Tag: autonomous vehicles

Breaking down the F-35 jet “mishap”

Image: Lance Cpl. Kayla Rainbolt, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort

On Sept. 18, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Cpl. Christian Cortez, a pilot, set out on a training mission from the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort, South Carolina, only to eject from his Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightening II fighter jet over North Carolina. The U.S. military then lost the expensive, highly automated, lethal jet that was still in flight, as it was set on autopilot when the pilot ejected.

During the mishap, the U.S. Air Force Joint Base Charleston made a highly usual plea to the public to call with information regarding the lost plane. It is also still unclear why the pilot had to bail out of the jet and those details are actively under investigation.

The U.S. Marine Corps confirmed on Sept. 19, that debris had been found in South Carolina in Williamsburg County, north of Charleston, reported The New York Times. Joint Base Charleston stated the jet debris is located about two hours north of the base and it is urging residents to avoid the area as the recovery team secures the scene.

Teams from JB Charleston, @MCASBeaufortSC, the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing out
of MCAS Cherry Point, Navy Region Southeast, the FAA, the Civil Air Patrol, as well as local, county, and state law enforcement across South Carolina have been working together to locate the U.S. Marine…

— Joint Base Charleston (@TeamCharleston) September 18, 2023

The jet search team consisted of the Second Marine Aircraft Wing, Navy regional authorities in the southeast, the Civil Air Patrol, the Federal Aviation Administration, and local law enforcement teams.

The Marine Corp released a statement on Sept. 18, stating that its acting commander, Gen. Eric M. Smith, had directed all Marine Corps aviation units to conduct a two-day pause in operations to discuss aviation safety matters and best practices. The statement said that the directive came after three Class-A aviation mishaps occurred during the last six weeks.

During the pause of operations, aviation commanders plan to review the service’s flight practices, procedures, and policies.

The jet

Lockheed Martin’s website states, “with stealth technology, advanced sensors, supersonic speed, weapons capacity and superior range, the F-35 is the most lethal, survivable and connected aircraft in the world. More than a fighter jet, the F-35’s ability to collect, analyze and share data, is a powerful force multiplier that enhances all airborne, surface and ground-based assets in the battlespace enabling men and women in uniform to execute their mission and return home safely.”

The F-35 program is the most expensive U.S. weapons program of all time and is expected to cost more than $400 billion in development and acquisition and $1.2 trillion to operate and maintain the fleet over 60 years. Each jet costs more than $160 million, depending on the variant.

Notable program advancements

Lockheed Martin reached a $4 billion deal with the Pentagon in 2014 to bring in the new fleet of F-35 jets.

In late 2019, Lockheed Martin received a $25 million initial contract for engineering and manufacturing development for the GPS Spatial Temporal Anti-Jam Receiver (GSTAR) system that was integrated into the F-35 as part of its modernization phase, also known as Block 4. The GSTAR provides protection against enemy jamming and spoofing by utilizing critical GPS capabilities that can quickly adapt to meet specific platform requirements.

Several unanswered questions

Several details of this story have left many wondering exactly how this U.S. fighter jet just went missing in U.S. airspace without anyone being able to locate it or know its heading. It is an expensive, highly automated, weaponized aircraft that can create catastrophic damage to its surroundings.

As this investigation is ongoing, further details about this incident have not been reported.

September 20, 2023
Launchpad: New receivers, GIS platform and delivery UAV

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

GPS Receiver
A-PNT device featuring M-code GPS technology

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

September 19, 2023
Leica Geosystems upgrades lidar UAV

Image: Leica Geosystems

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.

September 19, 2023
DOT releases Complementary PNT Action Plan
Image: DOT

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has unveiled its Complementary Positioning Navigation and Timing (CPNT) Action Plan, which contains steps the department is taking to drive CPNT adoption across the United States transportation system and within other critical infrastructure areas. This plan was mentioned by Robert Hampshire — Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology and Chief Science Officer, U.S. DOT — during his keynote address at the annual Civil GPS Service Interface Committee (CGSIC) meeting on September 12, at ION GNSS+, which GPS World’s Editor-in-Chief, Matteo Luccio, is attending.

In 2020, the U.S. DOT Volpe National Transportation Systems Center conducted field demonstrations of various PNT technologies that could offer complementary service if GPS is disrupted. The department was able to gather information on PNT technologies at a high technology readiness level that can work in the absence of GPS.

The U.S. DOT have selected 11 candidate technologies to demonstrate positioning or timing functions:
- Two vendors demonstrated low-Earth orbit satellite PNT technologies — one L-band and one S-band;
- two vendors demonstrated fiber-optic timing systems, both based on the White Rabbit Precision Time Protocol;
- one vendor demonstrated localized database map matching database, inertial measurement unit, and ultra-wideband technologies; and,
- six vendors demonstrated terrestrial radio frequency PNT technologies across low frequency, medium frequency, ultra-high frequency, and Wi-Fi/802.11 spectrum bands.
Five of the selected technologies were demonstrated at Joint Base Cape Cod in Massachusetts, and six were demonstrated at NASA Langley Research Center in Virginia. The demonstrations were scenario-based implementations modeled on critical infrastructure use cases under different operating conditions.

Two central recommendations from the demonstration were made: the U.S. DOT should develop system requirements for PNT functions that support safety-critical services; and the U.S. DOT should develop standards, test procedures, and monitoring capabilities to ensure that PNT services, and the equipage that utilize them, meet the necessary levels of safety and resilience identified in recommendation one.

For the full U.S. CPNT Action Plan, click here.

Request for information

The U.S. DOT has also released a request for information (RFI) as one of the steps in driving adoption of complementary PNT services to augment GPS. The department is planning a resiliency test, evaluation, and performance monitoring strategy for PNT-dependent transportation systems.

If any readers are interested in participating, click here for more information.
September 13, 2023
Sentient vidar sensors successfully integrated on Edge Autonomy UAV

Image: Sentient

Sentient Vision Systems has completed live demonstrations of its visual detection and ranging (vidar) payload enabled by artificial intelligence (AI) on Edge Autonomy’s VXE30 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

The VXE30 is the latest version of the Stalker series of small UAVs from Edge Autonomy. When coupled with vidar, the VXE30 offers a passive, wide-area search capability, enabling it to serve a variety of maritime operations.

Vidar, developed by Sentient, uses AI, computer vision, and machine learning integrated with electro-optic and infrared (EO/IR) sensors to passively detect objects that are difficult for the human eye to spot or to recognize on a conventional radar.

This technology has been deployed on intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions (ISR), maritime patrol and border protection, as well as search and rescue missions since 2015. It is proven in conditions up to Sea State 6, which is defined as very rough with waves of 4m to 6m.

September 7, 2023
Beep, Oxa partner to deploy autonomous vehicles in the United States

Image: Beep

Beep Inc, a provider of autonomous shared mobility solutions, and Oxa, an autonomous vehicle software developer, have partnered to deploy autonomous vehicles driven by Oxa in the United States. The collaboration marks Oxa’s entry into the U.S. market.

Under the partnership, Oxa’s autonomy software will be installed in a variety of vehicle types operated by Beep, from current passenger shuttles to future vehicle platforms.

The Oxa Driver is a software platform that combines sensor data from cameras, lidar, and radar to gain a more comprehensive view of the world around it when compared to vehicles that rely on cameras alone. This software uses AI to accurately sense and predict changes to the vehicle’s environment while learning from previous journeys.

Two of the Beep shuttles featuring Oxa software are currently operating at the recently opened SunTrax test facility in Auburndale, Florida, — the first location in the United States specifically designed for connected autonomous vehicle and standard automotive testing in a single site.

Oxa is using the facility to showcase its passenger transportation solution ahead of public availability in late 2023.

September 6, 2023
Research roundup: GNSS in urban canyons

Image: Predrag Vuckovic/E+/Getty Images

GNSS researchers presented hundreds of papers at the 2022 Institute of Navigation (ION) GNSS+ conference, which took place Sept. 19-23, 2022, in Denver, Colorado, and virtually. The following four papers focused on the use of GNSS in urban environments. The papers are available here.

GPS World will be attending this year’s ION conference in Denver, Colorado, on Sept. 11-15.

FGO-based GNSS/INS integration improves performance in urban canyons in Hong Kong

The integration of GNSS and inertial navigation systems (INS) has the potential to improve performance due to their complementariness. In this paper, the authors investigated positioning based on the integration of GNSS and INS using factor graph optimization (FGO). This ultimately showed improved performance in urban canyons in Hong Kong. The effectiveness of the proposed method was verified using challenging datasets collected using two automobile-level GNSS receivers in the urban canyons of Hong Kong.

For the experiment conducted in this paper, only the GNSS pseudorange measurement was utilized in the existing FGO-based GNSS/INS integration. The overall potential of the Doppler frequency and carrier-phase measurements has yet to be explored by the authors. To fill this gap, the authors proposed a tightly coupled GNSS/INS integration, using FGO, by exploiting the potential of diverse raw GNSS measurements. The GNSS pseudorange, Doppler frequency, and time-differenced carrier-phase measurements were integrated with the INS, using FGO.

The authors believe the improved performance using FGO-based GNSS/INS integration positioning was due to the global optimization property and the increased measurement redundancy of FGO, compared with the method based on extended Kalman filtering.

Weisong, Hsu; “Factor Graph Optimization for Tightly-Coupled GNSS Pseudorange/Doppler/Carrier Phase/INS Integration: Performance in Urban Canyons of Hong Kong.”

3D mapping in urban environments aided by surround mask GNSS/lidar SLAM

Automatic driving with coupled GNSS/INS and lidar sensors has been implemented in many urban environments successfully over the years. However, this technology is still prone to errors. These potential errors are especially evident in challenging environments, such as urban canyons with several moving objects and building layouts that provide unexpected and abnormal features for lidar sensors and multi-path for GNSS signals.

To address these error challenges in urban environments, the authors of this paper proposed a surround mask that explores error sources from surrounding environments, which could subsequently improve the performance of an integrated mapping system. The surround mask in this experiment extracted a two-layer factor, including non-line-of-sight detection and static objects detection, to collectively compensate for the specific drawbacks of the lidar-based SLAM and the navigation system.

The authors explain that the surround mask eliminated the need to apply complex post-processing to eliminate the accumulated error for each observing unit.

The experimental results demonstrated that the proposed surround mask detected the represented error sources in the local coordinate and provided environment-awareness information for the integrated mapping system.

Ai, Luo, El-Sheimy; “Surround Mask Aiding GNSS/LiDAR SLAM for 3D Mapping in the Dense Urban Environment.”

Novel process noise model helps GNSS Kalman filter degradation in busy cities

Improving the accuracy of GNSS positioning in urban environments is difficult, especially when using low-cost GNSS receivers. In this paper, the authors showed that if the process noise covariance is turned up in a “naïve” manner for poor satellite geometry, the estimation-error covariance could become unintentionally large in a certain direction.

The unintentional inflation of estimation-error covariance could cause the degradation of accuracy. The authors also proposed a fictitious process noise covariance based on an extension of a novel process noise model, which was proposed in their previous work.

The authors stated that in Kalman filter for GNSS positioning, the process noise covariance is often bumped up to avoid the filter divergence in the presence of unknown model errors, by assuming there is a fictitious process noise in addition to the nominal process noise. In this study, the fictitious noise covariance is determined based on the observation matrix, step-by-step, and it reduced the estimation errors without causing the unintentional inflation of estimation-error covariance.

The effectiveness of the derived process noise model is demonstrated for the data sets that simulate GNSS signals from the antenna that moves from open sky areas to urban areas. The estimation errors with the derived process noise model were significantly reduced, compared to the ones with other two process noise models.

Takayama, Yoji, Urakubo, Takateru, Tamaki, Hisashi; “Avoiding GNSS Kalman Filter Degradation in Urban Canyons with a Novel Process Noise Model.”

3D lidar-aided GNSS RTK positioning for increased accuracy mapping in urban canyons

The GNSS real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning technique has shown centimeter-level absolute results in open-sky areas; however, it can suffer from polluted GNSS measurements and poor satellite geometry in urban environments. This is due to the non-line-of-sight (NLOS) and multipath reception caused by signal blockage and reflection.

In this paper, the authors stated that lidar sensors integrated with odometry systems that include an inertial measurement unit (IMU) provided a precise environment description and short-term accurate relative positioning capabilities that could be utilized for aiding GNSS-RTK to obtain better performance.

While 3D lidar-aided GNSS RTK positioning methods detect the GNSS NLOS receptions via an incrementally built map and improve the satellite geometry using the low-lying virtual satellite from lidar features, the high-elevation angle NLOS receptions cannot be fully detected, and the multipath signals cannot be effectively mitigated.

In response to this, the authors proposed a 3D lidar-aided GNSS RTK positioning method with iterated coarse to fine batch optimization by a global 3D NLOS exclusion aided by a point cloud map, which enables the detection of high-elevation angle NLOS receptions. Additionally, the authors proposed iterated batch optimization based on a devised, tightly coupled, factor graph that fully exploited the global consistency among the constraints of lidar, IMU and GNSS RTK to exclude potential multipath signals.

The proposed method aimed to achieve lifelong accurate positioning performance in deeply urbanized areas. The effectiveness of the proposed method has been proved by the evaluation conducted on the author’s open-source challenging dataset, UrbanNav, which contains various sequences collected by automobile-level low-cost GNSS receivers in urban canyons of Hong Kong.

Liu, Wen, Hsu; “3D LiDAR Aided GNSS Real-time Kinematic Positioning via Coarse-to-fine Batch Optimization for High Accuracy Mapping in Dense Urban Canyons.”

September 5, 2023
BAE Systems, MOD boost battlefield communications

Image: BAE Systems

BAE Systems has been awarded an £89 million contract by the Ministry of Defense (MOD) to enhance front-line connectivity for military personnel, UAVs, combat vehicles, fighter jets, aircraft carriers and military commands.

The contract will be dedicated to the research and development phase of BAE Systems’ deployable tactical wide area network (WAN), Trinity. Trinity is due to be delivered in December 2025.

Under the contract, BAE Systems will lead an alliance of trusted partners, including Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR), PA Consulting and L3Harris, to design and manufacture Trinity. The companies aim to deliver a highly secure battlefield internet capability to UK forces, which will sustain battlefield awareness and intelligence sharing through a myriad of adversarial attacks.

Trinity’s resilience is based on its composition, the company said. It is made up of a series of nodes, each able to add, access and move data in a secure network. If several nodes are damaged in warfare, the remaining automatically re-route to maintain optimum network speed and flow of information.

September 4, 2023
Seen & Heard: Invasive species vs. UAVs and protecting farms with GIS

“Seen & Heard” is a monthly feature of GPS World magazine, traveling the world to capture interesting and unusual news stories involving the GNSS/PNT industry.

I Wonder What’s Under There?

Image: Lokibaho/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images

Researchers at the University of Connecticut have conducted one of the largest understory species mapping projects using satellite data and have published the results of the study in the Remote Sensing of Environment journal. In this study, the researchers proposed an automated dense Sentinel-2 time series-based approach for understory plant communities and created maps of four understory classes that include native shrubs of greenbrier and mountain laurel, invasive shrubs of barberry, and the assemblage of mixed invasives at 10 m resolution in Connecticut’s deciduous forests. The researchers developed a strategy that distinguished plant species with an accuracy of 93% and determined that 53% of Connecticut’s understory is now comprised of invasive plant species such as barberry, bittersweet, winged euonymus (burning bush), and multi-flora rose.

Invasive Species VS. UAVs

Image: Donn Bartram

Researchers at West Virginia University are using UAVs to develop tools to detect, map, treat and monitor invasive plant species with a grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation. Multiflora rose is an invasive shrub that threatens native plants in more than 40 states, including West Virginia and Pennsylvania. This project aims to equip UAVs with sensors to collect environmental data in a designated area of southwestern Pennsylvania over multiple seasons. The research team will use that data, combined with machine learning technology, to develop software that can identify multiflora rose and, eventually, other invasive species.

Protecting Farms with GIS

Image: Daniel Balakov/E+/Getty Images

American Farmland Trust (AFT) is partnering with government agencies and advocacy groups in South Carolina to deploy GIS mapping tools to predict areas at the highest risk of development in the state. Palmetto 2040: Visioning Alternative Futures, Launching Solutions is a geospatial modeling and policy analysis tool designed to identify and model future outcomes. This mapping tool will project what land in South Carolina is at highest risk of development by 2040. The analysis will consider both rapid population growth and climate change impact on settlement patterns and agriculture, according to AFT.

USV Take Hurricanes

Image: SailDrone

Saildrone is deploying 12 uncrewed surface vehicles (USV) into the tropical Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico this summer, supporting research by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to advance hurricane forecasting. Ten USVs will be deployed from St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; St. Petersburg, Florida; and Charleston, South Carolina; to operate in areas with a high probability of intercepting a storm, as indicated by historical data. Two vehicles will remain on land, ready for quick deployment in the event of an approaching hurricane. NOAA will use the data collected by the USVs to improve hurricane forecast models.

September 1, 2023
uAvionix, CAP collaborate to expand low-altitude aircraft data for search and rescue missions

Image: uAvionix

uAvionix has partnered with Civil Air Patrol (CAP) to deploy a DO-260B-compliant, dual-band Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) receiver network to complement Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) sensor data with low-altitude aircraft positions in support of CAP’s radar analysis mission.

The ADS-B receiver technology — already in use in Virginia — is designed to shorten the accident-to-rescue time in the National Radar Analysis Team’s search and rescue efforts.

Through the leadership of CAP’s Virginia Wing, members throughout the state have assisted uAvionix in locating suitable receiver sites and supported the installation of small, low-weight FlightStation ADS-B receivers at various airports.

The dual-mode (1090 MHz and 978 MHz) FlightStations receive transponder data from aircraft, which is centrally received and transmitted to the radar team server at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, where it’s combined with FAA sensor data.

The CAP team uses FAA data and advanced technologies in its search and rescue efforts. The team is activated by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center when there is a report of a possible missing aircraft or crash. Once the team is activated, analysis and actionable data can be provided in minutes to an incident commander, instead of the days or hours required before the team’s creation.

The FlightLine roll-out consists of several ATC grade ADS-B receivers with overlapping coverage, allowing for validation of transmitted ADS-B data and pinpoint multilaterated positions. Traditional ADS-B and radar concentrate mostly on airports and higher altitudes in support of air traffic control.

Most other available data sources largely exclude coverage for 978Mhz transponders, typically used by general aviation aircraft. Virginia is the first state in the U.S. to have complete coverage down to 500 ft of altitude. The new ADS-B is rapidly expanding to other CAP wings across the U.S.

“The introduction of ADS-B has resulted in a significant improvement of general aviation safety,” said Christian Ramsey, managing director, uAvionix. “Expanding on the FAA coverage at lower altitude and for UAT [universal access transceiver] transponders typically carried by general aviation will further enhance the tools used in safety of life activities such as CAP’ ‘s emergency services mission.”

The radar analysis team is calling on all CAP Squadrons to volunteer to host and install additional receivers where additional coverage is needed. Young said his team will prioritize areas where existing coverage is weak.

For more information and to register your squadron for a FlightStation unit, click here.

August 31, 2023
Hexagon equips fully autonomous road trains

Image: Hexagon/Mineral Resources

Hexagon has partnered with Mineral Resources (MinRes) to provide an autonomous haulage solution for a fleet of 120 fully autonomous road trains in Australia. The company says this will transform safety, productivity and sustainability in the region.

The fully autonomous road trains are a full-site, truck-agnostic solution. The addition of unmanned and autonomous systems will form an essential part of the supply chain for the MinRes Onslow Iron project in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.

The center of the autonomous platooning system is Hexagon’s autonomous solutions stack integrating drive-by-wire technology with an autonomous management system to orchestrate vehicle movement in road train haulage.

“Today’s agreement with MinRes will ensure that off-road transport activities will be safer, more sustainable, and more productive,” Paolo Guglielmini, president and CEO of Hexagon, said. “I’m excited to see how similar solutions can be applied in other off-road markets such as agriculture and heavy industry.”

August 31, 2023
Atmos enhances 3D mapping with Sony camera

Image: Atmos

Atmos has integrated the new Sony a6100 Oblique camera into its vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) fixed-wing UAV, the Marlyn Cobalt. The device can be used by professionals in the geospatial mapping and surveying sectors.

The Sony a6100 Oblique camera is an innovative addition to the Marlyn Cobalt because it combines Sony’s 24MP a6100 with a Meike 12mm lens to provide users with a solution for lower-resolution surveying that produces 3D models for urban surveys.

With the integration, the Marlyn Cobalt boasts a 350-hectare coverage at 400 feet, reducing operational time and costs. The resulting ground sampling distance (GSD) of 4cm at that altitude ensures high-resolution data acquisition, delivering detailed images for precise analysis.

The map below (Figure 1) was surveyed by one of Atmos’ customers. The UAV enabled them to identify and inspect the built and natural environment through different processing ways for urban planning in the town of Sancta Maria in the Netherlands.

Figure 1: 3D reconstruction of the Sancta Maria urban area. (Image: Atmos)

To learn more about the integration, visit the Atmos website.

August 28, 2023