A self-driving tractor using the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) was tested successfully March 10 in northwestern Tunisia, according to China.org.cn.
The representatives of China-Arab BDS/GNSS center and the Arab Information and Communication Technologies Organization (AICTO), as well as the academic staff of an engineering school in Mjez El-Beb region in northwestern Tunisia, attended the test ceremony.
The smart tractor, used in various agricultural activities, was equipped with a BDS receiver so that it could be controlled remotely without a driver.
“I am very impressed and surprised by the quality of the equipment offered by BeiDou,” said Sami Trimech, the strategic planning and development director at AICTO.
“We had a dream to bring BeiDou to the Arab countries,” said Nour Laabidi, the project manager at AICTO and head of China-Arab BDS/GNSS center in Tunisia.
“This is a pilot project. We are happy to implement it in our country and I hope that all Arab countries will be able to use this Chinese technology,” Laabidi said.
Hassan Kherroubi, a specialist in the mechanical industry at the Mjez El-Beb engineering school, stressed the contribution of this Chinese technology to the agricultural sector in Tunisia.
Agricultural activities, including harvest, will be more profitable and more effective with such technologies, according to Kherroubi.
“Our main concern is to benefit all Arab and African countries of this fruitful cooperation between Tunisia and China,” Kherroubi said, adding that this advanced technology will bring a bright future to the region.
BDS is compatible with other navigation systems, such as GPS, and users can receive services from both systems at the same time, improving positioning accuracy.
A Chinese cargo ship, the Rongda Changsha, equipped with receivers downloading signals from the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), arrived at Brunei, on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia, in February after embarking from Luojing Port in Shanghai. This marks the first public successful application of BeiDou terminal products in the South China Sea and unveils China’s ambition to promote BeiDou products in the international marketplace.
The Shanghai-Brunei trip was a trial for not only examining BeiDou-3’s capacity, but for learning the users’ experience and needs. The data collected from the trip has been analyzed and applied for updating and prioritizing the marine navigation system, according to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), manufacturer of the Beidou receivers on the ship.
It is anticipated that more services will soon arrive, with Internet and voice calls facilitated by the messaging aspect of BDS, for further exploring industrial application scenarios and — importantly for government support of its GNSS — protecting Chinese outbound and inbound routes. The South China Sea is one of the world’s busiest waterways, and oil imports to China from the Middle East are a key strategic component of this traffic activity.
BDS now covers more than 50 countries and more than 3 billion people. BDS-related products have gained access to the markets of more than 70 countries and regions, more than 30 of which are along the (land-based) Belt and (maritime) Road, in line with the Belt and Road Initiative. Through joint applications with other compatible navigation satellite systems, BDS provides global users with diversified choices for better application experience.
“Chinese security interests encompass not only China itself and nearby areas, but also the sea lanes that enable the import of raw materials and export of finished goods,” wrote Scott Pace in GPS World, December 2010. “In recent years, China has shown an increasing interest in ‘maritime domain awareness,’ in which satellite navigation is used for monitoring the transit of ships in the Indian Ocean (for example, oil from the Middle East) and the South China Sea (minerals from Australia, fishing zones). Satellite navigation is a dual-use, commercial and military, interest for China, and this may have prompted support for the more advanced, independent GNSS that would become Beidou-2 or Compass.”
Pace was chosen by the White House to serve as executive secretary of the National Space Council in July 2017. Pace is also director of the Space Policy Institute and Professor of Practice of International Affairs at George Washington University. He serves as a special counselor to the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Advisory Board.
Mountainous areas present special problems for surveyors, overcome by the expanded availability of multi-GNSS. (Photo: Trimble)
Today’s GNSS satellites transmit on three or more carrier frequencies. The quality of the data in these signals from GPS, BeiDou, Galileo, GLONASS and QZSS reveals the expected measurement precisions. This article explores the noise of the range residual and ionospheric residual to indicate the oncoming capabilities.
Today, four GNSSs transmit various codes on various carrier frequencies: the USA’s GPS, Russia’s GLONASS, Europe’s Galileo and China’s BeiDou. Most of the carrier phase and pseudorange data are available using civilian GNSS receivers. Improvements in signal quality as well as reliability of the satellites are foreseen through the generations, as well as the introduction of new signals, such as L1C, L2C, L5 carrier and codes, and M-codes, on top of the existing L1-C/A code and the P(Y) code on both L1 and L2. Improvements are also seen in boosting the transmitting power.
This article investigates the use of two approaches to analyze the relative noise in the various carrier phase and pseudorange observable for GPS, BeiDou, Galileo, GLONASS and Japan’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) augmentation. Two approaches analyze the relative noise in the observables: the range residual and the ionospheric residual. Both techniques can also be used to detect cycle slips.
Range Residual
UAV survey operations benefit from multi-GNSS receivers. (Photo: Septentrio)
The range residual is simply the change from one epoch to the next in the difference in the range calculated using the pseudorange and the range calculated by the carrier phase on a specific frequency. The pseudorange values are scaled using the wavelength to an equivalent range in units of the carrier’s cycles rather than meters. Equation 1 illustrates the range residual between the pseudorange ρ on a specific carrier frequency and the carrier phase observable φ, using the wavelength λ of the carrier to scale the pseudorange. The values of these observables are compared between adjacent epochs.
RR = (p/λ) – φ (1)
Two adjacent epochs are used, as then the integer ambiguity value, as well as the ionospheric and tropospheric errors, and satellite and receiver clock errors are the same, or negligibly different at such small (<1 s) epoch intervals. Therefore, these are all canceled out, and the resulting value is the measurement receiver and observable noise. The pseudorange observable will be significantly noisier than the carrier phase observable, therefore this method is a good way to calculate the measurement noise for the pseudoranges.
Ionospheric Residual
Surveyors work the Berezitovy mine in the North Amur region of Russia. (Photo: Javad GNSS)
If the carrier waves traveled only through a vacuum, then a phase observation from a specific satellite to a specific GNSS receiver could be scaled and converted to an equivalent phase measurement on another frequency using the frequencies of the carrier waves. However, as the signal passes through the ionosphere, systematic errors that are frequency dependent are introduced, so it is not possible to directly convert from one carrier phase value to another for a specific range measurement. The error is known as the ionospheric residual, and this will change slowly over time as the satellite passes overhead and the ionosphere being passed through changes, and also as the ionosphere slowly changes its characteristics over time, mainly due to the sun’s activities.
Equation 2 shows the calculation, using L1 and L2 carrier phase readings and corresponding frequencies, used to calculate the ionospheric residual. Again, the difference in the ionospheric residual values between adjacent epochs is used, as in the same way as the range residual values, external noise sources are eliminated.
(2)
Results
The results presented here are a subset of a much larger set. Figure 1 illustrates the range residuals for L1 and L2 as well as the L1L2 ionospheric residual for PRN32 (Block IIA satellite).
Figure 1. L1 range residual (left) L2 range residual (center) and L1L2 ionospheric residual (right) for GPS PRN32 (Block IIA) satellite. (Charts: Authors)
Figure 2 illustrates the L1 and L5 range residuals and the L2 (C-code) L5 ionospheric residual for PRN01 (Block IIF satellite).Both figures’ data are for the complete passing of the satellites from horizon over and back down again.The data for PRN32 is all that exists in the datafile, as this satellite only transmits L1 CA code and P(Y) code, as well as L2 P(Y) code, and corresponding carrier values.
Figure 2. L1 range residual (left) L5 range residual (center) and L2 (C code) L5 ionospheric residual (right) for GPS PRN01 (Block IIF) satellite. (Charts: Authors)
PRN01 is a block IIF satellite, and data for L1 CA code, L2 P(Y) code as well as L2 C-code, L5 code, and corresponding carrier phase values are recorded in the datafile.The block IIF satellites can result in four range residual values and five ionospheric residual combinations.Figure 2 only illustrates three of these combinations.The data were obtained from the Curtin University GNSS repository on Sept. 1, 2015, gathered at a 1-Hz epoch interval; 29,908 epoch of data were gathered for PRN32, and 26,073 epochs for PRN01.
It can be seen from these figures that the L1 range residuals are similar in characteristics for both PRN01 and PRN32.The values are noisy at the start and the end of the time series, indicating that the CA code is more prone to noise at low elevations.Comparing these to the L2 (PRN32) and L5 (PRN01) range residuals, we can see that both the L2 and L5 range residuals are not as prone to low elevation noise. Also, the two L2 and L5 range residuals are visually similar in characteristcs.By comparing the L1L2 and L2L5 ionospheric residuals (Figure 1, right, and Figure 2, right), we can see that the L1L2 combination is slightly noisier than the L2L5, in particular at low elevation angles.
If we compare BeiDou ionospheric residual results, we can see the comparison of noise on the three ionospheric residual combinations, B1B2, B1B3 and B2B3, as well as the results from the three types of satellite orbits, ie MEO, IGSO and GEO. Figure 3 illustrates the ionospheric residual results for PRN07 (IGSO) for the three frequency combinations, from data gathered on a static pillar located on top of the University of Nottingham Ningbo China’s Science and Engineering Building.
Figure 3. Ionospheric residual results for BeiDou PRN07 (IGSO) for combinations B1B2 (left), B1B3 (center), B2B3 (right). (Chart: Authors)
Figure 4 illustrates the ionospheric residual results for PRN01 (GEO) for the three frequency combinations.
Figure 4. Ionospheric residual results for BeiDou PRN01 (GEO) for combinations B1B2 (left), B1B3 (center), B2B3 (right). (Chart: Authors)
Figure 5 illustrates the ionospheric residual results for PRN12 (MEO) for the three frequency combinations. Here it can be seen that the B2B3 combination is generally less noisy than the B1B2 and B1B3. In addition to this, it can be seen that when the MEO and IGSO satellites are at lower elevation angles, the observables also become noisier. The GEO satellites have a constant elevation angle, and do not experience this phenomenon.
Figure 5. Ionospheric residual results for BeiDou PRN12 (MEO) for combinations B1B2 (left), B1B3 (center), B2B3 (right). (Charts: Authors)
Detailed Results
The data, gathered on a single GNSS receiver located at the University of Curtin’s GNSS research center, was downloaded in BINEX format and converted into RINEX 3.02 format using RTKLIB software. Software was developed by the authors in Matlab in order to interrogate the data files and implement the range residual and ionospheric residual algorithms. RINEX 3.02 format was chosen due to its compatibility with multi-GNSS and multi-frequencies.
Industrial UAV applications such as construction draw benefits from multi-GNSS receivers’ capabilities. (Photo: Skycatch, Swift Navigation)
Results are presented for both ionospheric residual and range residual results for various GNSS. These results have been calculated with varying elevation mask angles, ranging from 0° to 55° at 5° intervals. The RMS values of the resulting ionospheric residuals and range residuals were calculated and plotted against the respective elevation mask angle for each satellite and frequency combinations. This illustrates the influence of the elevation mask angle used on the results.
Typically, tens of thousands of epochs of data were used for every plotted point in the following figures. Further to this, not only are the results for the various frequencies and frequency combinations for the various GNSS illustrated, but also the various satellite types, MEO, GEO and IGSO, and various satellite Blocks for GNSS. GPS Block IIA (PRN04 and PRN32), Block IIR (PRN14), Block IIR-M (PRN31) and Block IIF (PRN01, PRN26, PRN25) data were all analyzed. Thus, the comparison of the various frequencies within each satellite system are illustrated, as well as the variations by comparing the various satellite constellation types and the various generations of GPS satellites.
Surveying accuracy is critical to roadway construction. (Photo: Leica Geosystems)
The BeiDou data illustrated are MEO (C12, C14, C11), IGSO (C09, C10, C07) and GEO (C01, C02). The data used were gathered on Sept. 1, 2015, in order to include GPS Block IIA satellites (PRN04 and PRN32). PRN32 was retired in June 2016, and PRN04 was taken out of active service in November 2015, but the satellite was reactivated in March 2018, this time broadcasting PRN18.
Figure 6 illustrates RMS of the range residual results for GPS (a), BeiDou (b), Galileo (c), GLONASS (d) and QZSS (e) respectively. These figures have been drawn so that the y-axis ranges are the same for each, hence illustrating the relative values.
Figure 6A illustrates the range residual results for GPS. It can be seen that the L1 CA code results are the noisiest, with PRN14 being the noisiest, followed by PRN31, PRN26, PRN01, PRN04, PRN25 and PRN32. It can also be seen with these results that lower elevation angle mask increases the noise level. Both the L2 and L5 code results are less noisy.
Figure 6A. RMS range residual results for GPS. (Chart: Authors)
Looking at the detail, the L5 code results is less noisy than the L2 and affected less than the L1 results by the changes in elevation mask angles used. Interestingly enough, the data file includes both the L2 P(Y) code and L2C code results. L2C only exists on the Block IIR-M and Block IIF satellites. The L2C code results are generally noisier than the L2 P(Y) code.
Figure 6B illustrates the results for the range residuals for the BeiDou satellites. Here it can be seen that the B1 code is affected more by low elevation mask angles than B2 and B3. It can also be seen that both the geostationary satellites’ B1 results stand out, with satellite C02 being noisier than C01. The B2 and B3 values for both these GEO satellites are bunched up with the majority of the other results towards the middle of the figure. The pairs of B2 and B3 results for the GEO satellites are close to each other in values, and the pairs of B2 and B3 results for the other satellites are also close to each other.
Figure 6B. RMS range residual results for BeiDou. (Chart: Authors)
It can also be seen that the range residual results for BeiDou are generally less noisy than than GPS, in units of cycles.
Similarly, for Galileo, Figure 6C, the E1 results are worst, and affected more by low elevation masks. Again, generally the Galileo results are seen to be improved over GPS. The GLONASS results, Figure 6D, illustrate that the L1C results are generally noisier, and then the L1P, followed by L2C and L2P. PRN09 is also consistently generally noisier than PRN10. Finally, Figure 6E illustrates the results for QZSS. Again, L1C is the noisiest and affected most by low elevation mask angles.
Figure 6C. RMS range residual results for Galileo. (Chart: Authors)Figure 6D. RMS range residual results for GLONASS. (Chart: Authors)Figure 6E. RMS range residual results for QZSS. (Chart: Authors)
Figure 7 illustrates the ionspheric residual results for the same satellites as Figure 6. This time, however, the resulting ionospheric residual values are calculated using pairs of data from the same satellite on different carrier frequencies. The range residual results compare the code and carrier from specific satellites and frequencies.
Figure 7(a) shows that the ionospheric residual results are affected by low elevation masks, and that the L1L2CW (L1 CA code and L2 P(Y) code available on all the satellites) combinations are the noisiest, followed by L2L5WX (L2 P(Y) code and L5 code available on Block IIF satellites, PRN 26, PRN01, PRN25), followed by L1L2CX (L1 CA code and L2 C code available on Block IIF and Block IIR-M satellites, PRN31, PRN26, PRN01 and PRN25), followed by L1L5CX (L1 CA code and L5 code, Block IIF satellites, PRN01, PRN25, PRN26) and finally the least noisy were the L2L5XX results (L2 C code and L5 code available on Block IIF satellites, PRN26, PRN25 and PRN01).
Figure 7A. Ionospheric residual results for GPS. (Chart: Authors)
Figure 7(b) illustrates the BeiDou ionospheric residual plots, illustrating that satellite C14 is much noisier for all three combinations of B1B3, BB1B2 and B2B3 in that order. The B1B2 combinations for the satellites are generally the noisiest, and then the B1B3 and B2B3 combinations are intertwined. The Galileo results again illustrate that the E1 combinations are generally noisier, and again we see the effect of low elevation angle masks, Figure 7(c). Generally, however, the Galileo results are less noisy than GPS, as are the BeiDou results.
Figure 7B. Ionospheric residual results for BeiDou. (Chart: Authors)Figure 7C. Ionospheric residual results for Galileo. (Chart: Authors)
The GLONASS results are again generally the noisiest, and again PRN09 is noisier than PRN10, with the L1P combinations being noisier, Figure 7(d). Figure 7(e) for QZSS shows that there are generally two groups of results. The upper set consists of L1L2ZX, L1L5ZX, L1L2XX, L1L5XX, L1L6ZX and L1L6XX from highest to lowest noise respectively. The lower, less noisy, group consists of L1L2CX, L1L5CX, L2L5XX, L2L6XX, L1L6CX and L5L6XX from highest to lowest noise respectively. Further details about the various codes and carrier values can be found in the RINEX 3.02 manual produced by the IGS.
Figure 7D. Ionospheric residual results for GLONASS. (Chart: Authors)Figure 7E. Ionospheric residual results for QZSS.(Chart: Authors)
Conclusions
A surveyor checks an urban construction project. (Photo: Topcon)
These preliminary results illustrate that there are differences in the noise values for various GNSS, frequencies as well as satellite generations and orbit types. It can be seen that generally L1, B1 and E1 have noisier results, and are affected moreso by low elevation mask data, and hence multipath. It can also be seen that newer generations of satellites do indeed produce better quality data.
Some specific satellites produce lower quality data such as GLONASS PRN09 and BeiDou C14. This could be due to multipath produced at the satellite.
Today roughly 100 GNSS transmit data, and typically users can gather data from 30 to 50 at any time. Positioning requires nowhere near this number of satellites, therefore decisions are needed as to which satellites and which data to use in a positioning solution. Our findings imply that our approach could be used in such decision-making in GNSS processing software, helping the software to choose the optimum satellites to draw from in a positioning solution.
Acknowledgments
This work described in this article was first presented at the FIG 2018 conference held in Istanbul, Turkey. The authors acknowledge the use of data supplied from the Curtin University GNSS Centre.
Manufacturers
The GNSS receiver used is a Trimble NET R9, and the antenna is a Trimble TRM 59800.00 SCIS choke ring antenna. A ComNav K508 GNSS receiver supplied some of the BeiDou results.
GETHIN WYN ROBERTS is an associate professor at Fróðskaparsetur, the University of the Faroe Islands. He is past Chairman of the FIG’s Commission 6, Engineering Surveys, and previously held posts at the University of Nottingham both in the UK and in China. He holds a Ph.D. in engineering surveying and geodesy from the University of Nottingham.
CRAIG M. HANCOCK is an associate professor in Geodesy and Surveying Engineering and the head of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Nottingham, Ningbo, China as well as the head of the Geospatial and Geohazards Research Group. He holds a PhD from the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne.
XU TANG is a research fellow at the University of Nottingham, Ningbo, China. He holds a PhD from Nanjing University.
Allystar Technology Co. Ltd., headquartered in Shenzhen, China, has released a multi-band multi-GNSS chipset, the HD9310. The new product is based on the Cynosure III architecture integrating multi-band multi-system GNSS RF and baseband.
A multi-band, multi-system system-on-chip, it supports BeiDou-3 and is capable of tracking all global civil navigation systems (GPS, BeiDou, Galileo, GLONASS, IRNSS, QZSS and SBAS) in all bands (L1, L2, L5, L6), said Simon Sun, Allystar general manager.
Photo: Allystar Technology
Designed for high-precision applications, the HD9310 measures 5.0mm x 5.0mm. The architecture integrates floating-point arithmetic units based on ARM CortexM4, 160 KB RAM, 32KB backup RAM with VBAT, 386 KB embedded FLASH and peripheral interfaces UART, I2C, SPI, GPIO, CAN.
In terms of the manufacturing processes, it adopts a 40nm process and incorporates a variety of advanced design technologies, endowing it with very power consumption: less than 50mA.
The quad-flat no-leads package allows customers to reduce printed circuit board and bill of materials costs while reducing the number of peripheral devices. This chip supports CAN interface and can be widely used in vehicle management, car navigation, wearable devices, GIS data collection, precision agriculture, smart logistics, driverless, engineering survey and other fields.
“The HD9310 supports three options of RF setting — A, B, C — for product developers to quickly bring their ideas to the different application and markets,” added Shi Xian Yang, high precision project manager at Allystar.
Three available options for the HD9310 chipset. Graphic: Allystar Technology
Option A, focused on L5 band, L5/E5, maximizes measurement accuracy and improves multipath mitigation based on higher chip rate.
Option B is focused on L2 band, and suitable for relative position applications, for example, real-time kinematic (RTK), because worldwide continuously operating reference stations (CORS) commonly support L1/L2/L1OF/L2OF.
Option C is focused on the L6 band and is designed for PPP applications, receiving state space representation (SSR)-type corrections to be broadcast from satellites in the coming future, and supporting B3I already.
The HD9310 comes with built-in support for standard RTCM Protocol (MSM), supporting multi-band multi-system high-precision raw data output, including pseudo range, phase range, Doppler, SNR for any kind of 3rd party integration and application.
Module. Allystar Technology also has launched a multi-band multi-GNSS module, TAU1302, which integrates the HD9310 chipset and measures 12 × 16 × 2.3 millimeters.
With the features of small size, low power consumption (<50 mA), and ease of integration and mass production, HD9310 is suitable for high-precision applications such as vehicle management, car navigation, wearable devices, GIS data collection, precision agriculture, smart logistics, driverless, engineering survey and other fields.
Customer samples of the HD9310 chipset are available now.
The United Nations’ International Committee on GNSS (ICG) held its 13th meeting in Xi’an, China, Nov. 4-9. Attendees included the four major GNSS: GPS (United States), GLONASS (Russia), BeiDou (China) and Galileo (Europe). Also attending were representatives from Japan, India and delegates from 16 countries and regions.
Members called for further strengthening of the interoperability and transparency of GNSS to help more countries enjoy the developments in positioning, navigation and timing, according to China Global Television Network.
On Nov. 7, China and Russia signed a cooperation agreement for BeiDou and GLONASS, stressing that the two systems begin testing service aims for countries along China’s Belt and Road.
More than 400 delegates across the world also watched the demonstration of applications based on China’s BeiDou system, which includes drones and vehicle positioning technology that could be used by self-driving cars.
The positioning system was tested on a bus with accuracy reaching millimeters, as shown in a video on this page. This technology lays the foundation for the management of urban traffic.
China has launched its first geostationary satellite for the BeiDou constellation, according to press reports.
The successful launch of satellite G1Q took place at 15:57 UTC on Nov. 1 from the LC2 Launch Complex of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Sichuan province, using a Long March-3B/G2 (Chang Zheng-3B/G2) launch vehicle.
Beidou-3G satellites are the geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) component of the third phase of the Chinese Beidou satellite navigation system. The GEO satellites will be in high orbit, about 36,000 kilometers above the Earth, following the Earth’s rotation to view the same point on Earth continuously.
In addition to navigation services, the satellite will serve as a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) and provide short message services (Research Data Shared Service, RDSS).
The G1Q satellite is the 17th BeiDou-3 satellite and the 41st overall BeiDou satellite. Another pair of BeiDou-3 medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellites, M17 and M18, will be launched in mid-November.
The recent BeiDou launches will expand the system to global navigation coverage.
The G1Q satellite is based on the DFH-3B bus that features a phased array antenna for navigation signals and a laser retroreflector, and also is equipped with an apogee propulsion system for final orbit insertion. The satellite has a launch mass of about 4,600 kg.
China successfully sent twin BeiDou navigation satellites into space on Aug. 25, aboard a single carrier rocket, according to news reports. The satellites are numbers 35 and 36 in the BeiDou navigation constellation.
Galileo and BeiDou observation data are now included with Trimble VRS Now subscriptions in North America.
Photo: Trimble
The addition of the Galileo and BeiDou constellations allow users to make use of more satellites, enabling more robust performance when working in harsh GNSS environments such as in urban canyons and under canopy, the company said.
Trimble VRS Now in North America fully supports GPS, GLONASS, QZSS and now, Galileo and BeiDou satellite systems.
The service is powered by the Trimble Pivot Platform GNSS real-time network software, Trimble said. As a true five-constellation solution, it delivers improved real-time positioning performance for customers in North America.
VRS Now is designed for surveying, mapping and GIS, construction and agriculture professionals who require high-accuracy positioning in their workflows.
Adding Galileo and BeiDou observation data provides significant benefits by enabling users to:
Operate in environments where traditional GPS + GLONASS systems’ performances are limited
Improve accuracy and reliability of GNSS solutions
Minimize the effects of multipath and interference
“By including Galileo and BeiDou data, customers can achieve greater accuracy and positioning performance than ever before,” said Patricia Boothe, vice president of Trimble’s Advanced Positioning Division.
With the addition of North America, Trimble VRS Now networks worldwide now support all five GNSS constellations. Besides North America, coverage is available throughout Europe, Australia and New Zealand when using a compatible GNSS receiver or display.
Subscriptions are available through Trimble’s Authorized Business Partners or Trimble’s online store at tpsstore.trimble.com.
VRS Now provides positioning professionals with instant access to real-time kinematic (RTK) and post-processing (PP) corrections using a network of permanent (fixed) continuously operating reference stations (CORS). Professional management and monitoring 24/7 by a global operations team provides peak performance and high reliability, Trimble said.
Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS, IRNSS, and more join GPS and GLONASS to bring you wider, broader, greater, more accessible and above all more accurate PNT. How to get all that’s coming at you?
Multi-GNSS paves the way for complete exploitation of new signals and constellations in navigation, surveying, geodesy and remote sensing.
The free 1-hour webinar, which will take place at 1 p.m. Eastern [10 a.m. Pacific, 7 p.m. (1900h) Central European Time] on Thursday, Sept. 20, will review advantages of using multi-GNSS for the end-user and challenges in obtaining maximum efficiency when combining multiple constellations and signals. It will also discuss different approaches of testing GNSS receivers against jamming and spoofing attacks.
You will learn:
Advantages of using multi-GNSS
Challenges when combining multiple constellations
Robustness of multi-GNSS receivers to jamming and spoofing
Test solutions for GNSS receivers.
The webinar presents sponsored content by Skydel and Talen-X. Register for it here.
Geneq Inc. has released the F90, a multi-constellation GNSS receiver with a high level of technology integration. The new product is designed to fulfill surveyors’ demands for performance, flexibility and cost-effectiveness.
The F90 tracks multiple constellations (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and Beidou) and can maximize the acquisition and tracking process with all-in-view GNSS satellite frequencies, the company said.
Providing maximum performance for accuracy and real-time measurements, the F90 also supports real-time kinematic correction services, including the RTX service that can achieve centimeter accuracy without a base station.
The F90’s advanced technology ensures a high performance even in harsh environment such as under heavy canopy, Geneq said.
The F90 has an excellent combination of GNSS, 4G, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi antenna. With highly integrated Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 4G network modules, and without affecting accuracy and efficiency, the innovative F90 GNSS receiver is light and small. Even with its magnesium-alloy casing, F90 weighs only 1 kilogram and measures 140 x 157 x 76 millimeters.
With its integrated highly sensitive E-bubble and new tilt survey algorithm, the F90 becomes a calibration-free GNSS receiver, Geneq said. It is immune to magnetic disturbance and free from the limitation of tilt angles so that it can be used to measure inaccessible points.
Equipped with an internal radio, enabling frequency band change from 410 to 470 MHz, the F90 can be used with different radio communication protocols. Another important feature is its integrated second-generation web user interfae control, which is fully compatible with all devices and all browsers.
The user will benefit the F90’s two smart hot swappable Lithium batteries (the same battery used with Geneq’s SXPad 1000P data collector), allowing uninterrupted field work for up to 10 hours.
NovAtel Inc. has launched its TerraStar-C PRO correction service with multi-constellation support, including the GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou constellations.
Combined with NovAtel’s OEM7 positioning technology, TerraStar-C PRO cuts initial convergence times by nearly 60 percent and offers 40 percent better horizontal accuracy than the current TerraStar-C service, the company said.
NovAtel’s TerraStar-C PRO offers a robust multi-constellation solution that provides greater positioning accuracy, availability and reliability than before, the company added. With the growing number of operational GNSS satellites, TerraStar-C PRO offers benefits in challenging signal conditions such as multipath, shading, interference and scintillation. High-rate TerraStar-C PRO corrections provide reconvergence in less than 60 seconds following brief GNSS signal interruptions.
According to NovAtel, TerraStar-C PRO corrections are generated using TerraStar’s proprietary global network of more than 100 strategically located GNSS reference stations. The correction data is delivered worldwide through overlapping geostationary satellites directly to a NovAtel receiver or via cellular IP network.
With OEM7 triple L-band support, TerraStar-C PRO correction signals from up to three satellites can be tracked and used simultaneously, providing continuous correction data reception when the primary satellite signal is blocked.
“TerraStar-C PRO enables higher operational efficiency by allowing users to start operations sooner and continue to work through challenging conditions without interruptions,” said Sara Masterson, NovAtel’s positioning services segment manager. “We continue to build our TerraStar portfolio of services and with the addition of TerraStar-C PRO customers can trust that they have not only a highly-reliable precise positioning solution, but also services that immediately translate to increased productivity.”
TerraStar-C PRO is available immediately as a termed subscription service for agriculture, unmanned, airborne and land applications, such as survey, mapping and GIS and supported on compatible OEM7 products with firmware version 7.05 and later.
Ceva has launched the successor to its Ceva-Dragonfly NB1 solution targeting the NB-internet of things (IoT) market, the Ceva-Dragonfly NB2.
The Dragonfly NB2 is a highly integrated and modular solution optimized for Cat-NB2 (3GPP Release 14 eNB-IoT) that can seamlessly be incorporated into chips and modules by the multitude of companies looking to address the large and fast-growing cellular IoT space.
GNSS hardware package. For customers developing NB-IoT products that also require GNSS capabilities, Ceva-Dragonfly NB2 includes a new power-optimized GNSS hardware package, with GNSS RF receiver and multi-constellation digital front-end.
The GNSS package speeds up both acquisition and tracking tasks by up to 8 times compared to Ceva-Dragonfly NB1, enabling a host of popular NB-IoT use cases, including people, livestock and asset tracking, and geo-fencing, the company said.
IoT boom forecast. In the latest edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report, the forecast for cellular IoT increased significantly, almost doubling to 3.5 billion connections for 2023. The report cites large-scale deployments in China and increasing interest in eNB-IoT and Cat-M1 cellular IoT standards as the catalysts for 30 percent CAGR between 2017 and 2023.
Ceva-Dragonfly NB2 is a licensable Rel14 compliant eNB-IoT solution and builds on the success of Ceva-Dragonfly NB1, which has been widely licensed for a range of use cases and emerging end markets, including smart cities, transport and logistics and consumer electronics. It is centered on the Ceva-X1 DSP/control processor featuring an enhanced Instruction Set Architecture and provides a unified processor environment for both physical layer and protocol stack workloads.
The solution also includes a highly integrated, worldwide enabled RF transceiver, a power amplifier (PA) and all the associated hardware and software modules required to develop a complete eNB-IoT product, ensuring the lowest possible bill-of-materials (BOM) in the process.
In addition to the performance improvements enabled by Release 14 including higher data rates and lower latency, Ceva-Dragonfly NB2 features a range of enhancements to ensure higher performance, added functionality and increased security for NB-IoT applications compared to its predecessor.
A new power management solution, complete with intelligent sleep mechanisms ensures ultra-low sleep power consumption of a few microAmps, further improving the battery life critical to every NB-IoT device.
The enhanced RF design is already silicon-proven at 55nm and 40nm processes, further lowering the entry barriers for customers with no previous cellular expertise to enter this burgeoning market.
Ceva-Dragonfly NB2 also includes the fully optimized physical layer and protocol stack firmware designed for Release 14 Cat-NB2. The addition of an on-chip embedded flash memory and controller now allows full NB-IoT design on a single die which further reduces BOM and power consumption.
Voice trigger. Ceva-Dragonfly NB2 also supports use cases requiring always-listening voice trigger, voice commands and sound sensing. The flexibility of the Ceva-X1 IoT processor allows for these sensing features to be implemented in software. The Ceva ClearVox voice front-end software package, for example, can be used to ensure clear and intelligible voice pickup for use cases such as emergency calls and voice panic buttons. In terms of security, Ceva-Dragonfly NB2 integrates a completely redesigned secure platform, including smart interfaces to connect USIM or eSIM. Ceva also offers other complementary technologies addressing massive IoT, such as Bluetooth 5 dual-mode and low energy and Wi-Fi 802.11n/ac/ax, for short range connectivity which customers can leverage for their product designs.
“The widespread commercial deployment of NB-IoT is well underway across the globe and we’re proud to be at the forefront of technology innovation for long-range massive IoT,” said Michael Boukaya, vice president and general manager of the wireless business unit at Ceva. “With the introduction of Ceva-Dragonfly NB2, we have built on the considerable success we achieved with our first generation solution, and delivered a unique, silicon-proven eNB-IoT Release 14 solution for our customers that is unprecedented in terms of system completeness, performance and power efficiency.
“Moreover, the option of power-optimized GNSS, voice and sensing capabilities vastly increases the breadth of use cases our customers can address with this licensable solution,” Boukaya said. “There is no other IP company in the world today that can come close to offering such a complete solution for eNB-IoT and we’re excited to closely partner with our customers to create a whole new wave of applications and devices for the infinite Internet of Things.”
Ceva-Dragonfly NB2 is available for licensing now. Development kits and reference silicon will be available in the third quarter of this year.
