GeoCue Group has released the True View 615 and True View 620 UAS lidar 3D imaging systems. The True View systems are compact, survey-grade 3D imaging sensors designed for small unmanned aerial systems.
True View 615 and 620 are equipped with Riegl’s miniVUX-2UAV laser scanner integrated with dual photogrammetric cameras. Position and orientation is provided by an Applanix APX-15 (True View 615) or extreme accuracy APX-20 (True View 620).
All True View 3D imaging systems are bundled with Applanix POSPac, True View EVO post-processing software and True View Reckon data management solution.
The Riegl laser scanner and dual photogrammetric cameras have been carefully configured to provide a fused lidar/imagery field of view of up to 120°. The system includes full post-processing software that generates a stunning ray-traced 3D colorized point cloud and geocoded images.
An upgrade path will be available to promote a True View 615 to a True View 620 by adding the Applanix APX-20 external inertial measurement unit.
The True View product line gives mappers and surveyors the ability to deliver high-quality analytic data with exact accuracies. These deliverables are generated using workflows and tools within GeoCue’s post-processing software, True View EVO. Examples of derived products include bare Earth models, profiles, cross sections, topographic contours, volumetric analysis and more.
“Our Quanergy-based True View 410 has rapidly become the standard for general purpose drone 3D Imaging, where moderate vegetation penetration and accuracies of 5 cm RMSE are adequate,” said GeoCue’s President, Lewis Graham. “The True View 615/620 provides a solution for situations where deeper vegetation penetration, wire extraction and extreme accuracy are required. These are great new additions to the True View product line.”
The True View 615/620 will be available for shipment late June.
Reaching ’round the world: GPS World staff engage in a teleconference with Editorial Advisory Board members and contributors via teleconferencing. Clockwise from top: Tim Burch, John Fischer, Mitch Narins, William Tewelow, Julian Thomas, Jean-Marie Sleewaegen, Thibault Bonnevie, Ismael Colomina, Michael Swiek, Tony Murfin, Miguel Amor, Alison Brown, Ellen Hall, Brad Parkinson, Stuart Riley, Greg Turetzky, Tracy Cozzens and Matteo Luccio. (Photos: GPS World)
Our readers participated in an online survey on how they are being impacted by and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. We summarize your responses here.
In April, GPS World asked its readers how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the GNSS/PNT industry and their day-to-day work.
About three quarters of respondents fell into two general areas of work: commercial (43%) and government/civilian (33%).
The three biggest market sectors primarily served by respondents’ companies are survey and construction (28%), defense and government (20%), and mapping and geographic information systems, or GIS (14%).
Because of the critical need for mapping during the pandemic, almost all mapping and GIS respondents said they have adapted to answer the needs of those seeking information about the coronavirus pandemic.
Supporting Solutions
About 14% of respondents reported their company has provided products or services for an application, project or customer directly tied to a COVID-19 response. These include support for police and government supervision, government and federal agencies’ emergency vehicles, air transportation, as well as medical supply transport.
Other efforts include ramping up the manufacturing of personal protective equipment such as face shields, with plants repurposed; others donated face masks, disinfectant and money. Also playing a supporting role are IT- and statistic-related services.
Tracking COVID-19. GNSS services provided by our readers to help track the virus include helping multiple agencies monitor traffic to and from critical locations, and building online dashboards for state data and surveillance.
“Our ability to provide GPS network services has enhanced the ability of public- and private-sector surveyors to continue working, to stay employed during these difficult economic times,” said one respondent.
Roadblocks. During the coronavirus pandemic, only 14% said they are significantly challenged to access parts and services, while 41% noticed a slowdown in deliveries. Comments included: “There have been issues getting supplies to set up for telework” and “Some international suppliers are having issues, so we are looking into alternative suppliers.”
Glass Half-Full
While there’s no question the COVID-19 outbreak has presented challenges, many respondents shared positive experiences while working in this current environment.
Working Remotely. For many of us, learning how to work remotely has been a positive experience, providing options that were overlooked or not considered before. Many readers were pleasantly surprised by how easy the transition has been and how well it has worked.
“It’s been a smooth transition to telework and production continues at normal rates,” said one respondent.
Others reflected on their successful adaptability with remote working, with comments such as “We have proven we can function with staff working remotely,” and “It brings people together in new ways!”
“As the team manager, I was fortunate that I had been transitioning my staff to be flexible in their work locations by replacing their desktop computers with notebook computers, enforcing the utilization of shared network resources for project data, and making sure IT systems were working for them — at work, in the field, and at home — prior to the pandemic. This has given me confidence in part-time telework for this group.”
Employees have become “more focused and more productive in necessary areas: documentation, contracts and gaining necessary certifications and contract information.”
Working from home also has improved productivity with fewer meetings and no commuting. “Traffic in any case was horrific.”
Rise of the Machines. Other respondents looked even further to the future. “COVID-19 has given companies and people a wake-up call. The new economy and new dynamics of workforce management will never be the same. This will help us tremendously as we approach AI (artificial intelligence) automation.”
No More Backlogs. While work has slowed in many areas, that cloud can have a silver lining. “It has allowed a backlog of work to be caught up, but we expect that will be temporary as business begins to bounce back.”
Finally, some respondents noted the human factor coming to the fore, including improved hygiene, seeing people help each other, and “more compassion for people in general.”
Photo: Photo: ftwitty / E+ / Getty Images
Where Do We Go from Here?
We asked our readers if coronavirus pandemic-related workflow changes and adaptations have brought about innovations they intend to keep going forward.
Many readers commented that increased reliance on working at home and new digital workflows will continue past the end of the pandemic. Online communication tools cited include email, WhatsApp, Skype, Teams and Zoom. “Knowledge and use of these tools are now ubiquitous,” wrote one respondent.
Others commented that traveling for meetings will be less frequent and reliance on videoconferencing will increase.
Staying Home. Companies plan to continue with at least some staff working from home to reduce their office-space spending. “I will probably have my staff telework two days per week once this pandemic passes. We will have more online training modules prepared. Digital signatures will be the norm.”
Senior Editor Tracy Cozzens Zooms from her home. (Photo: Steve Cozzens)
One respondent wrote, “We intend to keep using the digital workflow. Accepting and returning PDF plat reviews has worked very smoothly.”
“We are redesigning the logistics of how our business operates — decentralized versus centralized. In this new landscape, businesses cannot be tied to one central location,” another reader wrote.
Others are taking part of the new workflow back to the office: “Videoconferencing has taken on a new light. It works well, and will continue even after we move back to the office.”
Some had a steeper adaptation curve: “As a state government agency, we were not prepared to have the majority of staff working remotely, so we have had significant IT issues.”
Staying Healthy. “We will increase cleaning and sanitizing routines, and all employees and guests will have their temperatures taken before entering, and while on property,” commented one reader.
“The world has changed, and how these changes will affect our business has yet to be determined.”
A Look at Surveying
Surveying companies have adopted remote-office connection strategies and new ways to exchange digital and physical information with their field crews.
About two thirds of professional surveyors have taken steps such as working remotely and videoconferencing to collaborate with colleagues and clients. One respondent said, “We quickly pivoted to working from home by utilizing WebEx and Google Hangouts for collaboration.”
Out in the Field. Some firms are limiting one person per vehicle when traveling to work sites. “Drafting is done via work-from-home on laptops.” Field crews now typically are a single person using GPS and communicating via email.
Going Digital. “The paperless agenda that was difficult to institute is now in place and operational,” commented one surveyor. “It’s often difficult to change until we get that nudge.”
Technology continues to develop and put more capability, data storage and ease of use into many professional’s hands, and surveyors are no different in their needs.
Spatial data collection has become an important task in the diverse service world of today’s surveyor with a variety of platforms, sensors and techniques being used to provide this operation.
The movement toward completing a “digital twin” of existing improvements and facilities worldwide has opened the door for new means and methods for data collection. Surveyors are taking a front-line role in producing the spatial data necessary for much of the internal and external infrastructure being used in today’s cutting-edge digital modeling.
Necessary accuracy and precision
However, not all data-collection systems offer the accuracy and precision deemed necessary by today’s surveying profession. These systems also need to be tough enough to handle the environmental conditions surveyors face in their everyday work, yet be user-friendly enough to make the data-collection process efficient.
Surveyors require a system designed for rugged use, yet built with a high-visibility screen, easy-to-use interface and reasonable battery life to allow effective and confident data collection. Many data collectors tout these features, but many of them fail when subjected to the harsh conditions of surveying and construction sites.
Times, however, are a changing and a new tablet is raising eyebrows.
DT Research Inc., a Silicon Valley electronics provider, has provided mobile and medical computing devices to many professions for more than 20 years. They have taken one of their most popular models, the DT301, and added integrated significant upgrades that brings it squarely into the surveying and geospatial world.
This rugged tablet can now include a multi-frequency GNSS module and a second, 3D-capable, stereo-imaging camera for capturing photometric information.
High-capacity, hot-swappable battery pack with power-saving modes
IP65-rated for water and dust resistance
MIL-STD-810G for shock and vibration protection
MIL-STD-461F for EMI and EMC tolerance
Multi-frequency GNSS (including GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou)
External GNSS antenna capable
Intel RealSense Depth camera, 2D barcode scanner
Long-range Bluetooth, 4G LTE, digital pen support
Sturdy external keyboard with various mounts for static installation
Rugged yet reasonable weight of 3.1 pounds
Multiple mounting options for precise measurement
Rugged, but not too heavy
The first impression a new user of the DT301X-TR will notice is that while it is heavier than the normal personal tablet, it is very rugged yet not noticeably heavy. The additional weight it does carry, however, gives the user a sense of durability and confidence to take it into fouler environments without fear of infiltration or hazardous climate concerns.
The external bumpers can take significant abuse, and the rubber rear guard is used for gripping the tablet effectively during data collection tasks. Several mounts are available for this unit, including a pole mount in conjunction with the external GNSS antenna for higher accuracy location determination.
This unit runs the Microsoft Windows 10 IoT (internet of things) Enterprise operating system, so most users will already have a general feel for the overall interface. All the normal Windows tools are there (email, browser, etc.), so little training is needed for beginners.
Connectivity is available through dual-band Wi-Fi and/or 4G LTE communications as well as long-range Bluetooth connections where needed. The unit runs on an Intel 8th-generation core processor and SSD storage for fast computing and data access needs.
In addition to computing performance, this model also exceeds expectations with its robust screen. Where most high-def screens on phones and tablets suffer in daylight conditions, the DT301X-TR allows the user to maintain great visibility and keep working with visual confidence.
GNSS module and antenna
The DT301X-TR can be loaded with several data-collection software packages, depending on your application. For traditional surveying, Microsurvey’s Field Genius is used for locating survey points with the GNSS module. Several programs for data collection are available, depending on the accuracy required by the user.
Photo: DT Research
A helical mobile dual-frequency GNSS antenna is mounted directly on the tablet for receiving survey-grade positions with an RTK correction service. The tablet can also be used with an external GNSS antenna mounted on an extendable pole for a more conventional surveyor-style method of data collection while providing stability for the user.
The data-collection process for mapping is intuitive and allows for uploading existing shapefiles for reference to existing conditions. Exporting information after the data-collection task can be completed in two different formats: shapefiles and KML files.
Photo: DT Research
For the higher accuracies typically required for surveyors, the unit utilizes the pole mount to ensure the accuracy level is not compromised by human interaction, and it connects to an external GNSS antenna. The software allows the user to collect more precise locations through several means: static, real-time kinematic from the user’s base station, or through a real-time network solution from an external source.
The data collection process in Field Genius is very user friendly and allows for customized point naming and automatic linework between points. Field Genius also contains standard COGO tools and routines that allow the user to perform field calculations right on the job, saving valuable time and money for the practitioner and the client.
Exporting of field data is robust and allows for creation of DXF/DWG files of linework and LandXML files for surface and point downloads. The user can also export raw data in a GNSS Survey format or the industry standard “field book” format as well. Importing background files is just as simple, so the user can have additional information at their fingertips for reference during their data collection process.
Also, the DT301X-TR can be utilized for construction staking with an extensive array of staking reports available for user verification. Proposed TIN surface models can be imported for site and roadway staking for placing cut/fill points on the fly.
Cameras make it shine
The DT301X-TR, however, is not just a fancy conventional surveying data collector; the Intel RealSense Depth camera and DOT3D Pro software from DOT Product is the latest development to be added to the rugged tablet that makes this platform shine. This latest technology from Intel allows the user to photograph and video spaces that even the newest laser and lidar scanning equipment can’t access.
Stereo depth modeling is enhancing the data-collection process for surveyors as a new tool to collect important information for engineers, architects and contractors. By collecting close quarters information in real time, a more complete BIM and/or “digital twin” data set can be accomplished faster and more cost efficiently than ever.
This version of remote sensing is becoming very popular with other vehicles and platforms (such as UAVs), yet being integrated into a single unit with GNSS capability is key to making the DT301X-TR a game changer.
The divide between the macro (GIS mapping) and micro (traditional surveying) of spatial data collection is closing, but it will take some time before satisfying the surveying community. The DT301X-TR is closing that gap by marrying the accuracy of GNSS measurement with the precision of 3D analyzation technology.
DT Research began by creating a bulletproof tablet made for durability and dependability, but has raised the bar with a state-of-the-art satellite measurement module and remote-sensing capability through the RealSense camera system.
Wrapping all this technology into a rugged unit running on an industry-standard software platform, DT Research has provided an insight to what the future of data collection looks like, no matter what profession one is in.
iXBlue has launched a new range of FOG-based inertial navigation system (INS) dedicated to land and air mobile mapping applications, the Atlans Series. iXBlue is high-tech company specializing in the design and manufacturing of advanced navigation and georeferencing solutions.
Based on iXBlue’s fiber-optic gyroscope (FOG) technology, the Atlans Series is a scalable range of north-seeking and north-keeping inertial navigation systems. They provide FOG performance to the full spectrum of land and air mobile-mapping applications and offer highly accurate positioning (up to 0.01 meter) in all conditions, including within GNSS-denied environments such as urban canyons, mountainous or forests areas.
“Our existing high-grade Atlans A7 INS had already been adopted as the preferred georeferencing solution by leading U.S. companies operating in the pavement condition survey industry,” explained Marine Slingue, vice president, iXBlue. “Having identified the high potential of our technology for other land and mobile mapping applications, we decided to develop a complete range of scalable INS that each meet the specific requirements of every applications. With our new Atlans Series INS, we are now bringing the unrivaled georeferencing accuracy performance offered by the FOG technology to all land and air mapping applications, enabling robust and uninterrupted data-acquisition operations.”
Quick and simple to install on all platforms, the new Atlans Series INS offers efficient “set-and-forget” operations for a wide range of land and air applications including asset inventory, pavement condition survey, vehicle automation, HD mapping, automotive testing, ground-truth, airborne surveys (UAVs, planes, helicopters), as well as precision pointing.
As we close the book on 2019 and head into the next decade, much has changed during the 2010s and the 21st century. This article will focus on the technological changes that made a significant impact on the surveying world, with the biggest advances being specifically GNSS-based improvements.
No, we will not debate the true beginning of a century (Jan. 1, 2000, versus Jan. 1, 2001), but instead look at the predicted issues with computers and the Y2K hysteria leading up to the end of 1999 as part of our nostalgic tour.
For the millennials and Gen-Z readers, bear with us old-timers for a few paragraphs while we take a trip down memory lane.
The tale of two centuries…
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way — in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”
In 1859, Charles Dickens wrote this opening paragraph for his well-known novel, “Tale of Two Cities,” to describe two environments (in this case being London versus Paris) at a significant transitional time. Such was the case for surveying and technology in the late 1990s with the rapid utilization of GNSS technology, expanded capability of robotic equipment and data collection. Some practitioners were excited about the new century while others yearned for bygone eras of less complicated procedures.
“Gonna party like it’s 1999…”
A 1999 Gateway PC refurbished by LRG. (Screenshot: LRG video, click to view)
With apologies to the late singer Prince and his 1982 hit song, the news surrounding the year 2000 was bleak when it came to computers and technology. For many of our readers, the technology available in 1999 might seem like the Stone Age. Most homes still used telephone land lines, “state of the art” cellphones were being produced by Nokia, personal computers (manufactured by Dell, Gateway, HP and IBM) were utilizing Pentium III processors (at a whopping 450 MHz!) with 5-10 GB storage. Internet Explorer was the web browser of choice, and Napster was gaining users exponentially sharing music downloads. Google was only one year old but rapidly replacing AltaVista and WebCrawler for our internet search engines. Life seemed good, but a storm was brewing…
The Y2K bug was front and center in all media outlets as many computerized systems were not programmed with the year 2000 in mind. This issue was unique in that it was a software and hardware problem to address. Replacement or patching of software, while taking a significant amount of time and money, can be much easier than computers and hardware loaded with chipsets that cannot be reprogrammed.
The Napster logo
Most system programming utilized a two-digit year designation instead of a four-digit version (99 versus 1999) and thus a date entry for January 1, 2000, normally composed as 1/1/00 in older systems would be recognized as January 1, 1900, instead. Because of this situation, many experts were predicting a global meltdown with government, utility company and banking disruptions that would render most computer systems unusable.
In the United States alone, over $100 billion was spent on computer upgrades and troubleshooting of the potential crisis. Thankfully, most of these systems had already been taken offline and replaced, but a few still lingered in critical systems. Because of pre-Y2K upgrade planning, many systems were tested and proven to be immune from the potential crash.
Specific Y2K issues that took place within the U.S. satellite system were isolated mostly to the units dedicated to surveillance, and not the navigation section used by surveyors. There was a small issue with the U.S. Naval Observatory, in which the date was deemed to be “Jan. 1, 19100” but that was rectified quickly.
The U.S. spy satellites, however, were knocked out by a faulty software patch rather than the original programming. These units were producing unusable information for three days before programmers were able to fix the problem. Imagine if that situation had happened to the navigational satellites and was impacting surveyors; we can only hope the GNSS system would have simply provided obvious bogus information.
Embracing RTK
By 1999, surveying had begun to embrace RTK systems for everyday measurement needs. Because of the constant focus of GPS technology moving forward, the operating systems for RTK were ahead of the curve for the Y2K issue. Fortunately, the navigational satellites as mentioned above did not fail with the date and time issues that were being predicted.
Logo of the now-defunct U.S. government Y2K website.
The Y2K bug did, however, affect a few users of older technology and software. Older data collectors, including ones based upon handheld calculators, were susceptible to date issues. Systems that were designed in the 1970s and ’80s should have been replaced with newer technology before 2000, but old surveyors stick to the adage: “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it!”
For many, it wasn’t simply an upgrade in technology, but more of a radical change in known processes and procedures. New instruments and data collectors required new computers, which required new software, which required learning a completely new system.
Handheld GPS technology, introduced in the mid-1990s, was beginning to grow as the general public was embracing the new ability to determine geographical positions. While their use is quite simplified by today’s standards, nonetheless these devices captured the tech lover’s need for more accurate location determination.
In the end, Y2K wasn’t nearly the technological apocalypse many educated minds feared. While there were a few isolated incidents worldwide, everyday life went on without much of a blip on the radar. Planes didn’t fall out of the sky; financial systems didn’t come crashing down and life went on. Thankfully, surveyors everywhere went about their business on Monday, Jan. 3, 2000 as if nothing happened.
Then 20 years go by…
The new millennium has brought the surveying community many new exciting technologies and vast enhancements to age-old procedures. Field book notes has been mostly replaced with electronic data collectors, cellphone cameras and point clouds. Data is efficiently transferred between field and office with a remote connection and a blink of an eye. These past 20 years has seen a landslide of technological improvements, yet the future looks incredibly bright with more to come.
With the new year and decade, let’s look at where we are today and what advances we are anticipating:
GNSS CAPABILITY
GPS (Global Positioning System) began working in the U.S. in 1978 and as a true global system in 1994. This system was originally designed to work strictly for the United State military, but was discovered to have consumer applications shortly after implementation. There are currently 30 operational satellites in the GPS constellation with two (2) Block III versions being evaluated at press time. A total of ten (10) Block III satellites are planned to be operational by late 2023 or early 2024. These Block III versions will have an enhanced signal capability (L5 band) and will provide more accuracy and increased protection from jamming and spoofing.
GLONASS (GLObal NAvigation Satellite System) is the navigation system designed and implemented by Russia. This system was deemed operational in 1993 and currently has 28 operational satellites. Most surveying equipment in the United States has GLONASS tracking capability to greatly increase the accuracy and precision of most GNSS receivers.
China launched two more BeiDou satellites on Aug. 25, 2018. (Photo: CCTV)
Galileo is the satellite constellation system created by the European Union. It reached limited capability in 2016 with full expanded reach targeted for 2020. However, the reliability of the system is now in question as a total system outage occurred for seven days in July 2019. The satellites themselves were operational; it was the main control center that experienced the shutdown during a system maintenance upgrade. The overall integrity of the system has been restored and the planned rollout of full operational capability is still scheduled for 2020.
BeiDou, the national navigation system of China, has achieved 35 operational satellites with 13 additional vehicles currently being evaluated for implementation. With the increased number of satellites, many GNSS receiver manufacturers are including BeiDou as standard channel reception to greatly increase accuracy and precision for navigational purposes.
Two additional regional systems, QZSS (Quasi-Zenith Satellite System) from Japan and IRNSS (Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System) from India are currently working to install more satellites and provide navigation signals soon. Because these are regional systems, access to these signals for U.S.-based surveyors will not be available.
In 20 short years, we went from having two good systems to four very robust systems and two regional organizations.
While it is still unclear how political relationships will affect the ability to use a system from another country, the simple fact is that more vehicles in space will only increase the coverage, reliability and effectiveness of GNSS navigational data. Increased signal type and strength will also provide many benefits, so surveyors should look forward to even better GNSS days ahead.
ADDITIONAL CELLPHONE CAPABILITY
Several increases in cellphone technology will greatly enhance not only the consumer’s use of GNSS but the surveyor’s. This involves a two-step increase in value with the rollout of 5G signal technology and dual-frequency GNSS receiver hardware within the cellphone.
5G is being introduced in various markets around the country, but won’t see full potential until 2021 and beyond. Those who can use it in the short term will see greater bandwidth for data connectivity, but surveyors will start utilizing navigational enhancements because of the signal and transmitter technology.
Add to this mix the future implementation of dual-frequency GNSS chipsets to provide much more accurate location, and the surveyor will have more data-collection power in their pocket. Dual frequency was a gamechanger for GPS receivers in their infancy, so one can only imagine how much it will enhance the navigation accuracy when included in the cellphone.
REAL-TIME NETWORKS (GNSS)
Most urban and suburban surveyors already enjoy the benefit of a real-time network, either from a private or public system. With 5G and expanded use of more satellites and L5 signal, the RTN will become a better tool for surveyors everywhere. A reduction of setting up a base station increased productivity, less theft and less equipment costs. The RTN will become a standard operational tool just like having a total station in your survey rig.
DATA COLLECTORS
Photo: Spectra Geospatial
The technology hasn’t stopped with the unveiling of new data collectors and platforms. Small handheld devices used to rule the field surveyor’s world; now those devices have become bigger and more advanced than ever.
While most collectors already had touchscreens, the actual screen is increasing in size and functionality. Some are adopting the tablet-style format (8- and 10-inch screens), others are incorporating larger screens (7 inches) within the body of the traditional collector. All of them are including better cameras and enhanced connection capability through Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and cellular methods.
Also catching on is the use of bring-your-own-device (BYOD) with specialized apps for connecting to newer GNSS receivers. This allows surveyors to keep down costs of equipment by not having to purchase a dedicated data collector. As mentioned previously, once the cellphone becomes equipped with 5G and/or dual-frequency GNSS, it will become an excellent system for surveying that will produce extraordinary value for the surveyor.
SPATIAL DATA
The biggest revolution for surveyors in the coming years will be the ability to collect spatial data through a variety of equipment and sensors. Besides the obvious explosion of UAV capability, the small-format laser scanner is becoming user- and drafter-friendly as well as much more affordable. Now a surveyor can perform dozens (if not more) of small area scans with simplified orientation and scan formatting to create a great looking point cloud for data extraction and/or Building Information Modeling (BIM). Surveyors are beginning to understand how to utilize this technology and data to reach inaccessible areas and densified regions quickly. In addition to scanning technology, SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) will also become more mainstream as more surveyors are adopting the method for data collection.
What we’ve learned
“The days are long, but the years are short.” – Gretchen Rubin, author
Gretchen hit the nail on the head, as these past two decades have rolled on. When the end of 1999 was upon us, it seemed to be a big deal because of the potential of Y2K issues. There we were, surveyors with exciting technology in our hands, and now the forefathers of computers were going to erase it all due to not looking ahead to the next century.
We easily got past it, yet the memories of Y2K still linger on for some of us. The jump to 2010 didn’t foreshadow any drama (other than climbing out of a recession) and I personally didn’t think any different while moving the calendar to January 2020. But somehow in the last few months of 2019, there were many stories about the Y2K predicament, and it rekindled old memories of those weeks leading up to January 1, 2000.
Long story short, we survived and lived to survey many more days. Having time to look back and compare where we were 20 years ago to where we are now, I find it simply amazing. No, Rick Deckard isn’t flying by in his car catching bad guys (Blade Runner was set in 2019!), but surveying continues to amaze me with continued technological changes.
In the second part of our receiver feature, top receiver manufacturers discuss what’s on the horizon for GNSS receivers: recent and upcoming innovations, combating spoofing and jamming, fusing GNSS with other sensors, and the impact of increasing accuracy both for professional surveyors and consumers.
In January, we featured responses from NovAtel, Trimble, Unicore, Topcon, Hemisphere GNSS, CNC Navigation and Septentrio to questions about their recent and upcoming innovations in the design and manufacturing of GNSS receivers. We continue in this issue with responses to the same questions from Javad GNSS, Swift Navigation, Eos Positioning Systems, Tersus GNSS, TeleOrbit, Allystar Technology and NTLab.
All GNSS receiver manufacturers agree that spoofing and intentional and unintentional jamming are serious challenges. Their approaches to dealing with these challenges differ, however, as they rely on different combinations of technologies on both their receivers (such as monitoring cycle slips and using analog-to-digital converters, correlators and notch filters) and their antennas (such as using array antennas), as well as the new Galileo authentication service.
Photo: Tersus GNSS
Many receiver manufacturers now routinely use optical, inertial and other sensors — which continue to drop in price and increase in performance — to supplement GNSS signals where they are degraded or denied, especially in the automotive market.
Carrier phase positioning and correction services are increasingly improving the accuracy of survey stations and reducing their price. Meanwhile, submeter accuracy is spreading beyond surveying to other industries. Performance in challenging conditions also continues to improve, thanks largely to the increase in the number of GNSS constellations, available satellites and frequencies. (For a review of recent developments in antennas, see our companion article here.)
On the consumer side, the introduction of multi-frequency GNSS receiver chips, the increased use of correction services, and, in a few countries, the deployment of thousands of additional base stations will continue to increase the location accuracy of cell phones and other consumer devices, enabling new applications. However, in these devices size and cost limitations make antenna performance particularly challenging. (See Part 1 here.)
Javad GNSS
Jamming and Spoofing. “We protect you against jammers and spoofers like no one else can,” said Javad Ashjaee, founder and CEO of Javad GNSS. “We use multiple techniques to detect spoofers, the most important being the use of digital signal processing to detect more than one peak. First, with 864 channels and about 130,000 Quick Acquisition Channels in our Triumph chip, we have resources to assign more than one channel to each satellite to find all signals that are transmitted with that GNSS PRN code. If we detect more than one reasonable and consistent correlation peak for any PRN code, we know that we are being spoofed and can then identify the spoofer signals and ignore the wrong peak.”
An example of two peaks. (Chart: Javad GNSS)
Ashjaee described additional techniques:
The J-Shield filter blocks out-of-band interference.
Sixteen 255th-order FIR anti-jam digital filters protect against static in-band interference, and 16 adaptive 80th-order digital filters protect against dynamic interference.
Javad products measure the level of interference as a percentage of in-band noise above normal.
The Triumph chip has a powerful spectrum analyzer. Each spectrum shows the power and the shape of the interfering signals and jammers. This is more powerful and more efficient than using a commercial spectrum analyzer to evaluate the environment.
The chip also keeps a record of Automatic Gain Control, which is another indicator of external signals. A change in AGC can indicate interference.
Deviation of SNR from the expected value is another important indicator of interference.
“Usually there are over 100 signals available at any given time, and we need only four good signals to compute position. It is extremely unlikely that we can be spoofed without our knowledge.” Ashjaee concluded. “We will immediately recognize and take corrective actions.”
Jamming and spoofing protection is available on all Javad GNSS receivers and OEM boards. Read more about Javad GNSS’s jamming and spoofing protection in the December 2019 issue.
Sensor Fusion. “To support users in environments where GNSS RTK solutions are difficult or impossible to obtain,” Ashjaee said, “Javad GNSS has invented the J-Mate, which is a remotely controlled robotic EDM device and digital camera. GNSS RTK and optical can be seamlessly integrated using the J-Mate as the seventh RTK engine. Just set up a Triumph-3 on top of a J-Mate and a Triumph LS on top of a zebra rod, making the former pair the RTK base station and the latter pair the RTK rover.” Read more about Javad GNSS’s RTK and Optical United solution in the November 2019 issue.
Swift Navigation
Jamming and Spoofing. “Receivers have become more robust to intentional jamming by mimicking the jammers’ behavior to cancel it,” said Alex Pun, staff product manager for Swift. “Nevertheless, advanced jamming and spoofing mitigation often imply array antennas. A real evolution lies in considering these threats only in terms of the availability of the GNSS sensor, now part of a complete multi-sensor positioning engine such as Starling.”
Sensor Fusion. IMUs, visual sensors and GNSS will aid each other in different types of environments and scenarios, explained Pun. “Sensors are becoming more affordable, and their performance increases with each new generation. Sensor fusion will be the glue that will bind them to provide a precise positioning solution.”
Surveying. The combined use of carrier-phase positioning and correction services, such as Swift’s Skylark, will greatly improve accuracy and reduce the cost of survey stations, because they make their accuracy less dependent on the intrinsic performance of the receiver and the antenna, Pun said. “A global service eliminates the need for an individual base station.”
Consumer Devices. “The introduction of dual-frequency GNSS receivers from chip manufacturers will help improve positioning in cell phones and other consumer devices,” Pun said. “These chips, coupled with a widely available correction service such as Skylark, will greatly improve their performance accuracy to sub-meter levels.”
Other Challenges. Performance stability of the antenna and its characterization will become the main challenge to exploiting the new GNSS ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits) and correction services at their highest level of performance, Pun said. “A positioning engine can exploit this information to accelerate the convergence to the high-accuracy solution, and then improve its availability.”
Eos Positioning Systems
A surveyor uses the Arrow Gold receiver to map assets in Terrebonne, Quebec, Canada. (Photo: Eos Positioning)
“The past three years have seen considerable innovations and trends in the GNSS industry,” said Jean-Yves Lauture, CTO of Eos Positioning. “Receivers are becoming increasingly affordable and the adoption of higher-accuracy (submeter, centimeter) positioning by other industries, outside of conventional surveying, is growing. Considering the now four usable GNSS constellations and the aggressive launches of Galileo and BeiDou satellites, the number of available satellites and the list of frequencies they use has considerably increased.
“Although accuracy itself is not really improving, performance is — particularly in tougher conditions. It’s not uncommon for customers to use 30 to 35 satellites out of more than 40 in view using an Arrow Series GNSS receiver. The numbers are even higher in the Pacific regions, thanks to geostationary BeiDou satellites. This is, by far, more than double the number of satellites available with just GPS and GLONASS.”
Consumer Devices. “It will be challenging for smartphones and consumer devices to achieve survey-grade accuracy in the next few years. They face certain limitations. For instance, there is a cost and physical size associated with using a high-end GNSS antenna with a minimum of ground plane to achieve these levels of accuracy.
The Arrow Gold RTK GNSS receiver. (Photo: Eos Positioning)
“Also, it is unlikely that the manufacturers of consumer devices will invest in developing the advanced algorithms needed for a high level of constant accuracy and performance. In order to fit into a smartphone, consumer-grade GNSS chipset manufacturers must drop the use of many available signals and frequencies to keep both size and power consumption to a minimum.”
Allystar Technology
Photo: Allystar
Jamming and Spoofing. The GNSS chip in Allystar’s TAU1301 module supports eight adaptive notch filters to reduce the effects of GNSS jamming, explained Shi-Xian Yang, senior principal engineer in the company’s Baseband Algorithm Department. “It significantly improves the performance of GNSS tracking measurements, even in the presence of strong and fast-varying jamming signals.”
Sensor Fusion. The TAU1310 integrates a six-axis micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) gyro, which makes its affordable for the mass market, Yang said.
The Lenovo Z6. (Photo: Lenovo)
Consumer Devices. In its Z6 smartphone, Lenovo has taken advantage of the great improvement in multipath mitigation provided by the L5 signal’s higher chip rate and the output of high quality raw data via the TAU1302’s HD8040 GNSS chipset to improve the accuracy experience in the consumer market, Yang explained. Additionally, he pointed out, cell phones and other consumer devices now enable developers to access the raw sensor data from such sensors as accelerometers and barometers to input into their fusion algorithms.
Other Challenges. In the future, the TAU1310 could also support the L6 signal for PPP-RTK application.
NTLab
NTLab anti-jamming GNSS receiver. (Photo: NTLab)
Jamming and Spoofing. The problem of jamming and spoofing worries customers, according to Konstantin Yuriev, lead GNSS engineer at NTLab. The combination of anti-jam and anti-spoofing is in greater demand because the anti-jam feature alone is becoming insufficient. Yuriev cited the European Union’s new requirements for the European Railway Traffic Management System (ERTMS), which makes anti-spoofing mandatory.
The key issue today is “the solution to the problem of reducing the size and cost of anti-jam receivers, so that they become available to consumers on the civilian market. The key technology for this will be increasing the degree of integration of the component base, first creating a chipset for solving anti-jamming and anti-spoofing tasks, and then moving on to a single-chip solution. We have created a chipset and are ready to start work on the further integration into a single chip.”
Sensor Fusion. The traditional task of integrating data from a GPS antenna and a MEMS sensor has been solved, Yuriev said, with many such solutions on the market. One task is to track the antenna’s tilt. “The antenna, GNSS receiver, and MEMS sensors should be located very closely to each other — if possible, on a single small board,” Yuriev said. “Here, again, the solution is to increase the degree of integration, up to placing the baseband processor on the same chip with the digital CMOS circuitry of the MEMS sensor.” Another application of MEMS is serving as the core of an inertial navigation system (INS), providing an auxiliary subsystem for detecting the presence of spoofing. “This is more of an algorithmic task,” Yuriev said, “because traditional coupling using recursive filters is not enough. It is necessary to ensure the independence of the INS subsystem from the GNSS solution, or their intelligent mutual cross-control.”
Surveying. A major part of the cost of a survey-grade device, Yuriev pointed out, is for additional services, know-how, and other added values. There is market demand for a business model in which device price could go down while maintaining the main values for the customer. “This could be achieved if end-users tightly cooperate with hardware manufacturers, skipping third-party integrators. Alternatively, multiple third parties could compete, keeping the cost of the software low. One of the technical solutions for this is to provide software application programming interfaces (APIs) that will allow multiple third parties to offer application-level software for the same hardware. We call it the ‘open platform’ approach. One of our products implements this strategy.”
Other Challenges. Despite some skeptics, Yuriev argued, new GNSS systems have been successful. “A good example is IRNSS (NavIC), with India’s population of 1.3 billion forming a potential market. Moreover, according to our studies, good coverage is provided not only in India’s territory. We are working on creating an economically affordable solution with support for the NavIC S-band. A new chip-scale packaged RFIC (radio-frequency integrated circuit) should minimize the size, consumption, and price of NavIC-oriented modules, while maintaining all the advantages of the S-band signal in areas close to the equator. This is our solution to the problem.”
TeleOrbit
GOOSE platform. (Photo: Fraunhofer IIS)
GNSS Receiver Development Platform. The company’s GOOSE platform is a field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based GNSS receiver, developed by Fraunhofer IIS, making it flexible in processing new or proprietary signals, according to Katrin Dietmayer, software development engineer at Fraunhofer IIS. “It comprises 60 hardware channels in real time and provides an open software interface for customer applications,” she explained.
Jamming and Spoofing. “It grants deep access to the hardware interface, down to, for example, the correlation values. Additionally, anti-jamming functions (such as notch-filter or pulse-blanker) can be added and anti-spoofing algorithms are already implemented. Thanks to the open architecture, our customers can also implement these or other algorithms.”
Sensor Fusion. Vector tracking in real time is already implemented on code base. Deep coupling with INS/IMU multi-sensor fusion — for example, with an odometer, ultra wideband or 5G — are possible and under development, Dietmayer said.
Surveying.TeleOrbit provides GNSS-RTK using RTKLIB. “The implemented Open GNSS Receiver Protocol (OGRP) is fully documented with a parsing tool using CONVBIN from RTKLIB as RINEX converter,” Dietmayer explained.
Consumer Devices. GOOSE is also used as the reference receiver in the ESA project Receiver Technologies for Future Mass Market (RT4FMM) devices. The project validates state-of-the-art dual-frequency mass-market receivers based on Broadcom BCM47755 and u-blox F9 and compares their performance against GOOSE E5AltBOC processing.
Other Challenges. GOOSE already processes the new Galileo OS-NMA (Open Service – Navigation Messages Authentication), while implementing the new Galileo High Accuracy Service (HAS) is on the roadmap. “The combination of these new features will result in a robust and reliable high-accuracy position,” Dietmayer said. “For system testing, the intermediate frequency signals can be recorded, processed and replayed with the platform.”
Tersus GNSS
The Oscar. (Photo: Tersus GNSS)
Jamming and Spoofing. Xiaohua Wen, founder and CEO, said his company has done much research and testing on jamming and spoofing. “We already implemented a high dynamic analog-to-digital converter to overcome jamming. To mitigate spoofing, we think that internet of things (IoT) devices can leverage cloud services. Alternatively, the new Galileo authentication service may serve the same function.”
Sensor Fusion.Tersus GNSS makes an INS product, and its Oscar receiver contains an inertial measurement unit (IMU). “The sensor fusion hub is a very hot topic in the automobile industry,” Wen said. “We are quickly adapting our Oscar and INS product line for the creation of high definition maps and for indoor navigation. We think it’s still the major pain point for a crowded country such as China.”
Surveying. As has been the case in many other industries, Wen said, the widespread adoption of GNSS technology and the increase in the number of players in the field has led to a drop in prices. “Tersus’ David and Oscar models are low cost but still perform well compared with Tier 1 players for professional survey machines using our own OEM GNSS board,” he said.
Consumer Devices. The fact that a few vendors are providing dual-frequency chipsets in smartphones opens the door for consumer-grade sub-decimeter applications, Wen said. “But we think the antenna could be a big challenge for the small devices.”
Other Challenges. “Mobile carriers are building thousands of base stations,” Wen said. “For example, Softbank in Japan completed 3,300 stations this year. China Mobile just issued a bid for a phase one project for 4,400 stations. We think mobile phone innovations for the new high-accuracy application may have some impacts in the coming years. We have been actively looking at some new GIS (geographic information systems) applications based on our in-house Nuwa platform.”
The interface adopts a concealed design for better protection, and USB type-C charging and transmitting is a two-in-one function.
The magnesium-alloy body is rugged and the battery level can be checked with a unique LED power indicator. The weight of the whole receiver is 940 grams.
The E300 Pro supports satellite station differential and satellite chain life, quick connection, intelligent voice, and tilt compensation. The E300 Pro tracks GNSS with 700 channels and fully supports BDS-3 signals. It supports 31 frequency points, using all GNSS satellite systems and frequency bands.
Inertial integration. The E300 Pro integrates multiple sensors including GNSS, an inertial measurement unit (IMU) , a magnetometer and a thermometer. With the help of a Kalman filter algorithm, the device can dynamically output position, speed and attitude information. It can measure and make real-time dynamic sampling without the need for leveling.
Combined GNSS Antenna. For better radio signal quality, the E300 Pro integrates GNSS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 4G main and auxiliary antennas on the top of the receiver to ensure the best reception in all directions. An innovative RF connector greatly improves connection reliability, while reducing loss of gain.
Founded in 2005, e-Compass provides data acquisition and positioning equipment including high-precision GNSS receivers, GIS data collectors and combined inertial navigation products.The company is based in Shanghai, China, with offices in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong.
What improvements will GPS III bring to high -precision surveying? When? Will these improvements require any changes in equipment and/or processes?
Tony Agresta, Nearmap
“The biggest impact of GPS III to high precision surveying will be a full constellation of L5 satellites. Triple frequency will bring faster convergence times and better accuracy in more difficult conditions. GPS III will better align with Galileo and BeiDou with L1C which means better availability in restricted sky conditions. Users will want to have equipment capable of supporting these new signals, in antenna and receiver HW as well as the signal processing done on board.” Tony Agresta
Nearmap
Jean-Marie Sleewaegen
“Of all the improvements brought by GPS III, the new L1C signal will probably have the biggest impact on high-precision surveying. Compared to L1 C/A, L1C brings better reception in difficult environments, improved availability thanks to the “pilot” component, enhanced resilience to jamming attacks, and better interoperability with Galileo, BeiDou and QZSS. Many receivers do support L1C already, but the benefits will become more tangible as the GPS III constellation grows.” Jean-Marie Sleewaegen
Septentrio
Members of the EAB
Tony Agresta Nearmap
Miguel Amor Hexagon Positioning Intelligence
Thibault Bonnevie SBG Systems
Alison Brown NAVSYS Corporation
Ismael Colomina GeoNumerics
Clem Driscoll C.J. Driscoll & Associates
John Fischer Orolia
Ellen Hall Spirent Federal Systems
Jules McNeff Overlook Systems Technologies, Inc.
Terry Moore University of Nottingham
Bradford W. Parkinson Stanford Center for Position, Navigation and Time
Pyramids of Giza taken from the International Space Station. (Image: NASA)
The Great Pyramids still cast their long shadow upon history. It’s been said that even Time kneels before them. They are monuments to the state-of-the-art technology of the builders using their most advanced astronomy, engineering, mathematics and trigonometry as a testament to their understanding of the world.
They are monuments to the builder’s state-of-the-art technology at the time using their most advanced astronomy, engineering, mathematics, and trigonometry as a testament to their advanced understanding of the world.
The pyramids’ corners align perfectly to the four cardinal points. Shafts on the north slope point towards the circumpolar stars, the so-called “Imperishable Ones” because they never set beneath the horizon. The Great Sphinx, eternal companion of the pyramids, is perfectly aligned to face the rising Sun on the morning of the summer solstice.
These constructs defined the physical framework of their cosmogony — ancient Egypt’s center of the world — their prime meridian and equator. References of place were in terms of direction and distance from the pyramids.
The word meridian is a Latin derivative of meridiem, as in a.m. and p.m., meaning midday. The moment is marked by the sundials’ shadow being neither to the west nor to the east and is directly in the middle. It marks an imaginary line running from north to south. The Prime Meridian is synonymous with Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), Universal Time Coordinate (UTC), or the military time zone Zulu.
In Mesopotamia in 600 B.C. is a map carved into a clay tablet depicting Babylon in the center surrounded by a circular ocean marking the edge of the known world. Beyond the ocean are eight projections emanating like sunrays. Four of them point to the cardinal directions and the other four towards celestial bodies with mythological significance.
This map, called the Bitter Waters, the name of the circular ocean, is considered the oldest in the world; and thus, the first official cartographer forged together the geography of the physical world with that of the cosmos.
Early maps had few frames of reference. If you wanted to know your whereabouts, you had to already know where you were, otherwise, you’d need the expertise of a seasoned guide.
Celestial bodies were the primary means for finding one’s way, the main one being the Sun, especially at daybreak. In fact, for thousands of years the importance of the sunrise was so essential to getting oneself pointed in the right direction that to this day it remains the principle word for that action.
Consider the following. The way a map is pointed is how it is oriented. If someone is lost, physically or consciously, that person is disoriented. The skill of traversing overland is orienteering. These all stem from the Latin word for east, orientalis; hence, the civilizations beyond Byzantium were considered the Orient, and likewise, the word Asia comes from the Phoenician word for sunrise, Asu. Thus, setting out on a journey required waking up with the sunrise and marking the direction of the shadow and then dead reckon along that line due west, or opposite the line due east.
In fact, many ancient maps were oriented toward the east such as the Mappa Mundi mentioned later in this article. At night, the North Star and knowledge of the constellations were used for travel; but during the day, north was just a general direction. North was derived by drawing a right angle perpendicular to the line between the two points of sunrise and sunset. The term for North under Roman rule was pars caeli septentrionalis, which translated means, The part of the sky towards the seven stars, referring to Ursa Major and Minor. North was not of much use during the day until the invention of the magnetic compass.
The Early Superpowers and the Great Sea Race
The trade routes along the Silk Road collapsed after the fall of Byzantium in 1453, and where there is chaos there is also opportunity. Reestablishing dependable trade with the east was worth billions. Finding a sea route to become Europe’s source of spices and goods was too alluring. The “Sea Race” of nations had begun.
Cantino Planisphere. (1502) (Image: public domain)
Portugal won the first round of the Sea Race claiming islands to use for trade routes rounding the Cape of Good Hope in 1488 and reaching India in 1498. Columbus, sailing under the Spanish flag discovered the Americas in 1492. The Mappa Mundi by Spanish explorer Juan de la Cosa in 1500 is the first map to show the Americas.
Navigational maps were closely guarded national secrets; so much so, the Duke of Ferrara hired a spy, Albert Cantino, to steal a Portuguese nautical map, which is now named in his honor, the Cantino Planisphere, and it shows the emerging knowledge of the newly discovered world. It also marks the evolution of travel using celestial navigation. America, unnamed at the time, was a closely guarded secret by the Spanish and of top national interest.
Portugal and Spain dominated the oceans for most of the 15th and 16th centuries to the point that the world was divided between the two along a meridian known as the Tordesillas Line splitting the world between the two superpowers.
Technology Ignites the Golden Age of Sailing Ships
Thanks to early navigation of the Portuguese and the Spanish, the magnetic compass and the sextant came into use, allowing more precise calculations of latitude improving navigation. Cartography and surveying improved as a result. Ingenious approaches for telling time at sea were invented. One method used Jupiter’s four primary moons as a clock.
England, over 100 years late to the global expansion entered the Age of Sail in 1600 when Queen Elizabeth signed the charter establishing the East India Company (EIC). Contrary to both the Portuguese and Spanish models which were funded by their monarchies, the English created a profit-sharing corporate model, which would ultimately account for half of all the world’s trade.
The EIC remains the most profitable company in history (inflation adjusted), but the costs of running such a vast enterprise were also great. The EIC lost nearly 220 ships. Every ship lost was the loss of a captain, the crew, the cargo, and the ship itself. Shipping was a costly venture. Not counting pirates, storms and war, the primary cause of shipwrecks was incorrect location. Distances could be off by hundreds of miles, enough to end up in the shallows or the rocks.
The problem wasn’t latitude. That could be determined with a great degree of certainty using angular measurements of the sun and celestial bodies above the horizon. Longitude was the culprit. Knowing position on an east west axis proved much more difficult. Longitude was thought to be an astronomical problem, and in order to solve it King Charles II established the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England in 1675, which happened to be at the height of Europe’s scientific revolution, the primary scientist at the time being Isaac Newton.
However, as many of the greatest minds attempted to solve the problem, none were able to do so. Thirty years’ later the Royal Society presented the challenge to the public offering a reward of £20,000, which is equivalent to approximately $3.1 million in 2019. It was known as the Longitude Act of 1714. The solution finally came in 1736.
John Harrison, a clockmaker, understood that space and time are inextricably connected. Longitude was solved by having two chronometers, which literally means an instrument to measure time. One chronometer was set to local time each day at noon. The other was set to Greenwich Mean Time. The difference in hours between the two pinpointed the time zone and the corresponding longitude. The original time zones were not the political ones represented today. There were 24 of them around the circumference of the earth and each time zone corresponded to a different letter of the alphabet.
Time zones traverse in increments of -1 hour to the west and towards the east +1 hour for 12 hours in each direction totaling 24 in all. The Greenwich Observatory lies within time zone 0 which is the military time zone Z. In the military phonetic alphabet Z is Zebra but it used to be Zulu.. The more precise time could be measured, the more accurate the position, thus, location coordinates are measured in degrees, minutes and seconds.
Today, the world’s primary chronometer is called the Master Clock and is housed at the United States Naval Observatory (USNO) in Washington, D.C. The USNO’s primary mission is position, navigation and timing (PNT). The grounds of the USNO is the home of the Vice President indicating the importance time is to commerce and the welfare of a nation.
GPS satellites set their internal clocks to the USNO Master Clock. PNT is so precise location can be determined down to the sub-millimeter level. Every smartphone’s geolocation is tied into this network. The U.S. Naval Observatory Master Clock has a phone number, (202)762-1401, and every 15 seconds the voice of Time proclaims the exact moment, translating the decay of cesium-133 into the same language of the pyramids, the Sphinx and Stonehenge.
A final thought. Heraclitus said we cannot step into the same river twice. The river changes by the flow of itself. But, Time itself is a river and with each passing moment our lives forever change. Look back. It is the past — the place of regret and glory. Look forward. It is the future where hope and fear reside. Look at the present. It is the only place we are.
Trimble has introduced the the R12 GNSS receiver, a high-performance GNSS surveying solution. Powered by a new real-time kinematic (RTK) and Trimble RTX positioning engine, it features Trimble ProPoint GNSS technology that empowers land surveyors to quickly measure more points in more places than previously.
Surveyors who work in challenging GNSS environments can use the Trimble R12 receiver to help reduce both the time in the field and the need for conventional techniques such as using a total station.
The new Trimble ProPoint GNSS technology allows for flexible signal management, which helps mitigate the effects of signal degradation and provides a GNSS constellation-agnostic operation.
In head-to-head testing with the Trimble R10-2 in challenging GNSS environments such as near and among trees and built environments, the Trimble R12 receiver performed more than 30 percent better across a variety of factors, including time to achieve survey precision levels, position accuracy and measurement reliability.
“As a leader in the field of GNSS technology and innovation, Trimble dedicated many years of intensive research into developing the Trimble R12,” said Ronald Bisio, senior vice president of Trimble Geospatial. “This has culminated in a first-class solution, which enables our users to extend the reach of their systems to places where other RTK GNSS systems experience degraded performance.”
Lidar USA is partnering with Innoflight Technology, a manufacturer specializing in UAV systems for surveying, mapping and inspection.
As a result of the partnership, Lidar USA is offering the Galaxy 950 platform to carry any of its sensors while consistently providing flight times over 30 minutes.
Based in Somerville, Alabama, Lidar USA specializes in the design and integration of economical lidar sensors.
Innoflight and Lidar USA’s partnership is another step for both companies to offer turn-key solutions focused on quickly and safely acquiring high-quality data.
Innoflight designed the Galaxy 950 to simplify the flying aspect of remote sensing with UAVs. The helicopter includes a parachute, automatic takeoff and landing, and extended visual-line-of-sight capabilities to maximize productive time.
For corridor/electric utility line projects, the Galaxy 950 pairs well with the recently announced CL-90 by Teledyne Optech. As the first integration partner of the new compact lidar system, Lidar USA is offering maximum productivity at UAV flight ceilings while achieving improved canopy penetration and exceptional downward point density.
“Lidar USA and Innoflight Technology are both committed to customer success, and this partnership provides the whole package for lidar mapping solutions with UAV,” said Jeff Fagerman, CEO of Lidar USA. “Innoflight’s Galaxy 950 offers exceptional performance in safety, flight duration, and ease of use, which is what our customers need for their projects.”
The Galaxy 950 is now available from Lidar USA as an integrated package with any of their scanning systems.
Bentley is a global provider of comprehensive software and digital twin cloud services for advancing the design, construction, and operations of infrastructure, and Topcon is a leader in positioning technology for the survey and construction industries.
The companies made the announcement at The Year in Infrastructure Conference, held Oct. 21 in Singapore.
Digital Construction Works has a global staff of digital construction experts and provides digital automation, integration and “twinning” services around a portfolio of fit-for-purpose software and cloud services from Topcon, Bentley, and other software vendors. The venture was created to realize the “breakthrough potential of constructioneering” for industrializing construction, according to a press release.
Bentley Systems and Topcon joined forces in 2016 to jointly develop enhanced integration between their respective MAGNET and ProjectWise cloud services so that engineering and construction workflows could be integrated for improved project quality and performance.
Since then, Bentley and Topcon have continuously introduced innovations in surveying, reality modeling, scheduling and logistics, work packaging, machine control, and progressive assurance for construction.
In 2017, they opened Constructioneering Academies, including at Topcon’s “sandbox” facilities, for construction professionals to experience new digital best practices, first-hand. During 2018, the companies assimilated Bentley’s SYNCHRO and Topcon’s ClearEdge3D acquisitions into constructioneering offerings.
Digital Construction Works is chartered to embed its experts within constructors’ major project teams to advance and optimize constructioneering processes for delivering better design-build outcomes.
Through its digital integration services, to connect and automate constructors’ existing processes with constructioneering, Digital Construction Works can make the best projects better while also helping to institutionalize these digital workflows throughout a constructor’s full project portfolio, the companies said.
At the same time, experiences gained by Digital Construction Works will help guide Bentley Systems and Topcon in prioritizing their constructioneering software development investments.
Digital Construction Works is led by CEO Ted Lamboo, previously senior vice president of strategic partnerships for Bentley Systems, and COO Jason Hallett, formerly vice president of digital construction and business development for Topcon.
Greg Bentley, CEO of Bentley Systems, said, “When we and Topcon recognized the opportunity for constructioneering to finally industrialize capital project delivery, we committed respectively to completing its software requirements. Indeed, our new software capabilities make possible construction digital twins—converging digital context, digital components, and digital chronology. What remains, in going digital for infrastructure construction, is for constructors’ people and processes to take advantage of the technology. We and Topcon have now in turn committed many of our best resources, professionals experienced in both construction and software, to serve shoulder-to-shoulder, in virtual hardhats, to innovatively advance the required digital integration. The Digital Construction Works joint venture has the full management and capital commitments of both our companies, multiplying its unique strengths for helping to realize constructioneering’s potential to close the world’s infrastructure gap.”
Ray O’Connor, president and CEO of Topcon Positioning Systems, said, “What Topcon and Bentley Systems initiated in recent years was done in the spirit of changing mindsets and processes on how we approach construction, and that collaboration has led to the development of this joint venture. The creation of Digital Construction Works perfectly aligns with our focus of helping the industry succeed in meeting infrastructure demands through technological innovations. Through the new organization, companies will have the opportunity to integrate hardware and software capabilities to more quickly and efficiently adopt new technology for more rapid productivity improvements. With customized services to address the individual needs of an organization, widespread adoption and technology improvements can be more readily realized. We are excited to take this journey with Bentley Systems in moving the industry forward.”
