility into an enterprise’s operations, enhancing operational awareness and enabling businesses to operate more effectively.
Ubisense provides location intelligence solutions that address enterprise visibility challenges, and as an Authorized Partner, Ubisense can now provide Google Maps for Business integration and OEM licenses to its customers in a simple and cost-efficient manner. Ubisense myWorld brings critical enterprise information together into a single application that can be accessed via any standard web browser on any smart device. Ubisense myWorld incorporates network asset data, work orders, customer information, and other critical operational data from a variety of spatial and enterprise systems vendors. Additionally, Ubisense myWorld can be integrated with Google Maps for Business solutions, including Google Maps, Google Search, Google Earth, Google Elevation and Google Street View with Ubisense myWorld.
“Google Maps give our customers a smart, simple, and fast way to view complex business operations so they can quickly understand the state of operations and make better and more informed business decisions,” said Jay Cadman, vice president of business development, Ubisense. “In, say, an outage caused by a natural disaster, having this detailed view of an organization’s operations in real time enables our customers to respond to safety issues, such as downed power lines, with the right equipment and safety precautions the first time. They can keep their employees and customers safer and restore services faster. Every telecommunications and utility company in the world strives for that and now we’re able to deliver a solution that enables them to achieve both goals.”
Using Ubisense myWorld with Google Maps technologies, Ubisense customers can realize a number of benefits that can significantly impact an organization’s bottom line and improve customer service. Ubisense myWorld customers gain the ability to react to issues and potentially harmful situations sooner and are better prepared to solve issues faster, work more efficiently, and enhance their customer service and support. Rapidly gaining traction among telecommunications and utility companies, Ubisense myWorld is already used by 26 customers spanning five continents. Ubisense customers are using Ubisense myWorld for many critical business processes, including storm damage assessment, network operations, gas leak surveying, field mobility and customer service.
Google Maps for Business brings the power of Google Maps to an organization, providing simple, familiar mapping technology to the workplace. Users can layer their data on top of Google’s base map and create their own maps and geospatial applications that can be used by anyone — anytime, anywhere. By using any of Google Maps business solutions, including Google Maps Engine, Google Maps Engine Pro, Google Maps Coordinate or the Google Maps APIs, organizations and their employees can rely on maps that are comprehensive, easy-to-use and always up to date.
The Google Maps Partner Program includes companies globally that sell, service and customize Google Maps for business solutions for their customers. As a part of the Google Maps Partner Program, Ubisense receives training, support and deployment tools from Google.
Ubisense, a location intelligence solutions company, has become an Authorized Partner of solutions based on Google’s Enterprise Maps for Business technologies. This new designation from Google enables customers to more easily assess Ubisense’s expertise advising on and deploying Google products.
In conjunction with the partnership, Ubisense formally announced Ubisense myWorld 2.0, an intuitive location intelligence platform that integrates Google Maps for Business technologies and provides visibility into an enterprise’s operations, enhancing operational awareness and enabling businesses to operate more effectively.
Ubisense provides location intelligence solutions that address enterprise visibility challenges, and as an Authorized Partner, Ubisense can now provide Google Maps for Business integration and OEM licenses to its customers in a simple and cost-efficient manner. Ubisense myWorld brings critical enterprise information together into a single application that can be accessed via any standard web browser on any smart device. Ubisense myWorld incorporates network asset data, work orders, customer information, and other critical operational data from a variety of spatial and enterprise systems vendors. Additionally, Ubisense myWorld can be integrated with Google Maps for Business solutions, including Google Maps, Google Search, Google Earth, Google Elevation and Google Street View with Ubisense myWorld.
“Google Maps give our customers a smart, simple, and fast way to view complex business operations so they can quickly understand the state of operations and make better and more informed business decisions,” said Jay Cadman, vice president of business development, Ubisense. “In, say, an outage caused by a natural disaster, having this detailed view of an organization’s operations in real time enables our customers to respond to safety issues, such as downed power lines, with the right equipment and safety precautions the first time. They can keep their employees and customers safer and restore services faster. Every telecommunications and utility company in the world strives for that and now we’re able to deliver a solution that enables them to achieve both goals.”
Using Ubisense myWorld with Google Maps technologies, Ubisense customers can realize a number of benefits that can significantly impact an organization’s bottom line and improve customer service. Ubisense myWorld customers gain the ability to react to issues and potentially harmful situations sooner and are better prepared to solve issues faster, work more efficiently, and enhance their customer service and support. Rapidly gaining traction among telecommunications and utility companies, Ubisense myWorld is already used by 26 customers spanning five continents. Ubisense customers are using Ubisense myWorld for many critical business processes, including storm damage assessment, network operations, gas leak surveying, field mobility and customer service.
Google Maps for Business brings the power of Google Maps to an organization, providing simple, familiar mapping technology to the workplace. Users can layer their data on top of Google’s base map and create their own maps and geospatial applications that can be used by anyone — anytime, anywhere. By using any of Google Maps business solutions, including Google Maps Engine, Google Maps Engine Pro, Google Maps Coordinate or the Google Maps APIs, organizations and their employees can rely on maps that are comprehensive, easy-to-use and always up to date.
The Google Maps Partner Program includes companies globally that sell, service and customize Google Maps for business solutions for their customers. As a part of the Google Maps Partner Program, Ubisense receives training, support and deployment tools from Google.
Telenav’s free U.S. Scout for iPhone app will use the crowd-sourced and free OpenStreetMap (OSM) for all of its map data. OSM, the “Wikipedia of Maps,” offers users a more accurate and up-to-date map than what is available via commercial maps, the company said.
The rollout of OSM starts today for some Scout users and will be fully implemented for all users by the end of this week. The company plans to switch to OSM for Scout for Android in the U.S. in June. Scout’s companion website, scout.me, is already using OSM.
Telenav also announced today that through a rebrand of the popular skobbler GPS Navigation app for iOS and Android, Scout is now available in more than 50 app store markets with maps and navigation for almost 200 countries. skobbler’s GPS Navigation app was the first OSM navigation app in the world. Telenav acquired skobbler in January.
With this launch, Scout is supporting a growing community of global OSM editors. The OSM community has doubled year over year to more than 1.6 million registered editors, with people mapping every country around the world, ranging from the U.S. to Germany and Lesotho to North Korea.
The OSM crowd-sourced model enables edits to be published every minute, resulting in maps that are often more detailed and more up to date than commercially available maps. In addition to reporting traffic or accidents, now anyone using Scout can send mapping feedback directly from the app to Scout OSM editors who will let the person know once the data has been reviewed and updated.
“As a mapping platform, OSM is a credible alternative to proprietary solutions, with the added advantage of instant updates, resulting in a more accurate and up-to-date map,” said Steve Coast, founder of OpenStreetMap and Telenav’s head of OSM. “Roads change, subdivisions are built, and freeways expand so, just like all other maps, it needs updates on an ongoing basis. Today’s launch has effectively added millions of editors to the OSM global community, breathing even more life into an already exploding free and open-sourced project. Compare this to the billions of dollars that Google has spent — and will have to continue to spend — on keeping its maps updated and I think you can understand why we have switched to OSM.”
“This is a turning point for the mapping industry,” continued Coast. “The amount of effort and investment needed in order to provide high-quality turn-by-turn navigation using OSM crowd-sourced map data cannot be understated. We expect a significant return on our investments to create a better map platform for navigation using the free OSM. It took Telenav years of OSM community engagement, advanced algorithms, technology development, and road testing to reach a point where we felt it was ready for consumers. Now that we are here, we can’t wait for the world to try Scout with OSM. As for the global community of editors, this is true validation that their enthusiasm and passion for making a free, editable map of the world has made a dramatic impact on the evolution of maps and navigation.”
The OSM rollout is automatic for Scout users and does not require an app update. Separately, Telenav also announced today that it has launched a Scout Maps and Navigation SDK, the first GPS navigation SDK that allows mobile app and developers to integrate OpenStreetMap-based GPS navigation and maps within their own products. The new Scout for Developers program also includes a new Scout Maps API for desktop and mobile websites using OSM, allowing developers to replace Google Maps. More information is available at developer.scout.me.
Telenav is also sharing in the celebration of its OSM launch by kicking off a map-editing contest at scout.me/osmcontest where map editors have a chance to win various prizes including cash and tablets.
A flattened terrain surface model with 3D Vector features using Global Mapper.
Blue Marble Geographics has released Global Mapper version 15.2, a minor release that adds functionality to automate the New Feature Creation process, as well as the addition of new online datasources, including OpenStreetMap vector data links via Web Mapping Services (WMS).
Blue Marble’s geospatial data manipulation, visualization and conversion solutions are used worldwide by GIS analysts at software, oil and gas, mining, civil engineering, surveying, and technology companies, as well as governmental and university organizations.
The minor release features updates to both the Global Mapper base product and the Global Mapper LiDAR Module. In particular, new functionality has been added to allow the user to automate the New Feature Creation process. Users can now create a series of features that share the same attribute structure, target layer, and other characteristics without having to repeatedly confirm these settings in the Modify Feature Info dialog box. This release also features the addition of free online datasources including full access to the Maine GIS catalog, as well as access to Aviation Charts and OpenStreetMap vector data via WMS.
Other enhancements include support for creating buffer areas around line features with variable width from beginning to end and for creating buffers on just one side of a selected line feature. New scripting functionality has been added to allow conditional (IF/THEN/ELSE) processing within a script file. 3D models from Collada DAE files have been updated with the option to load BMP, JPG, PNG, and TIFF images with no geo-position information directly, improved 3DPDF support, and enhancements to CityGML.
“These great new features and functions will streamline the user’s workflow, as well as save them time and money with the ease-of-access to a growing list of cloud based publicly available data,” stated Blue Marble President, Patrick Cunningham “This release is another great example of our mission to deliver a low-cost and easy-to-use GIS solution for everyone.”
Enhancements to the LiDAR Module in v15.2 include added support for the transformation (shift/rotate/scale) of LiDAR point clouds and the option to filter selected LiDAR points to a certain elevation range and/or set of colors. A new LIDAR_CLASSIFY script command for classifying ground points in a script has been added. Users now have the option to keep the original file offset/scale, or to specify a new one when exporting to LiDAR LAS/LAZ files. They also now have the ability to crop to a selected area when specifying the bounds to import from a LiDAR point cloud and the ability to export point cloud to Esri File Geodatabases (GDB) as normal 3D point features. These LiDAR enhancements are a great addition to an already powerful module for those interested in adding advanced LiDAR functionality to Global Mapper.
Trimble is offering Field Link 2.20, the latest version of its software for management of layout tasks associated with building construction. The new release extends field layout capabilities for contractors and field teams, providing task-based workflows, customizable views, and a touch-screen user interface designed to optimize the information presented.
To find the exact location of a point in the field, users can now visualize where they are inside the 3D model relative to the layout point in their Trimble Field Link software, giving a more intuitive, realistic 3D perspective viewpoint and making it easier to navigate to the selected point.
Trimble Field Link Version 2.20 encompasses updates to Trimble Field Link for MEP and Trimble Field Link for Structures field software, which now include augmented 3D model support, and an enhanced in-model perspective layout view for a more productive and realistic field layout experience. Trimble Field Link also provides users with better visualization, navigation and rendering of building models, as well as the capability to import much larger, more sophisticated models.
In addition to the advancements made in performing layout-specific tasks, Trimble Field Link adds reporting routines to detail layout productivity, and the ability to document existing site conditions for information requests (RFIs).
Bentley Systems. Trimble also announced its collaboration with Bentley Systems to enhance information mobility between the design and field construction processes. This collaboration enables users to share their 3D constructible models between design and engineering applications and Trimble Field Link 2.20 via Bentley’s mobile i-model technology. A Bentley CONNECTIONS Passport, which entitles use of Bentley’s mobile apps and mobile i-models, is provided with Trimble Field Link.
Bentley i-models are containers for the open exchange of infrastructure information that enable project team members to share and interact with complex project data and across product lines and technology platforms. Using i-models, project teams can exchange and distribute packages of information within multi-organizational, multi-disciplinary, and multi-phase construction projects to continue uninterrupted workflows, and to easily adapt to real-time project changes.
“By joining forces with Bentley, Trimble is giving contractors and other building construction professionals greater choice, accuracy and flexibility in performing their field layout tasks,” said Mark Sawyer, general manager of the General Contractor / Construction Manager Division of Trimble Buildings Group. “Our companies share complementary visions of boosting productivity in all facets of construction projects, and we’re pleased to connect our advanced technologies to deliver greater benefits to the industry.”
