Topcon Positioning Group has launched two new full constellation GNSS receivers for the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) market. The new B111 and B125 boards are designed for use with a broad range of positioning applications.
The boards utilize the GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou and Galileo constellations with the B111 tracking signals in the L1 and L2 frequency band, while the B125 adds signals in the L5 band. Both boards are designed to provide scalable positioning from sub-meter DGPS positioning to sub-centimeter RTK positioning.
“The new boards both include 226-channel Vanguard Technology with Universal Tracking Channels, for reliable ‘all-in-view’ and ‘future-proof’ tracking,” said Jason Hallett, vice president of Topcon global product management. “The addition of BeiDou and Galileo constellation tracking along with GPS, GLONASS, SBAS and QZSS functionality ensures the boards provide the best performance available.
“The dual-frequency B111 board has very low-power consumption and flexible communication interfaces, making it easy for OEMs to integrate the compact board into any precise positioning application, reducing their time to market,” Hallett said. “The B111 is also form, fit and function compatible with its predecessor, the B110, allowing a plug-and-play upgrade option to track BeiDou and Galileo.”
The board also includes an SD-card interface designed to provide quick and easy support for datalogging in addition to Quartz Lock Loop technology for superior GNSS tracking in high-vibration environments.
“The B125 board offers Ethernet connectivity for options for advanced OEM integration,” Hallett said.
LORAD++ CORE, an alternative PNT source to combat GNSS denial: 60 x 30 x 8 millimeters
A new series of integrated eLoran/Chayka/GNSS receivers emphasize low-power requirements and small size for alternative positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) to reduce risks of GNSS denial.
Loradd++, from Netherlands-based firm Reelektronika, consists of a receiver board of 60 x 30 x 8 millimeters, consuming less than 500 milliwatts (3.3 volts) in continuous operation. The Loradd++ can be used with either E-field or H-field antennas, features dual serial interface for integrated systems, and is connectable to certain miniature GNSS receiver modules.
eLoran and Chayka are recognized as alternative PNT systems, but current receivers on the market are large in comparison to miniature GNSS devices. Chayka is a Russian terrestrial radio navigation system, similar to Loran-C. It operates on similar frequencies around 100 kHz, and uses the same techniques of comparing both the envelope and the signal phase to accurately determine location.
The first of a new series of receivers is Reelelektronika’s Loradd++/E, which is an integration of the Loradd++ with an E-field antenna housed in a small single radome that can be connected via a data cable (up to 150 meters) and a dongle to a USB port on a PC. The radome contains a u-blox M8T GNSS receiver with antenna and measures 135 millimeters in height and 85 millimeters in diameter. The Loradd++/E needs less than 700 milliwatts at 4-16 volts.
Reelektronika manufactures eLoran equipment for users, service providers and surveyors. The company developed the eDLoran system. eDLoran works with existing Loran transmitter stations and yields differential Loran position and navigation accuracies comparable to GPS; see the cover story of the July 2014 issue of GPS World. The system can thus be considered as a robust backup for GPS.
Teledyne Optech has released its Polaris terrestrial laser scanner, which automatically detects its location with a built-in GNSS receiver and selects the planned survey parameters for the site. Alternatively, operators can set up surveys in the field and resection/backsight the system using the menu-driven graphical user interface (GUI) on its touchscreen.
The announcement was made at the SPAR 3D Conference and Expo, being held April 3-5, in Houston, Texas. Visitors to SPAR 3D will be able to see the Polaris’ streamlined user interface in action at booth #400 along with the Optech Maverick, Eclipse and award-winning Galaxy.
Bridging the gap between indoor and outdoor scanners, the Polaris can survey targets up to 1600 meters away in long-range mode or collect up to 500,000 measurements per second in short-range mode. Its 360 × 120-degree field of view captures indoor panoramas from a single site, while its rugged design, light weight and swappable batteries let it travel deep into the field, the company said.
Also on display at SPAR is the Galaxy airborne lidar, which was awarded the MAPPS Grand Award for Innovation, and Teledyne Optech staff will be on hand to explain the SwathTRAK technology that earned it the prize. By dynamically adjusting the Galaxy’s scanner field of view in response to changes in the ground’s elevation, SwathTRAK keeps the swath width and point density on the ground consistent, even in hilly terrain. This technology saves clients time and money by reducing the number of flightlines required and ensuring homogeneous point density.
Finally, visitors to the Teledyne Optech booth can also get hands-on time with the Maverick, Teledyne Optech’s first backpack-mountable mobile mapping system, and see the autonomous Eclipse airborne data-collection system and learn how a pilot can operate it alone, saving the cost of a dedicated operator.
Sokkia has introduced the latest addition to its GCX line of GNSS integrated receivers, the GCX3, which features advanced constellation tracking, open format software compatibility and longer range base-to-rover communication.
“The GCX3 features the new second generation POST2 (precision orbital satellite technology) integrated antenna — adding BeiDou, Galileo, SBAS, QZSS, and GAGAN satellite tracking in addition to GPS and GLONASS to ensure the best positioning availability,” said Charles Rihner, vice president of the Topcon GeoPositioning Solutions Group. “Building on the success of its predecessor, the GCX2, the GCX3 offers all of the lightweight, compact and ergonomic benefits — along with centimeter-accurate positioning — now with expanded satellite tracking capabilities.”
Photo: Sokkia
The GCX3 is designed as an open-source technology receiver. “You are not locked into a specific software program for downloading and processing data with Sokkia open source technology,” said Rihner. “Whether operators use MAGNET Field, GeoPro Field, or their own custom solutions, a variety of software options are available depending on their preferences for the application.”
The receiver features radio-free RTK (real-time kinematic) operation via multi-channel, long-range Bluetooth technology. When used as a base station, one GCX3 may support up to three concurrent rovers at a range of more than 300 meters. Each receiver may be used as a base or as a rover.
“It also functions as an ideal precision network rover when combined with a cellular-enabled field controller,” Rihner said.
A new industry report provides a study of the global GNSS receiver market, forecasting growth and other factors for the period 2017-20.
The GPS & GNSS Receivers Market 2017 Research Report by Markets.biz provides a “thorough and complete study on receiver industry volume, market share, trends, growth, applications, utilization ratio, supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity and price.
The report concentrates on a complete analysis of present and past historical details of the market as well as the competitive landscape.
Vendors mentioned include:
Trimble
Topcon
Navipedia
Sokkia
Geo
NavtechGPS
JAVAD GNSS
CHC Navigation
SOUTH
ComNav Technology
Hemisphere GNSS
NovAtel
NavCom Technology
Leica Geosystems
Eos Positioning Systems
NVS Technologies
Suzhou FOIF
Pulse Engineering
CSR
Broadcom
Garmin
The report organizes the receiver market across the globe into divisions based on industry standards and on geographical regions. The report throws light on dominant players in each region: United States, European Union, China, Japan). Other regions can be added accordingly.
Discrete aspects of the receiver industry such as value-chain analysis, rules and policies, factors driving the growth of the market, and the constraints hampering the growth are explained.
The report mentions products currently available in the market along with their cost structures, manufacturing volume, requirement and supply analysis, import/export scenario and their overall global contribution to market revenue globally.
Further, the report analyzes the feasibility of investment and investment return analysis, and shows a complete picture of market development scope and business strategies followed by leading industry players along with their company profiles, market shares and contact information.
Spectrum of the Adaptive Notch Filter output signal for various interference levels Photo: Adaptive Notch Filter
Limits of narrowband interference mitigation using adaptive notch filters
By J. Wendel, Frank M. Schubert, Airbus DS GmbH, and A. Rügamer and S. Taschke, Fraunhofer IIS. Presented at ION GNSS+, September 2016.
The robustness of a GNSS receiver against interferences can be increased significantly by using an adaptive notch filter, which estimates the instantaneous frequency of the interfering signal and suppresses it. In this paper, the foundations of adaptive notch filtering are described. Then, experiments are performed with an arbitrary waveform generator for jamming signal generation combined with a space segment simulator for GNSS signal generation. The resulting signals are recorded and post-processed in a software GNSS receiver, which implements an adaptive notch filter for interference mitigation. This setup is used to demonstrate mechanisms that limit the interference mitigation capabilities of adaptive notch filters.
Spoofing, jamming and multipath interference classification using a maximum-likelihood multi-tap multipath estimator
By Jason N. Gross, West Virginia University and Todd E. Humphreys, University of Texas at Austin. Presented at ION ITM, January 2017.
This paper experimentally evaluates the application of existing multipath mitigation technology in conjunction with in-band power monitoring for the purpose of GNSS interference classification. Interference detection and classification metrics derived from the output of a multiple-correlation tap, maximum-likelihood multipath estimator are jointly used for the alarming the presence of GNSS spoofing, jamming or multipath. This approach is evaluated against a dozen sets of deep urban multipath recordings, several recordings of wideband jammers at several different power levels, and clean static data recordings. Two detection approaches are proposed, and one is shown to be better at discriminating between spoofing and jamming attacks.
GeoMax has updated the firmware on its Zenith35 Pro GNSS receiver, which was introduced in November 2016.
The update is for NovAtel’s OEM7 Measurement Engine built into the receivers. Update OM7MR0102SN0005 addresses a real-time kinematic (RTK)-network connection issue preventing reception of corrections when connecting to selected NTRIP networks in some countries.
Note that the receiver’s onboard firmware version remains unchanged at 2.01.
The compact and fully ruggedized Zenith35 Pro has 555 channels. Its multi-constellation and multi-frequency capability supports all satellite systems today and in the future.
The Zenith35 Pro incorporates “Tilt&Go” functionality that allows users to measure inaccessible points. This significantly increases efficiency in the field, since leveling time is eliminated. Tilt and compass values for each measurement are stored for quality control and documentation purposes.
The unit is IP68-rated for water and dust, and is shock protected.
The untethered 3D dead-reckoning GNSS module NEO-M8U by u-blox is at the core of Navilock’s new GNSS receiver series for service vehicles. The new portfolio will enable retrofitting of dead-reckoning and untethered dead-reckoning (UDR) technology in any vehicle.
Photo: Navilock
Combining multi-GNSS (GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo) with an onboard 3D gyro/accelerometer, the untethered dead-reckoning technology improves position accuracy even where GNSS signals are weak or unavailable, such as in urban canyons, tunnels or parking garages. Receivers with a serial MD6 interface can work in an extended voltage range from 5-48 Volt DC.
Applications for Navilock’s new GNSS receiver series include service vehicles from the police, fire departments, emergency physicians, disaster rescue teams and technical aid organizations that require accurate positioning at all times. Operational forces and their control centers must be constantly aware of their location to enable successful completion of any assignment. As a result, physical dangers and even life threats are clearly minimized.
“We have been collaborating for years with u-blox and highly respect the quality and reliability of its products,” says Karsten Reschke, Navilock product manager. “Particularly critical for our product range is the UDR technology that enables reliable and accurate location capability even without satellite navigation signals.”
“We are pleased to be associated with the Navilock brand and the quality and design reliability it represents,” says Andrew Miles, u-blox product manager. “The ease of use and robust packaging of these products perfectly enable the value of UDR in its target applications.”
Launched in 2016, the u-blox NEO-M8U enables reliable positioning even in case of GNSS signal interruptions, jamming, reflected or weak signals, and is independent of any connection to the car, other than power.
The eight new Navilock GNSS receivers will be available in Q1 2017.
Topcon Positioning Group has released a new modular GNSS receiver system, the MR-2. The system combines all current and planned constellation tracking with a comprehensive set of communication interfaces to service any precision application requiring high-performance real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning and heading determination.
Topcon MR-2 GNSS receiver. Photo: Topcon
The MR-2 can perform as a mobile RTK base station, marine navigation receiver, mobile mapping device and as a GNSS receiver for agricultural, industrial, military or construction applications.
“The MR-2 delivers navigation support for a wide-range of applications,” says Jason Hallett, vice president of Topcon global product management. “It is an ideal component for OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) needing a custom, high-accuracy modular design for easy integration.”
“The MR-2 is also designed as a ‘future-proof’ system,” Hallett says, “meaning it tracks all current and planned constellations, making it a smart investment in the expanding GNSS environment.”
The unit housing is water and dust-proof and built to withstand harsh environments with superior vibration and shock tolerances, he adds.
Using Topcon HD2 heading determination technology, the MR-2’s dual antennas compute high-performance heading and inclination determination alongside the RTK positioning engine for precise navigation and guidance applications.
“The MR-2 also provides a variety of communication interfaces such as Ethernet, serial, and CAN, allowing for easy integration into any application,” Hallett says.
The system also offers best-in-class multipath rejection, and using Topcon Quartz Lock Loop technology can operate without disturbances in high-vibration environments.
Two new topic areas and presentations have been added to this Thursday’s free webinar on Signal Interference: Detection and Mitigation.
The speakers will explore anti-jamming protection with controlled radiation pattern antennas (CRPAs) and with dual-polarized antennas. The latter topic is also the cover story for the February issue, which demonstrated a significant improvement in positioning accuracy and robustness against interference with a dual-polarization approach: a gain in terms of C/N0, particularly for low-elevation angle satellites and valuable in urban environments.
Headshot: Kirk Burnell
Kirk Burnell from NovAtel joins the Feb. 2 panel to present “How to deliver assured positioning, navigation and timing in GNSS-compromised environments.”
He will look at applications that stress the importance of high-reliability PNT. Compromised GNSS signals due to unintentional interference is of great concern, but intentional interference due to jamming is much more insidious. Anti-jamming protection via controlled reception pattern antenna (CRPA) technology is now available to a wide range of users. A brief explanation of the technology will be followed by a few use-cases where CRPAs have been deployed in a variety of applications.
Burnell, Core Cards Product Manager for NovAtel, has worked at the company since 2015. With an education in survey engineering, Kirk has been working with precision GNSS system designers and integrators in both support and product management capacities for more than 20 years.
Headshot: Matteo Sgammini
Matteo Sgammini of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) will talk about work with dual-polarized antennas: the principles of operation of such an antenna array and how one performed in real-world jamming and non-jamming scenarios. This ION GNSS+ 2016 presentation became the cover story for GPS World’s February issue.
Innovation editor Richard Langley writes in his introduction to the February column, “All GNSS satellites transmit RHCP [right-hand circularly polarized] signals and therefore most GNSS receiving antennas are designed for such signals. However, a funny thing can happen to a satellite signal on the way to a receiving antenna. If the signal bounces off a nearby structure or the ground or the sea surface, its polarization is modified and it will become LHCP [left-hand circularly polarized] or a combination of the two polarizations.
“A primarily LHCP antenna can capture a significant portion of the energy in such a RHCP signal and could provide a strong response to a reflected signal when the line-of-sight signal is missing or very weak. So, there could be a benefit in having a dual-polarized antenna to improve positioning capability in marginal situations. Furthermore, jamming signals can be of arbitrary polarization and a dual-polarized antenna array with beamforming capability could better separate and mitigate such interference.”
February cover story. Photo: GNSS
Researchers at the DLR equipped a GNSS receiver with a diversely polarized antenna array to combine signal processing in the spatial and in the polarization domain. Tests show a significant improvement in receiver robustness against interference compared with the general single-polarization case.
The carrier-to-noise-density ratios of the line-of-sight components are improved since the receiver can use the power present on the left-hand circularly polarized channels, particularly for satellites with low elevation. Interference mitigation improves due to the possibility of filtering in the polarization domain and the additional number of available degrees of freedom.
Sgammini received a Masters degree in electrical engineering from the University of Perugia, Italy and now works at the Institute of Communications and Navigation, DLR. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in electrical engineering with research interests in interference mitigation techniques for GNSS. His research activity includes adaptive filtering, array signal processing and estimation theory for GNSS.
As the number of GNSS signals being tracked increases, so does the potential for interference to dismiss the performance gains of using those additional signals.
To maximize performance and efficiency, prepared PNT users need their equipment to be able to detect when interference is present and mitigate it.
Developers, integrators and users need mitigation tools to protect and preserve GNSS measurement quality, maintaining high-quality multi-frequency multi-constellation positioning performance, even in challenging RF environments. This is essential particularly on the integration journey, especially during prototyping and when encountering unforeseen interference events in field testing, in order to produce fully successful integrated products.
The one-hour webinar also will include a follow-up Q&A session with the speakers. Burnell and Sgammini join Patrick Casiano of NovAtel and Rick Hamilton of CGSIC on the speaker panel. Casiano will present an Interference Toolkit that measures RF spectrum levels and allows the user to apply mitigation tools to protect and preserve GNSS measurement quality. Hamilton will explain the proliferation of jammers, aspects of illegal use, coordinated government response to interference events, and regulations to prohibit manufacture, import, export, sale and use of jammers.
The u-blox ZOE-M8Q is designed for wearables, UAVs and asset trackers. Photo: U-blox
U-blox has launched a new positioning module, the ZOE-M8G. The ZOE-M8G is an ultra-compact GNSS receiver module designed for markets where small size, minimal weight and high location precision are essential.
ZOE-M8G offers exceptionally high location accuracy by concurrently connecting to GPS, Galileo and either GLONASS or BeiDou. It also provides -167 dBm navigation sensitivity, important for wearable devices, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and asset tracker applications.
The new u-blox ZOE-M8G helps simplify product designs, because it is a fully integrated, complete GNSS solution with built-in SAW-filter and Low Noise Amplifier (LNA). It can be used with passive antennas without the need for additional components, and doesn’t compromise performance.
The ZOE-M8G GNSS module measures 4.5 x 4.5 x 1.0 millimeters. Due to its small size, a complete GNSS design using a ZOE-M8G module takes approximately 30 percent less printed circuit board (PCB) area compared to a conventional discrete chip design with a CSP chip GNSS receiver.
“When you’re designing products such as smart watches, fitness trackers, asset trackers, UBI dongles and even drones, every square millimeter and every gram counts. The u-blox ZOE-M8G makes it significantly easier for product designers to achieve precise location tracking while keeping within their strict form factor and weight restrictions,” said Uffe Pless, product marketing, Positioning Product Center at u-blox.
Samples of the u-blox ZOE-M8G will be available in February 2017, and volume production will start in October 2017.
Professional GNSS users now expect lightweight, easy-to-use receivers optimized for their particular workflows. Meanwhile, a streamlined manufacturing process means design and production of sophisticated instruments now takes months rather than years, and relies on global teams of networked specialists.
Carlson Software approached Hemisphere GNSS in early 2015 with the goal of bringing a new GNSS receiver to market, one optimized for land surveyors with high precision, convenience, and small form factor. “We work closely with land surveyors, and we definitely saw a need,” said Carlson’s director of special projects Karl Nicholas. “Our clients were asking for smaller, lighter receivers. We also felt that a new receiver could be better optimized to work with the multiple satellite constellations now available, and with the array of RTK solutions that surveyors use routinely.”
Hemisphere recognized that a new lightweight receiver would also serve its own marine clients well, especially if it was optimized to work with the company’s Atlas GNSS Global Correction Service as both rover and base station.
The S321 by Hemisphere GNSS. Photo: Hemisphere
Carlson focuses on computer-assisted design (CAD) software, field data collection, and machine control products for land surveying, civil engineering, construction, and mining. Through the partnership, Hemisphere gained access to a deep knowledge base of how surveyors work with GNSS in real-world conditions, and how to optimize a new receiver for fieldwork of all kinds.
This aided decisions about interface, form factor, and features. Project dialog between the two companies identified specifications for particular functions and features, as prototypes became available for testing and feedback.
Specifications included:
Compact and Durable. A form factor for a smaller receiver had already been developed. “Our hardware design and manufacturing division in China presented a hardware design that we really liked, so we didn’t have to redesign from scratch in that area,” explained Hemisphere senior product manager Lyle Geck. “We were able to move ahead with only minor modifications.”
Carlson tested rigorously before signing off on the hardware design. “I put mine on top of a two-meter pole and dropped it onto concrete and dirt, and I also tried it out in wet weather — worked fine!” recalled Nicholas.
Multiple Constellations. “We now have a receiver that works seamlessly right now with GPS, GLONASS, and the Chinese BeiDou system,” added Nicholas. “And when Europe’s Galileo system becomes available, we’ll be ready for it too.”
RTK, Correction Sources. Hemisphere’s Athena RTK engine, is designed to process the new signals with high-accuracy performance. In addition to traditional RTK correction methods using NTRIP and UHF/900 MHz radios, Hemisphere also provides Atlas, its own L-band correction service: subscription-based, flexible, available over the Earth’s landmass, from approximately 200 reference stations, providing up to sub-decimeter accuracies via L-band satellites or over the Internet.
The new receiver was also designed with a built-in UHF radio, and multiple wireless communication ports to enable corrections via radio, cellular modem, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or serial connections.
Base Station Capacity. The receiver can serve as both rover and base station. “For our marine clients, this receiver is actually more likely to be used as a base station,” said Geck, typically set up in a port for construction or other maritime operations. Not a closed system, it works with Atlas, other protocols like TrimTalk, and with external radios that can be connected as needed.
Productivity. For surveyors, Carlson specified a compass and a tilt sensor so the receiver knows if the pole is vertical, how it’s oriented horizontally, and how to correct for those factors. It works for stakeouts and recovering points; the unit directs the user to the next point graphically, saving time.
For surveyors in obstructed areas, position reliability will often degrade. “Surveyors are aware of this, but it’s hard to compensate when they don’t have information about just what’s happening with accuracy.” SureFix uses proprietary algorithms and various inputs to give a quality indicator for particular points, for confidence when shooting in difficult multipath conditions, or telling a surveyor to slow down to get the required precision. This improves fieldwork and can eliminate trips back to the field to correct errors.
Carlson Software leveraged its 30+ years in land surveying, while Hemisphere GNSS added manufacturing experience and GNSS and RTK expertise. The result is a compact receiver, BRx6 from the former and S321 from the latter, tuned for the requirements and workflows of customers’ daily projects.
The boards utilize the GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou and Galileo constellations with the B111 tracking signals in the L1 and L2 frequency band, while the B125 adds signals in the L5 band. Both boards are designed to provide scalable positioning from sub-meter DGPS positioning to sub-centimeter RTK positioning.
