Category: Uncategorized

IMSAR sells UAV detect-and-avoid radar tech to Fortem

IMSAR LLC, manufacturer of miniaturized synthetic aperture radar (SAR), is selling its detect and avoid radar technology to Fortem Technologies. The technology powered IMSAR’s previously announced family of collision-avoidance radar designed for the commercial unmanned aerial systems (UAS) market.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires an aircraft operating in civil airspace to be able to “see and avoid” other aircraft. Collision-avoidance systems seek to meet this requirement by allowing UASs to detect other airborne objects, predict potential midair collisions, and automatically maneuver the UAS to avoid catastrophes.

A radar-based sense-and-avoid solution for small UAS was previously not viable because of high cost, weight and complex technology and algorithms required. Fortem’s product will enable small UAS to avoid mid-air collisions with manned or unmanned aircraft as well as targets that lack a transponder, such as cranes, paving the way for the integration of UAS into civil airspace worldwide.

“Radar is ideally suited because it operates effectively in darkness, cloud cover, fog, smoke and precipitation,” said Britton Quist, IMSAR’s CTO.

According to Ryan Smith, CEO, IMSAR, key development milestones have been met allowing the spin out of sense and avoid to Fortem Technologies. Adam Robertson, vice president of IMSAR, will be leaving to join Fortem Technologies after nine years at IMSAR.

Fortem Technologies has announced product availability in July 2016.

Fortem and IMSAR products are on display May 2-5 at the AUVSI Xponential show in New Orleans, Booth 134.

May 3, 2016
FLIR launches radiometric thermal camera for commercial drones

FLIR Systems Inc. has announced the FLIR Vue Pro R, the latest member of FLIR Vue thermal imaging camera series for commercial drones.

The new Vue Pro R adds radiometric functionality to the Vue Pro camera, giving drone operators the ability to save the pictures for post-flight image analysis and accurately measure the temperatures of individual image pixels.

The camera was introduced at AUVSI’s Xponential 2016 trade show, being held this week in New Orleans.

The Vue Pro R retains all of the capabilities in the standard Vue Pro model but adds calibrated radiometric imaging that allows it to capture the temperature data of every pixel in an image. When saved in Radiometric JPEG format, still images can be imported into FLIR Tools software for detailed analysis and reporting.

FLIR Tools, a free download on FLIR.com, lets drone operators adjust settings including object emissivity, background temperature, target distance, relative humidity, thermal sensitivity as well as assigning various color palettes for each image.

The Vue Pro R records digital thermal video, along with radiometric thermal still images, to an on-board micro-SD card. For applications such as electrical inspection, infrastructure assessment, and precision mapping, this on-board recording allows operators to capture high-quality thermal data for post processing and analysis.

“Without a doubt, radiometry is the most popular feature drone operators have requested, and we’re delivering that with Vue Pro R,” said Jeff Frank, FLIR’s Senior Vice President for Product Strategy. “FLIR has pioneered thermographic cameras for more than 50 years and our expansion of high-performance capabilities like radiometry to drone operators is another example of our ability to provide state-of-the-art thermal technology to people that need it.”

An updated mobile app with advanced radiometric functions uses the camera’s Bluetooth interface to connect to iOS and Android devices, making camera set-up and configuration easy. Through the app, operators can configure functions to ensure the best imagery possible for their conditions without having to connect the camera to a computer.

May 3, 2016
VectorNav launches tactical series of IMUs at AUVSI show

VectorNav’s new Tactical Series includes the VN-110 IMU/AHRS, the VN-210 GPS/INS and the VN-310 dual-antenna GPS/INS.

VectorNav Technologies, manufacturer of embedded navigation solutions, has introduced the Tactical Series, a next generation family of high-performance Inertial Navigation Systems (INS).

The announcement was made at AUVSI’s Xponential 2016, being held this week in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Built on a common tactical grade proprietary MEMS inertial sensing core, the Tactical Series includes the VN-110 inertial measurement unit and attitude heading reference system (IMU/AHRS), the VN-210 GPS-aided INS (GPS/INS), and the VN-310 dual-antenna GPS/INS.

The Tactical Series leverages VectorNav’s navigation algorithm expertise and extensive experience in integrating its industrial series products into a broad range of airborne, marine and ground-based platforms. As a result, the Tactical Series offers the same functionality and features as Industrial Series for integrators of SWaP-C (size, weight, power and cost) constrained manned and unmanned systems.

Designed and engineered at VectorNav’s headquarters in Dallas, Texas, the Tactical Series takes advantage of the latest developments in solid state MEMS technology to incorporate a 3-axis gyro with <1˚/hr in-run bias stability, leading to an attitude accuracy of 1 to 2 mrad. In addition to the improved IMU core, the Tactical Series enclosure is designed to DO-160G standards and rated IP68 for deployment in harsh and extreme environments.

“The Tactical Series is the culmination of many years of development effort and collaboration with systems integrators across a broad range of industries,” said VectorNav President John Brashear. “We have combined our digital filtering expertise and experience in solving the challenging navigation requirements of customers worldwide to develop what is truly a next generation navigation solution.”

The Tactical Series addresses navigation needs for a variety of unmanned applications and will be on display at VectorNav’s booth (#1043) at XPONENTIAL 2016 in New Orleans, May 3-5.

May 3, 2016
GPS scientist Michael Watkins named next JPL director

Michael M. Watkins has been appointed director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and vice president at Caltech, the Institute announced. Watkins is the Clare Cockrell Williams Centennial Chair in Aerospace Engineering and director of the Center for Space Research at the University of Texas at Austin.

Watkins has written for GPS World about the GRACE project, which uses GPS and a microwave ranging system to map Earth’s gravitational fields.

Watkins will formally assume his position on July 1. He succeeds Charles Elachi, who will retire on June 30 and move to the Caltech faculty.

Watkins is an internationally recognized scientist and engineer. Before assuming his current position at the University of Texas in 2015, he worked at JPL for 22 years, where he held leadership roles on some of NASA’s highest-profile missions.

Watkins served as mission manager and mission system manager for the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover; led review or development teams for several missions including the Cassini, Mars Odyssey, and Deep Impact probes; and was the project scientist leading science development for the GRAIL moon-mapping satellites, the GRACE Earth science mission, and the GRACE Follow-on mission, scheduled for launch in 2017. He last served at JPL as manager of the Science Division, and chief scientist for the Engineering and Science Directorate.

“He has been one of the early pioneers of using GPS for very high-precision geodetic applications including precise orbit determination, precise point positioning, mapping of mass variability using high precision gravity field measurements, to name only a few of his major accomplishments in geodesy,” said JPL senior researcher Attila Komjathy, who was one of the first to investigate the use of GPS signals to study the ionosphere.

GPS and microwave ranging. GRACE (the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) maps the Earth’s gravity fields by making accurate measurements of the distance between the two satellites, using GPS and a microwave ranging system. It provides scientists from all over the world with an efficient and cost-effective way to map the Earth’s gravity fields with unprecedented accuracy. The results from this mission have revealed detailed information about the distribution and flow of mass within the Earth and it’s surroundings.

The gravity variations that GRACE studies include: changes due to surface and deep currents in the ocean; runoff and ground water storage on land masses; exchanges between ice sheets or glaciers and the oceans; and variations of mass within the Earth. Another goal of the mission is to create a better profile of the Earth’s atmosphere.

Michael Watkins (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

“Michael’s record of successful mission leadership and impressive management skills quickly distinguished him as a leading candidate for this position,” said Caltech president Thomas F. Rosenbaum, the Sonja and William Davidow Presidential Chair and professor of physics. “As JPL director, Michael will build upon the laboratory’s outstanding achievements in planetary exploration and Earth science, strengthening the connections between Caltech’s campuses and partnering with NASA to deliver highly complex and nuanced missions.”

“I’ve known Mike Watkins for more than 20 years now,” Elachi said. “Mike has played important and varying roles in a number of important JPL areas. His intimate knowledge of the lab and staff, combined with his highly diversified set of skills and knowledge base in science and engineering, will serve JPL very well in the years to come.”

A committee composed of Caltech trustees, faculty, senior administrative leaders, and a member of the JPL executive council conducted an extensive search and recommended Watkins to Caltech’s president.

Watkins holds a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from The University of Texas at Austin. He has published broadly in both engineering and science, contributed more than 100 conference presentations, and has served on the boards of numerous international scientific and engineering societies.

“JPL has such a talented and deeply committed staff,” said Watkins. “It is a privilege to have this opportunity to lead the laboratory to even greater discoveries. I look forward to working with my colleagues on campus and across NASA to forge new directions in space exploration and Earth science.”

GPS World article:

“Instrument of GRACE: GPS augments gravity measurements,” GPS World, 14(2), 16-28, 2003 (C. Dunn et al.).

May 3, 2016
Canadian UAVs partners with Measure for US and Canadian drone services

As part of its effort to deliver cost-effective actionable data to enterprise customers, Measure, a drone operator in the United States, has partnered with Canadian drone company Canadian UAVs. Together, the two companies will use drone technology to provide real-time data analysis to businesses in both the U.S. and Canada.

“Measure can now truly offer cross-border drone services,” said Measure CEO Brandon Torres Declet. “As a result of this partnership with Canadian UAVs, we can deliver cost-effective, actionable data to businesses across all 50 states and 10 provinces.”

The partnership between Measure and Canadian UAVs provides businesses with real-time response capability. With Canadian UAVs use of helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft and drones, Measure can now fly anywhere in Western Canada to acquire data for enterprise customers. Both companies conduct flights that are safe, legal and insured using only licensed pilots.

“Measure has a great depth in expertise regarding the American market, as well unprecedented approvals from the FAA,” said Canadian UAVs President and CEO Sean Greenwood. “Teaming up ensures our customers have clarity and piece of mind when it comes to trans-border operations.”

May 2, 2016
Commercial drone services could reach $8.7 billion annually by 2025

According to a new report from Tractica, by the end of the next decade, annual revenue from drone-enabled services will be more than double the revenue from sales of commercial drone hardware units themselves.

The market intelligence firm forecasts that global commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) services revenue will grow from $170 million in 2015 to $8.7 billion by 2025.

UAVs are gaining significant traction in a variety of industries, including oil and gas, insurance, public safety, film and media, and agriculture. While the number of drones being shipped for commercial markets is often the most visible trend, the largest revenue opportunity in the sector lies in the various services that these drones will enable.

The largest service applications will be mapping, aerial assessment and prospecting, but smaller opportunities for drone services will also include disaster relief, early warning systems, data collection and analytics, environmental monitoring, package delivery, and filming and entertainment.

“Commercial drone operators around the world are quickly realizing the potential for UAVs to be harnessed for a variety of services in a more efficient manner than can be achieved using conventional means such as satellites or aircraft,” said managing director Clint Wheelock. “Most commercial applications for drones are related to aerial imaging or data analysis, taking advantage of low-cost components and ever-increasing sensor capabilities.”

Wheelock added that, while regulatory and business barriers remain to the more widespread use of drones for commercial purposes, the path ahead is becoming steadily clearer as business models and policy frameworks continue to be refined in countries around the world.

Tractica’s report, “Drones for Commercial Applications,” examines the market trends and technology issues surrounding the commercial drone industry and presents a comprehensive analysis of the drivers and inhibitors of market development, the regulatory landscape, business models and supply chain considerations.

The report includes a 10-year forecast for drone hardware unit shipments and revenue, segmented by industry, airframe type and world region, in addition to drone-enabled services by application area. An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download on the firm’s website.

May 2, 2016
Echodyne offers detect and avoid radar for small UAS

Echodyne today announced the development of MESA-DAA, an Airborne Detect and Avoid (DAA) radar for small to medium-sized unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).

Echodyne made the announcement at AUVSI’s Xponential 2016 trade show and conference.

The small, lightweight and low power DAA radar will operate at K-band and be capable of rapidly scanning a broad field of view in azimuth and elevation at ranges out to 3 kilometers. MESA-DAA is based on Echodyne’s patented Metamaterials Electronically Scanning Array (MESA), which offers breakthrough cost, size, weight, and power (C-SWAP) improvements over traditional electronically scanning array technology.

The MESA-DAA radar is scheduled for release at the end of 2016 and will be an evolution of the MESA-K-DEV radar, which Echodyne released today.

“Detect and avoid is the single biggest technical hurdle to opening up the National Airspace System to UAS,” said Jim Williams, former head of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) UAS Integration Office and current Principal at Dentons US, LLP and Echodyne advisor.

“NASA, the FAA, industry and academia have spent years studying the DAA problem and have determined radar is by far the best sensor, if not the only sensor, capable of providing the all-weather, long-range, and broad field of view scanning that is necessary for safe, highly reliable DAA. MESA-DAA technology may well represent the key to safely opening up airspace for beyond visual line of sight operations.”

Detect and Avoid Requirement

One of the FAA’s central aircraft operating rules is that pilots maintain vigilance so as to see and avoid other aircraft. To fulfill this requirement, UAS need to remain within visual line of sight of their pilot.

Although the regulations for UAS are still in development, there is widespread acceptance that for UAS to fly beyond line of sight of their operator, they will need DAA sensors and systems that safely replace the pilot’s see and avoid capability. This DAA capability will need to detect both cooperative objects (those transmitting their position with a transponder) and non-cooperative objects (aircraft without transponders, birds, etc.).

Radar is the only sensor capable of reliably performing DAA in all weather conditions and at the ranges, broad fields of view and scanning speeds necessary for safe operation of UAS in the NAS. Radar is the only sensor that directly measures the position of an object (such as range, azimuth, elevation) as well as its relative speed of approach (via Doppler).

“We believe MESA-DAA will be a critical technology for safely opening up the National Airspace System to small UAS for beyond visual line of sight operations,” said Eben Frankenberg, founder and CEO of Echodyne. “Radar is the sensor of choice for DAA, but existing radar technology is too slow, too bulky and too expensive to provide DAA radar capabilities on small UAS. The C-SWAP characteristics of MESA and our DAA radar are completely unparalleled and uniquely well suited for small UAS.”

In the April 7 “FAA Aerospace Forecast,” the FAA reports that it has already granted more than 4,000 Section 333 Exemptions for commercial UAS operations, clear evidence of the high demand for UAS applications. The FAA forecasts that sales of commercial small UAS could exceed 600,000 for 2016 and grow to 2.7 million by 2020, noting that “the overall demand for commercial UAS will soar once regulations more easily enable beyond visual line of sight operations and operations of multiple unmanned aircraft by a single pilot.”

MESA-DAA Specifications. MESA-DAA is based largely on Echodyne’s existing MESA-K-DEV radar. Package size and weight are expected to be less than MESA-K-DEV, especially if the unit is placed inside the UAS. Range is expected to be 3 kilometers, and scanning speed is expected to be 1 Hz for the entire field of view and as fast as 10 Hz for updating locations on previously detected objects. The field of view for a single unit is expected to be ±60 degrees in azimuth (120 degrees total) and ±45 degrees in elevation. Multiple units can be combined if greater field of view is desired.

MESA-K-DEV. Echodyne also announced availability of MESA-K-DEV, an ultra-low C-SWAP, fast electronically scanning radar based on its patented MESA. The radar operates at K-band. The fully self-contained and packaged unit measures 22 by 7.5 by 2.5 centimeters and weighs 820 grams.

Unlike conventional mechanical apertures that steer a radar beam using motorized gimbals, Echodyne’s MESA requires no moving parts to steer its beam. And unlike phased array radars or active electronically scanning array radars that require complicated and expensive transmit/receive modules — including phase shifters, amplifiers, circulators and low noise amplifiers behind every single antenna element — MESA uses a simpler meta-materials architecture. The net effect of this simplified architecture is lower cost, size, weight and power.

May 2, 2016
Draganfly UAS now use GPS + GLONASS

The Draganfly Commander UAV.

Draganfly Innovations has added support for GLONASS satellite navigation, which will provide higher accuracy and function in more locations than GPS alone.

The more satellites that a receiver can see, the more accurate the calculated position is. Adding GLONASS support allows additional satellites to be detected, which is important in situations where fewer satellites are in line of sight because of obstruction by mountains, buildings, trees and other objects, the company said in announcing the addition.

The Draganflyer Commander, X4-ES, and X4-P unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) now use GNSS receivers that support both GPS and GLONASS. More accurate positional data allow these UASs to hold position more precisely and to better geo-locate images, which in turn provide higher quality data.

“This is great for our customers, especially those operating in locations where GPS doesn’t work well,” said Draganfly President Zenon Dragan.

GLONASS in conjunction with GPS allows Draganfly UAS’ to geo-locate more precisely.

April 27, 2016
Thank you for registering.

Thank you for registering for the upcoming GPS World webinar, “UAV Design and Applications: Autonomous Relative Navigation and GNSS Robustness for UAV Systems.”

A link to the live event will be sent to you two hours before the event. Your personalized event URL will be automatically generated by the ON24 system. To ensure receipt of the email, please whitelist this email address by adding it to your contacts: [email protected].

This presentation will begin on Thursday, May 19, 2016, at 1 p.m. EDT.

Audience members may arrive 15 minutes prior to live time. You may need to download Flash Player in advance. If you have any questions, please contact event producer Allison Barwacz at [email protected].

April 27, 2016
Tallysman adds triple-band GNSS antennas + L-band

Tallysman, a manufacturer of high-performance GNSS antennas, has added two triple-band GNSS antennas to its multi-band antenna line.

The antennas are designed for precision agriculture, autonomous vehicles and other applications where precision matters. The ability of the antennas to access L-band correction services extends its utility to a wider range of applications.

The TW3970 is a pole mount, or through-hole mount antenna, which is also available in an embeddable form as the TW3965. Both employ Tallysman’s Accutenna technology and are capable of receiving GPS L1/L2/L5, GLONASS G1/G2/G5, BeiDou B1/B2, Galileo E1/E5a+b plus L-band correction services (1164MHz to 1254MHz + 1525MHz to 1606MHz).

The TW3970 is housed in a through-hole mount, weather-proof enclosure for permanent installation, with (L braacket, pipe mount or pole mount. The antenna is available with either a flat radome (pictured) or a conical radome. The conical radome is used in permanent mount locations to ward off birds and shed ice and snow.

The TW3965 is an embeddable antenna available with a wide selection of connectors and custom cable lengths. It can be custom-tuned by Tallysman to ensure optimum performance within the customer’s enclosure.

Both versions have superior cross polarization rejection to enhance multi-path signal rejection, tight phase center variation (PCV), and an excellent axial ratio.

April 27, 2016
Registration now open for May webinar on UAVs
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) — both their design and their many applications — are the topic of GPS World‘s May webinar. The free webinar is scheduled for Thursday, May 19, at 1 p.m. EDT. Register here.

The webinar, sponsored by Septentrio, will engage you in discussions involving:
- Self-generated radio-frequency interference aboard UAVs.
- An autonomous relative navigation tool for in-air UAV refueling.
- Sensor integration for a UAV designed for industrial environments.
- Considerations for multi-GNSS integration onto UAV platforms.
Speakers include:
- Dennis Akos, a professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
- Joshua Stubbs, a Ph.D. candidate.
- Jeff Fayman, CTO, Geodetics.
- Roy Jeunen, founder, AiRobot.
- Jan Leyssens, product manager, Septentrio.
Read the full details of each of the speakers’ presentations below.

Dennis Akos, Professor, University of Colorado at Boulder

Subtopic 1: GNSS Robustness for Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Presented by Dennis Akos, professor, University of Colorado at Boulder, and Joshua Stubbs, Ph.D. candidate
When siting the antenna of a GNSS receiver or designing a GNSS-based navigation system, electromagnetic compatibility is an important concern. This is particularly true for airborne platforms. Akos discusses how radio-frequency interference can impact GNSS equipment on unmanned aircraft systems and how robustly the equipment can navigate those systems.

Joshua Stubbs, Ph.D. candidate

Subtopic 2: Autonomous Relative Navigation
Presented by Dr. Jeff Fayman, CTO, Geodetics
Future UAVS will require relative navigation capability to fulfill a broad range of assisted manned and unmanned missions. A new approach, demonstrated in application to aerial refueling, provides access to accurate relative time-space positioning information (R-TSPI) between platforms.

Subtopic 3: UAV Operation in Industrial Environments
Presented by Roy Jeunen, founder, AiRobot
The distance from an in-flight UAV to the industrial asset that it is observing or inspecting obviously has critical importance for safety, data precision and cost-effectiveness. The AiRobot Ranger counters this problem by displaying the distance between the UAV and the object of interest on multiple smart phones or tablets, ensuring the extra situational awareness that is crucial for professional UAV operations.

Jan Leyssens, Product Manager, Septentrio

Subtopic 4: Practical Tips on How to Avoid Problems While Integrating High-Accuracy GNSS Receivers Aboard UAVs
Presented by Jan Leyssens, product manager, Septentrio

Register today. If you can’t attend the live event, you are invited to still register — you will be sent the on-demand version 24 hours after the event concludes. The on-demand version will be available until May 19, 2017.
April 27, 2016
GNSS dead-reckoning receiver offered by SkyTraq

SkyTraq Technology Inc., a fabless GNSS positioning technology company, has introduced the S1722DR8 GNSS dead-reckoning receiver, integrating a 3-axis gyroscope/accelerometer and barometric pressure sensor with a GNSS receiver.

Using wheel/speed data from vehicle to perform sensor-fused solution, S1722DR8 achieves 100-percent coverage. It is designed for vehicles applications requiring high performance and reliable uninterrupted positioning.

The S1722DR8 can be flexibly mounted in any orientation, and does not have to be placed horizontally as in conventional dead-reckoning solutions using single-axis gyroscope. The auto-calibration feature of S1722DR8 greatly simplifies installation procedure; the short calibration time upon first use also improves user experience.

The S1722DR8 GNSS dead-reckoning receiver, compared to a U.S. penny.

The on-board barometric pressure sensor provides highly accuracy altitude information, useful for differentiating floor levels of multi-story parking garages or stacked highways.

The S1722DR8 is compact, measuring 17 x 22 millimeters. It offers continuous navigation even in GPS-signal-denied environments such as tunnels or underground parking lot. Augmented by gyroscope and accelerometer sensor data, it is also designed for vehicle insurance accident-reconstruction applications.

An S1722DR8 engineering sample, evaluation kit and datasheet are available now. Volume delivery to customers begins in June. The S1722DR8 is manufactured in ISO/TS 16949 automotive-certified factory.

April 26, 2016