HRL Laboratories has introduced a new inertial measurement unit (IMU) that provides near navigation-grade accuracy in a palm-sized package.
Smaller and lighter than grade-equivalent conventional sensors, HRL’s AXI-R100 delivers range-extending accuracy for GPS-contested navigation. The product is now ready for pre-production orders.
Using silicon microelectro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology, HRL’s gyros exceeds the performance of many tactical-grade IMUs in the same or smaller package size, and is manufactured in high volumes at wafer-scale. This near navigation-grade performance is available at a tactical-grade price.
The new IMU is suitable for use in defense, aerospace and automotive applications, including missile-guidance systems and drone navigation, as well as for commercial automotive applications with higher levels of autonomy. The product is ready for integration as it has been designed and tested against challenging vibration, shock and thermal conditions representative of those applications.
HRL will present product specifications at the 2026 Joint Navigation Conference, taking place this week in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is exhibiting in booth 129.
By leveraging high volume design automotive methodologies, HRL designed AXI-R100 navigation sensors to scale for high-volume automotive demand while maintaining performance superiority over traditional tactical-grade sensors. The result is a gyroscope compatible with foundry fabrication processes for high volume applications.
“Our gyroscopes and inertial sensors support navigation, pointing and stabilization systems for autonomous vehicles, aircraft and guided missile and munition applications,” said Jeff Dickman, director, Precision Sensing, HRL Laboratories. “We leveraged our extensive microelectronics legacy along with innovations in micromechanical and manufacturing processes to pave the way for AXI-R100 to address the urgent needs from our industrial base.”
A roundup of recent products in the GNSS and inertial positioning industry from the April 2022 issue of GPS World magazine.
OEM
GNSS+5G Antenna
9-in-one combination antenna with dual-band GNSS
Photo: Taoglas
The Taoglas MA990 Guardian antenna is a 9-in-1 combination antenna with dual-band GNSS (L1/L2) and globally supported cellular (5G/4G). It has been designed to support emerging market demand for modules that cover specific 5G/4G bands. Two of its eight cellular MIMO antennas cover from 600 Mhz to 6,000 MHz, while another two are optimized for 3,000 MHz to 6,000 MHz to cover high-band 5G and C-band/CBRS applications. The customizable antenna is designed to operate on all global carrier networks and is future-proofed to work with the latest 5G routers on the market. Housed in a low-profile, robust, IP67-rated waterproof, adhesive-mount external enclosure, the MA990 is designed for space-constrained, mission-critical applications, including asset and vehicle tracking, first-responder vehicles and high-definition video sources such as surveillance cameras.
The Boreas fiber-optic-gyroscope inertial navigation system (INS) is an ultra-high accuracy, strategic-grade INS offering a reduction in size, weight, power and cost. It is based on Advanced Navigation’s new digital fiber-optic gyroscope (DFOG) technology. The Boreas is targeted at applications requiring always-available, ultra-high accuracy orientation and navigation including marine, surveying, subsea, aerospace, robotics and space. It delivers strategic-grade bias stability of 0.001 deg/hr. This allows it to achieve ultra-high roll/pitch accuracy of 0.005 degrees and heading accuracy of 0.006 degrees. The Boreas allows for full independence from GPS with dead-reckoning accuracy of 0.01% of the distance traveled with an odometer or Doppler velocity log. In addition, the Boreas features ultra-fast gyro compassing, taking only two minutes to acquire heading in both stationary environments or on the move. Gyro compassing allows the system to determine a highly accurate heading of 0.01 degrees secant latitude without relying on magnetic heading or GPS.
Seven new GNSS active ceramic-patch antennas support global GNSS applications including GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, BeiDou, NavIC and QZSS systems in the L1/E1/B1, L2/E5/B2B, and L5/E5/B2A bands. Each antenna integrates a high-gain low-noise amplifier (LNA) and right-hand circular polarization (RHCP) to provide a high-performance solution for GNSS signal reception. Each active GNSS antenna has either a 60-mm or 100-mm coaxial cable terminated in a MHF1/U.FL-type plug (female socket) connector. They also meet the need for multi-band L1/L2, L1/L5, and L1/L2/L5 GNSS offerings.
The Pulse-40 inertial measurement unit (IMU) is a tactical-grade IMU designed for high performance in harsh conditions but miniaturized for applications where precision and robustness matter in all conditions. Use cases include warfare systems, satellite communications, robotics, lidar devices, gimbals, cameras and inertial navigation systems (INS). The Pulse-40 IMU provides six degrees of freedom. It integrates micro-electromechanical (MEMS) three-axes accelerometers and gyroscopes in a unique redundant design that allows the device size to shrink while pushing performance to its maximum. Among the performance specifications, the Pulse-40 features excellent gyro and accelerometer bias instability of 0.8°/h and 6 µg respectively, enabling long dead-reckoning and maintaining excellent heading performance. With sensors featuring extremely low vibration rectification error (VRE), the Pulse-40 can sustain high vibration environments, up to 10 g root-mean-squared. An embedded continuous built-in-test ensures data reliability during operation, a key parameter for critical applications. Features include 12 grams, 0.3W power consumption; ultra-low noise gyro (0.08°/√h) and excellent gyro bias instability (0.8°/h); high-precision accelerometers (6 µg); MIL-STD 810-qualified for shocks and vibrations; high bandwidth (480 Hz) and high data rate (2 KHz); highly tested and calibrated from –40° C to 85° C; and no export restrictions.
Adds online services for field surveying and mapping
Photo: CHC Navigation
LandStar version 7.3.7 adds cloud-based services and remote support features to simplify surveyors’ daily tasks. Online data storage and file sharing greatly facilitates interactions within a company and between field operators. LandStar 7’s remote assistance feature allows support personnel to take control of the field crew’s devices. Users simply provide a remote code to grant control of their data controller and be guided efficiently to the solution. The new version of LandStar 7 further improves support for CAD files and operates faster when importing 20MB DWG or 200MB DXF basemap files. Users can directly click on points, lines and blocks to stake out. In addition, object symbols and colors are displayed in the same way as in the original CAD design, making it easier for users to identify them.
Uinta is now available for devices running on Android. This is particularly valuable for workers who prefer to use an Android tablet or smartphone as a data collector. Uinta’s intuitive and customizable user workflow makes land measurement and asset mapping easier for data collection in the field. Uinta can now be used on a range of smartphones and tablets, including Juniper Systems’ Cedar CT8X2 and Mesa 3 rugged tablets running on Android. When using Juniper’s Geode GNSS receiver and running Uinta on an Android phone or tablet, users create a total mapping solution. They can collect high-accuracy GNSS data on the Geode, record the data in Uinta software, and see the data on a mobile or tablet. The intuitive software includes project templates that can be modified to meet individual project needs. Uinta is commonly used in utility mapping; commercial and agricultural irrigation; industrial asset inspections and rounds; and numerous environmental sciences in forestry, wetlands, wildlife and vegetation mapping.
Visualize the present and simulate the future of Scottish cities
Photo: Bluesky
Scottish cities Edinburgh and Glasgow have been added to the growing coverage of MetroVista 3D city models. The data is available as ultra-high resolution 5-centimeter aerial photography with 16 points per meter (ppm) lidar. The data also is being processed to create a fully rendered mesh model suitable for use in a range of GIS, CAD and modeling software packages Acquired using the Leica CityMapper aerial sensor that simultaneously captures vertical and oblique imagery together with high-point density lidar, MetroVista data is becoming increasingly popular for smart city applications. Providing a geographically accurate and detailed 3D representation of the urban environment, MetroVista data provides insight for applications such as urban design, defense and security modeling, insurance assessments and utility and telecom planning.
WindNinja is a high-resolution wind modeling app created for firefighters who need to quickly compute and visualize wind direction and speed simulations. The simulations provide them with situational awareness, help keep them safe, and help them conduct work such as burnout operations. The mobile app, developed using ArcGIS AppStudio from Esri, provides high-resolution, near-surface wind forecasts that include wind speeds and directions displayed on a map. The user selects an area of interest of 50 square kilometers or less, names the simulation, chooses a forecast duration of up to 15 hours, selects whether to receive an email or SMS notification when the simulation is ready to view, and then submits the request. The user also can select from a variety of basemaps and turn on data layers — vegetation, atmospheric, oceanic, land-surface imagery — collected by NOAA satellites.
Intelligent control system meets urban transport requirements
Photo: Xiaoan Technology
The AT-MX intelligent control system for shared electric bicycles uses the latest ultra-low-power u-blox M10 GNSS technology to enhance the positioning performance of their fleet for improved compliance with increasingly stringent Chinese policy requirements. The growing popularity of shared micromobility solutions for short-distance urban travel has led municipal authorities around the world to introduce new legislation to mitigate their perceived negative impacts, for instance, with restrictions on where users can drive and park their vehicles. Meanwhile, vehicle operators and maintenance personnel need to efficiently locate vehicles requiring maintenance and gather reliable vehicle usage data to balance bicycle placement and operational safety. Enforcing regulatory compliance and optimizing operations both require the safe, accurate and efficient bicycle positioning solutions.
Ensures safe operations through reliable, robust and continuous positioning
Image: Hexagon
SPAN technology delivers a deeply coupled GNSS and inertial navigation system (INS) that provides robust, reliable and continuous centimeter-level positioning for operators to maintain safety and maximize uptime. Now available for the dynamic positioning of vessels, the GNSS+INS solutions can bridge outages in GNSS tracking and through short periods of radio-frequency interference, jamming or spoofing. It provides vessels with an added layer of resiliency and achieve continuous centimeter-level accuracy across all conditions. SPAN GNSS+INS technology is compatible with commercial inertial measurement units (IMUs) and scalable with the LD900 GNSS receiver, Quantum visualization software and APEX correction services. Features include continuous centimeter-level positioning made more robust and reliable through enhanced GNSS tracking and deep coupling of inertial measurements; rapid reacquisition of GNSS signals after outages or interruptions through a deep coupling process; constant monitoring of GNSS absolute positioning combined with heading, velocity and attitude measurements; and added positioning redundancy with system robustness against potential signal outages, interference or disruptions.
Ibtechar, one of Qatar’s top providers of practical innovation and turnkey solutions, has developed a drone tracker and a GPS-based system that ensure the safety and security of critical infrastructure, VIP residents, national borders, and military facilities. The customized solution is made by a Qatar-based team of researchers and technologists with extensive knowledge and expertise in applied research and counter-drone systems. It aims to secure airports, power lines, and other vital assets that can be targets for drone attacks. Prototypes have gone through 487 flight tests in 19 locations, as well as 676 drive and walk tests. Features include compatibility with GPS, GLONASS and BDS; real-time tracking, popup notifications and SMS alerts; smart geo-fencing; drone whitelists/blacklists; base-station triangulation (cell ID); IMU, tilt, vibration sensor, and NFC; and offline mode. The new tracking system can identify the operating drones by displaying the drone itself, its serial number, the commercial frequency used, and motion details (speed, altitude, azimuth, path, etc.).
DroneDeploy lets users capture, process and analyze data in one platform. Users can create high-resolution 2D and 3D interior and exterior maps and models accurate to between 1 cm and 5 cm. It is designed for individuals, teams or enterprises and is suitable for all use cases and industries. However, primary markets include agriculture, construction, mining, energy, roofing and inspection. Features include Mobile Flight App to capture images directly from
an iOS or Android device; Live Map to create real-time, sharable
2D maps; Autonomous Flight to preprogram routes; as well as
360 Walkthrough for a 360-degree, virtual tour through a 3D model of a site. Industry-specific features are available, such as Plant Health to help farmers measure crop health and viability.
SBG Systems is introducing the Pulse-40 inertial measurement unit (IMU), a tactical-grade IMU designed for high performance in harsh conditions, but miniaturized for applications where precision and robustness matter in all conditions.
Use cases include warfare systems, satellite communications, robotics, lidar devices, gimbals, cameras and inertial navigation systems (INS).
The Pulse-40 IMU provides six-degrees-of-freedom. It integrates micro-electromechanical (MEMS) three-axes accelerometers and gyroscopes in a unique redundant design that allows the device size to shrink while pushing performance to its maximum.
The Pulse-40 on a development board. (Photo: SBG Systems)
Among the performance specifications, the Pulse-40 features excellent gyro and accelerometer bias instability of 0.8°/h and 6 µg respectively, enabling long dead-reckoning and maintaining excellent heading performance. With sensors featuring extremely low vibration rectification error (VRE), the Pulse-40 is able to sustain high vibration environments, up to 10 g root-mean-squared.
An embedded continuous built-in-test ensures data reliability during operation, a key parameter for critical applications. The Pulse-40 requires no periodic maintenance. An intensive qualification process — including accelerated aging — guarantees that the sensor behavior is stable over time.
Photo: SBG Systems
Main Features
Size, weight and power (SWaP) design: 12 grams, 0.3W Power consumption
Ultra-low noise gyro (0.08°/√h) and excellent gyro bias instability (0.8°/h)
High-precision accelerometers (6 µg)
Low vibration rectification error: shocks and vibrations MIL-STD 810 qualified
High bandwidth (480Hz) and high data rate (2KHz)
Highly tested and calibrated from –40° C to 85° C
No export restrictions
Research Result
SBG Systems’ sensor calibration and validation tools, initially based on a single axis motion simulator with a temperature chamber, have evolved over the years and are now based on 100% automated, multi-axis motion simulators with temperature chambers. The high level of automation mitigates human-error risk and ensures that all the delivered products meet their specifications. Its INS are the result of extensive research in signal processing, micro-electronics, calibration algorithms and sensor qualification, the company said.
With very low gyro noise and bias instability, the navigation performance is maximized in GNSS-disturbed or -denied environments. The Pulse-40 is export license free and ITAR free.
