“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.
3D mapping is helping forensic teams reconstruct fatal traffic accidents in Singapore, reports The Straits Times. In 2021, Singapore had 100 fatal road accidents. Experts use 3D replicas of the accident site and simulation models to recreate events leading to an accident and its aftermath. This helps forensic scientists determine whether the vehicles were speeding or flouting traffic rules. The National 3D Mapping Program of the Singapore Land Authority has mapped every road, lane and highway in Singapore with a 3D laser scanner and car-mounted cameras, and plans to update the maps regularly. Autonomous vehicles will also depend on the 3D point-cloud data.
Diagram: U.S. General Accountability Office
BeiDou Enables Hypersonic Flight
In simulation drills using BeiDou, Chinese space scientists flew a hypersonic flight from Jinan, China, to New York over the Arctic Ocean, reports EurAsian Times. BeiDou facilitated contact between the command center on Earth and the hypersonic vehicle as it dodged enemy air defenses. Researchers claim using BeiDou provided a time lag of less than a second. They also claim to have optimized signal transmitters and designed new satellite-jumping methods to overcome communication challenges. China and Russia are the only countries with operational hypersonic weapons — Russia has used its Kinzhal hypersonic missile in the Ukraine war.
Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) and Dr. Soetomo University are cooperating on aerial photo mapping using an unmanned aerial vehicle and GNSS hardware. BRIN’s Ocky Karna Radjasa said he expects that the two parties will extend the opportunity to advance research and innovation as well as bolster the quality of education in Indonesia. The university’s Nur Saidah expects BRIN’s support will increase, stating, “We still have limitation in laboratory facilities, so we seek industry cooperation. Let us hope that, as a result of this cooperation, we can receive help.”
A new navigation system addresses shortcomings of GNSS using cosmic-ray muons. Muometric navigation enables positioning underground, indoors or underwater within a reference coordinate system defined by the 3D positions of multiple detectors, researcher Hiroyuki K. M. Tanaka explains in the June issue of Nature. Tanaka’s work shows the system offers a navigation quality almost equivalent to aboveground GPS-based handheld navigation by determining the distance between the reference frame and the receivers with a precision of 1 to 10 meters.
Helix Geospace will participate in the “Future flights challenge phase 3” project by Innovate UK involving drone swarms. The project aims to demonstrate how large unmanned systems can be used to solve environmental-protection concerns in GNSS-denied environments, functioning in swarms and utilizing a combination of digital twinning, computer vision and real-world flight testing.
The goal of the project is to prove that a single remote operator and local safety pilot can handle many unmanned devices and maintain continuous communication in GNSS-denied environments.
Commercially available antennas are susceptible to jamming and spoofing. DielectriX antennas from Helix Geospace are built into a sophisticated array system that can detect all jamming and spoofing events, pinpoint their precise source, and then eliminate their impact, maintaining the accuracy and resilience of GNSS positioning, navigation and timing in GNSS-denied environments.
Collaboration with NERC British Antarctic Survey and Lancashire fire and rescue will provide proof of exploitation and public engagement for the project. The Windracers aircraft will be equipped with British Antarctic Survey scientific research equipment and flown in the Antarctica region to gather novel research data, previously not achieved before at this scale.
The collaboration with Lancashire fire and rescue will help develop a solution for early fire detection and mitigation. The Windracers aircraft will be retrofitted with sensors and fire mitigation technology providing an airborne system that will patrol high-risk areas.
By Alex Damato, Acting Executive Director, GPS Innovation Alliance
Alex Damato
It can be easy to take GPS for granted as the average driver and smartphone user continues to enjoy convenience, entertainment and navigation from this technology, enhancing nearly every part of our daily lives. While we may not enjoy its benefits every day, one important use case keeps us and our environment safer: GPS has become a vital part of modern emergency response.
Many Americans across the nation are preparing for the impending hurricane season or the threat of other natural disasters, such as wildfires and earthquakes. GPS will play a critical role in recovery and response efforts. When natural disasters occur, accurate and actionable location information helps save lives and restore critical infrastructure as quickly as possible.
GPS has fundamentally improved access to information that can help the public prepare for these natural disasters, rather than waiting for them to strike. This information is more critical than ever. For example, California’s Oak fire spread to almost 20,000 acres and is part of a larger trend in California that has destroyed 14,700 buildings and killed 36 people over the past two years. Farther north, 530 wildfires in Alaska burned areas larger than the state of Connecticut in the state’s worst fire season in recent history.
In addition to helping the public face natural disasters, GPS helps firefighters plan their operations more efficiently and enables them to receive real-time information on the location of the wildfires they are fighting. With real-time mapping, planning and operations, fire chiefs can respond immediately to areas where wildfires are dangerously advancing.
In turn, GPS protects our first responders by preventing firefighters from getting caught in unpredictable fires they would have otherwise not known were heading their way.
Firefighters use IGNIS drones to help prevent wildfires from starting or safely contain them with backburns. IGNIS relies on GPS for tracking, safety and control, which in turn helps firefighters avoid the dangers associated with being near prescribed burns. Without GPS, resources to help firefighters would not be deployed as efficiently — wildfires could spread even more quickly as a result, causing even more damage to our homes and infrastructure.
Beyond wildfires, GPS technology is critical to emergency response and weather safety. GPS data allow emergency responders to better locate callers and reduce the incidence of misrouting to outside jurisdictions. Using GPS data, a caller can be located in close proximity to his or her actual location. By reducing rates of misrouting and accurately pinpointing emergency locations, GPS helps reduce response time by taking away the need to reroute calls and search for callers’ locations.
In a recent experiment, NASA-commissioned researchers used GPS signals to better predict a hurricane’s maximum wind speed, which could help federal agencies and forecasters better predict the danger of hurricanes and provide more actionable information to determine whether to issue evacuation orders.
The GPS Innovation Alliance (GPSIA) is proud to support the role of GPS as a critical enabling technology for public safety, disaster response and relief efforts. With GPS, precise real-time location information is at the fingertips of both consumers and first responders from pre-disaster planning efforts to post-disaster recovery. While GPS has already fundamentally improved modern emergency response systems, GPSIA will continue to advocate for the continued growth of these lifesaving GPS-enabled technologies and applications through rigorously developed technical rules, interference protections, and a predictable spectrum environment.
Many of us have grown accustomed to the ease of GPS-enabled technologies, from smartphone to fitness trackers. At GPSIA, we’re also particularly proud of the role GPS plays in the many other life-saving ways the technology is being used and are committed to continuing this critical work.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded $2.7 million to support research on how drones can assist in disaster preparedness and in emergencies.
“Every second counts in an emergency, and this funding will allow drones to safely and more quickly deploy in moments when minutes matter,” said Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen.
A policeman works with a drone. (Photo: FAA)Photo:
The research will explore the use of drones in providing effective and efficient responses to different natural and human-made disasters. It will address coordination procedures among drone operators from federal agencies as well as state and local disaster preparedness and emergency response organizations. The five universities and their award amounts are:
University of Vermont: $1,195,000
University of Alabama Huntsville: $828,070
New Mexico State University: $400,000
North Carolina State University: $200,000
Kansas State University: $145,000
Today’s announcement is the third round of Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE) grants, which brings the total to 20 grants valued at $21 million for Fiscal Year 2022.
The ASSURE Center of Excellence is one of six the agency has established to help advance technology and educate the next generation of aviation professionals. Research conducted through ASSURE is focused on helping the drone community safely grow and integrate into the nation’s airspace.
Earlier in 2022, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg outlined six key Innovation Principles the department will apply when fostering transportation technologies. While continuing to commit to the highest standards of safety across technologies, these awards demonstrate the department’s commitment to exploring ways to leverage innovation to help communities and public-sector partners through experimentation.
More than 850,000 recreational and commercial drones are in the active drone fleet, and that number is expected to grow.
The company tested Driver 2.0, a Level 4 production-ready autonomous driving solution
New video highlights navigating heavy traffic safely and efficiently
Photo: DeepRoute.ai
DeepRoute.ai, an international autonomous driving technology company, has announced the results of its latest fully driverless test of its Driver 2.0 Level 4 production-ready autonomous driving solution.
DeepRoute.ai released a video exhibiting a driverless vehicle retrofitted with the solution on Central Business District roads in Shenzhen, demonstrating its advanced capacity in complex and challenging traffic environments. It was the first legal driverless test in China — Shenzhen unveiled China’s first regulation on intelligent connected vehicles on July 6.
The fully driverless vehicle drove just under 14 miles in one hour, navigating through significant traffic and narrow lanes safely and efficiently. The vehicle:
intelligently maneuvered around double-parked cars and counterflow e-scooters and pedestrians
negotiated with oncoming vehicles to calculate the right timing and trajectory to pass busy intersections
conducted multiple lane changes and unprotected left turns.
“The recent legislation permitting driverless robotaxis in Shenzhen is the first of its kind, a major milestone in advancing autonomous driving technology to wider and faster adoption,” said Maxwell Zhou, CEO of DeepRoute.ai. “As we advance our mission for commercial deployment of autonomous driving vehicles, we will collaborate with automakers to refine our L4 solution to make it as safe and efficient as possible.”
DeepRoute.ai has made significant improvements to achieve driverless capability, with both software and hardware meeting auto-grade standards. The safety mechanism was also upgraded to guarantee driverless safety on the road. In the case of long tail scenarios, the system will alert the remote monitoring center to intervene or take other safety measures.
The Driver 2.0 System
Driver 2.0 includes five solid-state lidar units, eight cameras and other sensors, and a computing platform integrated with its proprietary inference engine. The perception algorithm with sensor fusion can achieve precise object detection up to nearly 220 yards. The planning and control algorithm based on game theory can choose optimal routes and make decisions based on real-time situations when negotiating with oncoming vehicles and other road agents.
With its deep learning approach, the inference engine optimizes compute resources, allowing the algorithm to run on its low-cost and power-efficient computing platform effectively and stably. As a result, Driver 2.0 can be priced at $3,000 for automakers in mass production and the algorithm can work with 2 to 5 solid-state lidars for automakers’ customization needs.
The latest legal and regulatory framework is aligned with autonomous-driving industry developments and is considered the prelude to mass production and commercialization of autonomous-driving vehicles. DeepRoute.ai is working with automakers to mass produce consumer vehicles integrated with Driver 2.0, expected to be available for consumer purchase in 2025. It is also being integrated into robotaxi operations.
Amazon has put out a video to show how the company is building its drone delivery service. The fully electric drones are designed to deliver packages under 5 pounds to customers in less than 60 minutes.
Later this year, customers living in Lockeford, California and College Station, Texas will be among the first to receive Prime Air drone deliveries.
Three components are integral to the system:
The drone itself, which Amazon said is as robust and reliable as its ground transportation trucks.
A sense-and-avoid system for obstacles such as other aircraft, people and pets in backyards.
An automated drone-management system to plan flight paths and ensure safe distances between the drones and other aircraft in the area, and ensure compliance with aviation regulations.
Amazon has been developing its drone delivery system for almost a decade, employing experts in safety, aerospace, science, robotics, software, hardware, testing and manufacturing.
Below is an inside look at an Amazon flight-testing facility in Oregon.
Tesla has applied to patent a new multi-band GNSS antenna with increased precision for self-driving and navigation in its autos, reports electrek. The antenna would be positioned inside the rear-mirror enclosure, and the system would also provide a heating element.
While increasing precision, it is also designed to reduce power demand, noise and cost.
The automaker describes the new device in the abstract of the new patent application:
A multi-band antenna system is provided. The antenna system can be placed under and embedded within a glass exterior surface of a vehicle. Such an antenna system can include a capacitively coupled metallic element on or adjacent to the glass exterior surface, which can serve as both a parasitic element to enhance gain and as a heating element to melt snow and/or ice accumulation over the glass area that covers the antenna. In certain applications, the antenna’s structure itself can be used as a heater to improve performance in adverse weather conditions while the heating elements are positioned away from the thermally sensitive electronics. The antenna system with integrated heating can include a spiral antenna.
A diagram of the antenna provided with the patent application. (U.S. Patent Office)
A demonstration airspace management system is playing a role during the military exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022, taking place in Hawaii and Southern California.
FlightHorizon COMMANDER, provided by Vigilant Aerospace to the U.S. Air Force, is an airspace management and detect-and-avoid system based on two licensed NASA patents. The system can be used on the ground or onboard aircraft and is designed to help keep unmanned aircraft systems (UAS or drones) safe and collision free.
For the first time, U.S. Air Force MQ-9 UAS — also known as a Reaper — is taking part in a RIMPAC exercise. RIMPAC is the world’s largest international maritime exercise, involving more than 40 ships, 30 UAS and 150 aircraft from 27 partner nations.
RIMPAC 2022 is the 28th exercise in the series that began in 1971. The 2022 exercise takes place from late June to early August.
The FlightHorizon COMMANDER demonstration system (non-U.S. Air Force) tracks air traffic in Hawaii in 2022. (Photo: Vigilant Aerospace)
FlightHorizon COMMANDER includes a 3D moving map display for air traffic situational awareness, air navigation charts, weather data, special features for the tracking and safety of uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) and automatic detect-and-avoid functions.
The airspace management system correlates and displays air traffic and other data from a wide variety of sources including ground-based and airborne sensors, civilian air traffic data, military data and proprietary data sources. The dual-use technology provides automatic traffic warnings and deconfliction as a built-in function.
The product is based on two licensed NASA patents and has been used in ongoing NASA supersonic projects, in FAA detect-and-avoid projects, and in civilian UAS projects around flight corridors and drone ports.
“RIMPAC 2022 marks the first appearance of the MQ-9A Reaper, a remotely piloted aircraft, and its presence brought in military teams from California, New Mexico and Nevada,” the Air Force stated. “With personnel from both the active-duty element, Reserves and Air National Guard, the collective group ensures that it is fully operational. All the while, everyone learns new techniques that it will take to improve their day-to-day operations upon returning home.”
“Vigilant Aerospace is thrilled to support this large-scale exercise,” said Kraettli L. Epperson, CEO of Vigilant Aerospace. “Support of this exercise is an especially useful demonstration of the multi-sensor and multi-data source capabilities of FlightHorizon and the ability to track hundreds of targets simultaneously.”
Vigilant Aerospace holds a U.S. Department of Defense IDIQ to support military adoption of the system for UAS and airspace safety.
“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.
Ukrainian TV host Serhiy Prytula crowdfunded $20 million to buy Bayraktar drones for the nation’s defense against Russia. Baykar, a Turkish defense manufacturer, turned down the money and opted instead to donate three military drones to the country. The Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drone has been a key instrument used by the Ukrainian military to repel Russian forces, with the ongoing war the first major conflict in which the Bayraktar drones have been deployed.
Photo: Nicola Lercari, assistant professor of World Heritage, UC Merced
Arrested Decay
Scientists from the University of California (UC) Merced have mapped the fragile remains of Bodie, a Gold Rush ghost town. With harsh weather conditions, wildfires and earthquakes, only 10% of the original town is still intact. Researchers used a GeoSLAM handheld scanner to document more than 100 structures over four days. The scans preserve Bodie’s archaeological signature and enabled a 3D reconstruction of Bodie at its height in the 1870s.
Sea-level changes are critical to the island nation of Singapore. To help map ground deformation, researchers from the Earth Observatory of Singapore will access GNSS data collected by the Singapore Satellite Positioning Reference Network (SiReNT), along with a decade of archived GNSS data. SiReNT, an initiative of the Singapore Land Authority, produces precise positioning data with up to 3-cm accuracy. With four new coastal GNSS reference stations installed, EOS is beginning to study more accurate ways to measure deformation and climate effects.
A new indoor positioning system is helping hospitals and other healthcare facilities. PenguinIN connects to a facility’s Wi-Fi infrastructure to help staff track and locate key items, a task any nurses say takes an hour of every shift. In emergency rooms, it can track how long patients have waited and how long a physician has spent with each patient. Facilities also can use it to track air quality including dust, temperature and possible water leaks. PenguinIN applies advanced machine learning to establish the location of indoor objects, people and smartphones with up to 1-meter accuracy.
A division of the U.S. Army Futures Command is conducting stratospheric experimentation using the Zephyr ultra-long endurance stratospheric unmanned aerial system (UAS). The tests are being carried out at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona by he Assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing/Space (APNT/Space) Cross-Functional Team (CFT), which is based in Huntsville, Alabama.
The first flight of 2022, launched June 15, demonstrated Zephyr’s energy storage capacity, battery longevity, solar panel efficiency and station-keeping abilities that will further the army’s goal to implement ultra-long endurance stratospheric UAS capabilities.
During the flight, the Zephyr accomplished a number of firsts, including
first flight into international airspace
first flight over water
longest continuous flight utilizing satellite communication controls
the farthest demonstration from its launch point while carrying a commercial, off-the-shelf payload
breaking the world record for longest duration UAS flight (26 days) set by the same aircraft in 2018. This flight has completed 36 days and is still flying over Yuma Proving Ground.
“Ultra-long endurance unmanned platforms have the potential to provide significant military capabilities and enhanced confidence as part of the Army’s diversified multi-layered architecture,” said Michael Monteleone, director of the APNT/Space CFT. “We have seen incredible progress in high-altitude platforms in recent years. This experimentation allows us to build on that knowledge by demonstrating multiple payload types, fully exploring the military utility of stratospheric operations, and modernizing areas of deep sensing, long-range targeting and resilient communications.”
Zephyr is prepared for a flight test. (Photo: Airbus)
Upcoming Second Launch. A second Zephyr flight will launch in the coming weeks and travel over the Pacific Ocean. The flight will demonstrate a prototype payload, developed by the Army Futures Command, over multiple combatant commands, and continue to inform high-altitude requirements.
The Airbus-developed Zephyr is the first high-altitude UAS of its kind, providing a persistent and adaptable longevity in the stratosphere. The experiments are performed with cooperation of the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Task Force, U.S. Army Program Executive Office – Aviation, and multiple combatant commands under an Other Transaction Authority (OTA), with T2S Solutions LLC as the integrator.
The APNT/Space CFT is responsible for accelerating the delivery of advanced APNT, tactical space and navigation warfare capabilities to the soldier. Working with a core team of experts, the CFT informs technology and system requirements through continuous experimentation and prototyping, technology integration and soldier feedback. Through this process, the APNT/Space CFT supports the Army Futures Command in delivering next-generation weapons, vehicles and equipment at an accelerated rate, giving Army forces the ability to deploy, fight and win decisively against any adversary, anytime and anywhere.
A roundup of recent products in the GNSS and inertial positioning industry from the July 2022 issue of GPS World magazine.
OEM
RTK Receiver
Hybrid high-precision GNSS
Photo: PP Solutions
The handheld RTAP2U is a hybrid high-precision, dual-frequency GNSS receiver. It can receive and process GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo and QZSS signals. Its user-friendly web interface accesses and configures signal reception, skyplot, data collection, stop-and-go surveying, map display and more. With u-blox’s ZED F9P module, RTAP2U provides 2 cm or better accuracy within a few seconds. A firmware upgrade can provide precise point positioning (PPP) and real-time kinematic (RTK) capability.
The AsteRx-U3 Marine GNSS receiver offers accurate positioning near shore and offshore via centimeter-level real-time kinematic (RTK) or the built-in Fugro precise point positioning (PPP) sub-decimeter subscription service, delivered either over NTRIP internet or L-band satellite. Corrections delivered over L-band allow dredging, bathymetry or marine construction projects even in areas where there is no internet service. The AsteRx-U3 Marine receiver, enclosed in an IP68-rated housing, offers a dedicated L-band demodulator with a separate L-band RF input, which allows for the use of dedicated antennas for excellent reception of L-band signals even at high latitudes.
The HGuide o360 is a compact single-card, all-attitude GNSS/inertial navigation system (INS) that delivers accurate and robust position and attitude even in GNSS-challenged or denied environments to industrial and autonomous applications. The HGuide o360 contains a multi-frequency, multi-constellation, real-time kinematic (RTK) GNSS receiver with dual antennas, Honeywell’s i300 inertial measurement unit (IMU) technology, and a high-grade calibrated magnetometer. It is designed for platforms that require high-performance navigation data in an ultra-low size, weight and power (SWAP) package.
Offers optimal heading performance and resistance to vibration
Photo: SBG Systems
The Quanta Micro GNSS-aided inertial navigation system (INS) offers a high level of navigation performance despite its low size, weight, power and cost (SWAP-C). It brings direct georeferencing to UAV and land-based surveying. Quanta Micro leverages a survey-grade inertial measurement unit (IMU) for optimal heading performance in single-antenna applications, and high immunity to vibrating environments. An optional secondary antenna enables fast heading initialization in low dynamic applications.
The GridTime 3000 GNSS time server is a software-configurable solution for utilities, providing redundancy, security and resiliency to protect against surges, adverse weather and cyberattacks. It generates precise time and frequency signals to synchronize analog and digital communication systems. The resilient timing platform incorporates multiple timing inputs for protection in the event of a GNSS signal disruption caused by severe weather, environmental disturbances or signal jamming or spoofing.
The Auterion OS serves enterprises that need component and payload flexibility, alongside a centralized and streamlined software workflow. Features include availability of precise mapping data in real time, automated processing for fast decision-making, standardization across Auterion-powered vehicles, connectivity that enables automated end-to-end workflows with no need for manual data transfer, and integration with third-party data-processing software such as Esri Site Scan or Propeller.
Designed to meet the need for highly accurate data
Photo: YellowScan
The YellowScan Vx20 lidar is the most accurate, fully integrated system of YellowScan’s product range. It can fly up to 330 feet (100 meters) while maintaining high accuracy throughout the point cloud. The Vx20 series is designed for applications that require sharp, accurate descriptions. Its Applanix APX-20UAV GNSS/inertial sensor provides precision of 1 cm and accuracy of 2.5 cm. With battery, the lidar scanner weighs 6.25 pounds (2.84 kg). It can be integrated with either multirotor or helicopter drones.
The WingXpand seven-foot expandable-wing drone folds to fit in a backpack. Its U.S.-made patented design combines the small size of a quadcopter with the horsepower of an airplane. The drone expands in less than 2 minutes and weighs less than 10 pounds. It can carry high-resolution cameras and other modular payloads such as a real-time pattern analysis system. More than 10 WingXpand UAS can fit in a public safety vehicle, more than 30 in a pickup, and 250 on a standard airlift pallet. WingXpand maximizes capability, efficiency and safety for the military and public safety officials. It also can be used by farmers, surveyors and inspectors.
The E300 drone package includes the E300 real-time kinematic (RTK) drone, flight-control software and an optional camera. It is suitable for topographic survey, urban construction, forestry investigation, emergency rescue, 3D modeling, mining and surveying. The drone is embedded with a high-precision K8 GNSS module that supports GPS L1/L2/L5, BeiDou B1/B2/B3/B1C/B2a, GLONASS L1/L2, Galileo E1/E5-a/E5-b/AltBOC/E6 and QZSS L1/L2/L5. With its intelligent recognition algorithms, the E300 can capture high-resolution images consistently even in complex environments.
The AR3 unmanned aerial system (UAS) now has a “hot-swappable” vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) capability, able to switch from horizontal launch to vertical. It also now has integrated synthetic aperture radar (SAR). The AR3 is a shipborne UAS that supports multiple types of maritime and land-based missions up to 16 hours. With the upgrade, the AR3 becomes more operationally flexible. The newly added SAR provides the AR3 with a vastly greater operational range, and the ability to effectively detect, recognize and identify targets under any weather condition. Covering more than 20,000 square nautical miles per mission, the new AR3 is suitable for wide-area surveillance missions.
The P300 is a high-precision, in-cab Android tablet designed for precision agriculture, autonomous driving and machine control. Embedded with the K8 OEM module, the P300 tracks GPS, BeiDou, BeiDou-3, GLONASS, Galileo and QZSS signals to achieve centimeter-level accuracy. It provides enhanced heading and positioning performance for everyday field use. The P300 series is available as the P300 Plus (10.1-inch) and P300 Mini (8-inch).
Intergraph G/Technology, an advanced utility geographic information system (GIS), enables utility companies to plan, design and document networks. It acts as a definitive source of reliable, location-based information that can be shared with users and systems across an organization. Available on the Oracle Cloud Marketplace, G/Technology provides utility operators with a scalable, secure and highly available GIS solution with reduced start-up costs and needed infrastructure. Running G/Technology on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure eases initial system deployment, enhances performance and automates scalability, availability and cybersecurity protection, ensuring the system is always up to date with the latest features and enhancements.
The Mosaic X mobile mapping camera captures extremely accurate photos and 360° videos, while simultaneously creating photorealistic 3D photogrammetry models, without the use of lidar. It can achieve 1-cm accuracy on road surfaces. The built-in CPU and GPU allow users to operate the camera and capture data without the need for a computer within the vehicle. Meticulous mechanical engineering and design ensure reliable and dependable use in harsh conditions such as moisture, mechanical shock and extreme temperatures. It can create high-quality 3D models, 3D reconstructions, and dense point clouds without the use of lidar. It comes with an AUX port to connect with external GNSS devices or lidar.
This month, we have developments across the globe, with drones inspecting power distribution systems and nuclear waste disposal in the United Kingdom, counter UAS (C-UAS ) systems deployed in Greece, and news of cutbacks in the UAV industry affecting two major suppliers.
UK Turns to Drone Power
The UK has reduced coal power generation significantly since 2013 by increasing use of natural gas, nuclear power and renewable sources. Power is distributed throughout the UK by the National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) via 4,000 miles of overhead high-voltage lines carried on 21,900 steel pylons. With another 330 substations to also look after, the infrastructure for power distribution in UK always has required a huge maintenance effort. This picture is likely reflected in the power distribution networks of most countries around the world.
Helicopters have carried a large portion of the workload to enable inspection of cables and insulators, with additional necessary manual inspections taking significant effort to gain access and analyze data. Helicopter time is expensive, and manual inspection processes and data analysis are tedious and time consuming.
Drones are being used for power-line inspection — flown manually by onsite operators — by many organizations in several countries around the world, including by FPL in Florida. But the real reduction in time and effort comes from automating the whole process, and gathering data that provides the detail necessary to assure defects are detected and operational integrity is maintained. The automation of data analysis and generation of useful reports is another area which could yield major savings, and bring rapid focus to areas needing immediate corrective action.
A pylon inspection automation. (Photo: NGET)
Hence, a 12-month trial is being undertaken involving ultimate approval by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) multiple drone operations. Artificial intelligent (AI) analysis tools are being developed to determine critical changes in collected visual, lidar and positioning inspection data that might herald deterioration in pylon or other infrastructure components.
During an initial test in Nottingham, an autonomous drone was dispatched with minimal instructions. It was able to find its inspection target and complete the programmed inspection in a few minutes. A manual inspection could take up to an hour for the same task. If things go well, it is not impossible to be able to project multiple drones operating with minimal human control, taking on huge swaths of pylons, cabling, insulators and other elements during regular inspections, saving a lot of time and money.
The trials so far have also included remote inspection of the Sellafield nuclear waste decommissioning site, rail infrastructure and a telecommunications network along with investigations towards transport of medical supplies.
Sellafield is where spent fuel ends up from the UK’s 31 nuclear power plants. Also, nuclear waste from reactors in neighboring European countries is reprocessed here. Nuclear waste is processed into 50-ton concrete blocks and spent fuel is “vitrified” into huge chunks of glass, which are encased in an outside metal jacket. Both processes minimize any emitted radiation and allow the contents to safely cool over long term. The staff uses robots inside the facility to remotely dismantle contaminated areas and load material into 55-gallon drums, which might be further processed by robot crushing machines. No one has any real idea how all this nuclear waste could be permanently disposed of, but it’s possible most will ultimately be buried in the ground.
This type of power might seem a “green” boon for humanity, but in a somewhat countrified area on the West Coast of England and in other similar sites around the world, nuclear waste disposal is costly and very, very long-term. The half-life of uranium is between 159,200 years and 4.5 billion years. Monitoring the waste could be a long-term task for drones, such as those now used to detect radiation inside the Fukushima nuclear plant. Certainly, there’s plenty of time to evolve improved drone detection capability for radiation monitoring.
Greece Employs Counter-UAS against Turkish Incursions
On a defense-related note, apparently the long-running rivalry between Turkey and Greece is, unfortunately, continuing. It seems that Turkey has been repeatedly flying its Baykar-TB2 surveillance drone over Greek islands, perhaps to monitor the movements of Greek warships or island defense installations. And Greece is a little bit more than peeved.
Having established a defense-related relationship with Israel in 2021, Greece has brought Israeli drone defense systems to the Greek islands, installing a “veritable umbrella against enemy unmanned aerial vehicles.” The Israeli system has a number of moving parts: detect and identify; generate related alerts; a directional jamming system that can disable drones in flight (presumably by jamming GPS or the control link); and a laser that can lock onto a small target and, if manually fired, can apparently destroy an intruder drone.
DroneDome elements (Photo: Rafael Advanced Defense Systems)
Because of the directional, narrow beamwidth of the jammer, Rafael claims that the system can be activated within crowded civilian airspace without affecting the navigation of other users. Good news for Greece and their popular, attractive Greek island tourist destinations.
UAV Defense Contractors Struggle — with Each Other
Meanwhile, current economic uncertainty is apparently impacting at least a couple of UAV defense contractors: Boeing/Insitu and Orbital UAV. The two made news when Orbital, as an Australian public company (ASX symbol OEC), had to halt trading. The company was then able to reinstate trading largely because of news of cancellation of a development/production agreement with Insitu.
Apparently, Orbital has previously been delivering two-engine versions to Insitu and was contracted to develop and deliver a third derivative engine. However, Insitu had to scale back Orbital’s work in February, given its sales of the popular ScanEagle and other UAVs may have fallen off in recent months.
Orbital UAV Propulsion System (Photo: Orbital)
This has affected Orbital’s revenue forecast for the year. The company now expects to lose AUD $7 million for the year. It has subsequently prepared a claim under the supply agreement for Insitu’s Termination for Convenience of AUD $1.8 million in costs incurred in the development of the third engine program, which Insitu/Boeing disputes. There will obviously be some wrangling, but hopefully both parties will settle things amicably so as not to damage their ongoing relationship for supply of the existing two engine types.
ScanEagle UAV (Photo: U.S. Navy)
To sum up, for this month we have a trial in the UK which will hopefully lead to significant savings in effort and costs for ongoing power infrastructure inspections, along with some background on UK nuclear waste disposal. Greece is bristling and defending against unwanted Turkish drone overflight using Israeli C-UAS systems. Finally, there’s somewhat negative news for the Orbital UAV engine and Insitu ScanEagle relationship — apparently, not everything in the UAV garden is roses.
