The solution also features configurable software, allowing the addition of support for GNSS and sensing.
According to the companies, Dragonfly NB1 leverages Ceva’s long heritage of low power DSPs and modem design and Astri’s experience in RF and IC design technologies. Dragonfly NB1 has the ability to reduce the time taken to get NB-IoT products certified and also provides low-power wide-area SoC designers with a flexible, software-upgradeable platform with key benefits in terms of die size and power consumption, the companies added.
The Dragonfly NB1 solution is enabled by a Ceva-X1 IoT processor and incorporates highly power-efficient multi-standard RF with embedded PA, LNA, DC-DC and DCXO technology for NB-IoT and GNSS (GPS and BeiDou). It is specifically designed to operate with embedded flash by incorporating an optimized low latency memory subsystem with a dedicated cache controller.
“In the coming years, NB-IoT will become the dominant technology for low power wide area connectivity,” said Michael Boukaya, vice president and general manager of Ceva’s Wireless Business Unit. “For most companies, understanding how to develop this technology is a daunting task. To overcome this, we have worked relentlessly with ASTRI to develop a complete solution from the ground up, that removes the design burden and allows SoC designers to add NB-IoT connectivity to their product designs. We’re extremely excited to announce this solution and demonstrate our leadership in IP for NB-IoT.”
Ceva and ASTRI have also teamed up with GMV, a major player in navigation systems and solutions, to offer an integrated GNSS solutions for smart devices with location tracking of logistics, assets, wearables and more. According to the companies, the GNSS IP is available as an add-on software that runs on the Ceva X1 together with the NB-IoT and leverages ASTRI’s GNSS RF IP that is embedded in the solution.
In early January, a new U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) document appeared: “Improving the Operation and Development of Global Positioning System (GPS) Equipment Used by Critical Infrastructure.”
The document focuses on receivers used in critical infrastructure, with an emphasis on timing receivers. It provides owners, operators, researchers, designers and manufacturers with information to improve the security and resilience of PNT equipment across the spectrum of equipment development, deployment and use.
Specifically, its recommendations address:
installation and operation strategies that can be implemented for current equipment,
strategies that can result in more robust and resilient new and/or improved products based on existing technology and knowledge,
research and development that can lead to improved future capabilities.
It introduces clear definitions of different categories of threats and hazards, including the new term “data spoofing.” It recommends some creative ways to install receive antennas, such as using decoy antennas and obscuring the location of the actual antennas being used, presumably to foil some spoofing attacks. It also points out that modern GNSS receivers are computers, and need to be operated and maintained with good cyber hygiene, just like other computers.
The extensive list of recommended development strategies will challenge manufacturers while informing purchasers about the features they can seek in new equipment.
Implementing these recommendations will lead to increased competence — that is, equipment that is better able to accommodate imperfect or faulty inputs, intentional or not.
The document reflects the recognition that many reported problems or difficulties with GPS could be prevented or mitigated by improvements in GPS user equipment and how it is installed and operated. It is encouraging to see DHS taking steps to remedy this situation, and important that manufacturers of timing receivers, as well as critical infrastructure owners and operators that use timing receivers, follow through on these recommendations.
The document is posted on the website for DHS’ National Cybersecurity & Communications Integration Center, National Coordinating Center for Communications-Computer Emergency Readiness Team.
A new system using RF detection of drone radio transmissions to warn of incoming drones is just one of several interesting developments in the unmanned systems sector this month.
While UAS, or drones, continue to proliferate around the world, the majority appear to be used in meaningful and useful applications — earning money, helping disaster relief and in public service applications such as firefighting and police monitoring/tracking the bad guys. And there are those who fly them from the beach, just to get good overheads of the expensive neighborhood — lots of harmless, non-intrusive backyard, conscientious home-grown operations.
But every now and again some bright spark tries to get the best possible picture of a passenger jet on approach or during regular air-traffic maneuvers. Air France just cried foul on Thursday, Feb. 9, when a Boeing 777 on approach into Washington-Dulles Airport caught sight of UAV estimated to be only 100 feet above the aircraft.
Airport Close Call
Now, why would a huge 240-foot-long, 250-ton B-777 even be bothered by a skinny 10- to 15-pound baby drone? Because on approach, an aircraft is dumping lift, reducing altitude, balancing speed — maneuvering a huge beast like a 777 can be quite a delicate operation. Its huge turbofan engines are also spinning really fast even at flight idle, and they still suck in an awful lot of air, so sucking in a stray quadrotor isn’t difficult. They do test these engines for bird ingestion during qualification, but I don’t think anyone has yet put anything like a DJI drone through an engine to see if the engine survives — frozen chickens don’t have any of the hard bits that drones have — and the whirling supersonic blades inside the compressor sections will not take well to foreign objects made of plastic, fiberglass, silicon and metal. Power loss low on approach can easily lead to disaster.
Not to mention that at 700 feet, it’s probably bad news for the ~300 passengers if an engine quits or the guy driving has to unexpectedly jink the aircraft sideways to avoid a darn drone. This low-energy phase of flight involves a delicate balancing act of many parameters, and we don’t need pilots to be distracted from their focus of bringing their aircraft down a narrow landing corridor safely to the runway. Never mind the damage that even a small UAV can do to a multi-million-dollar aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has mandated that drones fly below 400 feet and stay several miles away from airports for a reason.
Detection and Disabling Drones
Which brings us once again to equipment intended for the detection and disabling of drones. Keeping these pesky, unwelcome intruders away from penetrating airport protection boundaries — or other sensitive areas — is starting to become a business for which significant growth is being forecast, even paralleling the growth of drone sales.
Several significant European agencies have already put Sensofusion radar equipment to work defending their facilities, or are undertaking joint R&D efforts with the company. Installations such as prisons, government, military and community security sites have benefited from a hybrid detection and location solution system known as Airfence.
And, to the point, Sensofusion from Finland was also recently included in a group of companies selected by the U.S. FAA for a cooperative program aimed at the development of drone protection, location and prevention for airports. The other companies added to the FAA Pathfinder Program at the same time were Gryphon Sensors and Liteye Systems. The FAA’s objective is to find a system to deploy to “spot, block and drop the unwanted unmanned aircraft systems” before they get anywhere near the boundary fence, never mind into controlled airport airspace.
The Airfence system starts by using RF detection of drone radio transmissions from over six miles away and immediately raises the alarm in case of an intrusion — even notifying controllers on their smartphones. The system then triangulates the location of the incoming drone and uses what appears to be directional high-power RF transmissions to disrupt the drone’s control link.
For an example of how attention is turning to anti-drone systems, Dedrone in San Francisco, which develops software products designed to detect drones and protect high-value airspace from drone threats, recently secured a whopping $15 million during a round seeking investment funding.
Army’s Shadow Disappears
It could be that a roaming drone might not be wandering at the hands of someone intent on mischief. Operators of a $1.5-million U.S. Army Shadow fixed-wing UAV lost contact during a training flight recently, and it was presumed to have crashed in Southern Arizona within the area of operations.
Shadow launch.
The Army went looking for the bits, but extensive searches found no trace of the elusive Shadow. Turns out that the UAV was eventually found by a hiker stuck up a tree several hundred miles away in Colorado, in the foothills west of Denver. The Army sent local troops and police to recover the errant drone.
So, it seems that it’s not just malicious operators who may cause problems in commercial airspace. When things go wrong, we may also need a means to bring down an off-flight-plan drone. The side-trip for the Shadow apparently may have been brought on by unusually warm, gusty winds blowing into Colorado from the desert southwest on the day the aircraft went missing. Just as well that the tree caught the drone, as Shadows have a flight endurance of eight to nine hours.
General Atomics Seeks Non-Military Opportunities
And now General Atomics (GA) — one of the best-known UAV manufacturers of them all and their turboprop powered Predator — both are looking for opportunities in the “less-military, semi-commercial” world. The UAV that most people picture when someone says drone is probably the Predator, or its successor known as the Reaper.
SkyGuardian UAV.
GA recently announced that its new SkyGuardian UAV is intended to be certifiable to airworthiness requirements. Given that no civilian standards yet exist for this class of large UAV, GA is using published military NATO, UK and German standards and recommendations for its early certification activities. SkyGuardian has benefited from a five-year-long company-funded effort to develop a certifiable UAV. Given that the existing military Predator fleet has altogether flown for almost four million hours, GA should already be ahead of the curve when it comes to proving airframe and systems reliability. The first production aircraft is planned for 2018.
While its clear that GA is using largely military qualification standards and the target market seems to be in support of ground forces, its also aimed at non-military applications, such as border patrol, and quasi-military operations such as police, related security agencies and disaster relief. A maritime patrol version is also planned for coastal and open-water coast-guard applications. SkyGuardian has a lengthy 35-hour endurance, can fly at up to 240 mph and reach altitudes of around 46,000 feet.
Flying Packages?
And Amazon keeps pumping out patents, which give us some indication of what they might be planning for their much-publicized drone delivery system. Its latest patent has Amazon delivery drones arriving at their delivery point, but instead of landing to drop off a package, the package is dropped from the drone in flight.
To ensure that the order doesn’t land in the neighbor’s pool, the package’s descent is controlled by small parachutes, a landing flap or compressed air release. This implies that the package has radio communications with the drone, so the flying packaging isn’t inexpensive. Aerobraking, maneuvering packages — what’s next?
Patent drawing of flying package and parachutes.
These flying packages or their carrier drone are not intended to interfere with commercial aircraft on take-off or approach because Amazon has also supported a drone delivery highway below 400 feet with its own air-traffic control system. But I can’t help thinking that flying packages might be a bit of a stretch. But who knows? The drone industry is demonstrating nothing but innovation!
u-blox has launched the UBX M8230 CT GNSS receiver chip, which offers a balance of performance and ultra-low power use.
Its new super-efficient (Super-E) mode cuts the power consumption by two-thirds to 20 mW at one position update every second with hardly any loss in accuracy. It delivers continued superb speed and position accuracy even when tested in applications such as wearables and portable electronics, where the antenna is small and movement prevents a constant view of the sky.
The UBX M8230 CT’s Super-E mode is designed for devices that require high levels of speed and position accuracy, but where power is limited. Along with smartwatches, sports wearables and fitness trackers, it can be used in trackers for assets, people, children and animals, to provide accurate and frequent location information with minimal impact on battery life.
“Constantly needing to know the user location in wearables has a strong strain on the battery, which has traditionally limited GNSS adoption,” said Florian Bousquet, market development manager, Product Center Positioning at u-blox. “UBX-M8230-CT’s low power consumption combined with its high positioning accuracy and the ultra small design footprint of < 30 mm2 makes it possible to add GNSS to virtually all wearables.”
He added, “The UBX-M8230-CT’s Super-E mode uses concurrent reception of GPS with either GLONASS or BeiDou. It allows batching location data temporarily on the chip, which helps to further reduce the system power consumption by avoiding the need to constantly run the main CPU.”
The size and power savings brought by UBX-M8230-CT will enable designers to add features desired by the market, such as heart rate monitoring, while still offering high position and speed accuracy.
To learn more about UBX-M8230-CT and see a live demonstration, visit u-blox in the meeting room 2C3MR at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, February 27 to March 2.
Samples will be available in March 2017 and volume production will start in summer 2017.
LabSat has launched the LabSat 3 Wideband simulator, which can simultaneously record multiple signals from different constellations.
Small, battery powered and with a removable solid-state disk, LabSat 3 Wideband allows users to quickly gather detailed, real-world satellite data and replay those signals on the bench.
Photo: LabSat
With three channels, a bandwidth of up to 56 MHz and 6-bit sampling, LabSat 3 Wideband can handle almost any combination of constellation and signal that exists today, with plenty of spare capacity for future planned signals.
For example, users can now record GPS L1, L2 and L5 at the same time as GLONASS G1 and G2 and BeiDou B1 and B2.
An interactive bandwidth calculator allows users to see which combinations of constellation and signal can be recorded. Users can also change the bandwidth and bit depth to see how it affects the selection available.
Despite the huge capability of the unit, the LabSat 3 Wideband remains easy to use, retaining the one-touch recording and playback feature.
A removable battery pack gives two hours of use, and the 1-TB solid-state disk drive can be swapped in seconds.
Specifications
Recording bandwidth: 10MHz, 30MHz or 56MHz
Recording resolution: 2, 4 or 6 bits (depending on bandwidth)
Skydel SDX Release 17.1 adds a fine level of control on signal multipath to the software-defined GNSS simulator.
SDX 17.1 introduces a powerful multipath simulation option, enabling users to create less-than-ideal signal propagation conditions for GNSS testing. Multipath echoes can be added and fined-tuned for each satellite, per signal. Control is possible via four fundamental attributes: pseudorange offset, power loss, Doppler shift and carrier-phase offset.
It’s now convenient to create simplified test conditions otherwise impossible to achieve with the live sky. The new options are fully controllable through the SDX application program interface (API), and can be modified on the fly while the simulation is running.Release 17.1 also adds L2C navigation message modification. Besides the usual conditions such as start and stop time and PRN number, users can specify the message type, and the message content to match.
Because the CNAV message is 300 bits long and not subdivided in words like the NAV message, managing the modifications as a per-bit fashion would be tedious. The interface solves this by letting you add modifications for portions of the message — and lets users add as many as they need.
Software-defined radios (SDR) can take a few seconds to initialize when starting the simulation. To improve software synchronization performance, Skydel has added an armed state. Upon clicking the arm button (or issuing the command through the API), the armed state prepares all hardware. When the start command is later received, the delay to emit the GNSS signals is minimal.
Other updates have also been made. See the release notes for the full list. As always, existing licensees benefit from an immediate upgrade.
Among the next items on SDX’s development agenda is the release of advanced jamming capabilities through an innovative integration with the GNSS simulator.
The GPSdome anti-jammer was developed for civilian applications. It aims to curb situations in which civilian vehicles are stuck “off the grid.” It combats electromagnetic warfare by using null steering, a method of spatial signal processing through which a transmitter can nullify communication jamming. In particular, the product was developed to address the requirements of autonomous cars, drones and unmanned aerial vehicles, all of which depend heavily on GPS to function. Several carmakers have expressed interest in integrating the anti-jammer in their autonomous cars, including Daimler-Mercedes, Ford, Toyota, Hondand BMW and others.
The Aaronia GPS Logger is a six-parameter datalogger designed for recording the position and orientation of RF antennas (such as the Aaronia HyperLOG X, HyperLOG EMI and Magnotracker series) during field investigations. It also is useful for a wide range of non-RF applications where position and movement logging is required. It has sensors in a very small form factor, with a fast data-capture rate of up to 35 logs/second. The logger with built-in battery is 4 x 1.7 x 0.9 inches and weighs 3 oz. The logger starts up in about 30 seconds and features a 66-channel GPS sensor with built-in antenna, offering a position accuracy of six feet, maximum velocity measurements of up to 350 mph and altitude up to 60,000 feet, with a signal sensitivity of –165 dBm. The logger can be used to create an RF heat map including frequency, direction and strength of an RF source with a 360-degree view. All sensor data can be captured at up to 35 readings per second on to a microSD card or via USB streaming. The real-time indication of data makes the Aaronia GPS logger useful for instantly assessing position-variable information.
For consumer GPS processing and smartphone indoor positioning
Photo: Focal Point Positioning
S-GPS is a smartphone-based sensor fusion, machine learning and signal processing suite designed to provide satellite positioning capabilities in urban environments and indoors. With its multipath-mitigation process, S-GPS improves the performance of existing radio-based positioning systems. The fully software-defined solution is aimed at system-on-chip silicon architecture and smartphone receiver front ends. A software upgrade for existing receivers, it requires no extra hardware, dongles or infrastructure to operate. The computational load of S-GPS is comparable to that of existing GNSS processing. The higher sensitivity of S-GPS allows signal tracking to be maintained in traditionally difficult environments, such as deep indoors, where standard devices would fail. This reduces the time spent in acquisition mode in urban areas, leading to significant improvements in battery life in like-for-like tests with standard A-GPS technologies.
The u-blox LARA-R3121 is a single-mode LTE Category 1 modem and a GNSS positioning engine. It is designed for Internet of Thigns (IoT) applications including smart utility metering, connected health and patient monitoring, smart buildings, security and video surveillance, smart payment and point-of-sale systems, as well as wearable devices, such as action cameras. It comes in a land grid array (LGA) package for easy manufacturing, and offers easy migration from u‑blox LTE, UMTS, CDMA and GSM/GPRS modules.
NTS units can detect difference between real and spoofed signals
Photo: OnTime Networks
OnTime Networks has added advanced anti-spoofing technology to its Blueberry and Cloudberry CM-1600 network time server (NTS) product lines. OnTime Networks’ proprietary anti-spoofing algorithms and technology provide not only an alert that GPS is been spoofed, but also the protection that the GPS timing signal is moved over to a highly stable free-running clock, as long as the detected GPS spoofing attack is in progress. Power grids are particularly vulnerable to spoofing, and are increasingly implementing GPS technology to more accurately meter allocations of electricity across the grid. Being even 10 microseconds off could cause power generators to shut down or get damaged.
The GNSS tracking engine of the K708 OEM board with 496 channels is capable of tracking all working and future constellations. Compared with the K5 series OEM boards, the K708 uses an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chip that improves data quality and reduces power consumption. It is designed with strong compatibility and built-in functions, including high-accuracy position, velocity and time (PVT) output, long baseline RTK and reserved webserver service. The K708 is designed for CORS, deformation monitoring systems and related high-accuracy GNSS positioning applications. Signals received include GPS L1 C/A, L2C, L2P, L5; BeiDou B1/B2/B3; GLONASS L1C/A, L1P, L2C/A, L2P; Galileo; and QZSS.
Monitor, manage and evaluate monitoring data, optionally trigger alarms
Photo: Topcon Positioning
The Delta Solutions deformation monitoring system uses several software and hardware components — Delta Link, Delta Log, Delta Watch, Delta Sat and the Topcon MS AXII total station — to provide accurate and reliable monitoring measurements and associated reporting for asset protection. Delta Watch delivers accurate and reliable data in a variety of reporting formats to fit a project’s needs. Data from the total station, GNSS receivers, leveling devices and sensors can be processed and analyzed individually or as a network-adjusted solution. Delta Watch’s optional Delta Sat GNSS processing module allows for stand-alone GNSS monitoring or combined GNSS and total-station network adjustments. Delta Link provides hardware support communication for autonomous operation in the field, managing each power source to maximize system availability, while Delta Log provides an intuitive interface to manage observations, target types and measurement scheduling.
GPS data collector for utilities, mining, forestry, agriculture
Photo: Geneq
The SXPad 1000P is an affordable, rugged handheld GPS data collector specifically designed for mobile GIS users in applications such as water, electric and gas utilities, transportation, mining, agriculture and forestry. The high-performance 1000-MHz device is designed to give professionals the power needed to work with maps and large data sets in the field. It has an IP67 waterproof seal and can survive 5-foot (1.5-meter) drops to concrete. Its 3.7-inch color touchscreen (full VGA) is sharp and is sunlight readable. Standard features include a battery life of more than 10 hours on a charge, 8-GB internal storage, and slots for MicroSD cards and SIM cards as well as Windows Mobile 6.5. The SXPad 1000P also offers a 3.5G cellular modem, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, video capture and a 5-megapixel camera. It is optimized for GPS/GIS field data collection using its 1-to-3-meter accuracy internal GPS receiver or one of Geneq’s high-performance SXBlue GPS receivers for sub-meter and centimeter-level accuracy.
Glean and share insight from big data, internet of things
Esri ArcGIS 10.5 offers next-generation analytics technology by helping organizations glean insight from enterprise data, big data and the Internet of Things (IoT) and share that insight in intuitive ways. It includes improved capabilities for handling large-scale analytics and big data; a drag-and-drop interface that streamlines the creation of spatial analysis through maps, charts and graphs; and collaboration features to connect and analyze information across the enterprise. The new release is powered by Esri ArcGIS Enterprise, a significant evolution of the technology formerly known as ArcGIS for Server. ArcGIS Enterprise has been updated with improved power to process and analyze large, disparate datasets.
Entry-level device for construction, public safety
Photo: Faro
The Faro FocusM 70 is an entry-level laser scanner for construction building information modeling (BIM) and public safety forensics. Features include an IP54 rating for use in high particulate and wet weather, high-dynamic-range imaging, an acquisition speed of almost 500,000 points per second and extended temperature range. Data captured can be used with various third-party software packages. The Faro FocusM 70 is specifically designed for both indoor and outdoor applications that require scanning up to 70 meters and at an accuracy of +/– 3 millimeters.
PingNav ADS-B OUT GNSS navigation unit. Photo: uAvionics
PingNAV is a small, light ADS-B OUT compliant navigation source. ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast) helps aircraft operators sense and avoid possible collisions. ADS-B is mandated by the FAA for all aircraft in the U.S. National Airspace by 2020. PingNAV supports GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and QZSS, and has a battery backup for quicker position initialization. Dual static ports forpressure altimeter readings and integrated security and integrity technologies include receiver autonomous integrity monitoring (RAIM) and satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) to detect and correct errors improving accuracy, reliability and availability.
The Ping200S is a small, light, FCC-approved full range mode C and mode SAutomatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) transponder. At 50 grams, power consumption is low enough to be powered by battery pack for 2 hours, yet is powerful enough to provide visibility to other aircraft and UAVs up to 200 miles away, at which point it implements sense and avoid for drone operations in the national airspace. The ping200S is designed to meet the requirements of TSO-C199 as a Class A Traffic Awareness Beacon System.
Defense-proven to disrupt and neutralize hostile UAVS
Photo: Liteye Systems, Tribalco
The AUDS counter-UAS defense systemhas been field proven to detect, track and defeat malicious and errant unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) or drones. The fully integrated system has achieved TRL-9 status following the successful mission deployment of the AUDS system with the U.S. military. TRL-9 is the highest technology readiness level that a technology system can attain. The AUDS system — developed by Blighter Surveillance Systems, Chess Dynamics and Enterprise Control Systems — can detect a drone six miles (10 kilometers) away using electronic scanning radar. It tracks the UAV using precision infrared and daylight cameras and advanced video tracking software before disrupting the flight using a non-kinetic inhibitor to block the radio signals that control it. The detect, track and defeat process typically takes 8–15 seconds. Using AUDS, the operator can effectively take control of a drone and force a safe landing. The AUDS system works in all weather, day or night, and the disruption is flexible, proportional and operator controlled.
For UAV manufacturers to add flight time, extend battery life
Photo: Texas Instruments Sample build.
Two circuit-based subsystem reference designs can help manufacturers add flight time and extend battery life to quadcopters and other non-military consumer and industrial drones used to deliver packages, provide surveillance or communicate and assist at long distances. The 2S1P Battery Management System (BMS) reference design transforms a drone’s battery pack into a smart diagnostic black box recorder that accurately monitors remaining capacity and protects the Li-Ion battery throughout its entire lifetime. Designers can use the drone BMS reference design to add gauging, protection, balancing and charging capabilities to any existing drone design and improve flight time. A second reference design helps manufacturers create drones with longer flight times and smoother performance. It helps electronic speed controllers achieve the highest possible efficiency with performance for speeds more than 12,000 rpm (> 1.2 kHz electrical) including fast-speed reversal capability for more stable roll movement.
The CMA-5024 GPS landing system sensor meets the requirements for an instrument-flight-rules civil-certified GNSS. The European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) augments GPS to provide an extremely accurate navigation solution that will support all flight operations from en route through localizer performance with vertical guidance (LPV) CAT-l equivalent approach. The CMA-5024 is compliant with and completely supports EGNOS/SBAS, from departure, en-route navigation and all EGNOS/SBAS LPV precision approaches, and complies with published Communication Navigation Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) navigational mandates.
A new variant of Qualcomm’s connected car reference platform uses its gigabit-class Snapdragon X16 LTE modem to help car manufacturers deliver high-speed, high-quality and reliable connectivity for advanced telematics and connected vehicle services. It supports peak download speeds up to 1 Gbps. The reference platform allows carmakers to integrate additional wireless and networking technologies, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy and GNSS, with optional support for dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) and cellular-V2X. The platform includes a module reference design for the Snapdragon X16 LTE modem to help automotive suppliers accelerate development. The reference platform integrates quad-constellation GNSS and 3D dead-reckoning location solutions, and is designed to manage concurrent operation of multiple wireless technologies using the same spectrum frequencies.
CAD model of the antenna system: The antennas will be arranged so that the center of mass is at the center of the tube. Each antenna will be counterbalanced. (NASA)
Researchers at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center have designed an antenna-mounting platform to provide users satellite-based tracking functions for unmanned aerial vehicles. The platform integrates multiple capabilities onto one low-cost platform.
In August 2016, NASA signed a license agreement with Mobile Antenna Platform Systems Inc. to commercialize the portable antenna platform.
The platform is built to rotate 60 pounds of antennas, transmitters and receivers and eliminate the need for additional load-balancing hardware. A smaller version can be flown on a plane, greatly extending the telemetry link range without requiring more power from the aircraft.
Auto tracking software uses the target’s GPS location to coordinate and maintain a line-of-sight link as great as what the telemetry system can support.
NASA researchers originally developed the technology for use with research UAVs, which often involve multiple transmitters and receivers on the aircraft and on the ground, with multiple antennas that must be pointed at a single UAV.
The platform is a middle ground between the low-end tracking platforms that support only one antenna and expensive, high-end options designed for military use.
Besides research, the platform could be used in marine communications, satellite tracking in multiple frequencies and weather balloon tracking, NASA said.
Powered by 120 VAC, the platform moves all of the antennas simultaneously in continuous rotation in azimuth and vertical ±180°, effectively tracking a line-of-sight object up to 20 miles away or further, limited by transmit power and antenna configuration.
It is designed for use with any moving system needing to transmit large quantities of data over one or more RF links. RF signals can include video, command and control, and signals to and from the UAV as well as the research data of interest.
The platform design includes:
a horizontal bar with antenna mounts
a platform head containing the motors and gears
an antenna stand containing electrical slip rings and cables to connect to the radios, motors and external computer
a microcontroller interface to drive the motors and receive antenna commands from the software
Its user interface runs on Microsoft Windows and enables the tracking antenna to be interfaced to any ground station that can provide the GPS coordinates of the target being tracked in real time and the GPS coordinates of the tracking antenna.
Platform benefits
According to NASA, the antenna platform offers these benefits:
Portability. Lightweight components and a small profile allow the platform to be carried by a single person.
Simplicity. Its unique design eliminates the need for additional load-balancing hardware, simplifying setup.
Versatility. Up to 58 pounds (26 kg) of multiple antennas from various manufacturers in any combination (including Yagi-Uda, dish/parabolic, omnidirectional, patch/microstrip) under 10 W can be accommodated
Low Power Use: Using a smaller motor that is faster than those on other platforms requires less power to achieve continuous rotation.
Low Cost: The overall system is estimated to cost less than $5,000.
Topcon Positioning Group has released a new modular GNSS receiver system, the MR-2. The system combines all current and planned constellation tracking with a comprehensive set of communication interfaces to service any precision application requiring high-performance real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning and heading determination.
Topcon MR-2 GNSS receiver. Photo: Topcon
The MR-2 can perform as a mobile RTK base station, marine navigation receiver, mobile mapping device and as a GNSS receiver for agricultural, industrial, military or construction applications.
“The MR-2 delivers navigation support for a wide-range of applications,” says Jason Hallett, vice president of Topcon global product management. “It is an ideal component for OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) needing a custom, high-accuracy modular design for easy integration.”
“The MR-2 is also designed as a ‘future-proof’ system,” Hallett says, “meaning it tracks all current and planned constellations, making it a smart investment in the expanding GNSS environment.”
The unit housing is water and dust-proof and built to withstand harsh environments with superior vibration and shock tolerances, he adds.
Using Topcon HD2 heading determination technology, the MR-2’s dual antennas compute high-performance heading and inclination determination alongside the RTK positioning engine for precise navigation and guidance applications.
“The MR-2 also provides a variety of communication interfaces such as Ethernet, serial, and CAN, allowing for easy integration into any application,” Hallett says.
The system also offers best-in-class multipath rejection, and using Topcon Quartz Lock Loop technology can operate without disturbances in high-vibration environments.
NovAtel has launched its OEM7 7.200 version firmware. Version 7.200 firmware introduces powerful new positioning functionality including the company’s Interference Toolkit (ITK).
The ITK allows users to detect and mitigate intentional interference such as the adversarial jamming of GNSS signals, as well as the unintentional interference from external sources. The new RTK Assist corrections service assures continued high-accuracy positioning when signals from a real-time kinematic (RTK) network are unavailable or disrupted.
With the ITK, NovAtel’s OEM7 customers can auto-detect and report in-band radio frequency (RF) interference so that any interference adversely affecting their receiver’s positioning performance can be quickly nullified.
In combination with the 7.200 firmware launch, NovAtel is introducing NovAtel Connect 2.0, the latest version of its PC-based graphical user interface (GUI). Running on Microsoft Windows 10, NovAtel Connect 2.0 offers significant user enhancements including features to optimize ITK functionality.
Firmware version 7.200 expands NovAtel’s proprietary correction service capabilities with the introduction of two new subscription-based offerings:
TerraStar-L 40-centimeter correction service. This Precise Point Positioning (PPP) correction service delivers exceptionally robust 40-cm-level positioning performance at an entry-level price point, anywhere on earth without the need for a base station. With corrections derived from the fully redundant TerraStar network infrastructure, the new service is designed for broad accuracy positioning applications such as agriculture, construction or GIS.
RTK Assist correction bridging service. This globally available service allows users to maintain RTK-level accuracy when RTK corrections are disrupted. RTK Assist uses multiple geostationary satellites to beam corrections directly to the receiver to bridge outages that can occur with local RTK networks.
“Developing products that not only deliver high-precision, high-accuracy positioning, but also assure our customers’ position is central to our mission at NovAtel,” said NovAtel’s director of product management, Neil Gerein. “The release of OEM7 firmware version 7.200 reflects our company’s commitment to continually enhance positioning performance, whether by expanding receiver capabilities, or in mitigating unintentional or intentional interference as reflected with the capabilities of our new Interference Toolkit.”
For more details on all 7.200 firmware capabilities, see this PDF.
The Wildwood transmitter is back on the air after a presumed lightning strike affected transmissions.
The transmitter stopped broadcasting at 5:35 a.m. EST on Feb. 9. Testing took place 5:35 a.m. to 8:19 EST, after which it came back on the air, reports Steve Bartlett, vice president of operations for UrsaNav Inc.
The transmitter will be taken off the air tomorrow morning (Feb. 10) so that engineers can assess and repair any damage.
The Wildwood, New Jersey, eLoran transmitter will be continuously broadcasting from 9 a.m. EST on Feb. 6 through 12 p.m. EST on March 31, announced Steve Bartlett, vice president of operations for UrsaNav Inc.
“Wildwood will be broadcasting as 8970 Master and Secondary most of the time, but occasionally may operate at other rates,” Barlett said.
The Loran Data Channel (LDC) will be undergoing testing and may be unavailable or unreliable for short periods of time Feb. 6-10, he said.
EndRun Technologies, a provider of precision time and frequency solutions, announced at the Precision Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications (PTTI) meeting the release of the RTM3205 precision timing module for portable time and frequency applications.
The PTTI meeting is being held Jan. 30-Feb. 2 in Monterey, California.
The RTM3205 precision timing module by EndRun Technologies. Photo: EndRun
The second-generation RTM3205 is optimized for size, weight, and power (SWaP), but can exceed the stability of a standard cesium atomic frequency reference.
The GPS-synchronized RTM3205 is based on EndRun’s Meridian II precision timebase instrument providing a subset of outputs with the same accuracy, stability and ultra-low phase noise. For ultimate performance, EndRun’s innovative real-time ionospheric corrections are available to directly measure and compensate for the ionospheric delay of received GPS signals in real time.
The network-centric RTM3205 provides a dual-gigabit Ethernet interface supporting a high-bandwidth Stratum 1 Network Time Protocol (NTP) server, optional IEEE 1588 — Precision Time Protocol (PTP) grandmaster, and secure management.
“The versatile RTM3205 precision timing module is a consolidation of EndRun’s state-of-the-art time and frequency technologies in a small, thermal efficient module.” said Michael Korreng, senior R&D engineer, EndRun Technologies. “Customers can now easily integrate this high-performance, time and frequency module into portable and tactical systems.”
Key RTM3205 performance specifications with Real-time Ionospheric Corrections and an Ultra-Stable OCXO are:
Time accuracy of <10 nanoseconds RMS to UTC (USNO)
Frequency accuracy better than 4×10-14 (1 day average)
Ceva, a licensor of signal processing IP for smarter, connected devices, and Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company Lt. (Astri) have unveiled the Dragonfly NB1, a comprehensive cost- and power-optimized NB-internet of things (IoT) solution aimed at streamlining and the development of LTE IoT devices.
The document focuses on receivers used in critical infrastructure, with an emphasis on timing receivers. It provides owners, operators, researchers, designers and manufacturers with information to improve the security and resilience of PNT equipment across the spectrum of equipment development, deployment and use.
