Tag: OEM

Launchpad: Nano drone, GNSS modules, survey application

A roundup of recent products in the GNSS and inertial positioning industry from the October 2022 issue of GPS World magazine.

OEM

Software

Aids GNSS/INS installation

Photo: Septentrio

The RxLeverArm software tool aids integration of GNSS receivers that include inertial navigation systems (GNSS/INS). RxLeverArm is part of Septentrio’s RxTools software package included with every Septentrio GNSS/INS receiver. The new tool visualizes, validates and automatically calibrates the exact distance between the INS sensor and the antenna, removing the need for accurate distance measurements with complex instruments. For lever-arm compensation, users only need to measure the rough distance between the INS sensor and the main GNSS antenna reference points on the vehicle. Data is then logged under open-sky conditions, which allows the RxLeverArm tool to optimize the initial rough distance measurement and prevent common errors such as sign inversion.

Septentrio, septentrio.com

Testing Board

Enables proof of concept for IoT products and applications

Photo: u-blox

The u-blox XPLR-IOT-1 IoT explorer kit is an all-in-one package to test, evaluate and validate applications for the internet of things (IoT). The board hosts an ultra-low-power MAX-M10S positioning module capable of concurrently tracking four GNSS constellations, delivering highly reliable location data. Integrating relevant u-blox technologies and services into a capable prototyping platform with a vast selection of sensors and interfaces as well as cloud connectivity, XPLR-IOT-1 makes it easier to explore the potential of IoT applications.

u-blox, u-blox.com

GNSS Module

With RTK and dead reckoning

Photo: Quectel

The LC29H is a dual-band multi-constellation GNSS module built using the Airoha AG3335 platform. It is available in multiple variants and optionally integrates real-time kinematic (RTK) and dead reckoning. The LC29H series offers high performance with power efficiency to meet the market needs of high-precision positioning at the centimeter and decimeter levels. The LC29H concurrently receives and processes signals from GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo and QZSS. The modules are suited to an expanding market for autonomous lawn mowers, drones, precision agriculture, micro-mobility scooters and delivery robots.

Quectel Wireless Solutions, quectel.com

LoRa/GNSS Board

Equipped with u-blox tracking module

Photo: Move-X

The Cicerone LoRa/GNSS board is a high-performance, low-power, Arduino MKR-compatible development board based on the u-blox MAX-M10S GNSS module and the MAMWLE LoRa module. It delivers high-performance GNSS, long-range wireless connection, and high-performance processing in a low-power solution for optimal battery life. The board allows users to build tracking applications worldwide with meter-level accuracy and to communicate long-range, low-power data via LoRaWAN. The integrated Li-Po charging circuit enables the Cicerone board to manage battery charging through the USB port. It has a compact 63 mm x 25 mm form factor and is compatible with all Arduino MKR shield boards. These boards all share a common pinout to enable developers to easily add expansions with minimal software changes.

Move-X, move-x.it

GNSS Module

New platforms improve positioning for wearables

Photo: Qualcomm

The Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 and W5+ Gen 1 platforms are designed to advance ultra-low power and breakthrough performance for next-generation connected wearables with a focus on extended battery life and premium user experiences. They incorporate innovations including low power islands for GNSS, Wi-Fi and audio; ultra-low power Bluetooth 5.3 architecture; and low power states such as Deep Sleep and Hibernate. New enhancements to the flagship Snapdragon W5+ platform offer 50% lower power, 2x higher performance, 2x richer features, and 30% smaller size, compared to the previous generation. The purpose-built platform is comprised of a 4 nm-based system-on-chip and 22 nm-based highly integrated always-on co-processor. By using these platforms, manufacturers can scale, differentiate and develop products faster in the continuously growing and segmenting wearables industry, Qualcomm said. Qualcomm also announced two reference designs from Compal and Pegatron, which showcase the capabilities of the platform and the company’s collaboration with ecosystem partners, helping customers develop products faster.

Qualcomm Technologies, qualcomm.com

SURVEYING

GNSS Receiver

Dual cameras enable vision RTK surveying

Photo: Hi-Target

The pocket-sized vRTK GNSS real-time-kinematic (RTK) receiver is equipped with dual cameras to enable non-contact image surveying. It also has a nine-axis IMU module with auto installation for tilt surveying. Visual positioning technology combines imagery with high-precision positioning equipment, allowing users to obtain the location of the target from a distance. The Live View Stakeout function improves stakeout speed, while non-contact measurement greatly improves the usable range of GNSS. The vRTK receives 1,408 channels (GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, QZSS, IRNSS and SBAS). A new generation of GNSS engine supports the new frequency points B1C, B2a and B2b RTK decoding of BeiDou-3 satellites.

Hi-Target, en.hi-target.com.cn

Compact Receiver

Smart antenna for field work

Photo: Geneq

The SXblue SMART features an engine capable of tracking all-in-view GNSS signals, with interference mitigation and optimization for handling a wide frequency band. Weighing 850 g including battery, the SXblue SMART is compact and rugged. Its radio link is based on the Farlink protocol that allows a range of up to 8 km while reserving a wide bandwidth for transmission of real-time kinematic (RTK) data. In addition to a tilt sensor for measurements in hard-to-reach places, the SXblue SMART features a high-performance attitude measurement module that can detect and measure movement of the device. Also integrated are an inertial measurement unit and a thermometer for monitoring and controlling its internal temperature.

Geneq, geneq.com

Post-processing

For Windows and Mac users

Photo: Emlid

Emlid Studio is a new post-processed kinematic (PPK) application designed specifically for post-processing GNSS data. It allows users to convert raw GNSS logs into RINEX, post-process static and kinematic data, geotag images from drones (including DJI brand), and extract points from survey projects completed with Emlid’s ReachView 3 app. With Emlid Studio, users can post-process data recorded with Emlid Reach receivers and other GNSS receivers or NTRIP services. Post-processing requires RINEX observation and navigation files. Raw data in UBX and RTCM3 format also can be used through conversion.

Emlid, emlid.com

GNSS Receiver

Integrated receiver and antenna for portability

Photo: SingularXYZ

The P1 GNSS receiver has a high-precision module that tracks GPS, GLONASS, BDS, Galileo, QZSS and SBAS to deliver centimeter-level real-time kinematic (RTK) accuracy even in harsh environments. It is also equipped with an anti-jamming and anti-spoofing algorithm. The P1 GNSS receiver has integrated the GNSS module and GNSS antenna while keeping the device as small as a smartphone, which makes it portable enough to be worn around the neck or placed in a pocket. With 4G/Bluetooth communication, the P1 supports real-time positioning data transmission, providing users with a stable correction data steam and positioning data uploads. The P1 also can be mounted on a pole.

SingularXYZ, singularxyz.com

Smartphone App

Updates include vector map import

Photo: Tersus GNSS

Nuwa surveying smartphone app version 2.3.3.2 has vector map import and digital surface stakeout. The Nuwa app runs on Android and is reliable and easy to operate. It has rich and powerful functions that can help surveyors complete measurements more efficiently and accurately. The app is designed to work with the David and Oscar GNSS receivers from Tersus GNSS, plus other receivers that support NMEA-0183. Features include the ability to configure base, rover and static surveys; graphical interface with background map (online/import); CAD stakeout, road stakeout and earthwork; data management (import/export multiple formats); and Bluetooth and USB connection support.

Tersus GNSS, tersus-gnss.com

Survey Application

Now supports Web Maps and multi-part geometries

Photo: 1Spatial

Version 3.2 of the survey application 1Edit allows the use of Web Maps (WMS) to be used as background layers, making it easier for surveyors to identify assets and changes in context. It provides easier configuration of background maps and supports hybrid working practices for surveyors. Where offline background maps are required, 1Edit supports multiple raster files and handles large image files, providing visual context for geospatial data when there is no data signal. Enhanced support for complex geometries increases efficiency as features with multiple parts share common attributes and IDs.

1Spatial, 1spatial.com

MAPPING

US Address Plug-In

Provides geocoding accuracy of 95%

Photo: Smarty

The Smarty U.S. Geocoding QGIS Plugin provides an easy way for users of the software platform to validate, standardize, and convert addresses to their latitude and longitude coordinates (geocodes). The plugin allows manual address entry as well as batch geocoding via CSV. It features a 95% match rate with the actual rooftop and parcel, as well as providing sub-address geocoding that can match secondary addresses such as apartment units and office-suite rooftops in building. The free plugin also includes supplemental metadata useful for many geographic information system (GIS) purposes.

Smarty, smarty.com

GIS Location Data

Datasets for the United States, UK, Canada, Australia and Europe

Photo: Maptitude

Maptitude 2022 is a major release of the geographic information system (GIS) and mapping software. It includes up-to-date, accurate data encompassing expenditure, geodemographic segments, gross domestic product, medical and banking locations, branded business locations, traffic counts, building footprints, address points and financial assets, as well as the tools to leverage this information to improve the location intelligence of organizations in markets such as healthcare, franchising, communications, logistics, retail, real estate and banking.

Maptitude, maptitude.com

Rugged Tablet

For mapping and data collection

Photo: Juniper Systems

The Mesa Pro rugged tablet features 11th-generation Intel Core processors, a Windows 11 operating system, device customization options, a large sunlight-readable display and the “Juniper Rugged” company design. Standard Mesa Pro units come with an 11th Gen Intel Core i5 processor and 16 GB of LPDDR4x RAM. Core i7 and Celeron versions are also available. Each Mesa Pro configuration offers powerful performance and allows users to select the computing performance that fits their needs and budgets.

Juniper Systems, junipersys.com

AUTONOMOUS

Airspace Management

Data fusion across multiple data sources, including ADS-B

Photo: Vigilant Aerospace

FlightHorizon COMMANDER is a situational awareness and safety system for UAV airspace management. The system provides airspace managers with either a 2D or 3D view of all aircraft in the selected airspace using a combination of sensors and data sources to create an airspace safety picture for pilots, airspace managers and command centers. The system is based on an exclusively licensed NASA patent and prototype that has been used in extensive flight testing. FlightHorizon COMMANDER functions as a visualization tool for airspace management, an active situational awareness tool, and a detect-and-avoid system that enables unmanned aircraft to avoid other aircraft and keeps drone pilots and airspace managers aware of the location and air traffic around their UAS and in their airspace.

Vigilant Aerospace, vigilantaerospace.com

Heavy Lift Drone

Supports both automated and manual operations

Photo: Draganfly

The Draganfly Heavy Lift Drone is a versatile, multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle designed to enhance deliveries and flight times. Compatible with a variety of interchangeable payloads, the heavy-duty drone can carry more and fly longer than the typical professional drone. It has a payload/cargo-lift capacity of 30 kg (67 lbs) and up to 55 minutes of flight time. The industrial UAV handles heavy winds and high elevations with ease. Its lifting capacity permits flexibility in carrying large high-end sensors such as hyperspectral and bathymetric lidar to conduct large-area surveys.

Draganfly, draganfly.com

Infrared Camera Module

Allows rapid MWIR integration for commercial, industrial and defense applications

Photo: Teledyne FLIR

Part of the Neutrino IS series, the Neutrino LC CZ 15-300 is a new mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) camera module with integrated continuous zoom lenses. Designed for integrated solutions requiring crisp, long-range MWIR imaging, the camera offers size, weight, power and cost (SWaP+C) benefits to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and system integrators for airborne, unmanned, C-UAS, security and targeting applications. The LC CZ 15-300 offers high performance, 640 x 512 high-definition MWIR imagery and 15 mm to 300 mm zoom capability for ruggedized products requiring long life, low power consumption and quiet, low-vibration operation. The camera module and lens are designed for each other, providing optimal performance.

Teledyne FLIR, flir.com

Nano Drone

Flies like a hummingbird

Photo: Aselsan

A miniature drone with flapping wings was demonstrated at the Teknofest Black Sea aviation and defense industry event, which took place Aug. 30 to Sept. 4 at the Samsun Çarşamba Airport. With its low detectability, the nano drone is being developed to perform reconnaissance and surveillance missions. It is still in research and development.

Aselsan, aselsan.com.tr

TRANSPORTATION

Lidar Transceiver

Enables machine vision at highway speeds

Photo: SiLC Technologies

The Eyeonic Vision Sensor can perceive, identify and avoid objects at a range of more than 1 kilometer. The sensor is a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) lidar transceiver that uses a silicon photonic chip. Long-range visibility is a requirement for autonomous vehicles, which require sufficient awareness to evade obstacles at highway speeds. This capability requires vision sensors to provide millimeter-level accuracy and depth at instantaneous velocity. The highly detailed and ultra-long-range information from the Eyeonic Vision Sensor enables robots to classify and predict their environments. The sensor is designed to be integrated into autonomous vehicles, security solutions and industrial robots.

SiLC Technologies, silc.com

Vehicle Computer

For fully connected buses, trucks and trains

Photo: Nexcom

The nROK 1030 is a compact, rugged entry-level vehicle computer with an advanced GNSS receiver. The u-blox NEO-M9N module supports GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou and QZSS signals. An Intel Atom x6211E dual-core processor 1.3 GHz/3 GHz (burst) is designed for harsh in-train environments. Its fanless, compact design is suitable for vehicles with limited space. The nROK 1030 has onboard CAN 2.0B for vehicle diagnostics and driver behavior management. WLAN Wi-Fi 6/6E/Wi-Fi 5 and WWAN 5G NR/LTE wireless data connectivity is optional. The nROK 1030 is flexible to meet the demands of various rolling-stock applications, such as wireless gateway, infotainment and digital radio data/voice transmission systems.

Nexcom, nexcom.com

October 20, 2022
How navigation data is used for video game development

The realistic racetrack in the Assetto Corsa game. (Screenshot: Dronezone)

News from OxTS

The possible applications for 3D point clouds are almost endless. When you think of lidar, the mind naturally wanders to applications of the autonomous vehicle navigation or geospatial survey type. In fact, navigation and lidar data are useful for all manner of applications—including video game development.

When a new technology, such as lidar, is first brought to market, a number of factors affect its price. Initially, the cost-per-unit is likely to be high to ensure recovery of research and development costs. However, as technology ages and manufacturers innovate and bring out new versions, price invariably comes down.

As this process occurs, it puts the technology into the hands of a much wider audience, increasing the number of new and innovative use cases.

Point clouds are useful for many wide and varied applications. Autonomous vehicle developers may use point clouds to aid object detection and avoidance, while geospatial surveyors could use a point cloud to determine road degradation over time or monitor the rate of coastal erosion.

These are however some of the more common use cases. But how can navigation data be used in applications such as video game development? Let’s first look at how navigation data works alongside lidar.

Lidar and Inertial Navigation

To create a 3D point cloud, users must combine the position, navigation and timing measurements from an inertial navigation system (INS) with raw lidar data. Without accurate INS data, it is impossible to create a point cloud. This is because the lidar sensor needs to know its position in space and time and its orientation.

To avoid complicated software engineering work, simple-to-use software such as OxTS Georeferencer is available to georeference the lidar data. Once georeferencing is complete, OxTS Georeferencer will create a PCAP file that users can view in many point cloud viewer software applications.

Enter Dronezone

As lidar technology becomes more accessible, new and inventive ways to use point clouds are coming to light. OxTS partner Dronezone is one such company finding new uses for lidar.

Dronezone builds and hires out professional unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). They build UAV payloads with Velodyne VLP-16 lidar sensors and OxTS INS devices they sell or rent to customers.

Cover: Kunos Simulazioni

Dronezone’s customers have used the payloads for a variety of projects. One used a payload to scan an aging railway bridge looking for possible weaknesses and deterioration over time. Besides geospatial mapping projects, Dronezone is seeing an increasing need to cater to niche applications.

Dronezone undertook surveying the Transylvania Motor Ring racetrack for a video-game developer Kunos Simulazioni, which publishes racing simulator “Assetto Corsa.” The company wanted an accurate digital representation of the track contours. The results, which you can see in the video and screenshots, are particularly impressive.

Point cloud of the Transylvania Motor Ring. (Image: Dronezone)

Point cloud of the Transylvania Motor Ring. (Image: Dronezone)

Racing Simulator

For this project, Dronezone moved away from traditional UAV-based mapping. To survey the track precisely, the company used the flexibility of its UAV payload by repurposing the hardware for use on a car. With many off-the-shelf solutions, this wouldn’t have been possible. The setup enabled Dronezone to complete multiple laps of the track and create a high-density point cloud.

“Using different components to build a UAV payload meant that Dronezone could reuse the hardware and build a different setup suitable for use on a car,” said Paris Austin, head of new product technology, OxTS. “It’s this flexibility that allows Dronezone to serve multiple applications.”

To further improve results, Dronezone used the Boresight Calibration feature within OxTS Georeferencer to calibrate the coordinate frames of the lidar sensor and INS. This process, which involves a short survey of two retro-reflective targets, increases the clarity of the final results and eliminates blurring and double vision.

The OxTS INS and lidar payload on an auto for racetrack mapping. (Photo: Dronezone)

The quality of the data produced has given Dronezone confidence it can win more business from the same customer to map further tracks for the game.

This is just one example of the new and unique applications we’re developing alongside our customers.

The original article appears on the OxTS website.

October 17, 2022
Tallysman introduces full-band, precision GNSS antenna

Photo: Tallysman Wireless

Tallysman Wireless has added the housed SSL990XF full-band survey-grade GNSS antenna to its line of GNSS products.

The SSL990XF uses a derivative of Tallysman’s patented VeroStar antenna element to provide full GNSS + L-band corrections frequency coverage.

The SSL990XF is 63 mm in diameter and 28 mm tall and weighs ~50 grams, making it a very small and light housed full-band precision antenna. It has a very tight average phase-center variation of 4 mm or lower for all frequencies and overall azimuths and elevation angles.

The full-band SSL990XF antenna supports GPS/QZSS L1/L2/L5, QZSS L6, GLONASS G1/G2/G3, Galileo E1/E5ab/E6 and BeiDou B1/B2ab/B3, as well as L-band correction services. Also supported in the region of operation are satellite-based augmentation systems: WAAS (North America), EGNOS (Europe), MSAS (Japan), or GAGAN (India).

The SSL990XF is housed in a weatherproof (IP67) enclosure and is mounted using either adhesive tape or a mounting collar that includes a waterproofing O-ring. Two antenna cable connector options are available. The first is a female SMA, and the second is an MCX. It is an ideal antenna for precision UAV and all applications where light weight and precision matter.

The radio-frequency spectrum has become congested worldwide as many new LTE bands have been activated, and their signals or harmonic frequencies can affect GNSS antennas and receivers.

In North America, the planned Ligado service, which will broadcast in the frequency range of 1526 to 1536 MHz, can affect GNSS signals. Similarly, new LTE signals in Europe [Band 32 (1452–1496 MHz)] and Japan [Bands 11 and 21 (1476–1511 MHz)] have also affected GNSS signals. Tallyman’s new SSL990XF with eXtended Filtering (XF) technology mitigates the interference effects of these new signals.

October 13, 2022
SBG Systems introduces Quanta Micro INS for UAV surveying

Photo: SBG Systems

SBG Systems has launched the Quanta Micro, a navigation system in an extremely compact form factor with a dual-frequency, quad-constellation GNSS receiver for centimeter position with a high-performance inertial measurement unit (IMU).

The Quanta Micro is a real-time kinematic (RTK) capable, miniature inertial sensor that measures 50 mm x 37 mm x 23 mm and weighs 38 g. Its high-end performance includes centimeter positioning, roll/pitch with less than 0.02° error, and heading with less than 0.06° error. It is suitable for all applications, especially those that have low size, weight, power and cost (SWaP-C) requirements. Quanta Micro has already been selected for the development of lidar payloads for UAV and mobile-mapping systems.

To achieve such performance in the harshest conditions, Quanta Micro benefits from SBG Systems’ unique experience in designing and manufacturing inertial sensors, including an individual calibration of each of the manufactured sensors across the full range of working temperatures (–40° C to +85° C).

Lidar point cloud of SBG Systems’ head office created using the Quanta Micro. (Photo: SBG Systems)

Despite its compact form factor, Quanta micro embeds all the features usually present in the other SBG inertial sensors: a built-in datalogger, Ethernet connectivity, a PTP server, multiple serial ports, a CAN port and more. It is easy to configure with a user-friendly built-in web interface; but can also be configured using SBG systems’ API or ROS drivers.

While the Quanta Micro supports dual GNSS antenna mode to improve heading accuracy in low dynamic applications, it has been designed to maintain exceptional heading performances even in a single antenna configuration. This makes it the right tool for UAV payloads that cannot embed two GNSS antennas.

Post processing with Qinertia. To further enhance its extreme real-time performances, the data acquired from the Quanta Micro can easily be post-processed using Qinertia: SBG’s own post-processing kinematic tool. This allows users to process the data with tight coupling of the GNSS and inertial data, and a merge of forward and backward solutions allowing it maintain centimeter precision even during multiple seconds of GNSS outages. It also improves heading errors to less than 0.035° and roll/pitch to less than 0.015°.

October 11, 2022
U-blox to offer explorer kits for cm-level positioning designs
The development kits will bring together u-blox’s centimeter-level positioning and wireless communications expertise and services to support faster time-to-market for new products

The XPLR-HPG-1 high-precision GNSS explorer kit. (Photo: u-blox)

U-blox has announced new explorer kits to make it quicker and easier for engineers to design and evaluate products requiring centimeter-level positioning capabilities.

Set to launch in early 2023, the ready-to-use XPLR-HPG-1 and XPLR-HPG-2 solutions will combine u-blox’s unique offering across the key technologies required to achieve highly precise positioning.

As well as an open microcontroller unit (MCU), the kits will include high-precision GNSS positioning with real-time kinematic (RTK), dead-reckoning, cellular, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth communications, along with the necessary antennas.

The kits are designed to integrate seamlessly with complementary u-blox services, such as PointPerfect GNSS augmentation service and the ubxlib software component.

The XPLR-HPG-2
High precision GNSS explorer kit. (Photo: u-blox)

The kits will assist engineers working in areas such as micro-mobility and low-speed robotics, helping them build, test and demonstrate early-stage proofs of concept more quickly, supporting faster overall time-to-market.

Both explorer kits will include the full gamut of u-blox technology and software required.
- The modular XPLR-HPG-1 kit will be based around the wireless MCU in the u-blox NORA-W106 , with its Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE capabilities, and will give engineers flexibility to adjust their solutions to their precise needs, using MIKROE Click boards featuring a variety of u-blox modules. The kit will include three Click boards, which respectively incorporate the ZED-F9R high-precision RTK GNSS module, the LARA-R6001D LTE Cat 1 module (global coverage and with built-in MQTT client), and the NEO-D9S L-band correction data receiver module. Engineers can purchase others based on their application’s needs. The kit’s source code will include example software for the Espressif IoT Development Framework (ESP-IDF), based on ubxlib software components.
- The compact XPLR-HPG-2 will deliver an integrated solution, incorporating the ZED-F9R high-precision RTK GNSS, LARA-R6001D LTE Cat 1 (with global coverage and built-in MQTT client) and NEO-D9S L-band correction data receiver modules, as well as the NINA-W106 with its MCU, Bluetooth LE and Wi-Fi capabilities.
October 7, 2022
Navigation company iXBlue acquired by Groupe Gorgé

Photo: ixBlue

Groupe Gorgé has acquired navigation company iXblue. The move will bring together iXblue and Groupe Gorgé subsidiary ECA Group.

Groupe Gorgé is a European company specializing in high-tech industrial solutions for the robotics, maritime, navigation, aerospace and photonics markets. Together, iXblue and ECA Group will provide customers with components and complex systems to support critical missions in severe environments.

The two companies will have a global workforce of 1,500 people and will achieve an annual turnover of €250 million.

“In addition to our complementary activities, both our companies share a common DNA centered around innovation and entrepreneurship,” said Fabien Napolitano, president and CEO of iXblue. “This acquisition by Groupe Gorgé, which puts iXblue and ECA Group under the same roof, will enable us to create new synergies and strengthen our capacity to invest in research and development to offer solutions that are always at the cutting edge of technology.”

Dominique Giannoni, CEO of ECA Group, added, “With the combination of the technological expertise and global footprint of the two companies, we will provide unmatched value to our customers through our comprehensive portfolio of products and solutions. This operation consolidates our leadership in our markets and offers excellent growth prospects. The teams of our two companies have already started working closely together. We see great development opportunities that we are eager to share with our customers.”

September 30, 2022
Tallymatics launches TW5390 antenna with IP network and L-band capability
Photo: Tallymatics

Tallymatics has introduced the TW5390 smart antenna with IP network and L-band augmentation service capability.

Tallymatics is a division of Tallysman Wireless, a Calian company, specializing in of precision geolocation applications and equipment.

To create the TW5390, Tallymatics leveraged its experience in GNSS applications, design and manufacturing, combining Tallysman’s GNSS antenna technology with the high-precision u-blox F9R GNSS receiver and DS9 L-Band receiver modules.

The combination delivers a reliable and convenient smart antenna yielding <6 cm accuracy, with precise point positioning/real-time kinematic (PPP/RTK) augmentation services via the PointPerfect subscription service.

The TW5390 solves the complexities of GNSS design — it sends the host system PPP/RTK corrected coordinates in NMEA format over a robust RS-485 interface, assuring results that meet customers’ high expectations.

Features of the TW5390
- simultaneous dual-band coverage for GPS, Galileo, GLONASS and BeiDou
- superior multipath rejection with Tallysman Accutenna technology
- low noise amplifier
- Tallysman’s eXtended Filtering (XF) technology, which mitigates saturation from nearby RF signals (targeting
- LTE and Ligado)
- tight, measured phase-center offset and low axial ratio, enabling accurate and precise positioning
- direct decoding of PointPerfect, SPARTN formatted augmentation packets (u-blox specific)
- IP network and L-band augmentation communications channels
- built-in inertial measurement unit for UDR and ADR
- fast convergence time of 40 seconds (PPP/RTK) with < 6 cm accuracy
- IP69K package
- RS-485 transceivers
- Tallymatics SDK available with computer interface, TruPrecision software and 60 days of free PointPerfect
- service
- cable lengths of 5, 15 and 25 meters
- rugged, fixed mount
September 29, 2022
Septentrio’s Stellar 2022

Receiver maker Septentrio, based in Leuven, Belgium, has made a series of announcements this year that push the industry forward, from updating existing receivers to accepting new services to launching new product lines.

Head of the CLAS

In March, the company launched three new products that support Japan’s high-accuracy Centimeter Level Augmentation Service (CLAS). CLAS, which receives the L6 signal, transmits high-accuracy corrections from Japan’s QZSS constellation. The technology was developed in close cooperation with CORE, a leading integrator of high-accuracy positioning technology and services in Japan.

Photo: Septentrio

Septentrio now offers the mosaic-CLAS receiver for high-volume industrial applications; the AsteRx-m3 CLAS that combines PPP-RTK CLAS with dual-antenna heading functionality; and the AsteRx SB3 CLAS in a ruggedized IP68 enclosure to protect it in harsh environments.

Septentrio is simultaneously offering various receiver types to the Japanese market ensuring an optimal match between products and customer needs in various applications including robotics, precision agriculture, construction, machine control and UAV.

Stopping the Spoofs

Following the CLAS upgrade, the mosaic line received another boost in April, when Septentrio announced Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA) functionality. OSNMA offers end-to-end authentication on Galileo’s civilian signals, protecting receivers from OSNMA attacks.

For the past two years, Septentrio has been working closely with the European Space Agency (ESA) during the test phases of OSNMA deployment. The know-how gained during this period allowed Septentrio to be one of the first to market with this advanced security feature.

OSNMA’s anti-spoofing capability complements Septentrio’s Advanced Interference Mitigation (AIM+) technology and further strengthens the overall security of Septentrio GNSS receivers, making them suitable for assured PNT solutions as well as critical infrastructure, such as 5G network synchronization.

Vertical Markets

Machine Control. In April, Septentrio launched the AsteRx-U3 ruggedized GNSS receiver, successor to the AsteRx-U for construction, mining and other machine control applications. The new receiver combines Septentrio’s latest triple-band precise positioning GNSS core with extended wireless communication features including Wi-Fi, UHF and 4G LTE. The versatile connectivity features of this receiver make it easy to fit it into any control system and enable simple and cost-effective overall design.

Photo: Septentrio

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Also in April, Septentrio is collaborating with MicroPilot, maker of professional UAV autopilots. Septentrio receivers, including the small form factor mosaic modules, as well as the OEM board AsteRx-m3, will support seamless integration of positioning and orientation into MicroPilot’s autopilot ecosystem. MicroPilot chose Septentrio GNSS receivers for their resilience to radio interference such as jamming and spoofing, as well as security and robustness with high-accuracy real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning.

Marine. In May, Septentrio introduced the housed AsteRx-U3 Marine and the OEM board AsteRx-m3 Fg, two receivers for dredging, marine construction and offshore applications. Both offer 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 over 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.

September 28, 2022
u-blox: Disruption leads to wide adoption

An interview with Markus Uster, head of product center positioning at u-blox about recent GNSS receiver innovations.

Uster

What was the most significant technical innovation in your GNSS receivers in the past five years?

The u-blox F9, launched in 2018, is our robust and versatile high-precision positioning technology platform. It was the first receiver to enable multi-band high-precision positioning solutions for mass-market industrial and automotive applications — and remains the benchmark for the industry today.

The platform combines multi-constellation (continuous reception of four satellite constellations) GNSS technology with dead reckoning and high-precision algorithms. It is also compatible with a variety of GNSS correction data services to achieve positioning accuracy down to the centimeter level.

The u-blox F9 platform is leading the next generation of high-precision navigation with its augmented reality, unmanned vehicles and various machine automation applications. It has since been integrated into a selection of modules catering to a wide range of applications.

What has it enabled users to do that they could not do before?

The u-blox F9 is a widely adopted multi-band GNSS platform for automotive and industrial applications. (Photo: u-blox)

In a nutshell, the u-blox F9 brought high-precision positioning to the mass market. The demand for scalable high-precision technology is growing rapidly, as evident in the automotive world with next-generation advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and in robotics with applications such as UAVs and robotic lawnmowers. However, due to the complexity, size, power and cost restrictions of existing high-precision solutions, until now it has been difficult to meet the demands of these markets.

u-blox developed the u-blox F9 platform by building on the success of our NEO-M8P high-precision GNSS module series and drawing on our extensive experience in GNSS positioning technologies, including dead reckoning, multi-band, real-time kinematic (RTK) and GNSS correction services. The platform delivers the next level of scalable GNSS high-precision technology and shows how u-blox is consistently addressing challenges and driving the GNSS technology evolution.

What is a good example of this?

Integration of the u-blox F9 platform into various applications has proven quite successful in a diverse range of use cases. In the industrial realm, u-blox F9 technology enables mass adoption of commercial unmanned vehicle applications. One example is precision agriculture, where high-precision positioning cost-effectively enables vehicle guidance solutions to improve pass-to-pass accuracy resulting in improved crop yield and reduced consumption of pesticides, fertilizer and seeds. The u-blox F9 modules also paved the way for autonomous driving, including lane-level navigation for heads-up displays and vehicular infotainment systems, a prerequisite for highly automated and fully autonomous vehicles.

September 28, 2022
U-blox firmware update adds QZSS CLAS to ZED-F9R

Photo: u-blox

U-blox has released a new firmware update for its ZED-F9R high-precision GNSS dead-reckoning modules. The update extends the range of supported positioning augmentation services.

With the update, the u-blox ZED-F9R-03B adds support for Japan’s QZSS CLAS correction services, extending the geographical market reach of the ZED-F9R and increasing the scalability of applications using the module. It also now supports SPARTN 2.0, a service from u-blox that delivers correction data based on the SPARTN protocol.

The ZED-F9R module was designed for use in autonomous automotive and industrial applications that require simple and efficient implementation. It is used where rapid access to highly accurate positioning data is key, even in challenging signal environments such as dense cities. Typical applications include slow-moving use cases such as robotic lawnmowers and shared e-scooters.

The module has an integrated inertial measurement unit (IMU) for real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning. It employs sophisticated algorithms to fuse the IMU data with GNSS measurements, wheel ticks, correction service data, and a vehicle dynamics model to provide centimeter-level positioning accuracy even in situations where GNSS alone would fail. It is based on the u-blox F9 multi-band GNSS receiver platform, which concurrently tracks up to four GNSS constellations, providing high-quality positioning accuracy.

September 25, 2022
Furuno’s latest global timing solutions support L1 and L5 GNSS signals
Image: Furuno

Furuno Electric Co. has released a new generation of time-synchronization GNSS receiver modules compatible with all GNSS systems. The modules deliver nanosecond precision for 5G mobile systems, radio communications systems, smart power grids and grand master clocks.

GNSS receivers for time synchronization are used extensively in critical infrastructure such as mobile base stations and RAN equipment, commercial and defense radio communications, broadcasting, financial trading and smart power grids, where there are increasing needs for robustness, reliability and security.

Furuno is releasing three new products: GT-100, GT-9001 and GT-90. They are designed to suit different applications based on the frequency bands and output signals supported. All models have the world’s highest level of time stability of 4.5 ns (1 sigma).

The GT-100 is the company’s first timing multi-GNSS receiver module supporting concurrent L1 and L5 reception. This mitigates the effects of solar flares, which can lead to time errors, and strengthens measures against GNSS vulnerabilities such as jamming and spoofing.
- The GT-100 delivers three outputs including 1 pulse per second (1 PPS) synchronized with UTC as well as user-programmable frequencies. The outputs can be set as required to 10 MHz, 2.048 MHz and 19.2 MHz, commonly used in a variety of wireless communications systems. This drastically reduces the time from development to market launch for these systems, as well as cost savings through reduced component needs. GT-100 is a full-featured highly robust model, supporting dual-frequency band reception (L1 and L5).
- GT-9001 supports L1 and delivers high stability 1PPS and programmable clocks on three channels.
- GT-90 supports L1 and provides a 1 PPS high stability output.
All models are equipped with the leading Dynamic Satellite Selection (DSS) multipath mitigation technology developed by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) that minimizes degradation of time performance even when the antenna is installed in urban areas or near a window.

Furuno will showcase the new modules at EuMW’s European Microwave Exhibition, a trade and technology exhibition providing access to initiatives in the RF and microwave sector.

Evaluation kits for all three products are available now.
September 25, 2022
Trimble: Positioning engine optimized for fusion

An interview with Chris Trevillian, director of product management, geospatial GNSS at Trimble about recent GNSS receiver innovations.

Trevillian

What was the most significant technical innovation in your GNSS receivers in the past five years?

In 2019, Trimble broke ground with Trimble ProPoint, the fifth generation high-precision positioning engine, engineered to provide position and orientation data from the fusion of GNSS signals, globally accessible high-accuracy correction services, and measurement data from a variety of sensors.

When Trimble launched ProPoint signal processing with the Trimble R12 GNSS receiver, head-to-head testing with the Trimble R10-2 in challenging GNSS environments (near canopy and built environment) showed the R12 performed 30% better across a variety of factors, including time to achieve survey precision levels, position accuracy and measurement reliability.

In September 2020, Trimble announced the Trimble R12i GNSS receiver. It incorporates tilt compensation based on an IMU using Trimble TIP technology, which enables points to be measured or staked out while the survey rod is tilted. This empowers land surveyors to focus on the job at hand and complete work faster and more accurately.

What has it enabled users to do that they could not do before?

Tilt-pole compensation enables measurements otherwise dangerous, difficult or impossible. Photo: Trimble

ProPoint provides new levels of reliability and productivity. In addition, the ProPoint engine is a key enabler of the new TIP technology.

The combination of ProPoint and TIP in the Trimble R12i allows users to accurately mark and measure points in areas previously inaccessible for GNSS rovers, such as building corners, or hazardous situations, such as the edge of an open excavation. The R12i also features real-time automatic inertial navigation system (INS) integrity monitoring. This system allows users to detect and correct for IMU biases introduced by use over time, temperature or physical shocks, helping ensure measurement quality and integrity for the life of the receiver. The combination of ProPoint and TIP technology improves accuracy, increases availability, provides better integrity and enhances constellation support.

Available on Trimble products utilizing Maxwell 7 technology, ProPoint leverages the latest developments in GNSS signal infrastructure and Trimble’s high-precision receiver hardware to deliver improved positioning performance in challenging environments. It also contains dynamic models of specific application movements, allowing it to filter out unexpected dynamic movements for improved accuracy.

What is a good example of this?

Benchmark Surveys, a small firm in Southwest England, wanted to test the R12i’s capabilities on a narrow road between an industrial park and Exeter Airport lined with high hedges, thick tangled foliage and large trees. The road-widening project, which required surveying 10 meters on either side of the road, would have been a challenge for any combination of surveying equipment. James Richards, Land, Utility and Measured Building Surveyor with Benchmark Surveys, told us the R12i was able to fix and gather points “in places not accessible by other GNSS kits we’ve used.” He said, “With the tilt compensation, we could reach under the edge of hedges and shrubs, up against buildings and walls, and safely out into the road.”

September 22, 2022