The NavIC Indian constellation is now supported in NovAtel’s latest firmware release for its OEM7 series of GNSS receivers.
The 7.05.04 firmware release for OEM7 provides the following benefits:
Users can achieve a single point position accuracy of 2.5 m (rms) using NavIC L5 signals (from the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System) with GPS L1 on the newly available JSN model.
Access to the L5 frequencies on the OEM7600 and OEM7720 provides triple-frequency capabilities to unlock the potential of GPS L5, Galileo E5a and AltBOC, Beidou B2a and NavIC L5.
A full listing of all changes in this release are included in the “What’s New” document included in the firmware download package. Visit this page to download the latest firmware for a specific platform. Visit NovAtel’s documentation portal for the OEM7 reference manual.
The L26-DR dead-reckoning GNSS module is a multi-GNSS receiver embedded with a dead-reckoning solution to greatly improve positioning accuracy and speed while simplifying customer designs. The dead-reckoning capability ensures the module delivers the highest performance positioning solution available, even when GNSS signals are absent or compromised. Equipped with six-axis sensor MEMs and a powerful GNSS core, the module provides high sensitivity, fast GNSS signal acquisition and tracking with low system integration effort. The L26-DR can acquire and track any mix of GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo and QZSS signals.
The Arvento Treyki Mini is a compact people and asset tracking device with eight operating modes, including special settings for tracking children (with geofencing) and senior citizens (with an integrated fall sensor). It is also suitable for use in sports, racing and asset management and can be used as an emergency beacon. It has an onboard positioning receiver, and reports its location using an internal GSM/GRPS modem. It can operate for up to seven days from its 900mAh LiPo rechargeable battery before it needs to be recharged. It uses the u-blox ZOE-M8Q concurrent multi-GNSS module, which is able to receive 72 channels simultaneously.
The new Antenova Raptor achieves high accuracy using the L2 1200-MHz GNSS bands. The L2 band combines multi-band satellite signal reception and GNSS correction data, helping to mitigate position errors. The antenna is the latest addition to Antenova’s lamiiANT range of rigid FR4 antennas designed for easy insertion onto a printed circuit board (PCB). It is a GPS single-feed antenna in surface mount (SMD) form, measuring 16.0 x 8.0 x 1.6 millimeters, suitable for small PCBs within all kinds of small electronic devices. Raptor is supplied in tape and reel for ease in high-volume manufacturing applications.
The Regulus Pyramid is a fully functional GNSS receiver fortified with spoofing detection capability. The receiver contains patented technology that enables it to differentiate between real GNSS signals and fake ones generated by an attacker. It is availble both as a fortified GNSS receiver (v1), capable of detecting spoofing attacks, and at the chip level (v2), allowing mobile phones, cars and internet of things (IoT) devices to receive GNSS spoofing protection. A Pyramid GNSS Add-On can be integrated with another satellite receiver to enable spoofing detection capabilities for any GNSS board.
The AGR6302 and AGR6303 GNSS patch antennas are designed for precision dual-frequency positioning. The AGR6302 is capable of receiving L1/L2 bands, and the AGR6303 is capable of receiving L1/L5 bands. They are designed for UAVs, precision agriculture, autonomous vehicles and other applications where precision matters. The AGR6302/AGR6303 active antenna is designed to cover GPS, BDS, Galileo, GLONASS, IRNSS and the QZSS system. It employs a stack four-feeds architecture with hybrid to achieve the multi-band operation, lower axial ratio, wider half-power beamwidth and excellent right-hand circular polarization. It is housed in a compact, industrial-grade waterproof and magnet mount enclosure.
The Alta 8 Pro multi-rotor drone includes waypoint technology to allow preprogrammed movements and autopilot functionality. The Alta Pro flight controller runs open PX4 flight stack for quick and powerful interfacing. The Alta 8 Pro fuses readings from accelerometers, barometer, and GPS to create high-bandwidth height control flight mode. By fusing GPS data with an IMU and barometer, the drone is able to hold position even in difficult weather conditions.
DJI Phantom 4 Pro with Loki PPK system. (Photo: GeoCue)
The DJI Phantom 4 Pro RTK (P4R) drone is now integrated into the AirGon Sensor Processing Suite (ASPSuite). ASPSuite is a post-processing solution for GeoCue’s Loki direct geopositioning system for DJI and other drones. The ASPSuite enables integration of the P4R with third-party L1/L2 GNSS base stations such as systems from Septentrio, Leica, Trimble, Topcon, CHC and others in a high-accuracy PPK workflow. It includes support for engineering-grade survey options such as vertical transforms, creation of and transformation between collection datums and local coordinate systems, application of antenna static and dynamic lever-arm corrections, and full support for Loki direct geopositioning systems.
The Insta360 Titan is an eight-lens cinematic virtual reality (VR) camera that captures 360-degree photos and video at up to 11K resolution. The Titan uses eight micro four thirds (MFT) sensors, the largest sensors available in any Insta360 standalone VR camera. It has a GPS signal antenna and a Wi-Fi signal antenna. The sensors maximize image quality, dynamic range, low-light performance and color depth, increasing realism in high-end professional VR capture.
The GRX3 is designed to provide a smaller, lighter and fully integrated GNSS solution to Sokkia’s GNSS receiver line. Its compact and lightweight housing has been tested to meet IP67 certification for protection against harsh weather. The receiver features Sokkia Tilt technology, which includes a nine-axis inertial measurement unit (IMU) and compact eCompass designed to compensate for misleveled field measurements by as much as 15 degrees. UTC technology automatically tracks signals from all available and planned constellations, including GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou, IRNSS, QZSS and SBAS.
The Faro Focus scanner attached to a Stormbee UAV. (Photo: Stormbee)
The Faro–Stormbee airborne solution includes the Faro Focus laser scanner, the Stormbee S series UAV and the Beeflex software suite. It enables wide-area scanning missions such as highways, train infrastructure and buildings. It allows users to capture complex environments traditionally inaccessible to ground-based scanning. It has no need for control points. Users can create centimeter-level accurate point clouds directly from the in-flight data.
Experts discuss value of automation and new technology
Screenshot: Topcon
The new Infrastructure and Technology series of documentary videos is designed to foster awareness of growing global infrastructure demands and the technology that can help meet them. Experts interviewed include representatives from Intel, SAP, Industry Consultants, Constructech, Solar City and Topcon. They discuss how, by adopting technology, the construction and agriculture industries can increase productivity and help address infrastructure needs now and in the future.The series was filmed globally in the U.S., the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Germany.
Updated to latest intellicad technology consortium release
Photo: Carlson Software
The specialized drafting package Carlson iCAD 2019 allows technicians to supplement the finished product in their project deliverables. New additions and functions to the iCAD 2019 release are new tool palettes, new 3D solid commands, additional DGN support, and new express tools. iCAD features Google Earth import and export KML/KMZ, standard CAD entities and the drawing inspector tool.Carlson iCAD 2019 has been built with and updated to the IntelliCAD 9.0 engine from the previous IntelliCAD Technology Consortium 8.3 release. IntelliCAD 9.0 supports direct read of DGN files, allowing users to make edits without converting drawing formats, and features a CUI interface for custom workspaces, toolbars and ribbons.
The 2019 Geographic Calculator features a universal copy and paste function, a new angular unit conversion tool, support for NADCON 5.0 and updated seismic survey conversion functionality. The foundation of the calculator’s geodetic data-processing functionality is the embedded GeoCalc datasource, which is continually revised and improved with updates through the online GeoCalc Geodetic Registry. The datasource included in the 2019 release mirrors the most current EPSG database definitions. The calculator’s copy and paste function can be used to quickly capture data for use in a third-party application or to insert new coordinate values in an existing job.
The InvenSense Coursa Drive software is an inertial-aided positioning solution for autonomous vehicle platform developers. It is a high-performance extension of the InvenSense Positioning Library (IPL), which has provided sensor-aided positioning to more than 50 million devices worldwide. Coursa Drive enhances inertial-only vehicle positioning to <0.2 percent of distance traveled, accuracy critical to maintaining decimeter lane-level vehicle positioning in challenging GNSS/perception system environments. Coursa Drive’s inertial navigation system (INS) calibrates using absolute position inputs from either high-accuracy GNSS receivers or from perception-based systems (camera, radar, lidar) with high-definition (HD) maps. In real time, Coursa Drive provides high-rate, 100-Hz delta positions and orientation to the autonomous vehicle system, complementing the lower rate position references from GNSS and perception systems. For non-real-time applications such as HD map creation and maintenance, Coursa Drive’s offline mode reprocesses INS data at two to three times higher accuracy than real-time mode, providing HD map companies alternative position references to verify HD map accuracy, even without GNSS, for up to 60 seconds.
The mobile NVR408M with GPS navigation is designed for use in moving vehicles, remote locations or rugged environments. The rugged compact design works in harsh and demanding conditions to deliver quality video surveillance. Typical applications are in law enforcement or public transportation, using vehicles such as trains, buses, trucks, cars, airplanes and ships. NVR408M is an EN50155-certified product, able to withstand severe vibration and shock and making it suitable for railway applications.
The VN4610 is a powerful interface for accessing IEEE 802.11p and CAN (FD) networks for Car2X/V2X communication using a USB PC connection. The VN4610 provides precise position, time and speed information that can be used by the application as test stimulus or for documentation. The absolute GNSS timestamps can be used to synchronize recordings of distributed measurements for subsequent analysis. The u-blox NEO-M8U supports GPS, GLONASS, Beidou and Galileo — up to three systems simultaneously. The IEEE 802.11p-based dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) communicates in the 5.9-GHz range. The VN4610 supports the unfiltered receiving and sending of IEEE 802.11p frames used for the implementation of Car2X/V2X applications. The received IEEE 802.11p radio-signal-based frames are transferred to the application synchronously to the CAN (FD) messages.
With enhanced ADS-B, SBAS and georeferenced charts
Photo: Collins Aerospace
The Pro Line Fusion avionics upgrade for Pro Line 4-equipped Bombardier Challenger 604 series aircraft has been certified by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The all-in-one upgrade complies with pending mandates while modernizing the flight experience for pilots. The upgrade includes ADS-B mandate compliance, SBAS-capable GNSS, localizer performance with vertical guidance (LPV) approaches, radius-to-fix (RF) legs, geo-referenced electronic navigation charts, widescreen LCD screens and synthetic vision.
Systron Donner Inertial (SDI) has released an update to its SDN500 digital quartz MEMS GPS inertial navigation system (GPS/INS).
Introduced in 2011, the SDN500 is a platform extension of SDI’s proven, tactical-grade SDI500 IMU.
The modular, compact, 25 in3 SDN500 provides for maximum packaging flexibility in dense systems and delivers accuracies to within 1.0 mrad in attitude, 0.1 m/s in velocity and 3.9 meters spherical error probability (SEP), the company said.
The SDN500-xE product update provides a newer generation JF2 (C/A) Code GPS receiver and tightly couples the 1 PPS GPS signal to the SDI505 IMU synch pulse to improve heading performance and reduce jitter after long periods of operation without dynamic inputs. The specifications for the updated SDN500-xE will remain the same as the current SDN500-xD INS/GPS device.
The SDN500 offers superior tactical-grade performance integrating SDI’s latest generation quartz gyros capable of 0.5°/hr. bias in-run stability and exceptionally low ARW (0.02°/√ hr.), quartz accelerometers delivering 0.5 milli-g in-run bias stability and low VRW (80 µg/√ Hz.), plus high speed digital signal into a tightly coupled GPS-aided Inertial Navigation System for tactical navigation and geo-location applications.
BroadSim Wavefront Simulator at work. (Image: Talen-X)
Talen-X has added the BroadSim Wavefront Simulator to its software-defined platform.
The BroadSim Wavefront further extends the capabilities achieved by BroadSim Anechoic, incorporating support for controlled radiation pattern antenna (CRPA) and multi-element receiver testing.
BroadSim, powered by Skydel SDX, has brought new innovations to the forefront each year to meet the growing needs of Talen-X’s customers, and the new wavefront simulator is the latest advancement.
Its features include:
Phase-coherent simulation
Real-time automated phase calibration
Scalable from 4 to 16 elements
Advanced jamming and spoofing scenarios.
Talen-X engineers are approaching delivery of an operational demonstration unit, as well.
BroadSense Nano
The BroadSense Nano GPS jamming sensor is the newest addition to Talen-X’s BroadSense product line. It has the smallest size, weight and power of any BroadSense product.
The video below features shows a prototype of the Nano, as well as information about its features and a demonstration of the unit reacting to various jamming waveforms in real time.
New developments in antenna technology empower the final positioning solution with better accuracy and reliability. Leading experts discuss the technology advances producing greater user benefits.
The increasing prevalence of both intentional and inadvertent jamming, new wider bandwidths, and the significance of antenna phase-center variation all bring changes to the dynamic and evolving antenna sector.
Javad Ashjaee (Photo: Javad GNSS)
Javad Ashjaee
President & CEO, JAVAD GNSS
Advanced filtering techniques enable our antennas to defend against jammers and spoofers and to inform users with the details of these intrusive actions when they are detected.
Near-Band Interference. The J-Shield is a robust filter in our antennas that blocks out-of-band interference, in particular such signals that are near the GNSS bands like the LightSquared/Ligado signals. The graph below shows the protection characteristics of the J-Shield filters. It has a sharp 10-dB/KHz skirt that provides up to 100 dB of protection. It makes the precious near-band spectrums available for other usages and protects GNSS bands now and in the future.
In-Band Interference. Our in-band protection digital filter protects against in-band interference like harmonics of TV and radio stations when you get close to them, or against illegitimate in-band transmissions. Our in-band interference protection is based on the 16 adaptive 80th-order filters. Advanced interference mitigation (AIM) filters can be combined in pairs for complex signal processing. This filter can simultaneously suppress several interference signals.
Graph: Javad GNSS
The 16 finite impulse response (FIR) AIM filters can be combined in any number in chain. Each filter is a 255-order FIR filter. It can be used to suppress the stationary interference signal in programmable area (compare with adaptive AIM-filter) or for spectrum shaping. To have more suppressing areas or more aggressive suppressing, one can combine FIR AIM serial.
Neil Gerein, Portfolio Manager, NovAtel. (Photo: NovAtel)
Neil Gerein
Director, Product Management, NovAtel
At NovAtel we often say, “accuracy is addictive,” and to meet increasingly demanding accuracy and reliability requirements it is vital to concentrate on the antenna. After all, the antenna is the first in a long chain of key technologies that the GNSS signals must pass through to create a position, navigation and timing solution.
All modern GNSS transmit on multiple frequencies, with wide bandwidth signals, requiring antenna elements and integrated low noise amplifiers (LNAs) that operate across these frequencies. The challenge is to design the antenna element and LNAs for symmetric radiation patterns across all frequencies while minimizing multipath, phase center offset (PCO) and phase center variation (PCV). The result is better carrier-phase measurements, and therefore more accurate solutions in real-time kinematic (RTK) and PPP applications.
Photo: NovAtel
Since 2016 the Radio Equipment Directive (RED) has been in effect, and all GNSS receiver systems sold into the European Union must be compliant to the standard, including adjacent-band compatibility and spurious emissions testing. RED compliance is an end-to-end system test, where the filtering within the antenna must be analyzed in concert with the filtering capabilities of the connected GNSS receiver to meet the requirements. The antenna performance therefore becomes critical to any GNSS receiver system that is intended to be sold within the EU.
Gyles Panther, president and CTO, Tallysman Wireless. (Photo: Tallysman)
Gyles Panther
President and Chief Technical Officer, Tallysman
A fact often not appreciated is that the performance of a GNSS antenna is commonly the limiting factor in system accuracy. Digital signal algorithms in the receiver are helpful, but if the signal delivered by an antenna is less than optimum, the receiver cannot compensate.
Precision GNSS systems typically rely upon resolved wavelength ambiguity measurements, combined with ephemeris and clock corrections to determine signal time of flight. In real-time kinematic (RTK) and precise point positioning (PPP) receivers, the basis for this measurement is phase locked tracking of received satellite signals. Thus an over-arching measure of antenna performance in the specific application conditions is the proportion of the time that phase lock is maintained by the receiver.
The VeraChoke GNSS antenna. (Photo: Tallysman)
All this provides for an unprecedented level of accuracy, with precision antennas now more akin to the ends of a tape measure than providing a simple GNSS “fix.” To this end, key parameters include a best possible G/T ratio, high multipath rejection, excellent axial ratio, high front-back ratio and minimal phase-center variation (PCV), all with high uniformity in the azimuth — altogether a very demanding design task.
Combining these parameters to provide exquisite accuracy, the Tallysman VC6100 choke ring antenna has less than 1 millimeter PCV when combined with absolute calibrated corrections data, whilst the lower cost VP6000, with its less complex installation, can be used without corrections data and still be within a millimeter or two of the truth compared to its more precise cousin.
Skydel Solutions has updated its SDX GNSS simulator to version 19.1. The new version adds Galileo AltBOC signal generation, new atmospheric errors, SBAS improvements and SV antenna patterns.
Galileo AltBOC. SDX now supports Galileo AltBOC as a new GNSS signal type. Current SDX users licensed with the Galileo E5 signal will be able to generate 8 Phase Shift Keying (8-PSK) constant envelope AltBOC after upgrading to SDX 19.1.
The signal can be generated by selecting both Galileo E5a and E5b in the output – signal selection panel.
A montage of screenshots showing the various updates. (Image: Skydel)
Atmospheric Delays and Improvements to SBAS. Version 19.1 adds a new error type to all SDX users: atmospheric delays. These errors can be compensated with SBAS for SDX licensees with the SBAS option installed. The SBAS message now broadcasts ionospheric error corrections.
Three new interfaces help create, manage and use these error values in simulation scenarios.
Atmospheric Errors (Settings : Global). This panel enables users to review and edit the ionospheric delay values for any SBAS Ionospheric Grid Points (IGPs) . The map view can be navigated (pan and zoom) much like the map panel of the simulation. The edit button brings up an IGP editor used to assign the points values or increase their current value by a set amount.
Since the number of points in the grid is fairly large, the user interface works with a selection of points, allowing users to add or remove the current selection in order to quickly work your way around the whole map.
Atmospheric errors are available to all SDX licensees with the 19.1 upgrade.
Ionospheric Masks (Settings : SBAS). SDX users with the SBAS option can use this new interface to assign the true/false value for each point of the different SBAS bands, per service provider. It reuses most of the paradigm of the aforementioned atmospheric error pane.
Ionospheric GIVE Indicators (Settings : SBAS). Using a similar map interface as the two previous panels, the GIVEI (GIVE Indicators) panel enables you to provide the GIVE Indicator values for each IGP that is configured in the mask, per service provider.
The grids created or modified with these new options can all be saved and imported back into future SDX scenarios.
New GNSS Satellite Antenna Patterns. Also new in SDX 19.1 is the possibility to add user-defined antenna patterns to GNSS satellites. These new antenna pattern options show SDX’s flexibility by allowing any user-defined antenna pattern to be applied to any satellites in any GNSS constellation.
This can prove especially useful for scientists and engineers working with space vehicles, due to their unusual orientation when compared to surface vehicles. High-Earth-orbiting spacecraft benefit from the side lobes of GNSS satellites to improve navigation performance. In fact, when tracking the signal from side lobes, the number of visible satellites is drastically increased, and the precision can improve from the kilometer to the meter level.
In addition, the new antenna patterns can be a potent tool in the context of research projects that experiment with user-defined GNSS SV Antennas.
SV antenna patterns in SDX. SDX now allows you to create, define, and manage antenna patterns for GNSS satellites using an interface very similar to the one we introduced for vehicles in SDX 18.10. As with that release, the various patterns are organized into antenna models that can be named, managed, exported, and reimported back into other simulation scenarios.
The user interface has also been improved. Read more about the changes in Skydel’s blog.
Global semiconductor company STMicroelectronics has signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Swedish silicon carbide (SiC) wafer manufacturer Norstel AB.
After closing the deal, ST will control the entire supply chain for a portion of its SiC devices at a time of constrained global capacity and positions itself for a significant growth opportunity, ST said in a press release.
ST will acquire 55 percent of Norstel’s share capital, with an option to acquire the remaining 45 percent subject to certain conditions, which, if exercised, will result in total consideration of $137.5 million, funded with available cash.
“ST is the only semiconductor company with automotive-grade silicon carbide in mass production today,” said Jean-Marc Chery, president and CEO of STMicroelectronics. “We want to build on our strong momentum in SiC, both in volume and breadth of applications for industrial and automotive, targeting continued leadership in a market estimated at more than $3 billion in 2025.
“The acquisition of a majority stake in Norstel is another step forward strengthening our silicon carbide ecosystem: it will boost our flexibility, improve yield and quality, and support our long-term silicon carbide roadmap and business.”
Norstel, headquartered in Norrkoping, Sweden, was founded in 2005 as a spinoff of Linköping University. It develops and manufactures advanced 150-mm silicon carbide bare and epitaxial wafers.
PCTEL Inc. released at DistribuTECH a new dual-band 802.11ac/p MIMO antenna that helps boost data rates and reliability for utility networks, intelligent transportation systems and other industrial IoT (IIoT) applications, according to the company.
PCTEL’s Coach 4×4 Wi-Fi/DSRC GNSS multi-band antenna is designed for both mobile and fixed deployments, enabling smart grids, mobile workforce communications, and advanced automation technologies across a variety of industries.
The antenna also supports Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC), a common interoperable safety standard for vehicles.
“PCTEL’s latest antenna will enable the future of the IIoT,” said Rishi Bharadwaj, PCTEL COO. “For example, advanced smart grids utilizing Coach antennas could reduce outages and efficiently manage alternative energy sources.
“Coach antennas also provide mobile connectivity for applications such as DSRC, which has the potential to revolutionize road safety. Those are just some of the possibilities. PCTEL’s advanced RF design and environmental testing capabilities enable us to deliver superior 4×4 MIMO performance and exceptional durability for the most demanding applications,” added Bharadwaj.
This new low-profile antenna features four-port 2.4/5-GHz coverage along with PCTEL’s unique high rejection GPS/GLONASS technology for network timing and tracking, all in a single IP67-rated housing.
It supports a variety of wireless technologies, including broadband mesh networks, 802.11ac Wi-Fi and 802.11p DSRC Wireless Access in Vehicular Networks (WAVE) standards for direct vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications.
This is the latest in PCTEL’s Coach antenna series. Coach antennas have been deployed in a variety of mobile and IIoT applications around the world. Their UV-stable design facilitates maximum installation flexibility without antenna orientation restrictions, the company said.
PCTEL is displaying its Coach4x4 Wi-Fi/DSRC GNSS multi-band antenna Feb. 5-7 at DistribuTECH, booth 11750, in New Orleans. It is available now to order using part #GL4X4MIMO-SF.
Averna has launched a series of development tools that enable the real-time monitoring of assets.
The Averna ConnexThing Toolkits enable customers to quickly connect new and existing manufacturing test assets to PTC’s ThingWorx Industrial IoT Platform.
Each toolkit targets a specific programming language or test sequencer to accelerate the implementation and deployment of an internet of things (IoT) solution with ThingWorx.
The ConnexThing Toolkit for NI TestStand, which is available for download now, streamlines the connection between TestStand’s ready-to-run test management software and ThingWorx’s innovative end-to-end IoT platform. It comes complete with templates, data shapes, widgets and dashboard examples that easily link test stations.
The ConnexThing Toolkit for NI TestStand:
accelerates integration of ThingWorx with TestStand
enables easy monitoring of test stations and asset management using the configurable ThingWorx dashboard tool
orchestrates bi-directional communication
provides guidance for clean code and architecture.
“The Averna ConnexThing Toolkit is the first in a series of new operational technology (OT) solutions designed to help clients gain insight on manufacturing and test processes and deploy Smart Connected Operations,” said Jean-Levy Beaudoin, VP Platforms & Innovation for Averna. “By leveraging the power of PTC’s ThingWorx Industrial IoT Platform together with our test assembly automation and machine vision expertise, Averna is uniquely qualified to help organizations achieve their digital transformation, enabling further productivity and quality improvement.”
“PTC is pleased to have Averna in the PTC Partner Network, allowing for their recognized quality and test expertise to be made readily available to ThingWorx customers,” said JP Provencher, vice president of manufacturing strategy and solutions at PTC. “The ThingWorx extensions they have built help manufacturing companies improve test and quality processes by making them connected, real-time, predictive, and augmented.”
The Averna ConnexThing for NI TestStand is available to download now as a free 90-day trial, directly from the PTC Marketplace or Averna website.
WTS Positioning Solutions, a Swedish GPS tracking company, has released its next generation of smart GPS trackers: the Trax G+ series.
At the top of the range is Trax G+ 4G LTE-M, one of the first LTE trackers commercially available on the market, the company said. It supports 4G LTE-M and NB-IoT standards, with both European and U.S. models available.
WTS has also released two new, improved GPS models using 3G and 2G standards, to complete the new Trax G+ range.
Trax G+ tracker. Trax G+ is a small GPS tracker for personal use. It has real-time tracking capability with update rates of up to every 10 seconds. For customised industrial applications, the new Trax G+ can support up to two updates per second. It also comes with wireless charging and IP68 water resistance.
The Trax G+ App, available in the App Store and Google Play, has a wide range of features including Unlimited Geofences, Augmented Reality Tracking, Speed Alerts, Location History, the possibility to track multiple devices and device sharing.
WTS works closely with brands across several consumer markets, including sports gear, event management, security, search and rescue, homecare and telecommunications.
Photo: WTS Positioning Solutions
Tracking vest. A special collaboration with POC sports brand, manufacturer of helmets, body armour and sports apparel, resulted in an ISPO Gold Winner award for the POCito VPD Air Vest + TRAX POC edition.
The vest provides a child with back protection for winter sports and is designed to store a TRAX POC Edition device. It is an integrated protection, alert and tracking system that allows parents to monitor and keep children safe on the slopes.
POC will present the vest at ISPO Munich, held Fe.b 3-6, in Hall B6, Booth 414.
Trax G+ data plans are offered in 6-, 12- and 24-month pre-paid packages and offer international coverage and free roaming in all supported countries.
WTS Positioning Solutions are specialists within the GNSS industry, supplying personal GPS trackers, plus customised hardware, software, server and data solutions for high-precision real-time location and tracking information.
Dime-sized INS with RTK paves the way for high accuracy in mass-market consumer applications.
Photo: Inertial Sense
Inertial Sense has released a new micro-sized inertial navigation system (INS) with precise real-time-kinematic (RTK)-level accuracy. The company says the new solution paves the way for high accuracy in mass-market consumer applications.
The new micro INS with RTK solution offers an accuracy of 2-3 centimeters using GPS positioning in combination with inertial sensors (including on-board sensor fusion).
Inertial Sense designs and manufactures precision INS+RTK GPS sensors that deliver fast, accurate and reliable altitude, velocity and position for a wide range of autonomous vehicle applications, the company said.
The new micro INS with RTK provides a high degree of precision for orientation and GPS in a tiny package. Standard INS/GPS sensors offer accuracy in the range of 1.5 to 2 meters. Inertial Sense’s micro INS with RTK offers accuracy of 2-3 centimeters.
In the image above, a vehicle travels under an overpass. The 3-cm accurate RTK-inertial navigation track holds true to the vehicle’s position while the standard GPS signal is lost. (Image: Inertial Sense)
“The incredibly small size of our new micro INS with RTK sensor, in combination with its extremely affordable price point, will make this type of highly sophisticated technology accessible for general consumer applications for the very first time,” said Walt Johnson, founder and CTO, Inertial Sense. “We are offering RTK at a size, accuracy and price point that the market has never seen before.”
By optimizing the manufacturing processes for high volume applications, the micro INS with RTK sensor is as small and lightweight as a dime, and is available at a low price point.
Sensor fusion. Sensor data from MEMs gyros, accelerometers, magnetometers, barometric pressure and u-blox GPS/GNSS are fused to provide optimal position estimation. Data out includes angular rate, linear acceleration, magnetic field, barometric altitude and GPS time.
The miniature module provides orientation, velocity and position. Base station corrections data can be applied to achieve centimeter-level precision.
Autonomous vehicles. The sensor will enable the navigation of all types of autonomous vehicles with a very high degree of precision, Inertial Sense said.
Inertial Sense patented modules are currently being sold worldwide at volume for a broad variety of applications including:
Aerial surveys: UAV Payloads for 3D mapping, photogrammetry, orthomosaics
Gimbal stabilization and antenna pointing
3D motion capture and personnel tracking
Evaluation kits. Inertial Sense has bundled evaluation kits it says are simple to use and contain everything needed to begin logging RTK-accurate data. The evaluation boards can be utilized in both rover and base station configurations and include 900-mhz radios with onboard logging capabilities.
SBG Systems has released the Horizon IMU, a FOG-based high performance inertial measurement unit (IMU) designed for highly demanding surveying applications such as high-altitude data collection or mobile mapping in dense areas such as urban canyons.
SBG Systems made the announcement at the International LiDAR Mapping Forum (ILMF) in Denver.
The Horizon IMU joins the Ekinox and Apogee IMUs as options for the Navsight Land/Air Solution. The solution consists of a powerful and ready-to-use inertial navigation solution dedicated to surveyors for mobile data collection.
The new Horizon IMU allows customers to bring the Navsight technology to the most demanding environments such as high-altitude surveying and highly dense areas, as well as application where only a single antenna can be used.
The different levels of accuracy enable the solution to meet various application requirements and can be connected to various external equipment such as odometer, lidar and more. The Ekinox and Apogee MEMS-based IMUs address most surveying markets for camera or lidar motion compensation and data geo-referencing.
The Horizon IMU is based on a closed-loop FOG technology which enables ultra-low bias and noise levels. This technology allows robust and consistent performance even in low dynamics survey.
The Navsight solution is easy to install in a vehicle — the sensor alignment and lever arms are automatically estimated and validated. Once connected to the Navsight processing unit, the web interface guides the user to configure the solution.
A 3D view of the vehicle shows the entered parameters so that the user can check the installation. By choosing the vehicle — a plane or a car, for example — the inner algorithms are automatically adjusted to the application.
The Navsight unit also integrates LED indicators for satellite availability, real-time kinematic (RTK) corrections and power.
Full INS/GNSS Post-Processing Software
Completing the Navsight offer, Qinertia, the SBG post-processing software, gives access to offline RTK corrections from more than 7,000 base stations in 164 countries. The software delivers the highest level of accuracy without having to set up a base station. Trajectory and orientation are then greatly improved by processing inertial data and raw GNSS observables in forward and backward directions.
Navsight is ITAR-free. All models are available for order. Ordering information and delivery time are available from SBG Systems representatives and authorized SBG Systems dealers.
