NovAtel Inc. is showcasing its high precision positioning technology as part of AutonomouStuff’s “Roadmap to Autonomy” exhibit at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Jan. 3-8 in Las Vegas. The exhibit is located at the MGM Grand in the Skyline Terrace Suite.
AutonomouStuff provides research and development platforms for the safe and reliable testing of automation technologies.
It uses NovAtel’s exceptionally robust SPAN GNSS + Inertial (INS) technology to provide the highly precise, continuous 3D positioning necessary to evaluate robotic and autonomous solutions for autonomous applications.
NovAtel’s SPAN technology combines a high-performance Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver with an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) to deliver deeply-coupled centimeter-level positioning. SPAN provides robustness against short GNSS outages, using IMU updates to bridge the positioning solution. SPAN also provides high data rate position, velocity and attitude (pitch, roll, heading) updates to capture the full real-time motion profile of a vehicle. Widely deployed in the automotive R&D space, SPAN supports applications ranging from autonomous navigation to V2X systems, where it is utilized to provide a source of vehicle ground truth.
As a committed technology partner, NovAtel has worked closely with AutonomouStuff to optimize SPAN for AutonomouStuff’s vehicle perception kits. As a result of these efforts, AutonomouStuff is able to offer three different levels of positioning performance — “good, better, best” — based on the grade of IMU selected.
“We are always excited to work with the team at NovAtel and cannot wait to show off their ‘good, better, best’ SPAN GNSS options for autonomy in our suite at CES,” said AutonomouStuff CEO Bobby Hambrick. “Their solutions are a significant piece of autonomous research and development. With three kit options, there is something for everybody. We’ve done the work for you, allowing you to choose which kit is best for you based on your accuracy needs and price range.”
The collaboration with AutonomouStuff is reflective of NovAtel’s commitment to the development of fully autonomous vehicles for a wide range of industries. In May 2016, NovAtel announced the formation of a new Safety Critical Systems (SCS) Group, tasked with developing functionally safe GNSS positioning products that will meet the exceptional performance and safety requirements of autonomous vehicles.
“Our team made significant progress in 2016 towards product definition, GNSS integrity for automotive applications, and corporate TS 16949 compliance,” said Jonathan Auld, Director of the SCS Group at NovAtel. “As the world leader in high precision GNSS technology for more than 20 years, NovAtel is leveraging its extensive experience developing safety critical systems for the aviation industry to meet the future safety thresholds required for driverless cars.”
AutonomouStuff and NovAtel representatives will be available in the MGM Grand Skyline Suite during the CES to answer customer questions. To set up a meeting with the NovAtel SCS team at CES 2017, attendees can contact Allan MacAulay, Business Development Manager, SCS ([email protected]).
Datumate has launched a new version of DatuFly for iOS, a UAV app with industry-specific capabilities for surveying, construction and infrastructure companies.
The new version 1.1.1. includes:
DJI Inspire 1 Pro Support – Two new bundles were added to support DJI Inspire 1 Pro drones, one with the X5 camera and the other with the X3.
DJI Matrice 600 Support – A new bundle was added to support DJI Matrice 600 with X5 camera.
Speed Control for Vertical Missions – Control the drone speed when taking vertical images. This includes the option of taking images when the drone is hoovering.
Optional Automatic Takeoff and Landing – Application is set by default to “manual takeoff and landing” for safety purposes. The operator will need to turn it off to enable automatic takeoff and landing. With manual takeoff and landing option, the operator will be asked to manually elevate the drone to a certain height and then start the automatic mission. When the mission is completed the operator will be asked to manually bring the drone back.
More Flexible Control of Mission Altitude — The operator can flexibly set the mission altitude for both oblique and vertical missions.
Control the Camera Angle for Oblique Missions – The operator has the option to change the angle if needed for oblique mission.
Chinese language support – DatuFly has a Chinese user interface.
SBG Systems Chief Technology Officer Alexis Guinamard discusses the company’s full line of inertial sensors at Intergeo 2016, which was held Oct. 11-13 in Hamburg, Germany. SBG Systems featured its mobile mapping, aerial survey and georeferencing solutions at the trade fair.
The project, Drones2GNSS, also took home the Special Prize offered by the European GNSS Agency (GSA).
Space Geomatica Ltd.’s Tripolitsiotis Achilles joined with Panagiotis Partsinevelos, SenseLab Research, Technical University of Crete, to develop Drones2GNSS.
In the tracking procedure, the engineer with the surveying pole might move around, yet the UAV tracks in real time and provides the GNSS coordinates.
Drones2GNSS includes a prototype drone equipped with a highly accurate GNSS receiver and a camera/laser measuring system that retrieves the coordinates of custom surveying poles featuring Wi-Fi, a prism and a target marker.
The team’s image processing algorithms and error correction techniques provide real-time, centimeter-level coordinate estimation and can simultaneously measure multiple moving surveying poles.
The processing is performed on-board the UAV without any ground-based hardware. In this way, Drones2GNSS provides a fast, reliable, cost-effective alternative for absolute coordinate positioning in obstructed environments where GNSS fails. It can cover multiple targets, including cars, people and vessels.
It also offers a basis for other related challenges, including UAV GNSS networks, indoor positioning and error mitigation.
“Although Galileo Initial Services are expected to enhance the accuracy of existing solutions, Drones2GNSS proposes an off-the-shelf application that uses European GNSS (Galileo, EGNOS) as the primary means of positioning,” Tripolitsiotis said. “As GNSS signals are degraded in obstructed environments by skyscrapers, vegetation and geomorphology, our project proposes using drones as intermediate carriers of high-precision GNSS signals that can then transfer the geolocation accuracy to the ground.”
Drones2GNSS relies heavily on multi-constellation GNSS signal, which is where Galileo will make the difference. “As current constellations like GPS and GLONASS have proven inefficient in confronting the aforementioned surveying problem, the sector continues to rely on traditional surveying techniques,” Tripolitsiotis said. “However, with the launch of the Galileo era and the utilization of the Drones2GNSS approach, we can now provide surveying engineers a cost effective, accurate and fast positioning solution.”
Riegl‘s James Van Rens discusses the company’s airborne and UAV solutions at Intergeo 2016, which was held Oct. 11-13 in Hamburg, Germany. Riegl unveiled its VQ-1560i dual lidar channel airborne laser scanning system and miniVUX-1UAV lidar sensor.
Testing took place both day and night under severe cold-weather and snow conditions. (Image: NIAS)
The Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems — cUAS — industry is gaining momentum. This month, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems (NIAS) — managers of the FAA-designated Nevada UAS Test Site — teamed with Northern Plains UAS Test Site to test counter-UAS (unmanned aerial systems) technology at the Denver International Airport.
UAS that enter the protected airspace around airports can pose a serious threat to manned aviation safety. The FAA and its partners are working to evaluate new technologies for detecting unmanned aircraft near airports, and the Denver airport test represented a milestone in developing minimum operational performance standards for drone detection at major airport and critical infrastructure locations.
“With the FAA UAS Test Site designation, Nevada was given an incredible opportunity to lead in the research and development of a commercial drone industry,” said Tom Wilczek, Aerospace and Defense Industry Specialist for the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. “This latest test proves that safety and privacy remain paramount concerns in developing a thriving unmanned aerial systems industry, and Nevada is grateful and excited to be a lead participant in these groundbreaking efforts.”
“We flew over a half dozen fixed-wing and multi-rotor drones during the ground detection system testing in Denver,” said Chris Walach, director of the Nevada UAS Test Site. “As the FAA-designated Air Mission Lead for both UAS Test Sites, our mission was to fly the scenarios per the FAA test cards under every imaginable flight profile that an airport would see [drones] intruding in their airspace. During the main FAA Pathfinder demonstration on Nov. 16, the flight crews experienced high winds with gust over 20-25 knots and winds at the maximum for the smaller drones; however, despite the high winds, all Nevada flight teams executed their test cards with precision and a high-degree of safety.
“This was a first: two UAS Test Sites jointly executing a very high profile FAA Pathfinder mission in Class B Airspace,”Walach continued. “The Nevada Team did exactly what a World Series UAS Team could have done in any high-profile scenario —achieving the first to fly in the Class B National Airspace which occurred day and night through multi-aircraft operations under severe cold-weather and snow conditions. Simply put, these tests mark a big step forward in developing a Counter Unmanned Systems industry.”
The Nevada Team included Nevada-based Eye in the Sky UASUSA, Colorado-based UAS, North Dakota-based ISight RPV Services and the Nevada UAS Test Site flight team.
Eye In The Sky UAS flew the first series of rotary-wing UAS in Class B airspace, as part of the FAA’s Pathfinder Program for UAS Detection at Airports and Critical Infrastructure. Selected by the Nevada UAS Test Site, the Eye In The Sky flight team flew the various test cards using the InstantEye Gen3 and DJI Advanced platforms at the Denver airport.
“This is a major milestone for the Unmanned Aerial Systems Industry and for safely integrating UAS into the National Airspace System,” said Rinaldo F. Brown, director of UAS Operations for Eye In The Sky.
“This project was an exciting chance for us to help advance the UAS industry, while also expanding our own technical capabilities. That combination made it a valuable and rewarding project for our team,” said Adam Overvold, chief pilot, ISight RPV Services.
Nevada’s Silver Springs Airport participated as the primary training location for all flight crews.
Ubiqomm has unveils its ubiquitous high-speed data connectivity solution, especially designed for enterprise drone fleets engaged in present line of sight (LOS) and, in the future, beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flights.
“The application for drones is increasing exponentially as companies apply drone technology for surveying and performing emergency operations in remote locations, and other use cases including traffic monitoring in cities, and above stadium live-streaming of sporting events. Consistent high-speed data connectivity between drones and ground control centers is becoming mission critical,” said Saum Vahdat, VP of Marketing and Business Development at Ubiqomm.
Ubiqomm’s wireless solution encompasses a network of base stations on the ground and communications devices mounted on drones. Each base station is capable of supporting all drones within its 25km+ coverage radius. The seamless handoff with the adjacent base station ensures ubiquitous coverage in a large area while connecting drones to a cloud backhaul.
Ubiqomm’s unique patented solution uses multiple techniques, such as innovative antenna design for both base stations and drones, mobility management, and interference mitigation, together achieving very high bandwidth efficiency. Vahdat added “Dubbed as “Wi-Fi in the Sky,” Ubiqomm’s solution enables 10x lower CapEx and OpEx as compared to terrestrial LTE networks while enabling very high-data rates of 200 Mbps between drones and base stations.”
Ubiqomm is partnering with Skyriver, an affiliated company in the Bridgewest Group portfolio of businesses with expertise in wireless broadband network design and deployment, in the millimeter wave and lower spectrum bands. Together, the two companies are offering demonstrations to companies that are interested in leveraging Ubiqomm’s technology for their own products and services.
The demonstration includes multiple drones flying within a region approximately 25km away from their San Diego base station. Each drone will be transmitting multiple 1080p video streams to the base station, utilizing secure high-speed links (200+ Mbps).
Ubiqomm and Skyriver are seeking industry partners for development, testing and trials of UAV traffic management (UTM) protocols in addition to the “Wi-Fi in the Sky” network solution, paving the way for BVLOS flight operations.
At the Royal Navy’s Unmanned Warrior demonstration, Insitu showcased its newest wide-area maritime surface search and identification technology for representatives from the Royal Navy as well as military and industry officials from across the globe.
During the event, held in Benbecula, Scotland, the Insitu team was tasked to perform a range of maritime missions using ScanEagle equipped with the ViDAR payload. Developed in collaboration with Australia-based Sentient Vision Systems, ViDAR is a maritime surface search with automatic target finding capability on a group two unmanned platform.
ScanEagle with ViDAR. (PRNewsFoto/Insitu)
ScanEagle flew more than 55 hours, covering an area more than twice the size of Wales (41,500 km²) and using fewer than eight gallons of fuel.
Despite sometimes challenging weather, ScanEagle with ViDAR autonomously detected hundreds of large and small objects in sea state six conditions. These included spotting and positively identifying two mine sweepers by number, spotting smaller objects such as stationary jet skis and buoys at 5 nm and locating 28 contacts from one sortie in fewer than two hours.
ViDAR successfully and reliably detected objects through changing environmental conditions ranging from clear sun to wind, rain, haze and fog.
ScanEagle flew more hours than any other participating platform.
“During one flight our team spotted a target 19 nm away before the exercise began,” said Suzanne McNamara, vice president of business development for Insitu. “ScanEagle with ViDAR is a force multiplier that will establish a new standard for global navies. We are extremely proud of the successes we achieved during Unmanned Warrior and look forward to supporting our customers with this advanced capability.”
In May, Sentient and Insitu confirmed the signing of an exclusive global distribution agreement for the ViDAR software for unmanned systems within the small UAS weight class. ScanEagle is the first and only unmanned platform to fly this payload.
Phase One Industrial discusses its recently launched products at Intergeo 2016, which was held Oct. 11-13 in Hamburg, Germany. Steve Cooper details the iXU-RS aerial camera system, which also is being released with a dual-camera option.
We might have thought of fuel cells in the past coming from historical problems way back on Apollo 13, or more recently in connection with advanced hybrid cars. But now it seems they are one source of long endurance flight for UAVs. Not really a surprise when there are claims of energy levels of 1000 watt/hour per kilogram versus 150 Wh/kg for lithium batteries.
H3 Dynamics in Singapore has released its Hywings UAV, for which it claims up to 10 hours endurance, provided by the on-board fuel cell. The UAV can carry a high-definition camera, a FLIR thermal camera with data storage and a multispectral imaging camera used for the inspection of agricultural fields.
Dronebox and quadrotor UAV
Dronebox is another H3 innovation designed to enable regular, repeatable, autonomous inspection and remote sensing missions from a field-located drone system.
Dronebox and quadrotor UAV
Droneboxes enable autonomous takeoff and landing of a quadrotor UAV from a remote base. When the UAV automatically lands on the base, rapid contact charging is initiated to “refuel” for the next mission. Power is derived from built in solar-collection panels and from conventional “mains” power.
Drone missions may be scheduled on a regular basis for routine flights to monitor facilities, or be dispatched automatically by an alarm. Data collected by the UAV is downloaded and may be processed and delivered to a client over a cloud service.
Mindful that not all drone operators are of the friendly kind, more UAV detection, location and disabling systems are being developed and fielded. Elbit Systems in Israel has just unveiled what it calls “a unique solution for protection of closed air spaces, national infrastructures and other critical areas against hostile drones.”
ReDrone is designed to detect, track and take-out different types of drones using a wide range of RF transmissions. The system can distinguish between a drone’s signals and its operator’s control signals, as well as determining the direction of both the drone and the operator. The system operates over 360 degrees, providing real-time situational awareness of multiple, simultaneous drones within the protection area.
After detecting a target, the ReDrone system disrupts the radio and video communication between the UAV and the operator, and jams or spoofs the GPS data, sending the hostile UAV off track and preventing an attack.
Meanwhile, General Atomics — the manufacturers of the venerable Predator military UAV — may be seeking to enhance its civilian image by offering one of its company owned aircraft for humanitarian relief efforts. The Angel One is based on the jet-powered Predator-C Avenger UAV, which is apparently able to carry significant internal cargo. Up to 8,500 pounds of Humanitarian Daily Ration packets (HDRs) for 3,400 people can be delivered by Angel One to ensure that urgently needed food and medical supplies quickly reach victims of war or natural disasters around the world.
Angel One can fly up to three missions of three hours each day — so, for a mission to deliver aid to a place like Syria, the base of operations would need to be overseas. An internal cargo bay door release mechanism enables two separate drops of aid per mission. The drop area is then evenly distributed with aid packages, ensuring greater delivery success for people in need on the ground over traditional pallet drops, which can be damaged or lost entirely.
And good news for family visitors to Orlando and California entertainment parks: Disney has obtained a waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to allow them to fly drones over their theme parks.
Disney World and Disneyland have no-fly zones, which were put in place in 2003 before war with Iraq. Disney cited those zones in its waiver request, saying their UAVs “will not interrupt national airspace activity.” Disney asked for the FAA OK last year to fly drones at their parks for entertainment displays, including fireworks displays — the waiver now allows Disney Flixel drones to fly at night. In granting the request, the FAA told Disney that it had established adequate mitigation for risk — probably including flying mostly over water at a maximum height of 150 feet while remaining at least 100 feet away from any visitors.
Finally, AeroVironment in California, who may be better known for its military UAS offerings, has decided to make a run at the commercial market. AeroVironment makes the Raven hand-launched system, which is the most widely used unmanned aircraft system in the world today. They also have a suite of different UAS for various types of applications.
The AeroVironment Quantix is a vertical takeoff and landing quadrotor drone that transitions to horizontal flight after take-off, providing the benefits of fixed-wing aircraft range, reliability and efficiency. Controlled via software on an Android tablet device using one-touch planning and launch, collected data after flight may subsequently be processed within the AeroVironment Decision Support System (AV DSS). This cloud-based data analytics platform incorporates a high level of automation backed by extensive research, using key algorithms to deliver processed results.
Available by spring 2017, this UAS system is aimed at allowing users to improve operational efficiencies, minimize risk and increase profitability.
AeroVironment’s commercial Quantix UAV airborne.
To plan a mission, the operator traces a finger on a map on the tablet to establish an area of interest. The system then guides the operator through an automated pre-flight check of the vehicle and flight plan. Selecting “fly,” Quantix performs a detailed built-in test procedure, optimizes its flight path for maximum coverage, launches, and lands vertically when its mission is complete. On-board color and multispectral sensors gather data over hundreds of acres. The system also includes “land now” and “return home” safety-control features.
AeroVironment’s DSS then processes stored flight data to produce high-resolution datasets and analysis of agriculture fields and vineyards, bridges, railroad tracks, pipelines, roads and many other valuable assets — cloud-based storage enables archiving of large amounts of image data for historical trend analysis.
In summary, we have fuel cells on UAVs that make for extended flight time, and remote “drone depots” for automated, recurring inspection systems, another drone detection and disabling system, a Predator available to dispense humanitarian aid, Disney ready to run Flixel light displays at its theme parks, and another UAS defense contractor turning to the commercial market with a complete UAS monitoring, inspection and data processing solution.
Just a small sample of what’s showing up in the unmanned aircraft system market segment.
This week, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are conducting drone-detection research in the vicinity of Denver International Airport. The work is part of the FAA’s Pathfinder Program for UAS Detection at Airports and Critical Infrastructure.
The work in Denver is one of six technical evaluations scheduled over an 18-month period.
The State of Nevada and State of North Dakota UAS Test Sites conducted flight operations for the Denver evaluations. Industry partners involved in the Denver flights included CACI International, Liteye Systems and Sensofusion.
The FAA plans to capture the data and findings from the evaluations and draft recommendations for standards. These standards will guide the selection of drone-detection systems for airports nationwide.
Other evaluation sites include Atlantic City International Airport, JFK International Airport, Eglin Air Force Base, Helsinki Airport and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
In addition to DHS, the FAA’s federal research partners include the Department of Defense, FBI, Federal Communications Commission, Department of the Interior, Department of Energy, NASA, Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Capitol Police.
The House Report accompanying the Fiscal Year 2016 federal appropriations law and the FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016 both directed the FAA to continue research into detecting unmanned aircraft in airport environments.
DJI has updated the capabilities of its largest drone series by introducing the Matrice 600 Pro, which offers improved flight performance, a more powerful battery charging system and better loading capacity for industrial equipment, cinema cameras and other professional aerial applications.
The M600 Pro’s A3 Pro flight controller comes with triple modular redundancy and diagnostic algorithms that compare sensor data from three sets of GNSS units, which enhances precision control while improving overall safety. Vibration damping balls have been added to the flight controller’s redundant IMU module and main controller, absorbing more shake and reducing more noise.
The compatibility with D-RTK GNSS makes the A3 Pro withstand magnetic interference and provides centimeter-level accuracy, which makes it suitable for industrial applications.
“The M600 Pro is DJI’s most advanced platform for aerial cinematographers and commercial users. With its simple and easy setup system, triple redundancy and improved stability, the platform offers an unparalleled experience for professional users,” said Aaron Zhao, Senior Product Manager at DJI.
DJI’s E2000 Pro dust-proof propulsion system simplifies maintenance and its active cooling motors ensure that operation is reliable for extended periods of time.
The M600 Pro is compatible with DJI’s Zenmuse camera series, the Ronin-MX gimbal and DJI Focus. It supports a payload of 6 kilograms, meaning it can carry a range of cameras from Micro Four Thirds systems to the RED EPIC.
The M600 Pro has been optimized for transportation and comes with pre-installed arms and antennas. When folded, the platform is smaller than the standard M600. The M600 Pro comes with an updated battery charging hub, enabling users to charge the six intelligent batteries at the same time and thereby reducing overall charging time.
AutonomouStuff provides research and development platforms for the safe and reliable testing of automation technologies.
