SBG Systems has released the Apogee-M and the Apogee-U, two inertial sensors, to complete the Apogee product line.
The Apogee-M is a motion reference unit (MRU), and the Apogee-U is an inertial navigation system (INS). Both are made of titanium with a depth rating of 200 meters.
Apogee Series is an accurate INS based on robust micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology. One year after the successful release of Apogee surface sensors (IP68 enclosure), SBG Systems completes the product line with the two inertial sensors, which have titanium subsea enclosures (200-meter depth rating).
Accuracy. Apogee integrates the latest generation of MEMS sensors to reach a high degree of precision — 0.008 degrees in roll and pitch in real-time — while delivering a robust and accurate heading from the continuous fusion of GNSS and IMU data. Made of titanium, Apogee-M and Apogee-U are designed to mount close to the sonar head for hydrographic tasks from shallow to deep water.
Heave computation. The Apogee provides a real-time heave accurate to 5 centimeters, which automatically detects the wave frequency and constantly adjusts to it. When wave frequency is erratic or in case of long period swell, the delayed heave feature can save the day by allowing survey in rough conditions. This algorithm allows a more extensive calculation, resulting in a heave accurate to 2 cm displayed in real-time with a short delay.
Connects to survey-grade GNSS receivers. Apogee sensors can be paired with any type of survey-grade GNSS receiver or with the one offered by SBG Systems. The SplitBox GNSS integrates the latest tri-frequency GNSS receiver to offer several positioning features such as RTK, Marinestar, OmniSTAR, Veripos and TerraStar corrections.
Configuration is acomplished throughout the intuitive, embedded web interface where all parameters can be quickly displayed and adjusted. The new 3D View helps the user check the mechanical installation, especially sensor and antennas position, alignments and lever arms. The user can then connect the Apogee to the main hydrographic software such as Hypack, QINSy or Teledyne PDS2000, thanks to available drivers.
The MEMS technology is renowned for being highly robust and low-maintenance, while the subsea enclosure is made in titanium. SBG SYSTEMS continuously make its systems evolve with new firmware upgrades that are available during the whole life of the product without extra cost.
KVH is a fiber optic gyro (FOG) manufacturer that controls every aspect of its fiber-optic technology — from drawing its own specialized polarization-maintaining fiber to building precision FOGs and FOG-based inertial systems.
KVH will be showcasing its FOG-based inertial measurement units (IMUs) at this year’s ION GNSS+ conference, taking place Sept. 14-18 in Tampa, Fla.
Many of today’s demanding applications require high-performance inertial sensors that provide consistent and reliable accuracy — and strike the right balance between performance, size/weight, power consumption, and price, KVH explained. The company offers three IMUs:
1775 IMU – Premium performance for critical applications
KVH will be at booth 516 in the ION GNSS+ Exhibit Hall.
Below is a video tour of KVH’s high-performance fiber-optic gyro manufacturing facility, which shows how precision, quality and accuracy are built into each KVH sensor.
Golf fans who watched televised coverage of the U.S. Open golf tournament June 18-21 got a new outlook on what the professional golfer is facing, thanks to a camera and augmented-reality tracking system that includes a 1750 inertial measurement unit (IMU) from KVH Industries.
Called RangeFinder, the system was developed by Sportvision, Inc., creators of football’s Virtual Yellow 1st and Ten Line, in conjunction with FOX Sports, and it debuted during the broadcast of the 115th U.S. Open from Chambers Bay, in University Place, Wash.
The KVH 1750 IMU,
At the heart of Sportvision’s RangeFinder system is a broadcast-quality camera with a KVH 1750 IMU mounted in a box at the top of the camera; the IMU works in conjunction with a GPS mounted at the base of the camera. By combining data from the IMU and the GPS, the RangeFinder system enables the measurement of the precise location and attitude of the camera; with that information, Sportvision technicians create augmented-reality graphics that indicate how far away a green, sand trap, obstacle or any other feature is located.
“We selected KVH’s 1750 IMU due to its performance attributes, its size and weight, as well as its cost-effectiveness,” said Mike Jakob, Sportvision president and chief financial officer. “We know this IMU well for what it brings to some of our other products, and we appreciate the reliability and high quality.”
KVH’s 1750 IMU incorporates three axes of KVH’s DSP-1750, a tiny fiber optic gyro, with three axes of accelerometer technology to create an advanced six-degrees-of-freedom sensor. Designed to integrate easily into demanding stabilization, pointing and navigation applications, the 1750 IMU enhances performance at a lower cost than competing systems, KVH said.
“Our IMUs and other inertial sensors have been used in several of Sportvision’s innovative products, including the LiveLine system for America’s Cup yacht racing coverage, and we are thrilled to play a role in this new system for golf coverage,” said Martin Kits van Heyningen, KVH chief executive officer.
The RangeFinder system is designed to enhance the television viewer’s enjoyment of golf competitions by providing more insight into the setting. “The camera is mounted on a mobile tower that can go vertical 20 feet in the air, and that gives the viewer a really unique perspective of the course,” said Ken Milnes, project manager for Sportvision. “With the camera fully instrumented, we can put augmented-reality graphics on the TV screen. We virtually insert a rectangular placard that the TV viewer sees, with a pointer arrow and the yardage to the hole or obstacle.”
During the U.S. Open, the RangeFinder mobile camera towered were positioned on the fairway for a golfer’s second or third shot on a particular hole; the intent was to provide graphics on the approach shots to the green, rather than on a drive from the tee. Sportvision and FOX Sports worked together for more than a year to develop the new system.
“For the TV viewer, RangeFinder gives them an angle behind the golfer that they have never seen before,” said Zac Fields, vice president for graphics and technology at FOX Sports Media Group. “One of the advantages of any sports telecast is being able to utilize technologies so the viewer can see things that the athlete cannot. RangeFinder is a great example of being able to provide that kind of insight. We tested this technology at a smaller tournament last month and the initial feedback was extremely positive.”
KVH’s 1750 IMU marries the E•Core ThinFiber technology of KVH’s DSP-1750 FOG with very low noise, solid-state MEMS accelerometers to create a commercial-off-the-shelf IMU. The 1750 IMU offers exceptional precision in a very small form factor, designed for applications where space is limited such as unmanned and autonomous systems.
The 1750 IMU is one of a series of three IMUs that KVH has developed to address a wide range of demanding applications, including autonomous vehicles; unmanned aerial surveillance, surveying, and mapping; autonomous research and exploration; humanoid robots; and oil and gas pipeline inspection equipment.
Trimble has introduced the Trimble BD935-INS module that features precision GNSS with an integrated 3-D Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) inertial sensor package. As part of Trimble’s GNSS OEM portfolio, the new compact module augments real-time precise positioning with 3-D orientation.
The BD935-INS module’s simple connectivity and configuration capabilities allow system integrators and OEMs to easily add GNSS and attitude to specialized or custom hardware solutions, Trimble said in a news release.
“The OEM and system integrator communities demand high performance, reliability and support for their positioning solutions,” said Dale Hermann, general manager of Trimble’s Integrated Technologies Division. “The Trimble BD935-INS delivers the latest GNSS and inertial technology in an easy-to-integrate form factor for demanding conditions and applications such as lightweight robotic or unmanned vehicles. With the BD935-INS module, customers are purchasing a robust navigation solution, extending performance beyond that of a GNSS receiver only.”
Taking advantage of Trimble’s expertise in both GNSS and inertial technologies, the Trimble BD935-INS module has been designed for applications requiring both RTK and orientation in a compact package. By integrating inertial sensors onto the GNSS module, users can experience more robust performance in a variety of challenging environments, Trimble said.
The BD935-INS features triple frequency for both GPS and GLONASS constellations, as well as dual frequency for BeiDou and Galileo. The module delivers fast and reliable RTK initialization for 1–2 centimeter positioning. For applications that do not require centimeter accuracy, the BD935-INS integrated GNSS-inertial engine delivers high-accuracy GNSS and DGNSS positions in challenging environments such as urban canyons, tunnels, heavy canopy or other GNSS-denied environments, the company said.
Trimble also announced the new BX935-INS, which is an environmentally rugged enclosure for OEM or system-level integration. The BX935-INS houses the Trimble BD935-INS module for easy installation and immediate access to high-rate position and attitude data for a variety of applications.
The Trimble BD935-INS and BX935-INS is expected to be available in the third quarter of 2015 through Trimble’s Integrated Technologies Precision GNSS sales channel.
Jim Lau of Racelogic details the company’s GNSS Simulator and VBOX Speed Sensor IMU while at Unmanned Systems 2015, held May 4-7 in Atlanta. VOBX is a 100Hz dual antenna GPS/GLONASS speed sensor (VBSSISL) that combines signals from an integrated inertial measurement unit (IMU) with those from GPS to provide smoother output data even when satellite reception is interrupted.
In the latest update of its Motion Tracker product portfolio, Xsens has added active heading stabilization (AHS) to its core sensor fusion algorithms on the MTi 10-series and MTi 100-series. Both series are MEMS-based inertial measurement units (IMU), attitude and heading reference systems (AHRS), and vertical reference units (VRUs).
The AHS algorithm delivers fundamentally improved heading tracking accuracy, Xsens said. The improved robustness in heading tracking is particularly evident in Xsens’ line of vertical reference units (MTi-20 and MTi-200). These products now provide actively stabilized heading tracking, delivering 20x less drift than pure gyroscope dead reckoning for most application scenarios. This means heading tracking drift as low as 1 degree after one hour for many applications, while remaining fully immune to magnetic distortions.
Xsens said this characteristic makes the MTi line of products a highly accurate, but cost-effective solution for robotic/indoor navigation, camera stabilization, satellite communication, directional drilling, borehole/pipeline inspection and pedestrian navigation applications, Xsens said.
“Customers are already choosing our MTis because of their accurate heading tracking capabilities, but this algorithm will bring the accuracy to a whole new level, enabling more applications and creating new markets. The 12 cm2 MTi comes with an easy-to-use library, so that integrating the solution is straight-forward,” said Marcel van Hak, Product Manager of Industrial Applications for Xsens.
AHS is available immediately as a free firmware upgrade to all MTi customers as part of the just-released MT Software Suite 4.3.
The following video shows a demonstration of the Active Heading Stabilization, with the Xsens MTi is mounted on a robotic vacuum cleaner.
Topcon Positioning Group has announced the latest edition of its 3D mobile mapping system. The IP-S3 is on display at the SPAR International 3D Measurement and Imaging Conference, held March 30-April 2 in Houston, Texas. The system employs the integration of an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and GNSS receiver with a vehicle’s onboard electronics to offer high-density mobile digital imaging.
“The IP-S3 is more compact, lightweight, and scans at a rate of up to five times faster than previous models,” said Charles Rihner, vice president of the Topcon GeoPositioning Group. “Weighing in at 39 lbs. (18 kg), it’s light enough that a single person could mount it on a car, truck or SUV without any assistance from anyone else.”
Scanning at 700,000 points-per-second, the rotating LiDAR sensor captures the 360-degree environment with 32 internal lasers. The IP-S3’s six-lens digital camera is designed to provide data-rich results with its 30 MP panoramic imagery.
The system pairs with Topcon Mobile Master Field and Office software suite to perform all post-processing functions in a single application.
“The software suite offers a complete all-in-one processing workflow, turning raw sensor data collected by the IP-S3 system into rich and precise point clouds and images,” Rihner said.
The VIA-100G GPS/IMU by Karel Electronics. Photo: Karel Electronics
The VIA-100G, an integrated GPS and MEMS-IMU (inertial measurement system), has been added to the ViaNav inertial navigation system family produced by Karel Electronics Corporation.
Featuring a high-accuracy fusion filter running on an embedded processor, the VIA-100G provides all the functions of a vertical reference unit (VRU), an attitude and heading reference system (AHRS) and integrated GPS/IMU system. The system contains GPS, 3D gyroscopes, 3D accelerometers, a magnetometer, a static pressure sensor and temperature sensors in a compact and rugged enclosure. The embedded processor provides driftless and real-time navigation information over a wide range of temperature in dynamic and static conditions, Karel said.
The sensors are integrated with a highly accurate fusion filter. A Kalman filter running on an embedded processor fuses data from the IMU, GPS, magnetometer, altimeter and barometer in an optimal manner to output highly accurate navigation solutions. VIA-100G outputs high-frequency position, velocity and attitude information in addition to calibrated 3D acceleration, rotation, magnetometer and pressure data.
The ViaNav product family includes other navigation products designed to be used in stability, guidance, control and navigation applications in industry. The VIA-100 line includes:
VIA-100I, is an inertial measurement unit with 3D accelerometers and 3D gyroscopes.
VIA-100A, is a 3 DOF AHRS that provides driftless real-time orientation information over the full 360 degrees of angular motion on all three axes. It includes 3D accelerometers, 3D gyroscopes and 3D magnetometers.
VIA-100A+, is a 3 DOF AHRS that provides driftless real-time orientation information. It includes a multi-IMU configuration and employs an optimum filter to lower IMU noise level. It provides 3D orientation with improved accuracy and reliability.
Editor’s Note: Tony Murfin is managing consultant for GNSS Aerospace LLC and editor of GPS World’s monthly Professional OEM newsletter. The views expressed are his own.
Another year has gone by, with another year of further improvements in navigation performance of micro-electro-mechnical systems (MEMS) inertial products. SBG Systems in France is now fielding a new generation of MEMS inertial products for much higher accuracy applications.
SBG Systems is based in Rueil-Malmaison, less than eight miles west of the center of Paris. Founded in 2007, SBG has developed a number of innovative MEMS inertial products over the last seven years, along with a respected reputation in the navigation industry, and by 2014 the company was recognized as the 26th fastest growing company in France.
The roots of the company began to form at the end of 2004, when a group of ECE School of Engineering students in Paris put a team together for a new UAV competition. The goal was to build a UAV of less than 1 kg, capable of flying autonomously indoors — at the time, a significant technical challenge. In 2004, miniature INS was not commercially available, so the team decided to build one, as well as other electronic parts such as the autopilot. The competition ran out of money, but the design was a success and led to a working UAV. The INS was by far the most advanced part of the project.
The students went back to their studies and took internships at UAV companies and ONERA (French aeronautics, space and defense research labs), but they still believed in the need for low-cost navigation solutions for the emerging civilian UAV market.
So, in 2007, three of the students — Raphaël Siryani, Thibault Bonnevie and Alexis Guinamard, S, B and G — formed SBG Systems with the goal of providing affordable, highly accurate MEMS inertial navigation systems for UAVs.
SBG quickly received its first Innovation Award from the French Research Ministry, and with this funding launched the IG-500 series of MEMS AHRS and INS in December 2008.
The company has since grown into a worldwide player with a strong product innovation focus. UAVs are still an important part of revenue, but the company has diversified into:
Aerospace and defense applications (UAVs, gimbaled cameras, antenna tracking, etc.)
Marine and offshore activities (ROV/AUVs, buoys, etc.)
Survey (hydrography, mobile mapping, aerial LiDAR, etc.)
SBG Systems has a small staff of mostly development and sales engineers — graduate students and experts. SBG has recruited navigation experts and some sales people from key players in the inertial business. Most (95%) have at least a master’s degree in engineering — R&D has 45% of the staff, and 40% are in sales, marketing and technical support. Production has been extremely automated and requires very few staff for in-house system assembly, calibration and final acceptance test. They do expect to double in size over the next two to three years.
The company is owned by the three founders, who still lead operations. SBG grew 1,304% over the last five years, and last year was ranked the 26th fastest growing company in France on the Deloitte Fast50. Today, SBG Systems has fielded more than 4,000 attitude and heading reference systems (AHRS) and INS (mostly INS), with almost a third of those delivered last year. The company forecasts growth for the next five years to be at this same phenomenal rate! SBG Systems currently offers a line of MEMS inertial sensors that include AHRS, inertial measurement units (IMU), and INS with embedded GPS (INS/GPS).
Ellipse-D dual-antenna mini INS/GNSS.
Not only have MEMS sensors improved in performance, but SBG has also developed advanced calibration capabilities that allow it to reach high-precision performance approaching high-end ring laser gyro accuracies in much smaller, less expensive packages. SBG owns an extensive set of temperature chambers combined with rotary tables and vibrating tables. Each SBG system gets to stay two to five days inside these calibration tools. But the “secret sauce” is in a state-of-the-art SBG developed calibration algorithm…
SBG buys MEMS gyros and accelerometers from MEMS manufacturers such as Colibrys, Analogue Devices and Silicon Sensing and builds complete inertial systems. The team embeds different GNSS receivers, depending on the product line and intended application — from miniature automotive-grade chipsets from u-blox to the very best from the key survey-grade players such as Septentrio, NovAtel and Trimble. Some customers may already have their own GNSS receiver, so SBG has developed and tuned their systems to work with any of these big manufacturers. The antenna employed depends on the receiver being used — from Tallysman Wireless and Antcom to Trimble, Septentrio or NovAtel — a very diversified range of antennas.
Ellipse-E.
SBG announced the Ellipse-D dual-antenna mini INS/GNSS earlier this month. The Ellipse-D is a miniature INS with an embedded dual-antenna survey-grade GNSS receiver for high-accuracy orientation and positioning.
Independent hydrographic testing in October 2014 of earlier model designs has already shown accuracy improvements, and the latest D version promises even better performance. The products tested were:
Ekinox-D
Ellipse-E, miniature inertial navigation system connected to a Hemisphere VS330 GNSS with two antennas.
Ekinox-D, inertial navigation system integrating a dual-frequency GNSS receiver with two antennas.
The test was a typical marine survey, with each leg about 550 meters long. Attitude performance was compared to a fiber-optic gyro compass reference system with much higher roll and pitch accuracy than the two SBG products under test.
Ellipse-E roll and pitch accuracy is better than the specs. The use of an RTK GNSS receiver additionally improves the sensor’s performance. The Ekinox-D also has good results — around 0.03° in both roll and pitch. SBG claims that low-noise gyroscopes and advanced algorithms are the basis for this performance.
The SBG list of 250 customers in 30 countries includes some impressive names, many outside Europe, and the company claims to have nearly 4,000 inertial sensors in the field. So this is not a prototype shop, but more a fully equipped production facility. SBG has opened an office in Chicago to address the North American market.
So, what are people doing with these devices? There are a number of applications in aerospace, land, marine and sub-sea.
In the aerospace industry, SBG sensors are used for UAV navigation and flight analysis — they could eventually be incorporated in certified avionics. They are also used for antenna tracking, camera stabilization and more demanding applications such as LiDAR orientation and data georeferencing.
An Ekinox-N INS with embedded GNSS receiver was installed for the tests in a single-engine general aviation aircraft flying out of Magdeburg, Germany. A typical airborne survey-type flight was flown under mixed weather conditions with some turbulence, and roll, pitch, and altitude data was collected for real-time analysis and was also post-processed. A high-grade FOG-based AHRS was used as reference unit — with very high accuracy gyroscopes.
The flight pattern was typical of survey applications, with parallel straight lines of about 8.5 km. Altitude was 600 m and cruise speed was about 200 km/h.
Roll
Pitch
RMS Error Real Time (max)
0.043° (0.16)
0.043° (0.16)
RMS Error Post Processing (max)
0.017° (0.19)
0.025° (0.20)
Real-time accuracy remained below 0.05° RMS for roll and pitch. Post-processed output had a lower RMS error and a better stability over the whole flight. Only one GPS antenna was used in this test with Ekinox-N; nevertheless, heading reached an estimated accuracy of 0.06° when post-processed. The Ekinox-D model provides more accurate heading thanks to its integrated dual-antenna and GNSS receiver.
The Ekinox-N has been integrated on a UAV by Headwall in the U.S. for remote-sensing applications.
Headwall is a leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance hyperspectral imaging sensors for harsh environments. As a pioneer for remote-sensing applications, Headwall is the first to market a fully integrated remote-sensing solution combining hyperspectral and LiDAR sensors on a small UAV. This “total solution” approach has been welcomed by the remote-sensing market because it quickens time to deployment, decreases implementation costs, and enables operations in harsh environments.
The multi-rotor UAV carries Headwall’s lightweight Micro-Hyperspec VNIR hyperspectral sensor and a Velodyne LiDAR unit. The LiDAR collects a point cloud that reflects the field’s topographic relief, and the hyperspectral sensor delivers a picture showing spectral signatures of every object within the field of view. The SBG inertial navigation system has an embedded GPS and is used to provide positioning and orientation data. Weight is a key factor — Ekinox-N weighs only 500 grams, even though it integrates a survey-grade L1/L2 GNSS sensor to provide accurate positioning and precision roll, pitch, and heading data.
Mounted on the UAV, the Ekinox-N provides LiDAR and the hyperspectral camera with orientation and position during the whole flight. This and other data is recorded in real time at 200 Hz within the onboard computer. On the ground, the Headwall post-processing Hyperspec software fuses all sensor information. Ekinox-N data allows every scanned point and every pixel to be georeferenced and be tilt compensated to within a centimeter.
SLAM-based Indoor Mapping System by VIAmetris.
For miniature inertial sensors, smaller and lighter applications are possible at less cost. One of these applications includes the SLAM-based Indoor Mapping System by VIAmetris.
Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) is becoming increasingly important to enable efficient indoor mapping. VIAmetris has created a different spin on indoor mapping with the “MID” portable SLAM-based scanner. This handheld system integrates a 2D LiDAR, a camera, an SBG Ellipse-A AHRS, and a tablet PC that shows the map being drawn while the user walks around inside the building. The AHRS also compensates for movement while orienting the generated maps to the north.
While the user walks, the 2D LiDAR scans in a horizontal plane by measuring 43,000 points per second across a 270° field of view. The SLAM technology progressively builds the map in the shape of lines made of points. At the office, the surveyor imports the data into the post-processing software and uses the lines of points to design the map. If there is any doubt about a specific shape — whether it is actually wall or furniture, for example — a photo of the location is available as MID automatically takes contextual pictures every meter, or whenever there is a change of direction, or manually.
The centimeter-level accurate map is then ready to be imported into most CAD software. As the system works without GPS, the generated map is not georeferenced or in a local coordinate reference system. To do so, the user links MID’s points cloud to a known point and all data is automatically referenced. MID is much easier to use than a laser distance meter, a tachometer, or a 3D scanner, and significantly reduces the time required for indoor mapping.
SBG is now working more often in the marine industry, equipping boat, cranes, or instrumented buoys. The company has even developed a specific solution for the hydrographic market. The SBG Ekinox Hydrography Solution integrates Ekinox-U which operates to a depth of 200 meters, and incorporates a SplitBox with a built-in tri-band RTK GNSS receiver and uses Terrastar, OmniSTAR, or Marinestar corrections.
The SBG Ekinox Hydrography Solution.
For subsea operations, positioning is required for ROVs and AUVs that navigate for minutes or sometimes for hours underwater. GPS fixes are only available when the vehicle comes close to the surface. But operators usually try to expend the time they are able to operate close to the seabed. To avoid typical INS drift, different aiding sources are used — the three main ones are acoustic positioning, Doppler velocity loggers (DVLs) and depth sensors.
Acoustic position is far more noisy and unstable than GPS.
DVL is a kind of 2D odometer, providing speed over the seabed.
The INS and the Kalman filter therefore play a key role to provide reference heading and reliable position data.
It’s a major concern when you have a massive ROV working on pipes under an offshore platform. Any mistake can cause severe damage and cost millions.
So SBG is moving along and taking on new, challenging applications with a range of MEMS inertial products that appear to be growing quite rapidly, with ever-improving performance. Once upon a time, we couldn’t stay anywhere within RTK-level performance during GPS outages because of the high drift-rate of MEMS inertial devices. Now, SBG has introduced its latest Ellipse-D dual-antenna mini INS/GNSS spec’ed at 0.1° real time for pitch and roll, with 2-cm RTK position.
The Apogee INS/GNSS.
And just today, SBG Systems has even bigger news with the release of the Apogee series, which is Apogee’s most accurate, robust and cost-effective MEMS technology inertial navigation system. The Apogee INS/GNSS integrates the very latest generation of MEMS sensors along with a triple-frequency GNSS receiver, achieving 0.008° in roll and pitch in real time, and 0.005° in post-processing. With two antennas, it also provides reliable and accurate heading.
Amazing what scientific skill, focused investment and time has done for MEMS inertial technology!
OxTS has released the xNAV550, its new compact and lightweight GNSS-aided inertial navigation system, along with an OEM board set version, the xOEM550.
xNAV550. The xNAV550 is the latest model in the xNAV family and the first to offer a position accuracy of 2 cm, yet remains a compact GNSS-aided inertial navigation system at 425 grams. Suitable for all applications where size and weight as well as performance matter, it is designed for use on UAVs and in other weight-constrained applications.
Featuring dual GNSS receivers and a custom-built inertial measurement unit, the xNAV550 constantly monitors position, orientation and velocity with high accuracy in real-time. Four gigabytes of on-board storage is available, automatically logging data for an added layer of protection. Data can be downloaded from the system and post-processed using OxTS’s advanced software, which is included as standard at no extra cost.
Integrating the xNAV550 with cameras, laser scanners or other sensor arrays is easy using the NMEA outputs, OxTS said, with 1-PPS and event input triggers for synchronization and time stamping. These features and the convenience of the one-box solution ensure that the xNAV550 make it quick and easy to acquire accurate data required for direct georeferencing, the company said.
xOEM550. The xOEM550 is designed for system integrators looking for a high-performance INS to build into a complete scanning and georeferencing system. Weighing 165 grams, it won’t add bulk to a system, and the free and distributable OxTS post-processing software enables system integrators to offer a turnkey solution at a competitive price, the company said.
OxTS will be exhibiting at ILMF 2015 in Denver, Colo., Feb. 23-25. Stop by Booth #30 to take a look at the xNAV and xOEM systems or contact [email protected] for more information.
Sensors in Motion (SIM) has introduced a MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical) navigation-grade inertial system (INS) that it says could transform the $8 billion/year inertial market with new products by offering price and performance specifications better than those currently available.
The first INS devices have been delivered to the Army CERDEC Night Vision Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD).
SIM, a spinout from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and California Institute of Technology, is developing a family of high-accuracy MEMS gyroscopes, accelerometers and inertial measurement unit ( IMU) solutions. It says it has perfected unique MEMS structures using volume silicon wafer processing techniques to produce gyroscopes having ARW (angle random walk) less than 0.0035 degree/root-hour and bias instability less than 0.01 degree/hour with extraordinary vibration and temperature immunity, a performance comparable to ring laser (RLG) and fiber optic (FOG) gyros that are 20 times larger and 100 times more expensive.
These features are mandatory for numerous applications where location is not available from GPS or vehicle position accuracy is required including autonomous vehicles, drones, mining asset tracking, dead reckoning, agricultural seed placement, oil and gas directional drilling, self-driving autos, firefighter navigation, optical image stabilization, industrial equipment azimuth, aerospace and defense products and most GPS-denied environments, in addition to new applications.
Current devices would have a vehicle position off as much as 1 foot per second at 45 miles per hour.
“We see this technology opening an additional $2B sensor market needing size, weight, power, cost and performance that does not exist today. “ said David Smukowski, CEO of SIM.
With adequate resources the company says further performance gains are possible, even while shrinking the devices smaller for better economics.
Oxford Technical Solutions (OxTS) has announced the latest addition to its OEM line of inertial navigation systems, the xOEM500. The OxTS is a high-performance GNSS/INS system embedded on a single compact board set. It offers dual GNSS receivers and a high-grade MEMS IMU (inertial measurement unit) to system integrators in an easy-to-integrate 120-g package.
With attractive prices for volume sales, the xOEM500 is one of the world’s smallest tactical-grade INSs available.
