Cohda Wireless has partnered with u-blox to produce an advanced V2X solution for the global Cooperative Intelligent Transport market. With the partnership, Cohda’s V2X software stack will support the u-blox UBX-P3 DSRC/802.11p V2X chip.
Cohda Wireless and u-blox have a long-standing relationship and share a common vision of leveraging wireless technology to reduce the number of road accidents and fatalities across the globe.
The u-blox chip enables wireless vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, now enhanced with Cohda’s hardware-agnostic software applications.
Cohda said its software is widely deployed in the industry, providing 360° awareness and detecting hidden threats beyond anything a driver or on-board sensors can see.
Cohda Wireless Chief Engineer Fabien Cure said that the partnership offers the market an advanced V2X solution that will be of particular interest to Tier 1 auto makers, OEMs and road authority suppliers.
“In order to progress vehicle safety, OEMs need to produce vehicles that have embedded V2X wireless communication technology as a standard inclusion,” Cure explained. “Likewise, cities around the world are preparing for the introduction of wide scale cooperative intelligent transport systems.”
Cohda’s V2X software is in production vehicles of GM and Volkswagen.
“Connectedness is the key to safer roads and highways around the world and a technology solution of this calibre is an enabler of further trials and development in this sector that we warmly welcome,” added Mr Cure.
“The porting of Cohda’s leading V2X onto our high-performance UBX-P3 chip is an important proof point that both our solutions are interoperable and enable a swift integration into automotive platforms,” said Herbert Blaser, senior director, Product Center Short Range Radio at u-blox.
Cohda’s software products are applied in more than 60 percent of all V2X field trials in the world today in compliance with U.S. Federal Communications Commission and European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) standards.
“When we connect vehicles to each other and to roadside infrastructure, we are creating an intelligent and integrated road transport system that has the potential to reduce road accidents simply because the technology is capable of things humans aren’t,” added Cure.
New patented PIC Inside technology is designed to enhance inertial sensor performance and reliability for the growing autonomous market
Photo: KVH
KVH Industries has launched the P-1775 inertial measurement unit (IMU), featuring KVH’s new PIC Inside photonic integrated chip (PIC) technology.
KVH has been developing and testing the technology for more than three years and is now incorporating it into existing product lines. The first units have started shipping.
One of the first customers has integrated the P-1775 IMU into its next-generation rocket launch vehicle.
KVH’s PIC Inside technology features an integrated planar optical chip that replaces individual fiber-optic components to simplify production while maintaining or improving accuracy and performance.
The PIC Inside product is designed to deliver 20 times higher accuracy than less expensive MEMS inertial measurement units, uses modular designs for ease of integration, and has outstanding repeatability unit-to-unit.
“I applaud the tremendous effort by our incredible engineers in developing this groundbreaking technology and I am thrilled that we have begun to incorporate PIC Inside technology into our existing products, a process that we expect to continue throughout the year,” said Martin Kits van Heyningen, KVH CEO.
The PIC technology will be added to KVH’s inertial sensor product line for use across a broad range of applications from navigation to stabilization and pointing. KVH’s fiber-optic gyros (FOGs) and FOG-based products are particularly well-suited for the large and growing autonomous market. This market includes applications on land, sea and air, such as drones, people movers, trucks, and mining and construction equipment.
Autonomous applications rely on high-quality inertial sensors to deliver an extremely accurate navigation solution, delivering the performance required in critical metrics such as angle random walk (ARW) and bias instability.
Next-generation driverless cars, which require centimeter-level precision for safety, are the ideal application for KVH’s inertial products, KVH said. Employing the PIC design allows for a lower cost and scalable solution due to the elimination of various fiber components and a reduction of labor.
In 2019, KVH delivered its first product prototypes containing PIC technology to automotive customers and presented the science behind the technology to an audience of engineers at an inertial sensor conference, describing the extensive development, testing, and benefits of the new technology.
KVH is a leading innovator for assured navigation and autonomous accuracy using high-performance sensors and integrated inertial systems. KVH’s widely fielded TACNAV systems are in use by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps as well as many allied militaries around the world. KVH’s FOGs and FOG-based IMUs are in use today in a wide variety of applications ranging from optical, antenna and sensor stabilization systems to mobile mapping solutions and autonomous platforms and cars.
Septentrio’s mosaic-T is built specifically for resilient and precise time and frequency synchronization under challenging conditions. (Photo: Septentrio)
Septentrio has launched the mosaic-T GPS/GNSS receiver module, built specifically for resilient and precise time and frequency synchronization under challenging conditions.
According to the company, its multi-frequency, multi-constellation GNSS technology — together with AIM+ Advanced Interference Mitigation algorithms — allows mosaic-T to achieve maximal availability even in the presence of GNSS jamming or spoofing. This compact surface-mount module is designed for automated assembly and high-volume production.
“We are excited to expand our mosaic GNSS module family with mosaic-T, which will provide critical infrastructure and mission-critical PNT applications with accurate, reliable and resilient timing solutions,” said Francois Freulon, head of product management at Septentrio.
Septentrio mosaic-T delivers timing with nanosecond-level accuracy and has additional inputs for an external high-accuracy clock, the company added.
Septentrio, headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, designs and manufactures multi-frequency multi-constellation GPS/GNSS positioning technology for demanding applications.
The basic ArduSimple RTK kit includes Sapcorda SAPA. (Image: ArduSimple)
ArduSimple has integrated Sapcorda’s SAPA Premium Service into its new simpleRTK2B+SSR GNSS receiver. The user-friendly integration based on SSR technology allows plug-and-play real-time kinematic (RTK) without the need for a base station. Users can connect the receiver to their PC or tablet to achieve centimeter-level accuracy.
Based in Berlin, ArduSimple develops user-friendly, affordable RTK receivers and tools for evaluation of multi-band GNSS technology.
The simpleSSR basic starter kit includes a multi-band RTK receiver, SSR receiver, one year unlimited data package and one year SAPA Premium license. Accurate position is available via USB, UART and I2C, as well as via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or RS232 with the corresponding accessory.
“ArduSimple’s vision is to make RTK technology affordable and accessible to everyone. Removing the hassle of the base station is a key step towards it,” said Josep Olivart, Senior Consultant at ArduSimple. “The decision to select Sapcorda was clear: best in class service performance at affordable mass market price, supported by a highly skilled and committed team.”
Sapcorda provides GNSS augmentation services for the internet of things (IoT), automotive, and industrial applications across the United States and Europe including up to 20 kilometers off coastlines, delivered with low-bandwidth data over internet and satellite, and providing uniform, high-integrity instantaneous sub-decimeter positioning on a continental scale with enterprise-level service availability.
“Sapcorda aims to establish GNSS precise positioning in mass-market applications and ArduSimple is an ideal partner for the integration of our services into a high precision GNSS hardware,” said Botho Graf zu Eulenburg, managing director at Sapcorda. “The combination of our advanced services with ArduSimple’s new platform provides an easy to use and affordable high precision solution to everyone.”
An international survey and analysis on GNSS interference detection and localization systems reveal the path forward for transportation and other critical infrastructure.
By José Luis Madrid-Cobos and Ana Bodero-Alonso, ENAIRE
Ignacio Fernández-Hernández and Eric Châtre, EC
Andriy Konovaltsev, DLR, and Christopher Hegarty, MITRE
An ENAIRE GNSS RFI monitor close to the Madrid-Barajas Airport in Madrid, Spain. (Photo: ENAIRE)
The received power of GPS and Galileo navigation signals at the antenna output of a user receiver is typically extremely small, from approximately –165 up to –150 dBW, which makes them inherently vulnerable to radio-frequency interference (RFI) caused by the emissions of other radio systems. This interference is often unintentional, such as from malfunctioning or spurious emission from a transmitter in the vicinity of the GNSS receiver.
However, we have seen numerous reports about the deliberate jamming of GNSS signals. The most frequent examples of such interference reports are caused by so-called personal privacy devices (PPDs) — low-power GNSS jammers used to locally disable the operation of GNSS receivers. Although the use of PPDs is illegal, they can be easily acquired on the internet. A $10 jammer with 100 mW of transmitter power is enough to degrade performance or disrupt GNSS receivers in a range of 10–100 meters. In the past decade, more complex and powerful jammers have also become available, along with spoofers — devices that create GNSS-like signals that fool receivers to provide false location or time solutions. A $100 software-defined radio bought online can be used as a spoofer.
ENAIRE (the Spanish air navigation service provider) conducted an international survey and associated analysis of GNSS RFI detection and localization systems. The survey was part of the EU–U.S. Working Group C Sept. 2017–Sept. 2019 Work Plan, with contributions of the European Commission (DG DEFIS), the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Eurocontrol, the MITRE Corporation and Stanford University. Working Group C promotes cooperation between the U.S. and EU on design and development of the next generation of civil satellite-based navigation and timing systems. The survey was conducted within the Resilience Subgroup focused on counteractions required in view of growing concerns over jamming and spoofing threats.
Manufacturers and Users
The survey was provided in two versions: one targeted to manufacturers and another to the users of interference detection systems. The two surveys were implemented online July 12–Oct. 26, 2018. There were 23 responses: 11 from manufacturers and 12 from users (see Acknowledgments below for companies that participated). Regarding the manufacturers’ responses, the nine surveyed companies represent about 50% of the market of RFI monitoring products available in 2018.
RFI Equipment Used
We present here the aggregated results of the RFI equipment manufactured and used by the participating entities.
Frequency Bands and Signals. The L1/E1 band is covered by all of the manufacturers’ and users’ surveyed products. L5/E5a and other bands are monitored in only 42% of the cases, or even less. Most RFI systems demodulate or analyze the GPS L1 C/A signal. Only 8% and 17% of users analyze GPS L5 and Galileo E5a, respectively.
Capabilities. 55% of the industry, and 25% of the users’ surveyed products, provide RFI localization capabilities, while 45% of the industry, and only 33% of the users’ surveyed products, detect some type of spoofing.
Power and Antenna Gain. Most of the systems achieve a sensitivity better than or equal to –120 dBm, meeting the International Civil Aviation Organization requirement for GPS and SBAS L1 airborne receivers to withstand interference (–120.5 dBm CW, in-band) after steady-state navigation has been established. The gain of antennas used in RFI detection systems ranges from 2 dBi up to 45 dBi.
Real-Time Bandwidth. The maximum real-time monitored bandwidth of the surveyed products ranges from 16 MHz up to 60 MHz in L1. Most of the products monitor a 20-MHz bandwidth (similar to the GPS L1 C/A reference bandwidth for pre-GPS III satellites, which is 20.46 MHz).
Spectrum Refresh Time. The time needed by the RFI detector to capture and process a plot of the RF spectrum in a specific band to look for interference signals ranges from 1 microsecond to 2 seconds.
Jamming Detection Techniques. The most widespread jamming detection technique is RF power monitoring (45% industry, 92% users), followed by digital beamforming (CRPAs), carrier-to-noise-density ratio (C/N0) monitoring and spectral analysis/transforms (see Figure 1). Note that RF power monitoring and automatic gain control (AGC) monitoring are in essence the same detection technique: AGC voltage levels — after calibration with a reference RF generator — can be converted into RF input power levels.
Figure 1a. Jamming detection techniques used by industry. (Chart: RFI survey)Figure 1b. Jamming detection techniques of users. (Chart: RFI survey)
Spoofing Detection Techniques. The most widespread spoofing detection techniques are PVTF consistency monitoring (industry products, 27%) and correlation peak monitoring (users, 25%), followed by digital beamforming (CRPAs), C/N0 monitoring and spectral analysis/transforms (see Figure 2).
Figure 2a. Spoofing detection techniques used by industry. (Chart: RFI survey)Figure 2b. Spoofing detection techniques of users.(Chart: RFI survey)
Localization. The most widespread RFI localization technique is direction/angle of arrival (DOA/AOA): 55% in industry products and 25% in users’ systems. AOA techniques used are correlative interferometer (phase-difference), Watson-Watt (amplitude-difference) and array signal processing. The AOA accuracy of surveyed products ranges from ±3° to ±10°.
Event Recording. For an interference event, most products record the time stamp, received power, central frequency, frequency spectrum, the spectrogram (frequency versus time plot) and the jammer type. Only 8% of surveyed users perform spoofing event recording (see Figure 3). 92% of users record RFI/spoofing events; half also report them to their national spectrum administration. Users have from one to 11 jammer detectors. Only four users have been registered with spoofing detectors, each using one.
Figure 3a. RFI events recording/database used by industry. Jammer classifications: Class I — continuous wave signal; Class II — chirp signal with one saw-tooth function; Class III — chirp signal with multi saw-tooth functions; Class IV — chirp signal with frequency bursts. (Chart: RFI survey)Figure 3b. RFI events recording/database of users. Jammer classifications: Class I — continuous wave signal; Class II — chirp signal with one saw-tooth function; Class III — chirp signal with multi saw-tooth functions; Class IV — chirp signal with frequency bursts. (Chart: RFI survey)
Event Sharing. 75% of surveyed users are willing to collaborate in the creation of an international RFI and spoofing events common database, but the remaining 25% explicitly do not want to share their databases.
Future RFI Monitoring Equipment
Based on the analysis of the aggregated results from the survey, we identified some recommendations for improving RFI monitoring:
L5/E5a band. To be ready for introduction of the L5/E5a band into aviation operational use (expected by 2025), it is suggested that aviation organizations increase efforts to monitor and analyze the RFI situation in the L5/E5a band.
Spoofing detection. National organizations in charge of critical infrastructures should increase their efforts to detect spoofing (at least at the same level as jamming detection). Multi-constellation and dual-frequency spoofing detection should be promoted (not only L1/E1 spoofing).
GNSS RFI monitoring with enough bandwidth: The maximum real-time monitored bandwidth of the surveyed products ranges from 16 MHz to 60 MHz, while most of the products monitor only a 20-MHz bandwidth. The receiver reference bandwidth for E1 is 24.552 MHz, while for L1 GPS III it is 30.69 MHz. U.S.-EU GNSS RFI detection systems for critical infrastructures should be designed to monitor at least 31 MHz of bandwidth in the L1/E1 band, with 50 MHz recommended to cope with typical –3 dB bandwidth of pre-low-noise-amplifier (LNA) GNSS L1/E1 receiver filter. The same rule should be applied to other GNSS bands. Even more bandwidth for monitoring could be needed to cope with rare interferers, such as a high-power source, whether intentional or unintentional, radiating in near-band L1/E1 but not in the passband frequencies, bypassing the rejection of the receiver’s filters and degrading the GNSS signal reception.
Air Navigation
In the EU, performance-based navigation (PBN) will become the norm in all flight phases, and GNSS (with or without SBAS) will be the main position source, by June 2030. A similar scenario is being developed in the U.S. Conventional procedures and ground-based navigation aids will be used only in contingency situations. GNSS RFI can degrade the current GBAS CAT I (GAST-C) service in airports and could jeopardize safe operation of upcoming GBAS CAT II-III (GAST-D) service. GNSS also is the key enabler for ADS-B.
Therefore, it is critical for air transportation to improve its capability to detect radio frequency interference to GNSS and mitigate its harmful effects, both on the ground and in the air.
Ground Detection and Localization. These systems should be installed at and around all airports. ENAIRE has recently deployed an AOA RFI detection and localization system around the Madrid airport called DYLEMA. It consists of nine AOA RFI and spoofing detectors, two spoofing-only detectors, an IP communication network and a GNSS monitoring center operated 24/7. From this center, ENAIRE will report RFI events to the Spanish spectrum agency. Similar systems will be deployed in other large Spanish airports in the next years. In small airports, ENAIRE is deploying single-unit RFI detectors (one detector per airport, currently without the AOA feature). These systems are complemented by handheld and airborne spectrum analyzers equipped with directional antennas and RFI AOA features, used if an RFI event of high power or duration takes place.
Airborne Detection and Localization. Several initiatives are under study or initial design for airborne detection and localization systems, using current avionics receivers with no hardware modification or new hardware such as additional antennas in the aircraft. Future airborne RFI detection systems should include indoor coverage to detect jammers and spoofers in the airplane itself. EUROCONTROL is leading one of these initiatives using ADS-B. Given a reliable ADS-B data feed with suitable coverage information, a search algorithm could scan for outages. If the data is dense enough, it is possible to locate the source, even if the GNSS airborne antenna is omnidirectional with no AOA features. Another commercial initiative, GATEMAN, uses new GNSS antennas and components to provide AOA detection and localization features.
UAV-Embedded Detection and Localization. Detection and localization systems embedded in UAVs are not widely commercially available, but they will be useful to complement fixed or ground RFI monitoring systems, especially to detect fast moving mobile jammers and spoofers. A jammer moving at high speed could be found by a fixed detector, trigger the UAV take-off (collocated with the detector or close to it), and start tracking the target. If equipped with a camera, it could identify the vehicle carrying the jammer or spoofer. Such a system has to function in GNSS-denied scenarios, and needs to use sensors other than GNSS. Stanford University has recently developed a prototype of such a system.
Other Sectors
Shipping. RFI detection systems should be installed at and around harbors, where positioning requirements are the most stringent. Mobile AOA detectors can be installed in vessels. A DLR experiment integrated its GALANT GNSS RFI detector on a ship sailing from Spain to South Korea and back.
Railroads. Detection and localization systems should be installed at train stations and main railway junctions or switches. It is possible to install mobile detectors in trains to detect jammers inside the train apart from outdoor coverage to detect jammers outside the train.
Roads. Most PPD jammers in use are on roadways. Jammers not only jeopardize aviation and timing systems; they can jeopardize the safety of the coming autonomous road vehicles. We strongly recommend that police and road surveillance systems include jammers and spoofers as a daily target, to detect, localize and punish their users.
Supporting proposals include installing fixed detectors at tollbooths, road gantries or other points near roads; and using mobile detectors — for example, on police vehicles for locating a car that carries a jammer. Public transport services with enough vehicles (such as taxis or busses) could also detect RFI.
Smartphone Platforms. Initiatives are using smartphone crowdsourcing platforms to detect interference based on C/N0 or AGC measurements. At this time, only prototype apps for Android phones are available. The Apple iOS does not allow access to GNSS raw data. Android applications can include localization capabilities based on Time Difference Of Arrival (TDOA) or Power Difference Of Arrival (PDOA). Having a detection system in a mass-market product would create millions of detectors around the world. Reward programs by national or local administrations would encourage use of the app. User consent to obtain the data will be needed.
Space-Based Detection. Space-based detection is feasible to find medium- to high-power jammers and spoofers. Several projects have performed simulations, such as the ground to space threat simulator from Qascom and Spirent Communications. In this project, simulations achieved an error of less than 1.5 km using a medium-Earth-orbit (MEO) satellite as the RFI sensor and a 20-dBm static jammer on Earth, with 15 minutes of observation time. Also, an experimental program from the International Space Station has demonstrated that RFI can be detected from low Earth orbit.
The main issue of such detection systems is the cost to deploy all the satellites needed to have a global coverage with a low response time (2 hours or less to detect RFI). The performance of a space-based RFI system is better when using a LEO constellation (as, compared to an MEO system, it detects RFI with a lower transmitted power). One such system by HawkEye 360 was deployed in 2019. The company plans to operate a fleet of 30 satellites in LEO orbit, enabling it to gather new signals from any point on the planet within 30 to 45 minutes.
General Recommendations
Increased Effort Needed. Public administrations and transport service providers should increase their efforts to deploy GNSS RFI detection and localization systems. In parallel, governments should punish individuals or organizations using jammers or other types of illegal transmitters or emissions. Jamming and spoofing is illegal in the EU and the U.S. An increased RFI monitoring effort should be coordinated at the national or regional level to find synergies and avoid duplications.
Planned Interference. Government agencies, including national radiofrequency spectrum agencies, should coordinate nationally and internationally with air, rail, road, maritime and other critical infrastructure entities before any planned intentional interference is conducted, such as military exercises or protection of special events from potential terrorist attack. This coordination includes an analysis of the estimated area and airspace volume affected by the RFI, the associated notification to the GNSS users before and during the RFI radiation period (such as a NOTAM, Notice to Airmen), as well as the indication to use established alternative procedures (non-GNSS).
A Common Database. The creation of an international common database of GNSS RFI events could boost the fight against GNSS RFI. A specific action could define a standard of the RFI data format to be registered and shared in an international database, including a possible RFI classification (also defined and agreed to as part of the standard). One initiative related to the creation of an international GNSS RFI threats database was proposed by the EU-funded STRIKE 3 project in 2017.
Acknowledgments
The work presented in this report has been performed under the U.S.-EU Agreement on GPS-Galileo Cooperation, Working Group C, Resiliency Subgroup. The authors thank the participants of the Working Group and the Resiliency Subgroup — in particular, Eurocontrol and the FAA for distribution of the survey in the EU and the U.S., respectively. The authors also thank the organizations that participated in the survey: Spirent Communications, GMV, Centum Solutions, THALES, IDS AirNav, Chronos Technology, Innovationszentrum für Telekommunikationstechnik (IZT), Collins Aerospace, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR), Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS), Direction des Services de la Navigation Aérienne (DSNA), Polish Air Navigation Services Agency (PANSA), Belgocontrol, ENAV and ENAIRE.
José Luis Madrid-Cobos is the technical manager of GNSS interference detection and localization systems at ENAIRE, the Air Navigation Service Provider in Spain. Ana Bodero-Alonso is the head of the Satellite Navigation Department at ENAIRE. Ignacio Fernández-Hernández is responsible for Galileo high accuracy and authentication at the European Commission. Eric Châtre is the head of the GNSS Exploitation and Evolutions Sector at the European Commission. Andriy Konovaltsev is a research assistant at Institute of Communications and Navigation of the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Christopher Hegarty is a technical fellow with The MITRE Corporation.
ComNav Technology has released the M300 Plus GNSS receiver to the international market.
The M300 Plus is designed to supplement the company’s M300 Pro, which is aimed at clients who need a more economical version for their CORS networks. The M300 Plus not only can be used as a CORS receiver, but is a good choice for monitoring projects and other applications.
With ComNav Technology’s new-generation GNSS engine, the M300 Plus can track all current and future constellations. By using a powerful, adaptive detecting and canceling technology, the M300Plus provides enhanced anti-jamming capability, which is critical for a reference station providing reliable GNSS data.
Photo: ComNav
The M300 Plus’ powerful built-in web server provides full remote control of the receiver configuration, status checking, firmware update and data download. It supports multiple independent data transfer through TCP/UDP/Ntrip protocol in RTCM, ComNav binary, NMEA and BINEX data formats, combined with Email Alert and FTP push, which improves the efficiency and profitability of businesses.
In addition to its standard Ethernet port for data transmitting, the M300 Plus GNSS receiver also fully implements a 4G module as an internet backup, which enhances the stability of data connections.
M300 Plus is now available through ComNav Technology authorized local distributors or ComNav Technology directly.
SBG Systems renews its popular line of miniature inertial sensors with high-end functionalities and dual frequency RTK
SBG Systems has announced the third generation of its Ellipse series of miniature inertial sensors. The renewed product line benefits from a 64-bit architecture, allowing high precision signal processing.
All of the INS/GNSS devices now embed a dual-frequency, quad constellations GNSS receiver for centimetric position and higher orientation accuracy.
SBG Systems manufactures miniature high-accuracy inertial navigation systems with inertial measurement unit (IMU) design, calibration and filtering. All improvements made in the high-end lines could naturally benefit the Ellipse miniature line.
The Ellipse series includes four models.
Ellipse-A is a motion sensor
Ellipse-E provides navigation with an external GNSS receiver
Ellipse-N is a single-antenna RTK GNSS/INS
Ellipse-D is a dual-antenna RTK GNSS/INS
With its new 64-bit architecture, the third-generation Ellipse series enables the use of high-precision algorithms and technology used in high-end inertial systems such as rejection filters and FIR filtering.
All Ellipse miniature INS are now RTK-enabled without extra cost, and output raw data for post-processing. All these features are made possible in a small, robust aluminum-enclosure box version, as well as in the 17-gram OEM version.
The 17-gram OEM version of the Ellipse-D can provide drones with high-end features. Its dual antennas gives UAVs robust instant heading for take-off. Dual antenna is achievable with a very short baseline, down to 50 centimeters. Integration is enabled with ROS and PX4 drivers, full API, and free phone and email technical support.
Ellipse-D
Ellipse-D is the smallest dual-frequency, dual-antenna RTK GNSS/INS device offered.
With its dual-frequency RTK GNSS receiver, the Ellipse-D provides a centimeter positioning. Dual frequency provides more robust heading and position computation than single-frequency receivers. It also allows high performance in attitude (0.05°) and in heading (0.2°).
With its dual-antenna capability, Ellipse-D provides precise heading in a few seconds, in all dynamic conditions, and even in challenging GNSS conditions. It is also immune to magnetic disturbances. Ellipse-D is a quad-constellation receiver, simultaneously using signals from GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou and Galileo to enable navigation in challenging conditions.
Designed with high quality industrial-grade components, Ellipse inertial sensors are highly tested and calibrated in dynamic and temperature for consistent, repeatable behavior in all conditions.
Septentrio has unveiled the AsteRx-m2 Sx OEM board, which provides a GPS/GNSS receiver with always-on sub-decimeter accuracy without the need for additional correction service subscriptions.
With the AsteRx-m2 Sx, Septentrio is pioneering a novel approach to high-accuracy positioning. Its latest core GNSS technology is integrated with a sub-decimeter correction service enabling simple plug-and-play positioning solutions.
High-accuracy positioning is available directly out of the box as GNSS corrections are automatically streamed to the receiver. This significantly simplifies the receiver set-up process and eliminates the hassle of corrections service subscription and maintenance.
“This product marks a new step for GNSS technology towards convenience and ease-of-use,” said Danilo Sabbatini, product manager at Septentrio. “By integrating the correction service directly into the GNSS receiver, we are removing the hassle of positioning service set-up and maintenance from the user. This means faster set-up times for our customers and worry-free, always-on high-accuracy positioning throughout the receiver lifetime.”
The AsteRx-m2 Sx is an efficient positioning solution for small robots, aerial drones and automation applications. Its optimized size, weight and power (SWaP) means longer operation on a single battery charge and better value in the field, according to Septentrio.
Advanced anti-jamming technology AIM+ ensures robust and reliable operation in challenging environments, even in the presence of RF interference.
Septentrio is offering a free GNSS corrections webinar on July 8 at 5 p.m. CEST/ 8 p.m. PST.
Jackson Labs Technologies (JTL) has launched the PNT-6220 Assured Reference — a product combining low-Earth-orbit (LEO) signals, GNSS, terrestrial, wireline and atomic clock services in one small solution, specifically designed for critical infrastructure applications.
The PNT-6220 reference seamlessly combines concurrent L1, L2, L3 and L5 GNSS reception with a custom JLT-designed LEO-based Satellite Time and Location (STL) timing receiver. It also includes terrestrial receivers and PTP/IEEE-1588 edge grandmaster (EGM) and PTP/IEEE-1588-slave capability.
The PNT-6220 provides assured PNT for critical infrastructure applications such as those described in the directives of Presidential Executive Order 13905.
It can serve as a timing reference for 5G equipment, an ePRTC-capable reference, or a high-performance disciplined reference that supports PTP/IEEE-1588, STL, RF distribution and multi-frequency GNSS capability.
The PNT-6220 will be able to select the most optimal UTC reference input automatically and auto-switchover among its numerous reference inputs if one or more of them are jammed or spoofed, as well as average several references for additional stability and accuracy.
If all external references are jammed, the unit can provide UTC timing from its internal holdover oscillator with options that have less than 100-ns drift over 24 hours. The unit is also capable of outputting a GPS RF distribution signal driven by the internal flywheel oscillator, which allows glue-less retrofitting of any GPS-based legacy user equipment to the state-of-the-art reference sources the PNT-6220 can receive by simply plugging into the legacy equipment GPS antenna input.
Available Options
Numerous options are available for the half-width 19-inch-wide rack-mount box.
Swift’s first-of-its-kind, cross-continental drive demonstrates the performance of Skylark. (Image: Swift Navigation)
Swift’s first-of-its-kind, cross-continental drive demonstrates the performance of Skylark.
Swift Navigation, a San Francisco-based tech firm redefining GNSS and precise positioning technology for autonomous vehicles, has completed a cross-country drive test.
The goal of this first-of-its-kind drive, from San Francisco to New York and back, was to measure the efficacy of Swift’s recently expanded Skylark cloud corrections service and to demonstrate true nationwide lane-level GNSS correction coverage at the accuracy, reliability and availability levels required by Swift customers.
The drive took the Swift team across 26 states and Washington, D.C., with 6,614.7 miles (10,645.4 km) driven over 116 hours and 14 minutes logged. A Swift vehicle was equipped with 20 different GNSS devices, tested using six unique chipsets that included: Swift’s Piksi Multi, Duro and multiple leading GNSS silicon providers.
The results of the drive confirmed that Swift’s precise positioning solution — composed of Skylark and the Starling positioning engine — delivers consistent lane-level accuracy at continental level. Skylark delivered 100% availability, with sub-decimeter accuracy, over the entire United States, wherever cellular coverage was available.
Performance highlights from the drive:
+Sub-meter horizontal accuracy (2-sigma) achieved across all environments
100% Skylark availability
Highly repeatable results with Starling + Skylark across variety of dual-frequency GNSS chipsets
“This is the longest continuous GNSS-based precise positioning drive test of its kind and we are proud of the engineering team at Swift for undertaking this ambitious task,” said Anthony Cole, executive vice president of engineering. “The results show that Skylark performs as intended and expected in both open sky and urban environments and demonstrate that Skylark is truly a cross-continental corrections network delivering the high integrity and high availability required by automotive OEMs, last-mile applications, rail, mobile and micro-mobility companies.”
In addition to full contiguous U.S. (CONUS) coverage, the Skylark corrections service is now available in Europe and is being built out to support autonomous applications across the globe.
Download a complete write-up of the cross-country drive test at www.swiftnav.com.
Oceanographic & Geophysical Instruments (OGI) has selected iXblue’s Atlans INS to provide robust and uninterrupted data georeferencing to its newly unveiled mobile-mapping lidar solution dedicated to road assessment surveys.
A fully integrated mobile mapping solution, this new vehicle-based system integrates advanced systems to provide highly detailed georeferenced survey data to transportation departments throughout the United States.
“Highly accurate and reliable georeferencing of the collected data being crucial for road assessment operations, we were seeking a compact and robust navigation solution for our mobile scanner project,” said Darren Moss, program manager at OGI. “We tested other inertial navigation systems (INS) during mobile surveys in New York City and Boston with poor results, as those INS units relied mainly on GPS signals. Maintaining good GPS signals in the urban canyons of large cities proved to be impossible. This deeply impacted the georeferencing of the acquired lidar data, leading to highly inefficient operations. This is the reason we turned to iXblue’s Atlans A7 INS.”
Based on fiber-optic gyroscope (FOG) technology, the Atlans A7 north-seeking INS offers highly accurate and robust data georeferencing. Resistant to GPS outages, it enables continuous acquisition operations within environments lacking continuous GPS signals. The Atlans A7 is a valuable system for high-accuracy data acquisition without interruption.
“Working with iXblue in other markets, we were familiar with the high-quality instrumentation they are known for. We were confident their FOG-based INS systems would perform even during GPS outages,” Darren said. “By choosing the Atlans A7, we are assured to get robust and uninterrupted georeferenced data in urban environments, tunnels, forests, and mountainous areas, which is crucial for our customer’s operations. With this INS, iXblue brings high-end FOG performance to the mobile-mapping industry at a very affordable price.”
“The Atlans A7 integrates very well within our new mobile lidar solution and, combined with Teledyne Optech Polaris high-resolution lidar scanner and QPS Qinsy display and acquisition software, it brings high-accuracy and efficiency to the core of our Mobile lidar solution,” Darren said.
Orolia has introduced a low SWaP-C miniaturized rubidium oscillator, the Spectratime mRO-50, designed to meet the latest commercial, military and aerospace requirements where time stability and power consumption are critical. The oscillator is low SWaP-C — size, weight, power and cost.
The Spectratime mRO-50 provides a one-day holdover below 1 µs and a retrace below 1 x 10-10 in a form factor sized 50.8 x 50.8 x 19.5 millimeters. It takes up only 51 cc of volume — about one-third of volume compared to standard rubidiums — and consumes only 0.45 W of power.
he Spectratime mRO-50 miniaturized rubidium oscillator provides accurate frequency and precise time synchronization to mobile applications, such as military radio-pack systems in GNSS-denied environments. Its operating temperature of -10°C to 60°C (military version extends to -40°C to 75°C) is also suitable for UAVs and underwater applications.
Orolia is a leader in space-based atomic clocks and high-end crystal, rubidium, hydrogen maser and integrated GPS/GNSS clocks. The company also provides testing instruments for space missions that rely on high precision atomic clock technology.
Orolia’s Atomic Clocks team received the 2019 PTTI Distinguished Service Award in January for advancing the state of the art in high-stability atomic clocks and producing the only space-based passive H-maser in the world, operating on all Galileo satellites. Spectratime mRO-50 is the latest technology solution from this award-winning team.
“Through Orolia’s continuous commitment to innovation, we are proud to offer our customers more precise PNT data in a cutting-edge, lightweight form factor for mobile missions,” said Orolia’s Atomic Clocks Product Line Director, Jean-Charles Chen.
