By Rui Sun and Hongyang Bai, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and Ke Han, Jun Hu and Washington Y. Ochieng, Imperial College London. Presented at ION GNSS+ 2016.
An Integrated Algorithm Based on BeiDou/GPS/IMU and its Application for Anomalous Driving Detection
This paper introduces an integrated algorithm for detecting lane-level anomalous driving. Lane-level high accuracy vehicle positioning is achieved by fusing GPS and Beidou feeds with Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) using Unscented Particle Filter (UPF). Anomalous driving detection is achieved based on the application of a newly designed Fuzzy Inference System. Computer simulation and real-world field test demonstrate the advantage of the proposed approach over existing ones from previous studies.
This week, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are conducting drone-detection research in the vicinity of Denver International Airport. The work is part of the FAA’s Pathfinder Program for UAS Detection at Airports and Critical Infrastructure.
The work in Denver is one of six technical evaluations scheduled over an 18-month period.
The State of Nevada and State of North Dakota UAS Test Sites conducted flight operations for the Denver evaluations. Industry partners involved in the Denver flights included CACI International, Liteye Systems and Sensofusion.
The FAA plans to capture the data and findings from the evaluations and draft recommendations for standards. These standards will guide the selection of drone-detection systems for airports nationwide.
Other evaluation sites include Atlantic City International Airport, JFK International Airport, Eglin Air Force Base, Helsinki Airport and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
In addition to DHS, the FAA’s federal research partners include the Department of Defense, FBI, Federal Communications Commission, Department of the Interior, Department of Energy, NASA, Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Capitol Police.
The House Report accompanying the Fiscal Year 2016 federal appropriations law and the FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016 both directed the FAA to continue research into detecting unmanned aircraft in airport environments.
The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has released its Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) National Airspace System (NAS) Navigation Strategy 2016, the result of a concerted year-long effort by FAA and aviation industry stakeholders. It describes how the FAA intends to transition U.S. NAS operations over the near- (2016–2020), mid- (2021–2025) and far-term (2025–2030) from predominantly point-to-point navigation, reliant on hundreds of ground-based navigation aids, to PBN-centric operations relying on systems and services supporting Area Navigation (RNAV) and Required Navigation Performance (RNP).
Performance-based navigation specifies the aircraft area navigation performance in terms of accuracy, integrity, availability, continuity and functionality needed to conduct specific operations in a particular airspace.
While promoting the PBN benefits of GNSS such as the GPS and the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the PBN Strategy also recognizes the need to maintain resilient PBN capabilities that remain unaffected in the event of GNSS interference, and that can continue to support PBN operations or provide safe navigation alternatives. It is a well-constructed, valuable document that provides detail on the means by which many of the Operational Improvements (OIs) described in the FAA’s Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) implementation Plan (NGIP) will be achieved.
The FAA began the introduction of PBN operations following the release of its Roadmap for Performance-Based Navigation in 2003, which promoted more efficient and higher capacity operations based on the capabilities of modern aircraft and emerging GNSS-supported PBN procedures. By 2010, many PBN procedures were in use across the NAS, and especially at the busiest airports and most complicated and congested airspace. Building on this experience, the 2016 PBN Strategy recognizes that the U.S. NAS is not a homogeneous entity; its needs vary based on both location and time. To best serve NAS users and to continue to provide the safest, highest capacity, most efficient airspace in the world, some of the key concepts of the strategy are to provide:
the right procedure to meet the need;
structure where beneficial and flexibility where possible;
shifting to time- and speed-based air traffic management;
and delivering and using resilient navigation services.
To provide correct procedure and structure where needed, the PBN Strategy defines six Navigation Service Groups (NSG) and services potentially available at the airports within each group. NSG 1, now comprising about 15 airports, is reserved for the busiest large hubs that would benefit from common aircraft performance capabilities to maximize capacity. NSG 2 contains the remaining large-hub and all medium-hub airports. Small and non-hub airports comprise NSG 3. NSG 4 includes more than 500 airports, including national and regional general aviation (GA, or private plane) airports, and NSG 5 2,400 local and basic GA airports. NSG 6 consists of thousands of small airports not part of the National Plan of Integrated Airport System (NPIAS).
Time- and speed-based navigation is essential to optimal utilization of airport capability and capacity for both arrival and approach and departure operations. The ability of aircraft to more precisely follow PBN procedures because of onboard navigation capability and space- and ground-based navigation services maintains safety, increases airspace and runway utilization, and — because of more efficient, precise routing — minimizes fuel burn and carbon footprint.
The PBN Strategy also recognizes the need to maintain resilient PBN services and, while GNSS-provided PNT services are able to support both RNAV and RNP procedures, GNSS is vulnerable to both intentional and unintentional interference. To preclude loss of efficiency and capacity benefits in the event of GNSS interference, the FAA will maintain and improve the ground-based Distance Measuring Equipment (DME)/Tactical Navigation (TACAN) network to support DME-DME RNAV 2 in the enroute domain and RNAV 1 in the necessary terminal domains. Because of plans to fill gaps in coverage at high altitudes (FL 180 and above) and remove single DME facility criticality, aircraft without inertial reference units (IRUs) will be able to fly these procedures using DME-DME RNAV, although at the much lower altitudes associated with terminal operations, an IRU may still be required. For aircraft without DME-DME RNAV capability, for example General Aviation, the FAA will maintain a Minimum Operational Network (MON) of Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Ranges (VORs) to either support navigation out of a GNSS interference area or navigation to an airport where approach and landing is supported by either an Instrument Landing System (ILS) or VOR.
Commentary
PBN services depicted across Navigation Service Group airports represent the standard in the far term, 2026–2030.
The FAA’s plan to maintain resilience, while admirable, does have some issues. All of the VORs, DMEs and TACANs that provide resilient navigation services are extremely old, the vast majority designed in the 1970s and installed in the 1980s. There is no current plan to modernize or recapitalize them.
As for researching and developing an Alternate Position, Navigation and Timing capability that would support resilient PBN capability for all of aviation, maintain the ability for aircraft to report their positions via Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B), and support the rapid and vast emergence of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAS) and benefits, the PBN Strategy states that “During the far term and moving out into the 2030 timeframe and beyond, the FAA will continue to research the best methods for Alternate Position, Navigation and Timing (APNT).”
This delay is unfortunate, as further delay in implementing PNT resilience for all aspects of aviation, as well as for all critical infrastructure areas is, at best, imprudent, as recent agency attempts to develop and implement other resilient PNT capabilities — Enhanced DME (eDME) and Enhance Loran (eLoran) — have been suspended.
The release of the 2016 PBN Strategy is a significant event. It will help guide the agency and the aviation community forward. It will help clarify policy, facilitate decisions, drive equipage, and provide for a safe, higher capacity and more efficient NAS. It is a good start, which could be improved by recognizing the significant investments needed in resilient PNT equipment, architecture and systems.
Telit has announced the commercial availability of the SL869-3DR, a GNSS module for global use that leverages information from internal gyros, accelerometers and a barometric pressure sensor to perform dead-reckoning navigation for application areas such as track and trace and in-vehicle systems.
The module delivers accurate position data either directly from its multi-constellation receiver or from a fully autonomous dead-reckoning system, requiring no connections to external devices or components other than an antenna for satellite signal reception and power.
The module allows integrators to design zero-installation, in-vehicle navigation and tracking devices for fleets and other commercial or consumer applications that operate perched on the dashboard, connected only to vehicle power.
The SL869-3DR is a flash-memory based module capable of tracking three constellations simultaneously. The module integrates an array of micro electromechanical systems (MEMS) designed to provide it seven degrees of freedom. The innovative design of the internal sensor array in conjunction with the Telit MEMS-only Dead Reckoning (MoDR) software and intellectual property, deliver the host device unparalleled portable, turnkey dead-reckoning performance.
The Telit MoDR solution ensures that reliable position, velocity and time information is constantly available to the host application even when GNSS coverage is compromised, without the need for connection to the vehicle for wheel-ticks for speed or reverse-gear data. Its standard footprint lets navigation and tracking system integrators reuse existing device designs, eliminating complexity from external sensors and other apparatus, getting to market quickly with updated designs or product innovation.
“A significant number of the millions of commercial vehicles and fleets on the roads today are still operating with no or unreliable navigation systems because installation costs to connect the device to vehicle sensors are too high and require very specialized skills,” said Felix Marchal, executive vice president of GNSS and Short Range Wireless. “With the SL869-3DR we overcome that barrier because it enables devices that you simply connect to vehicle power and go. Up until now, ‘power-and-go’ navigation systems have largely relied on open-sky visibility, which is not typically where most commercial fleets operate. They are moving through tunnels, urban canyons and other environments where these systems cannot produce a position solution. Reliable MEMS-only dead reckoning, or MoDR as we call it, relies on very complex mathematical modeling and expert design of the sensor array. Developers must therefore, thoroughly scrutinize performance of the different products in the market. I am delighted that the SL869-3DR has outperformed competing products in its class across a wide range of test cases.”
The SL869-3DR is designed to support GPS, QZSS, GLONASS, Beidou and is Galileo ready. Telit MoDR technology boosts position accuracy in areas with adverse satellite reception conditions like urban canyons, overhead foliage, tunnels and parking garages. It integrates an embedded array of sensors including accelerometers, gyroscopes and a barometer (pressure sensor).
An antenna ON, antenna sense (open / short circuit) feature, allows the host application to inform the user of problems with the connection to the external antenna. An additional LNA delivers better sensitivity in harsh environments, better enabling devices with integrated antennas. The module also features fast calibration and is pin-to-pin compatible with the SL869, SL869-V3 and SL869-ADR.
Below is a video where performance the autonomous SL869-3DR MoDR is compared with the SL869-ADR automotive navigation module connected to vehicle sensors (wheel ticks and reverse signal).
Rockwell Collins has awarded a contract to Systron Donner Inertial (SDI) for an inertial measurement unit (IMU) needed for the new Boeing 777X Integrated Flight Control Electronics (IFCE) fly-by-wire system.
The SDI300 aviation-grade inertial measurement unit by Systron Donner Inertial.
The core of SDI’s solution is its SDI300 aviation-grade IMU, which delivers reliable high performance and stability over full temperature and vibration environments, the company said.
The compact, low-power, high-quality SDI300 IMU enables efficient and smooth aircraft maneuvers through the most complex flight scenarios and challenging environments, while improving total system cost-effectiveness, reduced obsolescence and increased sustainability.
“SDI is honored to be selected and partnered with Rockwell Collins, BAE Systems, and Boeing for the 777X IFCE Program. The collaboration, teamwork and support provided by Rockwell Collins and the IFCE program team has been outstanding,” said David Hoyh, director of sales and marketing for SDI. “Systron Donner Inertial has a strong execution and service record on today’s B777.
“The new, smaller, lighter SDI300 aviation IMU will leverage SDI’s next generation quartz gyros and system architecture and be certified to DO-160/DO-254 Level A requirements, creating an innovative MEMS solution for the 777X’s advanced fly-by-wire system,” Hoyh said.
For more information and specifications on the COTS SDI300 or for information on the complete SDI product line, call +1 925-979-4500, e-mail: [email protected]; or go to www.systron.com.
The Piksi Multi is a multi-band, multi-constellation receiver for the mass market. Autonomous devices require precision navigation, especially those that perform critical functions. The receiver uses real-time kinematics (RTK) technology, providing location solutions 100 times more accurate than traditional GPS. Piksi Multi supports GPS L1/L2 and is hardware-ready for GLONASS G1/G2, BeiDou B1/B2, Galileo E1/E5b, QZSS L1/L2 and SBAS. The Piksi Multi Evaluation Kit also has been upgraded with all-new components. The new kit contains two Piksi Multi GNSS modules, two integrator-friendly evaluation boards, two GNSS survey-grade antennas and two high-performance radios, so that it can deliver reliability and range — well over 10 kilometers — and all of the accessories required for rapid prototyping and integration.
For dedicated time and frequency transfer applications
The Septentrio PolaRX5TR.
The PolaRx5TR has 544 hardware channels and supports all major satellite constellations including GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS and IRNSS. A calibration circuit is incorporated to measure and compensate for internal delay, removing the need for calibration using external equipment and ensuring measurement latching is always accurately synchronized with the PPS input. The PolaRx5TR is compliant with the new-format CGGTTS version V2E of Consultative Committee for Time and Frequency (CCTF) recommendations. Also included as standard is Septentrio’s Advanced Interference Mitigation (AIM+) technology, giving outstanding interference robustness in difficult radio environments. Up to eight independent logging sessions can be configured logging to either the 16-GB internal memory or to an externally connected device.
The NCS Titan GNSS simulator has up to 256 channels (and 1024 multipath channels) and up to 4 RF outputs per chassis, providing flexibility and outstanding performance . The extra complexity and cost of using multiple signal generators is avoided, improving reliability without compromising on functionality. Its innovative design allows users configure channels for any GNSS signals and allocate those channels to any of the RF outputs fitted. This flexibility enables the same simulator hardware to be used for an extensive range of tests, for all types of GNSS applications. The NCS TITAN GNSS Simulator was developed in cooperation with WORK Microwave GmbH, Germany.
The GSS200D Interference Detection and Analysis solution, developed with Nottingham Scientific Limited, comprises field-based hardware and a secure data server for automatic capture and analysis of GNSS radio-frequency interference. Deployments of GSS200D probes provide users with a thorough understanding of the RF interference environment at sites of interest. Spirent has already detected thousands of disruptive GPS L1 interference events with its global network of GSS100D detectors. By adding support of additional frequencies and constellations, as well as improving the analysis and reporting, the GSS200D responds to the demand of critical infrastructure and civil aviation customers.
For surveyors, contractors, builders and engineers
The Carlson BRx6 is a multi-GNSS, multi-frequency receiver. It has a multi-band 372-channel GNSS receiver, Athena RTK technology and an integrated Atlas L-band receiver. The BRx6 also contains electronic sensors that measure tilt, direction (electronic compass) and acceleration, supporting Carlson SurvCE’s advanced features such as LDL (live digital level or e-bubble), leveling tolerance, auto by level, tilted-pole correction and advanced stakeout features. SurvCE contains sophisticated checks for compass and acceleration anomalies to ensure accuracy. The BRx6 delivers affordable, high-positional accuracy. Manufactured to Carlson’s exacting specifications by Hemisphere GNSS, the BRx6 can be used as a precise base station or lightweight rover. RTK corrections can be received over UHF radio, cell modem, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or serial connection.
RTK Assist is a subscription-based service that provides users with satellite-delivered correction data to seamlessly continue centimeter-level accuracy during real-time kinematic (RTK) correction outages caused by communication disruptions. Users are able to maintain RTK-level performance for up to 20 minutes, reducing any associated downtime and optimizing solution productivity. The RTK positioning with correction data is delivered directly to the receiver via satellite, allowing for a continuous centimeter-level solution that is globally available 24/7.RTK Assist is best suited for applications where there are potential obstructions, dead spots or baseline limitations that would cause RTK network correction losses for short periods of time.
The POSPac MMS 8 is GNSS-aided inertial post-processing software for georeferencing data collected from cameras, lidars, multi-beam sonars and other sensors on mobile platforms. POSPac MMS 8 uses the Trimble CenterPoint RTX subscription service to deliver these benefits for mobile mapping from land, air, marine and UAV platforms. With an internet connection, users can achieve centimeter-level accuracy within one hour after data collection — there is no need to wait for delivery of public-domain ephemeris data. Users can map inaccessible regions that have no existing Continuously Operation Reference Stations (CORS) without the cost of deploying local base stations. With Trimble’s private network, users can attain consistent and reliable uptime.
TerraGo GeoPDF software suite version 7 offers new features to enable open, cross-platform, cloud and mobile access to advanced maps, engineering drawings, high-resolution imagery and other types of spatial data assets. Version 7 has tools for publishing GeoPDFs, including TerraGo Publisher for ArcGIS, TerraGo Publisher for ArcGIS Server, TerraGo Composer, TerraGo GeoPDF Platform Toolkit, TerraGo Publisher for Raster and TerraGo Toolbar. Features include PubPy, which extends and enhances integration into ArcGIS ArcPy to enable on-demand web services and GIS portals; and OpenGeoPDF, which adds Open Geospatial Consortium GeoPackage to GeoPDF documents to enable GIS-Lite applications using TerraGo Toolbar 7.0. Other features include mobile-workflow support, advanced layer control and remote desktop.
Aeropoints are desgined for for companies across the industrial sector — including mining, construction, quarries and landfills.
AeroPoints are smart ground-control points designed to make it easy to capture survey–accurate mapping using drones. The portable ground-control markers are visible from the air and capable of quickly capturing their own positions down to 2-centimeter absolute accuracy. AeroPoints work with any camera or drone, and integrate seamlessly with Propeller’s cloud–based data platform and processing engine. They’re solar–powered, durable and weather- resistant, and they don’t require any on-site connection. To use AeroPoints, customers simply lay them down, fly their drone, and then pick them up again. They automatically connect to a wireless or mobile hotspot when back in range to upload captured positional data.
The miniVUX-1UAV is a compact miniaturized 360-degree field-of-view lidar sensor weighing 1.6 kilograms. It is developed for the implementation of emerging survey solutions by small UAS, UAV and Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS). The sensor offers multi-target capability and accuracy using echo digitization and online waveform processing for data acquisition. It is capable of 100,000 measurements per second and offers an operating altitude of 100+ meters. Its small size and low weight make it suitable for mounting under limited weight and space conditions, allowing UAV-based acquisition of survey-grade measurement data for agriculture and forestry fieldwork, archaeology and cultural heritage documentation, glacier and snowfield mapping, and landslide monitoring.
Safer Together is designed to reduce the risk of mid-air collision between aircraft and UAVs. Developed by senseFly and the Air Navigation Pro app makers, it is designed to make the skies a safer place by providing general aviation (GA) pilots and drone operators with awareness of each other’s airborne activities, giving them the knowledge they need to take any actions necessary to avoid mid-air incidents around 200–400 feetabove ground level, where most light-weight drones fly. SenseFly added GA functionality to its eMotion flight-planning software, enabling operators to create a special advisory when activating automated drone flights. eMotion transmits the advisory to Air Navigation Pro’s server, which will push the information to all smart devices of connected app users. In turn, senseFly drone operators will be able to view the Air Navigation users’ flights in real time.
The Geo-iNAV 1000 SAASM is a low-cost, rugged SAASM GPS-aided inertial navigation system. It tightly couples a SAASM GPS sensor with a high-stability Quartz micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) inertial measurement unit (IMU) to provide a high-performance navigation solution in challenging environments. Features include simple integration, SAASM GPS with path to M-code, internal high-accuracy quartz MEMS IMU, tight-coupling with Geodetics’ Extended Kalman Filter, in-motion dynamic alignment, and RS-232, RS422 and Ethernet (TCP/UDP) interfaces.
The Hover Camera Passport hovers in place to allow users to quickly and easily take photographs. The self-flying camera is aimed at consumers, flying without the restraints of controllers. Once the camera is unfolded and powered on, the passport can take 13-megapixel photos and 4,000-pixel (4K) video using proprietary embedded artificial intelligence technology. The Hover Camera Passport introduces a new design into the flying camera field, with its propellers and motors encased in a strong, light carbon-fiber structure that ensures fingers can’t slip through during normal use. Features include auto-follow with face and body tracking, 360 spin; orbit; and self-positioning using a combination of sonar, its downward viewing camera and artificial intelligence.
The Karma drone, designed to accompany a GoPro camera, features a compact, fits-in-a-small-backpack design and includes an image-stabilization grip that can be handheld or mounted to vehicles, gear and more. Karma is designed to capture smooth, stabilized video during almost any activity. Compact and foldable, the entire system fits into the included backpack that’s so comfortable to wear during any activity, users will forget they’ve got it on. The game-style controller features an integrated touch display, making it easy to fly without the need for a separate phone or tablet. The three-axis camera stabilizer can be removed from the drone and attached to the included Karma Grip for capturing ultra-smooth handheld and gear-mounted footage.
The Epson Moverio BT-300 augmented reality (AR) smart glasses are light, binocular and transparent with an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display. Combining silicon-based OLED digital display technology and Android OS 5.1, the Moverio BT-300 enables transparent mobile augmented reality (AR) experiences, including while flying drones. With the DJI GO app and the Moverio glasses, drone pilots are able to see clear, transparent first-person views from the drone camera while simultaneously maintaining their line of sight with their aircraft.The DJI GO app works with the DJI Phantom, Inspire and Matrice series flying platforms as well as the Osmo handheld gimbal and camera.
The GPS-713-GGG-N and GPS-713-GGGL-N ATEX-qualified triple-frequency GNSS antennas come with Inmarsat rejection filters. Hazardous environments — those found on oil platforms, tankers and refineries — require compliance with the European 94/9EC ATEX directive. Based on the company’s Pinwheel technology, both antennas maximize performance with multi-constellation reception of L1, L2, L5 GPS; L1, L2, L3 GLONASS; B1, B2 BeiDou; and E1, E5a/b Galileo frequencies, the company said.The GPS-713-GGGL-N also supports L-band from 1525 to 1560 MHz. Customers can use the same antenna for GPS only, or up to quad-constellation applications, resulting in increased flexibility and reduced equipment costs. The two antennas deliver choke-ring-level antenna performance, but without the size and weight. Both provide enhanced Inmarsat interference rejection, which allows tracking of GNSS signals in the presence of high-powered Inmarsat transmitters typically found on marine vessels.
The GV-86 is a high-sensitivity GPS receiver module supporting dead reckoning, which enables positioning in environments where no GNSS signals can be received, such as tunnels, underground car parking and deep urban canyons. The receiver concurrently receives GPS, SBAS and QZSS satellite signals. The dead-reckoning function is realized by integrating the information from a gyro sensor and a velocity sensor. It has fast time to first fix, and highly improved noise tolerance, and a configurable position output update rate up to 10 Hz (10 times per second.)
NovAtel Inc. has placed a research contract to determine how GNSS technology can deliver a positioning solution that meets both the safety and accuracy requirements of unmanned automotive vehicles.
The research will include study concepts for high-precision, high-integrity carrier phase algorithms as well as threat models and safety monitors with the purpose of improving the safety of autonomous land transportation.
Syntony GNSS, a simulator company based in Toulouse, France, has landed a €1 million location infrastructure project for the underground metro in Stockholm, Sweden.
Stockholm’s metro stations are deep underground, dug under the sea in and around Stockholm. The metro lacked a system that would enable emergency 911 calls with associated essential localized position information to be carried from within the stations.
Syntony was able to provide a GPS-like signal infrastructure at the stations that is compatible with GPS-enabled smartphones. Instead of using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, the system reproduces the GPS signal with transmitters, a signal recognizable by smartphones. With the system installed, emergency calls can be located in the underground. During its proof-of-concept tests, Syntony verified that there was no radiation of the signal outside any of the entrances to the test station — and therefore no GPS interference.
The system worked so well that Syntony was contracted in January to equip all 50 metro stations in Stockholm. Syntony is now is in talks with Singapore and is working to spread its system to the metros of other major cities worldwide.
Railway technology company Buckeye Mountain and Trimble are working together to provide the railroad industry with advances in GPS solutions such as the Trimble PG200 GNSS receiver.
The PG200 is a rugged, lightweight and portable receiver to use in rail and intermodal yards to identify safety zones. It also includes auto tracking on critical assets.
Trimble has also been working with Buckeye Mountain to provide the railroad industry with mobile computing and AEI (railcar automatic equipment identification tags) products.
Trimble’s Juno T41 R-AEI, an all-in-one rugged AEI reader, is a compatible platform for Buckeye Mountain’s AEI Quick Read application, a basic mobile application that reads AEI tags.
The T41 keeps workers the required safety distance from railcars while the read range is very responsive.
A team of researchers at the University of California, Riverside has developed a highly reliable and accurate navigation system that exploits existing environmental signals such as cellular and Wi-Fi, rather than GPS.
The technology can be used as a standalone alternative to GPS, or complement current GPS-based systems to enable highly reliable, consistent, and tamper-proof navigation. The technology could be used to develop navigation systems that meet the stringent requirements of fully autonomous vehicles, such as driverless cars and unmanned drones.
Led by Zak Kassas, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering in UCR’s Bourns College of Engineering, the team presented its research at the 2016 Institute of Navigation Global Navigation Satellite System Conference (ION GNSS+), in Portland, Ore., in September. The two studies, “Signals of Opportunity Aided Inertial Navigation” and “Performance Characterization of Positioning in LTE Systems,” both won best paper presentation awards.
Most navigation systems in cars and portable electronics use the space-based GNSS. For precision technologies, such as aerospace and missiles, navigation systems typically combine GPS with a high-quality on-board inertial navigation system (INS), which delivers a high level of short-term accuracy but eventually drifts when it loses touch with external signals.
Despite advances in this technology, current GPS/INS systems will not meet the demands of future autonomous vehicles for several reasons: First, GPS signals alone are extremely weak and unusable in certain environments like deep canyons; second, GPS signals are susceptible to intentional and unintentional jamming and interference; and third, civilian GPS signals are unencrypted, unauthenticated and specified in publicly available documents, making them spoofable. Current trends in autonomous vehicle navigation systems therefore rely not only on GPS/INS, but a suite of other sensor-based technologies such as cameras, lasers and sonar.
“By adding more and more sensors, researchers are throwing ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ to prepare autonomous vehicle navigation systems for the inevitable scenario that GPS signals become unavailable. We took a different approach, which is to exploit signals that are already out there in the environment,” Kassas said.
Global mapping company Esri is partnering with Waze to make it easier for governments to begin building intelligent transportation systems in their communities.
Waze enables users to share and harness the power of anonymous, aggregated data to promote greater transportation efficiency, deeper insight into travel conditions, and safer roads.
Governments already using the Esri ArcGIS platform can quickly and easily exchange data through the Waze Connected Citizens Program, a free two-way data share of publicly available traffic information.
Governments that have not already subscribed to Esri technology or joined the Waze Connected Citizens Program can sign up online to start sharing road closure alerts and other information with their citizens right away.
Waze Esri Traffic Alerts.
“Municipalities can now leverage real-time reports without having to invest in sensor networks or an Internet of Things infrastructure,” said Andrew Stauffer, manager of civic technology at Esri. “Waze allows local governments to share open data with a purpose — in an application that is already popular with constituents, commuters, and tourists.”
The data feeds allow local governments to merge information into existing enterprise systems, such as emergency dispatch and street maintenance systems, to make their communities operate smarter and safer.
The partnership also enables communities to extend the reach of the data they map and manage by sharing it with Waze, which has more than 65 million monthly active users worldwide. The public-private partnership allows greater government transparency and collaboration with citizens to help people better navigate their streets and highways.
“The Waze Connected Citizens Program empowers municipalities to harness real-time driver insight to improve congestion and make better informed planning decisions,” said Paige Fitzgerald, head of new business development and data acquisition for Waze. “With 100 partners worldwide, Waze provides each partner with the same set of free, data-driven tools and resources to foster collaboration and communication between all partners. Working with Esri allows Waze to further scale the program and creates additional opportunities for our partners to collaborate, helping each other incorporate the power of crowdsourced data into their traffic management strategies.”
In 2014, Waze pioneered data standards for road closure and incident reporting, which are embedded within customized data feeds provided to each partner. Established as a two-way data share, Waze provides partners with real-time, anonymous, Waze-generated incident and slowdown information directly from the source: drivers themselves. In exchange, partners provide real-time, government-reported construction, crash, and road closure data to Waze to return one of the most thorough records of current road conditions.
Geodata is key to the digital future and a 4.0 business world, according to a new report released at InterGeo in Hamburg, Germany. At the heart of this business vision is the networking of sensors that must have location data in order to fulfill their value.
The 116-page Intergeo Report, in parallel German and English, includes sections on smart cities, public participation, autonomous driving with live mapping, and surveying on the open seas. An eight-page GNSS Update section features CEOs answering questions market focus of their GNSS products, the role of geo-referencing in the Internet of Things, the coming-of-age of precise point positioning (PPP), and the opportunities for GNSS opened up by autonomous driving.
Access to company-specific geodata offers managers in the automotive industry a competitive ad- vantage. Apps show today’s motorists the way to the nearest electrical charging station. Soon, the same motorists will talk to their on-board computer to find a parking space. It will guide them instantly to the nearest free space. Geoinformation will then no longer just be found in the satnav but also in the integrated sensor in the road paving infrastructure and in the status reports of other road users.
Networking Everything. The Internet of Things is taking shape and permeating all areas of life. At its center are the tiny pieces of information that assign coordinates to a parking space, a loading berth for a container ship, a screw in the shelves of a supplier’s warehouse, or the alarm system of a family home. Degrees, minutes and seconds show people the way, answer a range of questions and help make informed decisions. Geoinformation is both an asset and an essential source of information.
Content Is King. Key companies in the geoinformation sector have naturally taken onboard the value of geoinformation. It forms the basis of their business activities. The use of geodata as added value for their products is still very new. Esri realized early in the sector that selling software is no longer sufficient on its own. Only data enables customers to harness the value of products. Cloud solutions store the mountains of data, while platforms deliver the answers.
Such new business leading lights as AirBnB, Uber, Facebook and Google could not survive without geoinformation. It is part of increasingly intelligent systems that make users’ lives a little easier and more comfortable, optimizing processes and enabling people to operate and participate in ways that were previously impractical or impossible.
The examples are myriad. Consider just a few. Digitally aided planning and construction in building information modeling not only streamlines processes and reduces costs, it enables public participation in planning procedures, using digital models of planned reality. Aerial surveys and data gathering by UAV, not only for traditional survey needs but for growing requirements in natural resource planning and management, infrastructure inspection and maintenance, surveillance and security, and more. Guidance systems for the blind.
All require location data. GNSS (satnav) is the core supplier of this data, but must be augmented by other technologies in special environments.
Releasing Geodata Pays Dividends. Managers of geodata realize they need to release it in order for it to lead them to “more” – more value, more benefits, more transparency, more importance. Geoinformation and digitization are inextricably interlinked, and this is just the beginning.
