Wirepas and u-blox have partnered on an advanced decentralized radio communications solution, the NINA-B1 module, for industrial Internet of Things (IoT) applications. The goal of the partnership is to make large scale, decentralized industrial IoT networks easy to deploy for the companies’ customers.
The small NINA-B1, which the companies say is comparable to advanced mesh technology, is a stand-alone Bluetooth low energy module with the latest power performance. It can be used for applications such as healthcare, connected buildings, manufacturing and telematics. The module has been certified for a range of countries world-wide, according to the companies.
“The NINA-B1, in combination with the Wirepas Connectivity software, enables short time to market for easy-to-install, large scale, decentralized industrial IoT applications in segments such as lighting, sensor, asset tracking and beacons,” says Hakan Svegerud, head of product strategy, short range radio, at u-blox.
“We believe that technology should never be the starting point; instead, we should concentrate on business and application needs,” says Wirepas CEO Teppo Hemiä. “As needs evolve over time, so should the technology. Wirepas and u-blox share this core value and that is what makes us stronger together.”
A free web tool has been launched for browsing satellite imagery from Landsat 8 — the Landsat Viewer. The tool was created by the start-up company Eos Data Analytics.
EOS Data Analytics is an automatic cloud-based GIS analysis service. It uses a combination of satellite imagery, geospatial data, customer workflow information and consumer behavior principles to create deep, comprehensive GIS analysis.
The Landsat Viewer is based on a huge open data archive, Landsat on AWS. It can generate common indices on-the-fly, and users are able to download the selected bands.
Here are a few sample images using the new viewer:
The North Sea water surface looks like a deep universe with a myriad of stars (pan sharpen RGB):
Every time a user chooses the scene, zooms in/out or changes the bands, the image in the browser is generated on the fly from the raw data stored in the cloud. In the same way, it is delivered to the browsers on tablets and smartphones.
Esri technology has been in full force in Louisiana during both the search-and-rescue phase and cleanup and disaster recovery efforts following massive flooding in Baton Rouge. Esri’s ArcGis Online is providing a way to collect, monitor and report field activities to be sure all departments are on the same page using real time imagery, data and apps.
In an emergency situation, location is a key component in response efforts — from maps showing affected areas to first responders; to where relief supplies are located; to evacuation routes and impending weather.
The Esri Story Map references the locations of civil air patrol photos.
Esri’s Disaster Response Program provides software support, data support, and consulting/technical support for active disasters. The program is available to any agency supporting a disaster, regardless of whether they are an Esri customer.
Currently, the Esri Disaster Response Program is supporting the efforts to respond to the wildfires in California as well as the flooding in Louisiana, but the tools are called into action on countless disaster situations and are available at any time.
For the flooding, a Public Information Map is updated continuously with multiple data streams such as social media and weather reports. There are also a Flooding Story Map and a Local Impact Map available. Similar resources are available for the wildfire emergency.
Pokévision, a third-party app for the viral mobile game Pokémon Go, uses Esri’s location-based data and mapping platform ArcGIS to help players of the game find Pokémon around them.
Pokévision helps Pokémon Go players hunt more strategically by displaying location changes and time spent in each place; the length of time in a given location depends on the rarity of the character.
A web map powered by ArcGIS services, Pokévision shows all Pokémon near user-requested locations. When visitors type an address or drop a pin on the map, Pokémon are displayed in real time.
“When we created Pokévision, we chose Esri ArcGIS almost immediately because it was the only option that was able to scale at the rate we were growing,” said the Pokévision founder Y. Liu. “Using Esri alleviated many of the concerns we had with scaling, and helped us to quickly and seamlessly keep pace with our growing user base.”
Pokévision had 20 million unique users in the first five days and is growing. Its peak usage exceeded 320,000 visitors with map requests reaching into the tens of millions.
Pokévision developers chose Esri for its open-source, mobile-friendly interactive mapping capabilities. The developers first built the locator for a few friends, but the tool was so popular it quickly went viral. Within hours of creation, Esri experienced double the normal hit rates, and use of interactive maps used to display Pokémon rose by more than 30 percent.
“The ArcGIS Online platform is designed to scale in high-performance, high-growth environments,” said Paul Ross, product manager for ArcGIS Online at Esri. “Even large data sets at high volume can be handled in real or near real time, as happened with the Pokévision locator.”
Developers can bring the Pokévision location to their apps using ArcGIS regardless of their experience in creating geospatial applications. Web, mobile, and desktop apps can incorporate the same mapping, visualization, and analysis that hundreds of thousands of organizations around the world rely on every day.
Florida is home to more than 3.6 million women aged 15 to 44 years. With more than 400 Zika virus cases reported in Florida to date, the state has become a top focus in the public health battle to curb the spread of Zika infections in the U.S.
Gathering and mapping such data using GIS software from Esri is part of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response’s (ASPR) effort to combat this growing health risk domestically and internationally.
The health impacts of the Zika virus are greatest on developing fetuses. Drawing on U.S. Census data, Esri is showing experts at the ASPR and other agencies within HHS where best to target information and reach women of child-bearing age and their partners.
To plan for the domestic assistance that states may need, ASPR also is using Esri software to monitor the spread of the Zika virus across the U.S. and in 34 other countries where infections have been found.
Using Esri software, ASPR created a publicly available interactive map that shows the number of cases in each state. The information is automatically updated each week.
The Zika virus is spread to people primarily through the bites of infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes; however, the virus has also been found to be transmitted sexually. The virus can cause Guillain-Barré syndrome in adults and children and can cause a serious birth defect called microcephaly.
“Prevention is the first course of action in protecting public health, but people need information to make decisions about what preventive actions to take,” said Este Geraghty, chief medical officer and health solutions director, Esri. “Using GIS technology to locate the most vulnerable populations is a first step in educating people on the risks of the Zika virus and about actions that can protect health and curb the spread of disease.”
For more information on Esri and using GIS for vector-borne disease surveillance and control, visit go.esri.com/pr-zika.
The workshop aims to enable stakeholders to delve further into their issues in wide area precision clock synchronization in current and future power systems, as well as to collaborate in prioritizing key research and standards activities, NIST says on its website. An NIST report summarizing the challenges of wide area clock synchronization and potential solutions also will be drafted.
In the North American power grid, where each interconnection stretches over a large spatial expanse, achieving correct timing can be challenging, NIST says. Timing needs to include one microsecond synchronization to a traceable time and frequency reference for data fusion. Issues include GPS and communication infrastructure, as well as concerns for reliability and resilience if a reference source becomes unavailable.
The workshop objectives are to clearly identify and analyze the practical challenges that are currently being experienced in wide area time synchronization in current measurement and control deployments, as well as timing-related barriers that prevent the power industry from realizing future measurement and control technologies. Workshop organizers plan to initiate discussion on potential solutions and evaluate the need for standard and metrology enhancements.
Speakers
For a full list of speakers with abstracts, view this PDF.
Aaron Martin and Brett Aguirre, Bonneville Power Administration
Vahid Madani, Ph.D., Pacific Gas & Electric
Anthony Johnson/Brendan Russell, Southern California Edison
Robert Orndorff, Dominion Virginia Power
Glen Chason, EPRI
Sarah Mahmood, DHS
Terry Jones, ORNL
Marc Weiss, Ph.D., NIST Time and Frequency Division
Dhananjay Anand, Ph.D., NIST Software Systems Division
Judah Levine, Ph.D., NIST Time and Frequency Division
Bob Noseworthy, University of New Hampshire Interoperability Lab (IOL)
GPS marks yet another rite of passage with the publication of Pinpoint: a full-length journalistic investigation of its development, personalities and societal impact, with a diverting assortment of side stories and philosophical illuminations. A technology can be said to have arrived when it receives this manner of broad-market, though rigorous, intelligent, probing treatment. Never mind that every such technology truly arrived long before their books were written.
This is not a book to give to friends and relations who ask you “How the heck does GPS work?” It does spend a bit of time on that subject, a very little bit. Neither is it a history of GPS. Author Greg Milner spends a bit more time on that topic, and his direct sources are impeccable. The major portion of the book is devoted to “contemporary history,” if there is such a thing: the sprawling tentacle-like growth of GPS into many industries and aspects of modern life.
Milner does not chronicle every one or even a plurality of these diverse fields. One gets the feeling he pretty much followed his journalistic nose into whatever interested him. Sections explore early receiver development, electrical power, financial markets, tracking (both personal and fleet), agriculture with a focus on the sugar beet, auto navigation, and a few more. Throughout, Milner pushes forward anecdotes — personal recollection of many, many diverse contributors and benefitees, or in a few cases, victims. One chapter bears the title “Death by GPS.”
He takes long, looping sidetrips that are always interesting, far though they may wander. The most notable case is that of Polynesian cross-Pacific navigation, a mental construct called etak, which takes up, at length, the first chapter of the book. We become aware that possibly what interests Milner most is navigation as a state of mind. He attempts to tie it all together at the end; it doesn’t quite work, but the many questions he raises along the way are certainly worth pondering.
Two examples, only pages apart. In an investigation of the legality and Constitutional issues of tracking and surveillance by law enforcement, he states: “GPS provides the possibility of omniscience, unlike any previous technology. There is nothing ‘natural’ about using GPS to keep a continuous inventory of the world’s moving parts. It reflects a choice, a conscious application of a neutral technology . . . GPS itself is a blank slate onto which we project our desires.”
And in a section on marketing: “Stickiness, a term online marketers apply to websites that encourage repeat visits, could also describe how GPS lets us ‘build situational contexts around things and people to create new meanings, associations and stickiness of disparate data. The simplest example is when we use a program like Google Maps to learn about our location, a sticky query that draws in satellite mapping, ground-level photography, and business information.”
U-blox has released its tiny EVA-M8Q high-sensitivity GNSS module in a 7 millimeter by 7 millimeter package. EVA-M8Q supports GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou and Galileo, the company said in a news release.
The EVA-M8Q completes the company’s lineup of receivers in the miniature and EVA form-factor package.
The EVA-M8Q is TCXO-based and is optimized to provide the highest acquisition and tracking sensitivity, the company says, making it suitable for use with small antennas either in covert applications such as asset tracking and stolen vehicle recovery, or in portable devices; the previously announced EVA-M8M is better suited to cost-sensitive systems.
“The key differentiator of the EVA-M8Q to the other cost effective EVA variants is the sensitivity,” says Stéphane Vincent, product strategy director, positioning, u-blox. “This, along with the accuracy provided by concurrent reception of three GNSS constellations, enables an end-system and its antennas to be easily hidden within a vehicle or other high-value asset that need to be tracked.”
The ease of manufacturing offered by the Quad Flat No-leads (QFN)-like package suits requirements for medium- to high-volume production. While the highly integrated module of the EVA-M8 series allows OEMs to achieve a faster time-to-market.
EVA-M8 series are the smallest u-blox modules featuring GPS, BeiDou, Galileo and GLONASS reception. Three out of the four GNSS constellations can be received concurrently, which leads to high positioning accuracy. The series also features anti-spoofing and anti-jamming technology to provide superior security and integrity protection.
Samples of the EVA-M8Q are available now. The modules will be in full production in Q4 2016.
Features
Complete GNSS solution in 7 millimeter by 7 millimeter package.
Sensitivity — ideal for small or covert installations.
High accuracy from three concurrent GNSS.
Highly integrated module leads to faster time-to-market.
Harxon has released a mini base radio — HX-DU8609T — designed for customers who want to quickly set up a local data-transfer network.
HX-DU8609T is a versatile data radio providing a flexible solution for applications that require reliable data transfer, low cost, small size and rugged construction. It has a wide (60-Mhz) bandwidth that covers 410-470 MHz combined with an IP67 sealed housing, suitable for harsh environment conditions such as driving tests, construction equipment and precision farming.
The sophisticated 5-10 Watt mini base radio is compatible with existing Harxon modems and other products, the company said. Both 12.5- and 25-kHz channel widths are software-selectable. Output of more than 10 Watts enables long connection distances.
The HX-DU8609T is equipped with a DB9 connector, digital tube, LED and keypad, used to indicate the current operating status as well as for changing the operating channel and power level of the radio modem.
To save on registration rates for ION GNSS+ 2016, the 29th annual meeting of the Institute of Navigation Satellite Division, complete your early bird registration by Friday, Aug. 12.
If you book your hotel room for ION GNSS+ 2016 before you register, you will receive $200 off your conference registration. To qualify for the discount, enter your hotel confirmation number from the Hilton Portland & Executive Tower, The Quality Inn Downtown Convention Center or the Courtyard by Marriott Portland Downtown/Convention Center at the start of the registration process. You will need your valid hotel confirmation from one of these official ION GNSS+ hotels to claim the discount during registration.
Keynote Address: The Positioning System of the Brain
Join Professor John O’Keefe, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for the discovery of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain, as he explains how animals and humans find their way and the “cognitive map” that forms the framework for identifying where you are, where other things are in your environment and how to get from one place to another.
30th Anniversary Celebration
Celebrate 30 years of ION GPS, ION GNSS and ION GNSS+ with a 1980’s style celebration, featuring the decade’s best food, games and music. 1980’s dress is encouraged; raffle tickets for prizes will be given to those who attend in costume. This event is included with all registrations.
Before each day of Olympic sailing kicks off, an air and water team is gathering any floating rubbish in Rio de Janeiro’s Guanabara Bay. Helicopters circling above spot floating trash and send GPS coordinates to trash-collecting boats that sweep up the debris, reports the Associated Press.
Other stop-gaps to enable sailing in the polluted bay include floating barriers to keep rubbish from entering the bay, using naturally occurring microbes to break down pollutants, and hygiene briefings for sailors and staff, who treat themselves with anti-bacterials after entering the water.
Besides pollutants, another obstacle is discarded furniture. A Sky News reporter tweeted that an Olympic kayaker on a practice run capsized after hitting a sofa. The Olympic organizers are currently investigating, while the Twitter world entertains itself with the tag #kayaksofa.
It is estimated that at least half of Rio’s sewage flows untreated into its waters, rife with unseen viruses and bacteria. A year-long, independent study by AP has shown high levels of viruses and sometimes bacteria from human sewage in the bay, where hundreds of sailors and windsurfers are competing for medals.
Rio state officials have acknowledged a real cleanup of Guanabara will take 20 years, though organizers originally promised to complete the cleanup in time for the Olympics.
In response to the need to keep the planet’s waters clean, one English company is developing a solar-powered, autonomous “sea vacuum” designed to clean up plastic.
Convenience retailer 7-Eleven and Flirtey, an independent drone delivery service, completed the first fully autonomous drone delivery to a customer’s residence to advance research toward integrating drones into the National Airspace System.
The July 22 delivery to a Reno, Nevada, home is the first time a U.S. customer has received a package to a residence via drone — a historic milestone in both U.S. and global commerce. The delivery was conducted in celebration of the convenience store chain’s 89th birthday.
The goal of advancing drone deliveries as well as further refining Flirtey’s delivery technology and packaging were highlighted when Flirtey teamed with the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems (NIAS) for the delivery.
“This delivery required special flight planning, risk analysis, and detailed flight procedures ensuring residential safety and privacy were equally integrated,” said Chris Walach, director of operations for NIAS.
From a Reno 7-Eleven store, two deliveries were successfully completed. 7-Eleven merchandise — including hot and cold food items — were loaded into a unique Flirtey drone delivery container and flown autonomously using precision GPS to a local customer’s house.
Once at the family’s backyard, the Flirtey drone hovered in place and gently lowered each package. The purchases were delivered to the family in the span of a few minutes.
Products included Slurpee drinks, a chicken sandwich, donuts, hot coffee and 7-Select candy. In the future, both companies expect drone packages to include “everyday essentials” such as batteries and sunscreen.
“My wife and I both work and have three small children ages 7, 6 and 1. The convenience of having access to instant, 24/7 drone delivery is priceless,” said Reno resident Michael, who received the Flirtey delivery. “It’s amazing that a flying robot just delivered us food and drinks in a matter of minutes.”
The deliveries also mark Flirtey’s largest commercial relationship to date and bring the drone delivery startup even closer to its vision of reinventing the delivery process for humanitarian, online retail and food delivery industries.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to have 7-Eleven, the largest convenience chain in the world, embracing new technologies and working with us at Flirtey to make drone delivery a reality for customers all over the world,” said Flirtey CEO Matt Sweeny. “This is just the first step in our collaboration with 7-Eleven. Flirtey’s historic drone deliveries to date have been stepping stones to store-to-home drone delivery, and today is a giant leap toward a not-too-distant future where we are delivering you convenience on demand.”
Building on this initial collaboration, the two companies have plans to expand drone delivery tests and work closely together, according to 7-Eleven EVP and Chief Merchandising Officer Jesus H. Delgado-Jenkins.
“Drone delivery is the ultimate convenience for our customers and these efforts create enormous opportunities to redefine convenience,” said Delgado-Jenkins. “This delivery marks the first time a retailer has worked with a drone delivery company to transport immediate consumables from store to home. In the future, we plan to make the entire assortment in our stores available for delivery to customers in minutes. Our customers have demanding schedules, are on-the-go 24/7 and turn to us to help navigate the challenges of their daily lives. We look forward to working with Flirtey to deliver to our customers exactly what they need, whenever and wherever they need it.”
“I congratulate Nevada-based company Flirtey on making history yet again – this time by collaborating with the world’s largest convenience retailer to complete the first store-to-home drone delivery in Reno, Nevada,” said Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval. “Through our FAA Test Site designation, Flirtey has cemented Nevada’s position as the leader in the commercial Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) industry and I look forward to seeing them continue to grow and bring jobs to our region.”
