Virtual Surveyor has added UAV photogrammetry capabilities to its Virtual Surveyor smart UAV surveying software. The new Terrain Creator app photogrammetrically processes UAV images to generate survey-grade terrains which then transfer into the traditional Virtual Surveyor workspace.
The Virtual Surveyor software is now two desk apps in one subscription package, creating a seamless end-to-end UAV survey workflow, said Tom Op‘t Eyndt, Virtual Surveyor’s CEO.
Terrain Creator aims to simplify the aerial photogrammetry process by offering a visual and intuitive application to produce an orthomosaic and digital surface model (DSM) from UAV photos, the company said.
Virtual Surveyor software was originally developed to bridge the gap between UAV photogrammetric processing applications and engineering design packages.
Prior to this new release, users had to rely on third-party software to generate elevation models and an orthomosaic on which they could work with the Virtual Surveyor toolset. Now, users can derive the 3D topographic information necessary for construction, surface mining and excavation projects in one package.
Once the survey-grade terrains flow from the Terrain Creator into the Virtual Surveyor desktop app, users can access an interactive virtual environment and robust toolsets to generate CAD models, create cut-and-fill maps and calculations, or calculate volume reports.
Users currently subscribed to Virtual Surveyor Ridge and Peak editions will see their software updated automatically with Terrain Creator. A flexible licensing setup will allow two users within a subscribing organization to use the Terrain Creator and Virtual Surveyor applications simultaneously from different computers.
The phrase “positioning, navigation, and timing” (PNT) — widely used in our industry, including on this magazine’s cover — encapsulates a wide range of applications for global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) and for other technologies that provide some or all the same services. Subsumed under “positioning” is one of the most widespread uses of GNSS, which is data collection to make maps, enable geographic information systems (GIS), and populate the databases that power the many location-based services (LBS) applications on smartphones.
Increasingly, GNSS positioning is also integrated with systems for indoor positioning to enable seamless tracking of people, equipment and products, and with a variety of sensors to monitor their status and environmental conditions.
GNSS positioning and mapping will benefit from the advent of G5 cellular networks, which will vastly increase download speeds, decrease latencies and expand connectivity. While it will transform every industry, 5G’s impact will be especially felt in urban settings and pave the way for tomorrow’s smart cities.
In this month’s cover story, we focus on these aspects of GNSS by presenting three brief case studies:
Golf course irrigation planning and construction, using Trimble Catalyst.
Land surveys to update China’s national GIS, using a CHC Navigation LT700 receiver.
Safety with industrial automation
Industrial automation is an extremely wide area,” said Ludger Boeggering, u-blox senior principal segment manager, EMEA Energy & Automation. “It includes process and production automation, where it is used to automate the production environment. In more remote conditions, where it is less time-critical, it is used to understand what happens in the automation environment. Lastly, it is used to remotely supervise and monitor what is happening in such an environment.”
Nowadays, businesses want to monitor their production environment “all the way down to the production of a single device,” Boeggering said. “That’s the area in which we operate.”
One application of industrial automation on which u-blox is increasingly focusing is the safe, connected worker, which can refer to someone inside a building on a factory floor or someone outside, such as on a construction site. Another one is mobile robotics and collaborative robotics.
“Our customers are in all segments and verticals — including electronics, machine manufacturing, oil and gas, transportation, chemical, food, water, paper and energy,” Boeggering said. “It’s really a broad spectrum of industrial companies that are using these tools and products. We are focused on the leading customers in that area and are working with well-known players in the market.”
5G is an umbrella for different flavors of the technology that includes enhanced mobile broadband and ultra-low latency. “There has been much hype about this,” Boeggering said. “In the beginning, everyone focused on low latency and, potentially, high bandwidth. In reality however, customers realized that it would be too expensive to implement it so as to have both.” This led to the emergence of 5G RedCap, which stands for reduced capability. “It covers a bit of the low latency stuff and a bit of the higher bandwidth stuff, but also makes it more cost effective.”
For many applications, such as video and augmented reality, latency is less important than speed. Then there’s the question of reliability. “Nowadays, reliability and availability are the most important issues,” Boeggering said. “If you have an automation process with very high motion, you definitely need high reliability and low latency.”
Factories can now set up their own environment and combine communication technologies, using low latency and many sensors. “For example, on the campus of a chemical factory you have some critical processes that require reliable connectivity,” Boeggering explained. “There, 5G can provide that. At the same time, there are hundreds of thousands of sensors to be connected. This requires a private network environment that can be controlled.”
“The reason for going wireless is less about being mobile and more about being flexible — such as setting up or re-arranging a production line in a very short time,” Boeggering said. “It normally takes a car manufacturer nine to 12 months to set up a production line for a car. It requires a lot of cables and installations. These guys aim to bring that time down to three months. That means that when they are starting to rebuild a construction area, in the best case, they can make the connectivity for all the communications entirely wireless and just plug the machines into the power.”
Construction sites require a solution that provides a seamless indoor-outdoor location. For example, a construction company may want to know the location of all its tools on a large campus. When they are outside, they can be easily located with GNSS. More often, however, they are inside concrete walls. “Nowadays, we don’t really have a solution that covers that indoor-outdoor area seamlessly,” Boeggering said. “On a construction site, you can’t set up an infrastructure to do that. So, you need one that is already available. There 5G might be able to help.”
u-blox can provide solutions that fit across the communication technologies. “5G is not the only technology that will be used in industrial automation environments,” Boeggering pointed out. “We have the portfolio, starting with GNSS when it comes to location, and, when it comes to short range, wireless, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and of course, cellular. We are providing to these OEMs the right components to create the final solution, including positioning and communication services.”
“The customers, who want to know where their equipment is, do not care whether that information is derived using GNSS, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi,” Boeggering said. “They just want to know in which room it is, on which level, or in which area of their factory. Of course, customers certainly would like centimeter precision. However, the question is whether they want to pay for it. GNSS plays a huge role for location outside and close to windows. However, once you can’t get this data, you need an alternative solution. This can be done in combination with any wireless technology. There are use cases in which Bluetooth might work independently from GNSS, but when it comes to Wi-Fi or cellular 5G, GNSS is definitely helping to get the location. So, we always play a role.”
Irrigating the green
“We’ve always used GPS equipment to map out our clients’ properties across the country,” said Michael Kuhn, owner of Michael Kuhn & Associates Inc., in Birmingham, Michigan, which specializes in irrigation systems for golf courses. “Very rarely do they have an accurate base map of the property. So, instead of going to third parties, we decided 20 years ago to buy our own GPS equipment and map these properties ourselves as a starting point to do our design work for new irrigation systems,” Kuhn said.
The Trimble Catalyst. (Image: Trimble)
Since starting his business, Kuhn is now on his third or fourth generation of Trimble equipment. “Convenience and time are always key factors with me,” he said. “As this equipment has evolved, it’s become more user friendly, and more convenient.”
He spends a lot of time on the road and needed a way to collect data on golf courses and get it to his staff back at the office, so that they could clean it up and get it ready for him as quickly as possible. Before Trimble released Catalyst, he had to go back to his hotel, remote into his office computer and transfer the data from his laptop through some kind of cloud-based device. “Now, with this new Catalyst equipment, it is so much more streamlined, and the price point has been fantastic,” Kuhn said. “Everything’s now going subscription-based anyway. Not just software but hardware as well. That allows me to do a few more things that I couldn’t do before.”
The golf courses around the country with which Kuhn works are constantly doing projects and updating infrastructure. “We end up being the gatekeepers for the overall mapping for our clients’ golf courses for infrastructure,” he said.
Before Trimble released Catalyst, Kuhn recalled, some of his clients spent up to $30,000 for equipment that would collect data sufficiently accurate to incorporate into his mapping.
“When Trimble came out with Catalyst and a subscription-based pricing, depending on what kind of accuracy you need, it was a no brainer. The first group that I thought of was my clients — giving them the ability to get entry-level subscriptions, but still be able to maintain centimeter-grade accuracy because they’re using an hourly subscription instead of paying thousands of dollars a year.”
Kuhn also uses aerial photogrammetry.
“Not that long ago, it was tough to get your hands on ortho-corrected aerial photography that could match up with my base maps,” he recalled. “I would typically go to municipalities. More and more of them have GIS departments now. Often, I could get access to ortho-corrected aerial photography from them, either for free or at a cost. It was accurate, but you would be at the mercy of whenever the county was doing its aerial photography,” Kuhn continued.
Then Kuhn came across Nearmap and began to use their aerial photography. “It wasn’t ortho-rectified at all, but they were flying multiple times a year,” Kuhn said. “It was nice to incorporate it into what we were doing, to make sure that I could see the latest and greatest overhead of whatever property I was looking at.” When Nearmap switched to a subscription-based business model, however, Kuhn did not sign up because the images were not georeferenced. “It’s a lot of work when you must manipulate an aerial and get it to match up to a base map. Then, probably two or three years ago, they started to geo-reference their aerial imagery and we signed up and they’ve been great.”
Right now, Kuhn’s equipment is close to centimeter-grade. “We were the first independent irrigation consulting partners to get this three-dimensional hydraulic modeling software to run our irrigation systems,” he said. “In a three-dimensional model, before we even finalized drawing, we were able to model the systems that we were designing that could tell us what pressure drops were across a 500-acre piece of property three dimensionally.” That required a topo map of the property, which he would get from the relevant county.
Pump stations for golf course irrigation systems pump 2,000 or 3,000 gallons a minute across hundreds of acres, sometimes in the mountains and typically full of steep inclines.
Image: Michael Kuhn & Associates Inc.
“It could be in Colorado or Salt Lake City or in a place flat as a pancake, but it is absolutely critical to still have the ability to run that hydraulic model and have accurate data flow horizontally and vertically,” Kuhn said. “With the data that we have now, I can run an irrigation cycle in multiple different ways and tell the end user what the pressure is in the back left corner of a green within 1/100 psi. It’s invaluable.”
Kuhn supports his clients in many ways. “Since the Trimble Catalyst equipment came out, I’ve recommended to my clients and to contractors that they switch to it. Golf course building contractors have always had good equipment, such as total stations, and this was just another tool that they could have to collect data quickly and easily.”
Additionally, Kuhn pointed out, Catalyst provides a sharing platform. “So, I could create a team for a golf course and then they could get the same equipment and create a project and we can make each other part of each other’s team. So, they have access to all the data that they collect and all the data that I collect, to the extent that I give them permission to use them. That’s critical. I mean, sharing data with contractors is another component that we really didn’t have before.”
Collecting data for GIS
Image: CHC Navigation
CHC Navigation is assisting China’s Ministry of Natural Resources to conduct its third national land survey. The ministry regularly organizes nationwide land surveys to update the country’s national GIS database, including spatial and attribute information. In addition, surveyors are required to take multiple high-resolution images of each area in different directions to provide verification information. As the project progresses, all data will be uploaded to a server via a cellular (4G) connection. In terms of accuracy, this project requires an expected accuracy in the order of one meter.
For this project, China’s Ministry of Natural Resources used the CHCNAV LT700 rugged Android tablet. Featuring an 8-in screen viewable in direct sunshine and in high-bright areas, the LT700 is well suited to display GIS data tables, complex vector and raster maps or high-resolution pictures. Unlike consumer tablets, the L700’s IP67 industrial design withstands daily use in harsh environments and conditions. Protected from dust, rain, extreme temperatures and accidental drops from 1.2 m, the LT700 is an advanced solution for such applications as forestry, utilities, asset management or environmental studies. Bearing the Google Mobile Service (GMS) certification, the LT700 runs seamlessly the most common professional data collection applications available from the Google Play store.
The main challenges associated with using data collectors in the field are related to the natural environment and the need to ensure reliable georeferencing accuracy down to the meter. Surveyors and GIS technicians work in a variety of environments, including cities, mountains, plateaus and forests. They can work for up to eight hours in rain, snow and extreme temperatures. As a result, their equipment must be well protected from shocks and bad weather, with long battery life and a high-brightness display.
A GIS specialist collecting the locations of assets using an LT700H RTK Android tablet by CHC Navigation, which has centimeter accuracy. (Image: CHC Navigation)
With the LT700 rugged tablet, surveyors can focus on collecting data in the field without interruptions or wasted time, and without worrying about weather conditions. The device delivers metric accuracy with SBAS support, which greatly improves the reliability of georeferencing and the consistency of collected data, regardless of the operator. Its lightweight construction and convenient size make it easy to transport on foot, especially when working in mountainous terrain or crossing rivers. The LT700’s 4G connectivity has made it possible to continuously update data and organize work sessions based on updated data.
Back in the late 1980s, as project manager of the new adjustment of the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88), I worked with federal and state agencies to perform geodetic leveling and replace lost benchmarks. One of the reasons for the NAVD 88 project was to address the issue that thousands of benchmarks placed in previous decades had been subsequently destroyed and many others had been affected by crustal motion, postglacial rebound, and subsidence due to the withdrawal of underground fluids. NGS along with its partners performed thousands of kilometers of leveling to replace lost benchmarks. That said, the loss of control marks, denoted by some as “passive marks,” still seems to be a problem today.
California surveying agencies played a part in replacing and updating lost marks for the NAVD 88 project and it seems that they are doing it again. On Sept. 21, the importance of saving passive marks was discussed at the 2023 CLSA Geomatics Conference at Cal Poly Pomona/College of Engineering.
Defining passive marks
Several of my previous columns have highlighted the new, modernized NGS National Spatial Reference System (NSRS), and how active and passive control will be part of the new system.
Active and passive control. (Image: NGS)
For all practical purposes, passive marks are marks that are not continuously operating reference stations (CORS).
On June 22, NGS held a webinar on the benefits and challenges of transitioning to the modernized NSRS at which the presenters were not NGS employees. Users can download the presentation here.
NGS webinar on June 22. (Image: NGS)
I want to highlight a few statements made by Brian Fisher, director of the American Association for Geodetic Surveying (AAGS). Readers can find more information about AAGS here. First, one of Brian’s slides stated that passive marks retain value and that improving data inclusion is both a benefit and a challenge. During his presentation, Brian stated that “passive marks are always going to have some level of value.” He also mentioned that “NGS has done a great job on improving the data submitting process.” NGS is developing models and tools for users to transition to the new NSRS. Tools such as OPUS Projects aim to help facilitate incorporating passive marks into the new, modernized NSRS.
(Image: NGS)
Brian is not the only one who knows the importance of passive marks. As previously mentioned, the importance of saving surveying control marks was highlighted at the 2023 CLSA Geomatics Conference at Cal Poly Pomona/College of Engineering.
2023 CLSA Geomatics Conference. (Image: Cal Poly Pomona)
At the conference there was a panel session on saving survey monuments.
The following is the abstract of the panel session:
“To discuss an ongoing problem of the destruction of land survey monuments and what the League of California Surveying Organizations (LCSO) and the California Land Surveyor’s Association aredoing about it.”
The panel consisted of five California County surveyors including David Farrell (LA Deputy County surveyor), Tom Herrin (San Bernardino County surveyor), Michael Lafontaine (Orange Deputy County surveyor), David McMillan (Riverside County surveyor), and Warren Smith (Tuolumne County surveyor). The presentation included discussion of a Monument Preservation Brochure and a Monument Preservation Guide.
Surveyors, engineers, and GIS professionals realize that inaccurate measurements can lead to boundary disputes, errors in construction projects, and environmental impacts. Passive marks are useful for validating measurements and spatial analysis. The panel noted that marks across California are in danger of being damaged or destroyed due to construction or insufficient public awareness. It was noted that addressing the loss of passive marks is important for maintaining California’s geographic information systems and preventing/averting legal disputes.
A goal of the guide is to provide individuals that oversee engineering work with strategies to save passive marks that are important to land boundaries and geospatial data.
The panel realized that survey monument preservation requires a collaborative effort from various stakeholders. By incorporating outreach, accurate locating techniques, efficient reporting systems and meticulous replacement strategies, California can safeguard its survey monuments for current and future generations.
The proposed guide will address the problem and outline a solution. The problem section would include topics such as lack of awareness, inadequate reporting, lack of funding, and the responsibility of the community. I have been informed that the guide will be posted here soon.
The panel members understood that the solution starts with outreach efforts and their draft guide lists the following potential outreach activities:
Educational campaigns at local schools, community centers, and public events to introduce the importance of survey monuments and their role in land ownership, land surveying and mapping.
Community workshops with local civic organizations, homeowners’ associations (HOAs), and chambers of commerce to conduct workshops focused on survey monument preservation.
Public awareness materials such asinformational brochures, posters, and online resources that explain the significance of survey monuments and the potential consequences of their damage or loss can be distributed through public libraries, city halls, and online platforms.
Media engagement with local media outlets can elevate public awareness and reinforce the importance of preserving these markers.
As part of the public awareness material the group has prepared a draft brochure. They mentioned that having a website, such as the CLSA website, be a hub for contacts and information for research may help support the “save the mark” campaign. They included that GIS web maps will be a common place to find monuments and survey control.
The draft brochure states, “destruction of survey monuments within the public rights-of-way, mainly as the result of public works projects and private developments permitted by public agencies, is increasing, due to a lack of oversight and education concerning the importance of these monuments.”
The draft brochure addresses the following questions:
What Are Survey Monuments, Bench Marks & Geodetic Control?
Why Are They Important?
What Can You Do to Preserve Survey Monuments?
Who Is Responsible?
How Many Survey Monuments Are Really Needed?
The use of passive marks is well known to land surveyors since they use these marks in their daily operations as described in the statement above. It is crucial to be informed of the importance of passive marks and what they can do to help preserve them. Any professional involved in urban development can have a role in saving passive marks from destruction.
The draft brochure outlines the following actionable steps that others can take: show all existing land survey monuments on improvement plans, grading plans, site plans, etc.; educate engineers, surveyors, plan checkers, inspectors, GIS professionals, and the public about the importance of monuments and the requirements to preserve them; prior to filing notice of completion for any project, have a licensed land surveyor validate that the monuments are in place; and request acknowledgement via a written statement in the permit process, that a licensed land surveyor has performed a field inspection and that no monuments are subject to destruction within the scope of the project, or that existing monuments have been referenced and perpetuated per Business and Professions Code §8771.
The section “How Many Survey Monuments Are Really Needed?” is kept simple and straightforward: all of them! These monuments are set to allow for the retracement (or to mark the location) of features and legal rights on Earth’s surface.
There are many scientists who believe that active control stations are the solution to the surveying and mapping community’s positioning requirements.
I believe active control stations such as NOAA CORS Network (NCN) that NGS promulgates are extremely important to the development and implementation of the NSRS. In the new, modernized NSRS access to the geometric component of the NSRS will effectively be defined by CORS and their coordinate functions. That said, this does not diminish the importance and requirement for maintaining and updating the coordinates of passive marks.
The brochure is still a draft document and was not ready for publication at the time of this newsletter, but I have been told that it will be sent to all California county surveyors with instructions on what the goal is. Also, I have been informed that, as soon as it is publicly available, it will be placed on the websites of the California Land Surveyors Association and The League of California Surveying Organizations.
I am encouraged by what California surveyors are doing to highlight the importance of passive marks. I would be interested in hearing from others on what they are doing to save passive marks or their thoughts on the importance of passive marks. Please feel free to email me at [email protected].
On a different topic, I would like to highlight that the NGS has announced the recipients of the NOAA FY 23 Geospatial Modeling Competition Awards. NGS awarded $4 million in grant funding to four institutions — Oregon State University, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, Michigan State University, and the Ohio State University — for projects that will research emerging problems in the field of geodesy, develop tools and models to advance the modernization of the NSRS, and help address a nationwide deficiency of geodesists.
This is great news for the advancement of geodesy. I will address this in more detail in my November column.
Emlid has launched a GNSS receiver, the Reach RS3. It features inertial measurement unit (IMU) tilt compensation and a dual-band radio for enhanced compatibility with third-party receivers.
The Reach RS3 enables users to survey at large tilt angles while maintaining survey-grade accuracy. The multi-band receiver works both as a base and a rover and comes factory calibrated.
The receiver offers versatile options to get corrections from continuously operating reference stations (CORS), another Reach device, or a third-party base, so users can mix and match real-time-kinematic (RTK) receivers in a fleet.
Its NTRIP connectivity enables corrections from CORS, NTRIP service, or a GNSS receiver using Emlid NTRIP Caster. When connected over NTRIP, Reach works on a baseline of more than 60 km in RTK and 100 km in post-processed kinematic. Emlid has launched a GNSS receiver, the Reach RS3. It features inertial measurement unit (IMU) tilt compensation and a dual-band radio for enhanced compatibility with third-party receivers.
The Reach RS3 enables users to survey at large tilt angles while maintaining survey-grade accuracy. The multi-band receiver works both as a base and a rover and comes factory calibrated.
The receiver offers versatile options to get corrections from continuously operating reference stations (CORS), another Reach device, or a third-party base, so users can mix and match real-time-kinematic (RTK) receivers in a fleet.
Its NTRIP connectivity enables corrections from CORS, NTRIP service, or a GNSS receiver using Emlid NTRIP Caster. When connected over NTRIP, Reach works on a baseline of more than 60 km in RTK and 100 km in post-processed kinematic.
Trimble and Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest telecommunications company, have partnered to install a new Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) network to provide GNSS correction services across the country.
Available to users as an annual subscription service, the new network will be built using Trimble’s hardware and software positioning technology. This technology provides users with reliable high-accuracy real time or post-processed GNSS corrections data for agriculture, construction, geospatial, Internet of Things (IoT) and other commercial operations.
The network will be installed on Kyivstar’s communication towers and will use Trimble Alloy reference receivers and Trimble Zephyr model 3 antennas.
Trimble Alloy offers current and near-future constellation GNSS tracking and absolute positioning capabilities. The Zephyr 3 antenna’s capabilities provide optimal functionality in permanent installations. The network will also leverage the Trimble Pivot Platform software, a solution that manages CORS stations and generates accurate GNSS corrections to provide the network operator and end users with a reliable, seamless and efficient workflow.
The first phase of the installation will include 41 communication towers and is expected to be completed by the end of 2023. The second phase will consist of 150 additional towers and is expected to be completed in 2024. Subscriptions to the service will be available through Kyivstar.
CHC Navigation (CHCNAV) released the LT800H, a rugged and versatile RTK GNSS tablet designed for geospatial and mapping operations in the field.
The LT800H offers users robust outdoor performance, data security and centimeter-level accuracy for a variety of applications, including construction, environmental surveying and any industry in which Android tablets are required.
Featuring a high-performance 1408 channel GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou module and a tracking GNSS helix antenna, the LT800H RTK Android tablet offers centimeter-to-decimeter positioning accuracy in challenging environments. It also comes equipped with a 4G modem to simplify connectivity to GNSS RTK network corrections. The technology also offers an eight-hour battery life, allowing users to collect data in the field uninterrupted.
A roundup of recent products in the GNSS and inertial positioning industry from the September 2023 issue of GPS World magazine.
MOBILE
Commercial RF antennas Marine grade for ships/boats
The Fairview commercial RF antennas provide accurate positioning with L1 band and multiband capabilities and offer a 28 dBi gain for reliable positioning. The antennas offer full-spectrum connectivity and operate within the universal marine frequency range of 156 MHz to 163 MHz and CB-27 MHz, 10m-HAM, ensuring unbroken connections at sea. The antennas are also weatherproof, rated IP67 for water ingress. They are offered with three types of mounts, making it easier to integrate into any vessel. All antennas are crafted from robust stainless steel or fiberglass for durability and reliable performance. Various antenna lengths are available for users to select based on their signal performance needs..
Fairview Microwave, fairviewmicrowave.com
SURVEYING & MAPPING
Inertial Measurement Units Features ultra-high accuracy DFOG range and more
The Boreas A90 and A70 are strategic-grade inertial measurement units (IMU) that deliver acceleration and orientation with accuracy, stability and reliability under all conditions with no reliance on GNSS. They also feature automatic gyrocompassing. The IMUs contain ultra-high accuracy digital fiber-optic gyroscope (DFOG) range and high performance closed-loop accelerometers. The Boreas A90 and A70 are both suitable for surveying, mapping and navigation across subsea, marine, land and air applications. The Boreas A90 and A70 also offer an optional license to add inertial navigation system capabilities and enable integration with external GNSS receivers using Advanced Navigation’s range of interfaces and communication protocols. Advanced Navigation, advancednavigation.com
GNSS Receiver Suitable for surveying, mapping, and geographic information system applications
The Mars Laser RTK features a datalink modem that transmits and receives across the full frequency range from 410 MHz to 470 MHz. With adjustable transmit power of 0.5 w to 2 w and a maximum distance of 15 km, it meets the measurement demands of complex environments. It can also switch roles between a rover and a base, enabling more flexibility in demanding applications. The Mars Laser RTK is equipped with a Wi-Fi/4G modem and Bluetooth capabilities, facilitating reliable communication across various platforms. The Mars Laser RTK also features five LEDs on the front panel for satellite tracking, RTK corrections data and more. Powered by the SinoGNSS K8 high precision module, the device supports full-constellation and multi-frequency tracking, including GPS, GLONASS, BDS, QZSS, IRNSS, and Galileo, and supports precise-point positioning service. Additionally, the device tracks more than 60 satellites and has 1,590 channels. The Mars Laser RTK’s third-generation inertial measurement unit (IMU) supports 60° tilt with 2.5 cm accuracy. The IMU can be set to both traditional mode with range pole and to laser mode. ComNav Technology, comnavtech.com
Desktop Solution An Esri ArcGIS Pro add-in for field data collection software
With a streamlined user interface, the Terra Office add-in for ArcGIS Pro enables users to connect TerraFlex workflows directly to the ArcGIS platform from within ArcGIS Pro — Esri’s desktop GIS application. ArcGIS Pro users can now create and manage TerraFlex geospatial data collection projects without leaving ArcGIS. Organizations that collect data in TerraFlex and bring it into ArcGIS through the add-in can also use the Trimble Offline GNSS Corrections service for situations where real-time correction services are intermittent or unavailable. With this service, all data from the field is automatically processed in the cloud without user intervention, and the most accurate real-time or post-processed position is stored for each feature and made available for download through the Terra Office add-in for ArcGIS Pro. Trimble Geospatial, geospatial.trimble.com
Data Capture App A customizable mobile application for GIS data collection
1Capture is a mobile GIS editing application that is multi-use and configurable. It provides accurate and reliable data collection and editing in the field for a multitude of asset, job, and survey types. Customizable rules and actions work to improve data quality at the point of capture. This ensures that good quality data is captured at the source, minimizing re-surveys. The built-in rules engine automatically validates and corrects the GIS and non-GIS data collected, whether working online or offline. 1Capture connects with a variety of GIS environments, including Esri ArcGIS and open-source technologies such as PostGIS and Geoserver. 1Spatial, 1spatial.com/us/
AUTONOMOUS
Heavy-Lift Delivery UAV An off-the-shelf, ready-to-fly delivery aircraft for last mile delivery
The RDST Longtail features a RDS2 drone winch, enabling payloads to be deposited safely from altitude so that spinning rotors are kept far from people and property. The UAV can deliver or retrieve payloads up to 5 kg and over a distance of 11 km, making it suitable for various applications such as local parcel or food delivery, emergency medical deliveries, water sampling programs, offshore logistics, search and rescue operations and more. The UAV can also auto-release packages without the need for a recipient to be present at the delivery location. This is made possible by the all-new bag auto-release mechanism, allowing for easy pickups and auto-releasing of bags during deliveries. Designed to meet FAA regulations, the RDST Longtail is remote ID compliant with a factory-integrated remote ID beacon. The Premium edition of the drone can fly in inclement weather and features a quick-release battery system for minimal downtime. A2Z Drone Delivery, a2zdronedelivery.com
GNSS INS Suitable for multiple applications
The ANELLO GNSS inertial navigation system (INS) is designed for reliable long-term GPS-denied navigation and localization. Powered by optical gyroscope technology and artificial intelligence-based sensor fusion engine, the ANELLO GNSS INS delivers robust, high-accuracy positioning and orientation for applications such as agriculture, construction, trucking, and autonomous vehicles. It comes equipped with unaided heading drift of less than 0.5°/hr, dual multi-band real-time kinematic-capable GNSS engines, ASIL-D-ready automotive qualified CPU, automotive 2-wire Ethernet, and dual high-speed CAN FD interfaces. It also features dual RS-232 interfaces, hardware precision time protocol, IEEE 802.1AS. The ANELLO GNSS INS is IP68 waterproof, as well as resistant to dust, salt spray and chemicals. ANELLO Photonics, anellophotonics.com
GPS-Guided Robot Designed specifically for painting athletic fields
The Turf Tank Two features dual motor drives for enhanced torque and optimized wheels for traction. On its own and controlled through a tablet, the Turf Tank Two can paint a regulation soccer field for two teams of 11 players each in less than 24 minutes, a baseball or softball field in less than 11 minutes, a lacrosse field in less than 26 minutes, and a full 100-yard football field in less than 3.5 hours. It can also paint logos and numbers. The Turf Tank Two is 43 in x 33 in x 22.5 in. It weighs 123 lbs, without paint or the battery installed, and it can hold 5.5 gallons of paint. Enhanced features of the Turf Tank Two also include a revamped sprayer module and advanced control features — including a redesigned front panel that has convenient pause/resume options with LED indicators displaying the robot’s status and a start/stop sprayer button. An LED indicator also comes on the battery. Its batteries are rechargeable. Because of the robot’s precision and accuracy, it uses significantly less paint and eliminates the overspray that is common with either painting by hand or using many of the older paint machines and sprayers on the market. The GNSS-guided Turf Tank Two uses a base station to enhance its accuracy, while its onboard GNSS receiver acts as a rover. Turf Tank, turftank.com
DEFENSE
Solar-Electric HAPS UAS Provides an alternative to conventional sensing and communications systems
PHASA-35 is an ultra-light weight, solar-electric high altitude pseudo satellite (HAPS) unmanned aerial system (UAS) designed as an alternative to conventional systems such as satellites or conventionally powered aircraft for cost-effective imagery and communications. PHASA-35 uses photo-voltaic arrays to provide energy during the day, which is stored in rechargeable cells to maintain flight overnight. The UAS is designed to provide a persistent, stable platform for monitoring, surveillance, communications, and security applications. When connected to other solutions, it provides military and commercial customers with capabilities that are not currently available from existing air and space platforms. PHASA-35 can also be used to deliver communications networks including 5G, as well as provide other services, such as disaster relief and border protection. The UAS also has a flexible payload design that enables a large and varied range of sensor capabilities to be carried and updated. The PHASA-35 is suitable for military communications, military surveillance, commercial communications, maritime surveillance, border security, agricultural monitoring, and environmental monitoring. BAE Systems, baesystems.com
NavGuide is a field-installable replacement to the defense advanced GPS receiver (DAGR), designed for quick integration into current DAGR mounts and accessories without mission interruption. NavGuide features a 3 in, full-color, graphical user interface for dismounted soldiers, and easily integrates with existing mounted platforms and systems. The device leverages the advanced M-code GPS signal with enhanced jamming and spoofing protection. NavGuide is portable, versatile, and precise, and enables vehicular, handheld, sensor, and gun laying applications that enable the military to defeat adversaries in a variety of challenging threat environments. BAE Systems, baesystems.com
OEM
Vertical Location Device For a variety of applications that rely on precise PNT
Pinnacle delivers precise, floor-level, vertical positioning for geolocation applications. It offers altitude measurements that meet the Federal Communications Commission mandate of 3 m accuracy. Pinnacle works with existing barometric pressure sensors in devices to improve quality and accuracy. Pinnacle technology provides z-axis data and has been demonstrated in independent testing to deliver 94% accuracy. Pinnacle data is derived from a proprietary network built for public safety, operated and maintained by NextNav, for wide availability. SDK, API, and Unity plug-in options make it easy to integrate 3D geolocation technology into existing applications.
The device also offers consistent vertical location abilities available throughout large urban areas. Pinnacle is available across the United States, is currently being deployed across Japan, and is being tested in France for local emergency repsonse agencies. NextNav, nextnav.com
LTE-M/NB-IoT Module For small asset trackers
The LEXI-R4 module is customized for size-constrained application requirements. The device is suitable for small asset trackers, such as pet and personal trackers, micro-mobility devices, and luggage tags. The LEXI-R4 module supports all LTE-M and NB-internet of things (IoT) bands, with an RF output power of 23 dBm. It is natively designed to support GNSS AT commands, and its dedicated port enables easy integration with any u-blox M10-based GNSS module, such as the MIA-M10. Additionally, the module can connect to additional positioning services, such as AssistNow and CellLocate. The compact size of the module, measuring 16 mm x 16 mm, results from a 40% footprint reduction in dimensions compared to the previous u-blox SARA-R4. Due to its small size, it leaves room for larger antennas, which can improve RF performance, or for larger batteries. Another feature of the LEXI-R4 is its 2G fallback capability. Whenever LTE-M/NB-IoT coverage conditions are not optimal, it continues to function by falling back onto a 2G network. The company said this feature could be helpful in countries where LTE-M/NB-IoT networks have yet to be fully deployed. u-blox, u-blox.com
Leica Geosystems, part of Hexagon, has added new capabilities to the Leica BLK2FLY. It now has the ability to scan indoors, providing expanded coverage for complex scanning projects, and the ability to create digital twins for entire structures, both indoors and outdoors.
Hexagon upgraded the autonomous UAV scanning system to allow for safe, effective indoor navigation and capturing. This capability also expands the BLK2FLY’s ability to capture various environments outdoors.
The UAV can scan in areas without GNSS availability, opening reality capture opportunities in new settings, including hazardous indoor areas such as nuclear power plants. Increased performance of the autonomous navigation system heightens the sensor’s spatial awareness, allowing for obstacle avoidance in more confined spaces. This new capability relies upon advancements to Hexagon’s visual SLAM system, providing real-time spherical imaging that improves the BLK2FLY’s operating range to a radius of 1.5 meters.
The BLK2FLY complements Hexagon’s terrestrial and autonomous sensor. Users can also use Reality Cloud Studio, powered by HxDR, Hexagon’s cloud application that enables uploading of data to the cloud from the field using a tablet or smartphone to register, mesh and create 3D models of their data from the field automatically.
The technology’s new indoor scanning capabilities are available at no extra cost via firmware update to all current and future BLK2FLY users.
ComNav Technology Ltd. has introduced the Mars Pro Laser RTK, the latest addition to its Universe Series GNSS receiver lineup, which includes the Venus Laser RTK and Mars Laser RTK. This GNSS receiver is suitable for land surveying, GIS, and construction industries with its innovative features.
The Mars Pro’s laser mode helps in signal-blocked, hard-to-reach or hazardous areas, where conventional GNSS receivers struggle. By switching to laser mode, users can effortlessly use the laser distance meter on the back of the Mars Pro to determine the distance between the receiver and the point. The effective distance of the laser is up to 10 m, ensuring signal-friendly accuracy even in GNSS-challenged places, such as in a garage, under a bridge, over the water, or in traffic.
Additionally, the integrated inertial measurement unit sensor provides up to 60°tilt compensation, ensuring efficiency and accuracy in conventional mode and laser mode.
The Mars Pro has full-constellation capabilities with 1,668 channels across GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BDS, QZSS, and IRNSS. Support for precise-point positioning service ensures rapid fixing. Its OLED color screen also offers real-time data visualization, enhancing operational control.
The Mars Pro supports communication via Wi-Fi, 4G, and Bluetooth, enabling easy data exchange and interaction. It’s compatibility with mainstream brands and multiple protocols makes it versatile and multifunctional. It can transition between roles as a rover and a base and collaborate seamlessly with users.
ANELLO Photonics has released the ANELLO IMU+ for robust and reliable autonomous navigation and positioning in GNSS-denied or GNSS-compromised environments.
Powered by optical gyroscope technology, the ANELLO IMU+ delivers high precision and reliability in demanding conditions, including shock, vibration, electromagnetic interference and temperature. The ANELLO IMU+ is suitable for autonomous applications in the construction, robotics, mining, trucking and defense industries.
The device delivers long-term dead reckoning in high-temperature and high-vibration environments.
The ANELLO IMU+ features unaided heading drift of < 0.5°/hr, dual high-speed CAN FD interfaces, and dual RS-232 interfaces; has ASIL-D ready, automotive-qualified CPU and OS; and is IP68 waterproof, resistant to dust, salt spray and chemicals.
Inertial Labs has released the TAG-304, a three-axis gyroscope solution designed to stabilize platforms where low latency, wide bandwidth, high data rate, and low noise are required.
The TAG-304 gyroscopes can withstand extreme shock and vibrations in accordance with MIL-STD-810. Additionally, the gyroscopes are fully digitized (RS-422 interface), include built-in test functionalities, and have no moving parts.
The solution is a tactical-grade MEMS gyroscope designed for harsh environments and
tasks requiring accurate stabilization of assorted platforms. TAG-304 also features low latency (group delay), small size, 4K Hz data rate, 1K Hz bandwidth, and low noise, making it ideal for miniature electro-optical systems, gimbals, line-of-sight, and pan and tilt platforms stabilization and pointing applications.
JAVAD GNSS’ Triump-1M Plus receiver has 874 channels for acquiring all available GNSS satellites and patented mobile antenna technology for robust UHF and cellular communications. (Image: JAVAD)
As most readers of this magazine know, GPS, like the other three GNSS, consists of three segments: the space segment — i.e., the satellites; the control segment — i.e., the monitoring and control stations on the ground around the world; and the user segment — i.e., the receivers. The first two are developed, operated and maintained by the U.S. Space Force, while the third one, for civilians, is totally in the hands of the private sector.
Most of the progress in receivers is evolutionary, with rare dramatic changes. To provide a snapshot of the current state of GNSS receivers, I asked several manufacturers three questions. What follows are short, etre dited excerpts of their answers that showcase the applications of GNSS receivers in a wide range of industries.
What is one of the most recent end-user applications for your receivers? What challenges does it pose and how do your receivers address them?
Sarah Alban (SA): Eos Positioning Systems is lucky to have innovative customers who span a variety of industries. In just these past few weeks, we’ve connected to customers who are using Arrow Series GNSS receivers to meet myriad business needs. Here are just a few examples: On the Caribbean island of Martinique, Odyssi uses an Arrow 100+ with RTK to get accurate water utility locations in a challenging environment. In Texas, midstream pipeline operator Kinetik and its GIS Manager Papillon Romero equip their field workers with an Arrow Gold to update the locations of previously unreliable legacy as-builts. In the Galápagos Islands, a researcher has been using the Arrow Gold+ and Galileo High Accuracy Service (HAS) to georeference drone imagery. In Colorado, GIS specialist Jim Casey uses an Arrow Gold to bring to life a Japanese internment camp in augmented reality.
Simon Baksh (SB): One of our customers is a leading construction contractor who uses our DELTA GNSS receiver for monitoring during deep crack grouting deformation to ensure that the natural state of the ground remains undisturbed during remedial work.
Stephen Ching (SC): One of the most exciting projects happening within Hexagon’s Autonomy & Positioning division is the automated road train platooning application within the mining industry. Transporting raw materials, iron ore in this case, has posed a huge challenge in terms of drivers’ safety, labor shortages and rising fuel costs. Our division is currently developing an autonomous hauling system that solves this challenge by integrating drive-by-wire, perception, positioning and path planning technologies. Our positioning system utilizes a PwrPak7D-E2 plus TerraStar-C PRO solution from Hexagon | NovAtel, which incorporates GNSS+INS technology and real-time kinematic (RTK) From the Sky technology.
Mobile mapping systems such as the Trimble MX50 allow survey companies to safely and accurately gather point cloud and immersive imagery of roads without the need to put a surveyor in the field. (Image: Trimble)
Karl Bradshaw (KB): Traditional survey methods or tripod-based scanning on highways can be time-consuming and dangerous. Survey companies do not want to put surveyors in danger of traffic while traversing along a road. Mobile mapping allows them to safely, accurately and productively gather detailed point cloud and immersive imagery of highways without needing to put a surveyor in the field.
Oreste Concepito (OC): At u-blox, we have seen an increasing demand for GNSS receivers to be used for advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) applications and for mobile robotics (such as robotic lawnmowers). GNSS technology is adopted when an accurate, trustworthy position with high availability is required. In the autonomous operations domain, customers are constantly pushing u-blox to improve dependability while maintaining or ideally improving position accuracy, even in challenging environments.
François Freulon (FF): One of our most recent end-user applications is related to resilient timing for mission-critical infrastructure, including finance, data centers, energy and telecommunications. The relevant Septentrio product is the mosaic-T. The recent addition of the AtomiChron timing service further enhances its timing precision, GNSS resilience and anti-spoofing by offering navigation message authentication (NMA) on all for GNSS constellations. The first customer integrating this technology is Meinberg.
Miles Ware (MW): The Galileo High Accuracy Service (HAS) has created new interest in a traditional GNSS market, GIS and mapping, in which the availability of global 20 cm accuracy is turning many heads. While there are many technologies to improve accuracy for this market, few are appropriate. Often the work takes place in remote areas where cellular connectivity is not available for delivering corrections. They may also be in regions of the world where satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) are not available or able to meet performance expectations. Galileo HAS resolves both of these concerns. We now support it in our Phantom and Vega receivers.
In the past few years, we have seen the completion of two new GNSS constellations and a large increase in the options for corrections services. How has this impacted the design and/or features of your receivers?
SB: Our 874 channel TRIUMPH ASIC design has capacity for all constellations and signals to utilize current and future GNSS technologies. Additionally, our J-Star PPP Service using geostationary satellite broadcast for global delivery and cm level positioning extends operations to remote areas where networks are absent or where a base station setup and operation is not feasible.
SC: With BeiDou and Galileo in addition to GPS and GLONASS, there can be upward of 40 satellites in view — compared to 20 years ago when having 10 or 12 satellites in view was considered good availability. This gives much more choice as to which measurements contribute to a position solution, provided that the receiver can make measurements to all the satellites in view. Hexagon | NovAtel’s OEM7 was designed to support all GNSS constellations and frequencies, which required supporting many channels as well. The benefits of more satellites in the sky come under challenging conditions with many obstructions and strengthened positioning geometry in unobstructed conditions. In addition to more satellites, BeiDou and Galileo also introduced a new frequency at E6/B3, in addition to L1/L2/L5, which is particularly useful in global PPP solutions, such as RTK From the Sky and TerraStar C-PRO Correction Services.
KB: We have onboarded these constellations into our mobile mapping portfolio in the same way as all other Trimble GNSS portfolios, through rigorous, tried and tested methodologies.
FF: Septentrio receivers already support all GNSS constellations for high precision and resilient positioning. We have added Galileo E6 support and OSNMA, BeiDou phase III satellites (PRN>37) and other new signals (B3I, B2b) to our products through our latest firmware releases. We are also contributing to the large increase of corrections services by providing the backend core technology through our base station receivers or reference receivers. For example, the PolaRx5 reference receivers are used worldwide in many correction network infrastructures. With the support of all in view constellations and signals, Septentrio products are becoming part of critical infrastructure. Therefore, it is essential they have reliable continuous operation as well as security to protect them from potential jamming or spoofing attacks. Additionally, Septentrio has recently launched the Agnostic Corrections Partner Program to help customers find their way in the growing maze of correction offerings and to facilitate the integration of the right service into their system.
Geneq Inc. employee Alex Arsenault operating an SXblue Platinum receiver in Anjou, Montreal. (Image: Nikita Sapeguine / Geneq)
OC: Our customers are increasingly operating in a global market. To respond to that need, u-blox receivers support both the global and the regional constellations, such as Japan’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) and India’s Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS, aka NavIC). The offer for correction services has also evolved to be able to serve the global market, moving toward uni-directional streams, possibly distributed via L-band. We support a complete portfolio of correction services, responding to all commercial and performance requirements, from the soon available, free-of-charge, lower accuracy correction services, up to the dm-level functional safety-certified correction services for autonomous driving.
MW: Since 2019, our core receiver technology has been intrinsically both multi-GNSS and multi-frequency by design. This allows our engineering team members to rapidly adapt to new and emerging solutions, and for Hemisphere to meet user and market demands. Hemisphere has also worked with our integrators to recognize the need to simplify the decision process around selecting receivers. While it is possible to configure our receivers to track specific constellations only, Phantom and Vega are being offered with multi-GNSS as standard. Similarly, clients can choose L1-only, or all-frequencies. This is why many integrators will quickly be able to take advantage of Galileo HAS.
RP: We have upgraded our SXblueGPS receivers with new GPS chips and with firmware updates to keep up with the new constellations available. Regarding the new correction services, the SXblueGPS have used and use by default the SBAS correction service and its associated networks throughout the planet to improve their precision. Where correction services via internet or SBAS do not exist, they use L-band correction services to have global coverage. In some cases, for topography base and mobile solutions, UHF links provide a customized correction service.
Are jamming and spoofing significant challenges in your key markets? If so, how do you address them?
SB: Yes, and AJ/AS expands on existing RAIM for assured position quality. Patented anti-jamming and anti-spoofing techniques identify and suppress GNSS interference, while maintaining navigation from good signals. Updated firmware for Navigation Message Authentication extends AJ/AS protection further.
SC: GNSS interference such as jamming and spoofing do present significant positioning challenges in many of our markets, especially defense, marine and autonomy applications in which safety and 24-7 operation are paramount. How often GNSS interference happens (and is detected) and how seriously it affects the application depends on the market. It is a threat that can be mitigated by well-designed user equipment. Hexagon | NovAtel has developed a comprehensive GNSS resiliency portfolio to assure that our users’ position is protected with our interference mitigation technology, starting from the GAJT antennas all the way down to the receiver level. NovAtel’s OEM7 receivers include our GNSS Resilience and Integrity Technology (GRIT) firmware options, which provides spoofing detection, interference detection, and mitigation with digital filters, as well as time-tagged digitized samples for advanced situational awareness.
KB: As it applies to mobile mapping with the Trimble MX50, jamming and spoofing are not significant challenges.
OC: A team of engineers is constantly improving our anti-jamming and anti-spoofing technology. U-blox customers are today more mindful of the risks associated with GNSS interference, both intentional and unintentional. GNSS is adopted in critical infrastructures and autonomous vehicles, where jamming and spoofing could lead to severe consequences. While no system can be safe in absolute terms, increasing the sources of information can greatly improve the resilience against jamming and spoofing attacks. Multi-constellation GNSS receivers, multi-band constellations, inertial sensors and accelerometers, can all be individually used as additional safety layers contributing to a more robust solution. Additional measurements are implemented at the positioning engine level, as part of our functional safety program. The availability of authenticated signals, being introduced by Galileo’s Open Service – Navigation Message Authentication (OS-NMA), will also contribute to increasing the GNSS robustness against interference.
Hemisphere GNSS’ GradeMetrix is a machine guidance solution for GNSS-based machine control and guidance applications. (Image: Hemisphere)
FF: Definitely, and we are seeing a large increase in demand for resilience in many applications and for assured positioning, navigation and timing (PNT). Providing trustworthy information is critical now for many markets, such as machine control, robotics, timing, infrastructure and assured PNT. Our multi-frequency multi-constellation GNSS technology not only maximizes accuracy and availability in areas where the sky is partially obstructed, but also provides extra resilience against jamming and spoofing. All our GNSS receivers are resilient to jamming and spoofing thanks to the built-in Advanced Interference Mitigation (AIM+) technology, which suppresses the widest variety of interferers, from simple continuous narrow-band signals to the most complex wideband and pulsed transmissions.
MW: Fortunately, jamming and spoofing are not common occurrences in most of our markets. However, their nature is such that they can appear at any time, in any place, without warning. This can cause otherwise routine plans for users to suddenly grind to a halt. Hemisphere’s Cygnus interference solution provides protection against up to 60 dB of jamming and is built into our current generation products by default. Having Cygnus available can make the difference between working normally and searching for alternate solutions. A welcome tool offered through Galileo satellites is OS-NMA signal verification, which provides excellent protection against spoofing attacks. Firmware updates provide our current product platforms access to OS-NMA spoofing protection. As our standard products are already activated for multi-constellation operation, it simplifies integration for our users.
RP: Interference is inevitable given the enormous number of signals from telephone and electrical networks, among others, as well as buildings, trees and, of course, the weather. To mitigate this, we use multi-frequency and multi-GNSS antennas that allow us to obtain the best reception in areas of interference. Additionally, we have state-of-the-art GPS chips that block and purify signals that generate distortion. On the other hand, there is interference by intentional GNSS falsifications or by radio amateurs who transmit radio signals for drones and other devices that cause GPS signal loss, which are mitigated by the latest technology algorithms of our SXblueGPS.
