Germany is the first United States ally to order the new military code (M-code)-capable Military GPS User Equipment (MGUE).
The Space and Missile Systems Center’s Space Production Corps achieved the major milestone on Sept. 30, when GPS Foreign Military Sales (FMS) office received its first M-code MGUE order.Germany is expected to receive delivery of its first M-code receivers this year.
SMC is facilitating international access and availability of M-code user equipment as directed by the Secretary of the Air Force and the Office of the Secretary of Defense to 58 authorized nations. Additional foreign military sales of MGUE are being worked.
Currently, SMC is engaged with several nations in bilateral M-code prototyping, demonstration and lead platform planning efforts. Under a multilateral agreement, MGUE ground-based receivers are on schedule to be loaned to approved partners for early integration and test in national weapons systems.
M-code is an upgrade to the currently available GPS signals that provides enhanced secure positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) performance, anti-jam and anti-spoofing to provide a more resilient PNT solution. It will improve interoperability with our defense partners’ equipment and operations while increasing navigation warfare effectiveness for allied operations.
If there were ever a time to sit back and reflect on things that have happened in the last calendar year, the year 2020 will be the poster child for the next few generations (at least I hope so…). Because of several things that have happened worldwide in the profession of surveying, let us take this opportunity to look back on a year that was filled with new equipment, emerging technology and government interaction that will have a lasting effect on our surveying horizon.
Look at all of these wonderful toys
There was no shortage of introductions to new equipment for surveyors, especially in the GNSS receiver market. While combining GNSS capability with an inertial measurement unit (IMU) is not a new concept, the Big Three of Leica, Topcon and Trimble introduced new or upgraded versions of their latest receivers taking full advantage of the technology. The benefit of having the IMU integrated within the receiver is the ability to “tilt” the instrument yet having the calculated position remain at the tip of the receiver pole.
Photo: Trimble
Leica, however, takes the tilting feature to another level with an integrated camera that allows for close-range photographs to capture additional information through remote sensing software. The data extracted from the photographs can be simple points (and verified in the data collector while in the field) or point clouds that can be integrated into larger projects through the Leica office software.
These new receivers, along with upgraded models from smaller providers, have opened the GNSS market to many more users well beyond surveying. The combination of more capability through advancing satellite constellations, more robust processors, and reduced receiver sizes have continued to drive GNSS positioning growth.
Photo: Hexagon
Manufacturers are using these increased capabilities to promote better coverage to obtain positions under heavier canopies and less likelihood for multi-path errors. While I remain cautious about these claims of increased coverage, I also maintain that with any tool, measurements and positions must have proper and appropriate validation. However, I am impressed that the technology continues to advance with what was once seen as only applicable to the open sky.
Not all the new technology has emerged through the GNSS receiver product lines; several less visible but valuable features have been introduced within the robotic total station lines. The manufacturers continue to push their equipment to react faster, stay locked on targets better, and provide more reliable solutions to data collection and construction layout. Data collectors continue to evolve with larger screens and more software capability, with some rivaling their desktop counterparts.
As cellular networks grow in both size and speed, more direct connections between field and office are being made with faster response time to data transfer. Data collection can take place in the field and be analyzed by an office technician as it happens. Go another step further and add an aerial background image to the collector and/or the office computer; now each team member can confirm that the information being collected is sufficient for the project in real-time.
Another technology that continues to advance is remote sensing, with more devices being introduced and with increased software capabilities. Besides new and upgraded offerings from the surveying-based manufacturers, other device makers are introducing products that offer remote sensing to the masses. The biggest news in this arena was the announcement from Apple that the iPhone 12 Pro and iPad Pro would come equipped with lidar sensing technology along with incredible photographic capabilities.
While there does not seem to be specific apps developed for surveyors at press time, it is safe to say that there will be in short order. It is also a safe bet that having this capability on a mass-produced device will put pressure on the surveying and mapping equipment manufacturers to be cost-competitive on their own proprietary devices or risk losing out on market share.
UAVs continue to be the fastest-growing segment of the surveying industry. More vehicle, sensor and software providers are coming to market to offer the surveyor a variety of choices. DJI continues to lead the way in the multi-rotor category with new products and sensors while other manufacturers are embracing the fixed-wing and vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) platform for greater range.
Just like their automobile brethren, flight time continues to increase with discoveries of new battery compositions and weight considerations. The sensor market is expanding to include more affordable lidar units, as well as new technology in multispectral identification, gas and noxious odor detection, and much more.
Software developers, too, continue to refine and expand the features found in their geospatial offerings with advancing technology and programming. Google Maps is the default navigation app for many smartphone users, but like anything utilizing GNSS in dense urban areas, the users find themselves bouncing all over the map.
2020 did not see any shortage of government action for the surveying and mapping community. As with many topics that come out of the nation’s capital, it should not surprise anyone that several of the items considered by the federal government and its agencies were not without controversy.
The biggest and most controversial item continues to be the advancement of Ligado (formerly known as LightSquared) and the development of new communication technology that has been shown to interfere with the GPS transmission bands. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), led by Chairman Ajit V. Pai, has been successful in holding off all challenges to the new technology including ones from current legislators and defense staff.
The main argument from the FCC is the value of the system as a provider of 5G communication to a substantial portion of the country. They also make statements that safeguards are being taken to protect the GPS spectrum, yet many studies from outside parties show otherwise. The fight over this spectrum will continue into 2021, and it will be interesting to see if the new administration will see things from a different perspective.
Several items to come out of Washington, D.C., late in the year were the blacklisting of DJI and the announcement of new UAV rules for flying over crowds and at night. With the DJI ruling, it is now illegal for government agencies to use the Chinese-based UAV maker for any activities. Based upon the significant market share of DJI, one can only wait to see how this situation plays out, and if the ban is expanded to private individuals.
The FAA announcement on the new UAV flight rules was surprising but not unexpected. In addition to establishing flight limitations over crowds and at night, it also established a timeframe for requiring most UAVs to transmit a Remote ID during flight for determining who is flying and where they are located. Compliance with these rules will be required by the manufacturer within 18 months and by UAV pilots within 30 months.
The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) has also been busy during 2020 preparing new datums and specifications for upcoming changes to the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS). Among those changes are the deprecation of the U.S. Survey Foot, beta testing of the latest geoid model (GEOID20), and new software tools for transforming positional information between datums. It was also announced that the release of the modernized NSRS scheduled for 2022 was being delayed.
NGS continues to work with each state on the improved state plane coordinate systems and/or low distortion projection systems that will be implemented with the new NSRS rollout. All these efforts have been a monumental task (no pun intended) and kudos go out to NGS for getting everything this far.
Pandemic 2020 (No, this is not a movie or a drill)
As we covered in the May 2020 Survey Scene article, COVID-19 was unlike anything we had been exposed before. Initial reports tried to relate the virus to typical influenza and the H1N1 outbreak in 2009, but the rapid transmission and sheer volume of cases (and deaths) mostly eliminated those comparisons.
From a technical viewpoint, the situation with COVID-19 has no bearing on GNSS operations and positional establishment. An operator of a GNSS receiver, and the business of surveying, is greatly affected by the presence of COVID-19 so it does deserve more than a brief mention in a retrospective look at the past year. This virus upended everything; from data collection and survey-related activities to computations and final drafting, the business of surveying felt the effects.
Once the initial challenges of keeping everyone safe were addressed, it became a year-long marathon of providing surveying services to clients that did not let the pandemic hinder their progress. Field crews were under significant pressure to maintain social distancing at every turn, while office staff dealt with home Wi-Fi and lack of access to normal business conditions such as large-format printing.
Video calls and instant messaging quickly became the norm, yet also became the scourge of dealing with the day-to-day operations of a business. The “normal” work/life balance with families, school, and social activities has disappeared and a more challenging approach has replaced that balance. Fingers are crossed that people will adhere to social distancing protocols and can get vaccinated as soon as possible so we can resume a portion of our previous lifestyles.
However, we do have several positive things to take away from the challenges of the pandemic that will make our lives better going forward. Our reliance on geolocation became quite clear throughout the pandemic. Whether it is using it to help establish contact tracing or as simple as having a delivery service bring necessities straight to your door, almost everyone relies on geolocation for helping guide them through the “new normal.”
We are using our smartphones to track our family members and help keep them out of harm’s way. It would be hard to imagine how much more difficult this situation would have been before cellphone and GNSS integration.
Graphic: World Health Organization (https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019).
Another leap forward that most people are not aware of is the publicizing of GIS dashboards and incredible analysis of the geolocation of people worldwide. While GIS dashboards have been in existence for many years, it is only now that the public has paid attention to the vast information available to them.
From providing numbers of cases to graphically depicting “hotspots” across the world, these dashboards are full of useful information to help people understand the size of this pandemic, the places where mitigation is working, and where additional restrictions are being put in place to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.
The ability to merge geolocations with physical conditions and situations into a real-time mapping solution can help reduce the spread of the virus. By combining GNSS technology with advanced computing power and data storage, the power of GIS has been brought to the front page of public agencies and news sites.
While we still enjoy watching movies with superheroes, the true heroes during this pandemic are the frontline health workers, first responders and data analysts/programmers who bring us this timely information quickly. A hearty thank you goes out to all of them for their efforts and dedication to the cause.
In memoriam
Photo: GPS World staff
The year 2020 also brought losses to every corner of the world and the surveying community was not spared. There are very few individuals we call pioneers in the surveying industry, so to include Dr. Javad Ashjaee among that group is no small feat. His contributions to the surveying profession helped turn every practitioner into a geospatial information provider.
From his early days at Trimble pioneering the commercial-grade receiver to creating his company at Ashtech and embracing GLONASS with GPS, he continued to expand the capability of the GNSS receiver. Many surveyors today only know his name through his latest company, Javad GNSS, and the unique line of receivers and measuring devices and their distinctive green color.
Cover photo: Ed Koziarski
Dr. Ashjaee was a big part of the GNSS revolution, so next time you starts up their receiver to collect survey data, take a moment to thank him. It was my pleasure to meet and interview him at the 2017 Intergeo trade show in Berlin to talk about his product line. I was also able to test-drive his incredible GNSS products for a feature in GPS World magazine on using smartphones for data collectors.
To say the man will be missed is a big understatement and I wish his family well on continuing his company and tradition of making great leaps in technology.
Teledyne Technologies will acquire FLIR Systems in a cash and stock transaction valued at $8 billion, both companies announced on Jan. 4.
Teledyne is a provider of sophisticated instrumentation, digital imaging products and software, aerospace and defense electronics, and engineered systems. Its operations are primarily in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Western and Northern Europe.
Founded in 1978, FLIR is an industrial technology company focused on intelligent sensing solutions for defense and industrial applications.
Under the terms of the agreement, FLIR stockholders will receive $28 per share in cash and 0.0718 shares of Teledyne common stock for each FLIR share, which implies a total purchase price of $56.00 per FLIR share based on Teledyne’s five-day volume weighted average price as of December 31, 2020. The transaction reflects a 40% premium for FLIR stockholders based on FLIR’s 30-day volume weighted average price as of Dec. 31, 2020.
As part of the transaction, Teledyne has arranged a $4.5 billion 364-day credit commitment to fund the transaction and refinance certain existing debt. Teledyne expects to fund the transaction with permanent financing prior to closing. Net leverage at closing is expected to be approximately 4.0x adjusted pro forma EBITDA with leverage declining to less than 3.0x by the end of 2022.
Teledyne expects the acquisition to be immediately accretive to earnings, excluding transaction costs and intangible asset amortization, and accretive to GAAP earnings in the first full calendar year following the acquisition.
“At the core of both our companies is proprietary sensor technologies. Our business models are also similar: we each provide sensors, cameras and sensor systems to our customers. However, our technologies and products are uniquely complementary with minimal overlap, having imaging sensors based on different semiconductor technologies for different wavelengths,” said Robert Mehrabian, executive chairman of Teledyne. “For two decades, Teledyne has demonstrated its ability to compound earnings and cash flow consistently and predictably. Together with FLIR and an optimized capital structure, I am confident we shall continue delivering superior returns to our stockholders.”
“FLIR’s commitment to innovation spanning multiple sensing technologies has allowed our company to grow into the multi-billion-dollar company it is today,” said Earl Lewis, chairman of FLIR. “With our new partner’s platform of complementary technologies, we will be able to continue this trajectory, providing our employees, customers and stockholders even more exciting momentum for growth. Our board fully supports this transaction, which delivers immediate value and the opportunity to participate in the upside potential of the combined company.”
“We could not be more excited to join forces with Teledyne through this value-creating transaction. Together, we will offer a uniquely complementary end-to-end portfolio of sensory technologies for all key domains and applications across a well-balanced, global customer base,” said Jim Cannon, FLIR president and CEO. “We are pleased to be partnering with an organization that shares our focus on continuous innovation and operational excellence, and we look forward to working closely with the Teledyne team as we bring our two companies together to capitalize on the important opportunities ahead.”
Fourth-quarter financial results. In a separate press release issued today, Teledyne announced improved preliminary financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2020. The Teledyne press release is available on www.teledyne.com. FLIR noted today that it expects to meet or exceed the full year fiscal 2020 guidance it provided on Oct. 30.
Approvals and timing. The transaction, which has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies, is expected to close in the middle of 2021 subject to the receipt of required regulatory approvals, including expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, approvals of Teledyne and FLIR stockholders and other customary closing conditions.
Advisors. Evercore is acting as exclusive financial advisor and McGuireWoods LLP is acting as legal advisor to Teledyne in connection with the transaction. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is acting as exclusive financial advisor and Hogan Lovells US LLP is acting as legal advisor to FLIR in connection with the transaction. Teledyne has entered into a 364-day senior unsecured bridge facility credit agreement with Bank of America as sole lead arranger and administrative agent.
Conference call and webcast. Teledyne and FLIR hosted a conference call to discuss the acquisition. A replay is available and will be available for one month.
The IGS Workshop, scheduled for September 2021 by the International GNSS Service (IGS), has been postponed to 2022. The IGS Central Bureau voted for the postponement in December during its governing board meeting.
The IGS Workshop, originally intended to take place 2020, was postponed to 2021 because of travel restrictions associated with COVID-19. The dates of the workshop will be determined later.
By Danny Baird NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program office
The Artemis generation of lunar explorers will establish a sustained human presence on the Moon, prospecting for resources, making revolutionary discoveries and proving technologies key to future deep space exploration.
To support these ambitions, NASA navigation engineers from the Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program are developing a navigation architecture that will provide accurate and robust position, navigation and timing (PNT) services for the Artemis missions. GNSS signals will be one component of that architecture. GNSS use in high-Earth orbit and in lunar space will improve timing, enable precise and responsive maneuvers, reduce costs, and even allow for autonomous, onboard orbit and trajectory determination.
On Earth, GNSS signals enable navigation and provide precise timing in critical applications like banking, financial transactions, power grids, cellular networks, telecommunications and more. In space, spacecraft can use these signals to determine their location, velocity and time, which is critical to mission operations.
“We’re expanding the ways we use GNSS signals in space,” said SCaN Deputy Director for Policy and Strategic Communications J.J. Miller, who coordinates PNT activities across the agency. “This will empower NASA as the agency plans human exploration of the Moon as part of the Artemis program.”
Spacecraft near Earth have long relied on GNSS signals for PNT data. Spacecraft in low-Earth orbit below about 1,800 miles (3,000 km) in altitude can calculate their location using GNSS signals just as users on the ground might use their phones to navigate.
This provides enormous benefits to these missions, allowing many satellites the autonomy to react and respond to unforeseen events in real time, ensuring the safety of the mission. GNSS receivers can also negate the need for an expensive onboard clock and simplifies ground operations, both of which can save missions money. Additionally, GNSS accuracy can help missions take precise measurements from space.
Expanding the Space Service Volume
This photograph of a nearly full Moon was taken from the Apollo 8 spacecraft at a point above 70 degrees east longitude. Mare Crisium, the circular, dark-colored area near the center, is near the eastern edge of the Moon as viewed from Earth. (Image: NASA)
Beyond 1,800 miles in altitude, navigation with GNSS becomes more challenging. This expanse of space is called the Space Service Volume, which extends from 1,800 miles up to about 22,000 miles (36,000 km), or geosynchronous orbit. At altitudes beyond the GNSS constellations themselves users must begin to rely on signals received from the opposite side of the Earth.
From the opposite side of the globe, Earth blocks much of the GNSS signals, so spacecraft in the Space Service Volume must instead “listen” for signals that extend out over the Earth. These signals extend out at an angle from GNSS antennas.
Formally, GNSS reception in the Space Service Volume relies on signals received within about 26 degrees from the antennas’ strongest signal. However, NASA has had marked success using weaker GNSS side lobe signals — which extend out at an even greater angle from the antennas — for navigation in and beyond the Space Service Volume.
Since the 1990s, NASA engineers have worked to understand the capabilities of these side lobes. In preparation for launch of the first Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R weather satellite in 2016, NASA endeavored to better document side lobes’ strength and nature to determine if the satellite could meet its PNT requirements.
“Through early on-orbit measurement and documentation of the GNSS side lobe capabilities, future missions could rest assured that their PNT needs would be met,” said Frank Bauer, who began the GNSS PNT effort at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “Our understanding of these signal patterns revealed a host of potential new GNSS applications.”
Navigation experts at Goddard reverse-engineered the characteristics of the antennas on GPS satellites by observing the signals from space. By studying the signals satellites received from GPS side lobes, engineers pieced together their structure and strength. Using this data, they developed detailed models of the radiation patterns of GPS satellites in an effort called the GPS Antenna Characterization Experiment.
While documenting these characteristics, NASA explored the feasibility of using side lobe signals for navigation well outside what had been considered the Space Service Volume and in lunar space. In recent years, the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS) has even successfully determined its position using GPS signals at distances nearly halfway to the Moon.
A graphic detailing the different areas of GNSS coverage. (Image: NASA)
GNSS at the Moon
To build on the success of MMS, NASA navigation engineers have been simulating GNSS signal availability near the Moon. Their research indicates that these GNSS signals can play a critical role in NASA’s ambitious lunar exploration initiatives, providing unprecedented accuracy and precision.
“Our simulations show that GPS can be extended to lunar distances by simply augmenting existing high-altitude GPS navigation systems with higher-gain antennas on user spacecraft,” said NASA navigation engineer Ben Ashman. “GPS and GNSS could play an important role in the upcoming Artemis missions from launch through lunar surface operations.”
While MMS relied solely on GPS, NASA is working toward an interoperable approach that would allow lunar missions to take advantage of multiple constellations at once. Spacecraft near Earth receive enough signals from a single PNT constellation to calculate their location. However, at lunar distances GNSS signals are less numerous. Simulations show that using signals from multiple constellations would improve missions’ ability to calculate their location consistently.
To prove and test this capability at the Moon, NASA is planning the Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE), developed in partnership with the Italian Space Agency. LuGRE will fly on one of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services missions. These missions rely on U.S. companies to deliver lunar payloads that advance science and exploration technologies.
NASA plans to land LuGRE on the Moon’s Mare Crisium basin in 2023. There, LuGRE is expected to obtain the first GNSS fix on the lunar surface. LuGRE will receive signals from both GPS and Galileo, the GNSS operated by the European Union. The data gathered will be used to develop operational lunar GNSS systems for future missions to the Moon.
Positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) orbs guide 50-ton robots carrying containers at the Ports of Auckland.
In a world-exclusive report, GPS World visited with officials at the Ports of Auckland, New Zealand, and the Australian company Locata to reveal a revolutionary port automation system. Locata’s navigation system could change the way containers are handled around the globe, and open the floodgates for next-generation automation of Critical National Infrastructure sites.
Global shipping lines, ports and container terminals are at the heart of the immense, multi-trillion-dollar global logistics market, and ports are classed as critical infrastructure in many nations.
Much of the world’s port infrastructure is old, has no space to expand, and strains at the seams as it faces the reality of handing larger cargo volumes and massive new container ships —some with more than 22,000 containers on board. Efficiently managing the huge spike in container moves caused by the arrival of these gigantic new vessels is a critical requirement for container terminals and their logistics chains, and the problem will only become more acute.
Once arriving at port, container vessels are offloaded by ship-to-shore (STS) cranes. (Photo: bfk92/E+/Getty Images)
Automating operations at ports and intermodal hubs to accelerate their throughput is an obvious solution. “Automate or die” is now an accepted industry mantra, and indeed a small number of terminals around the world have been automated in the past. Early attempts at using GPS for positioning autonomous machines promptly fizzled, however. A chaotic environment of gigantic moving metal machines and constantly changing metal container stacks creates insurmountable blockage and multipath position errors. The environment makes it impossible to guarantee ultra-reliable, centimeter-level GNSS positioning.
In the past, the industry had to resort to providing basic-level positioning by drilling holes to install (with no exaggeration) between 50,000 and 500,000 RFID transponders or magnets in the port’s pavement. This was extremely tedious and labor intensive, and came with serious downsides. The transponders do not work well for differing machine sizes because they usually require reader antennas, the size of two regular house doors, under the machine. Furthermore, the drilling deteriorates the pavement — the ports’ most valuable asset.
The biggest problem, however, was that for a fully operational site like Auckland — known as brownfields in the industry — the port often would have to be closed for years to allow the transponders and pavement to be installed. Such a shutdown isn’t feasible for most operating ports; hence, brown-fields were considered next-to-impossible to automate.
Although this may seem to be less of an issue for new greenfields ports (those built from scratch), buried transponders essentially lock in the mobility and usage patterns for any port, requiring another shutdown to make changes. In all, the logistics industry and its machine manufacturers urgently need a viable, flexible, reliable positioning solution for terminal automation — and soon.
A New Solution
It’s now been revealed that a new solution for this urgent requirement had, in fact, been in stealth mode development for many years. Due to commercial competitive considerations, all the work had taken place under the radar and without publicity. Konecranes, the largest port machine manufacturer, had been developing fully autonomous straddle carriers specifically to address this market, in partnership with Australian company Locata Corporation.
This totally new automation system is being rolled out now at multiple terminals around the world. The first port to emerge with this trailblazing capability is the Ports of Auckland.
Locata’s ground-based GNSS-like positioning system is changing the game for logistics terminals. The Ports of Auckland is the first of many ports and logistics hubs around the globe currently operating or installing Locata (see Figure 1). In the process, the port is delivering the global logistics industry a raft of world-first capabilities.
Figure 1. The Ports of Auckland covers 140 acres at the doorstep of Auckland’s central business district. The outline shows the approximate coverage of the LocataNet local positioning system (landside only). (Photo: Ross Clark/Ports of Auckland)
Partners on this project — the government owners of the Ports of Auckland; its system supplier Konecranes; and Locata — are breaking new ground and in the process opening the floodgates for next-generation machine automation of critical national infrastructure sites.
Groundbreaking Capabilities
Living on an island means every-day items are delivered via cargo ships. That’s certainly the case in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, which has a harbor on the Pacific Ocean.
The Ports of Auckland is the largest terminal for commercial freight that arrives in New Zealand. Its 140-acre international trade port is in the heart of the city and surrounded by water, so expansion by reclaiming land is out of the question, even as the country continues to grow.
With this situation, the port’s operator was faced with the seemingly impossible: double the handling capacity of the port in a few years without reclaiming any more land. They turned to automation and cutting-edge technology to find a solution.
Everything that arrives at the port is in a standardized shipping container. The port’s plot of land is usually crammed with the maximum number of containers it can hold. The Ports of Auckland had to seek out automation that increases the terminal’s capacity by stacking containers higher, stacking them close together, and generally making things move faster and more efficiently.
For inbound cargo, once a container is unlocked from its ships, ship-to-shore (STS) cranes unload them to ground level. Straddle carriers then lift and move each container to a ground-level holding area, where it is stored and then transferred to a truck or a train that will deliver it to its ultimate destination.
Export cargo arrives at the port via truck or train, and the straddle carriers handle them through the port’s storage areas to be loaded onto a ship.
The port also handles trans-shipments; containers that arrive via a ship destined to be loaded onto another ship. These handling processes are repeated over and over around the clock, operating pre-automation at a capacity of around 900,000 containers per year.
Straddle carriers are the workhorses of the operation, moving containers within the port. Manual straddles are operated by trained onboard drivers and can stack containers two high. In a traditional manual environment, a driver’s time is divided between tasks that require skill such as picking up a container from the STS crane, or on repetitive work — like organizing containers for efficient loading onto ships, trains and trucks — which are tasks that can readily be automated.
By adding automation, the Ports of Auckland created a mix of manual and automated straddles working together at the terminal. Drivers are assigned the more interesting and skillful tasks, while the automated robotic straddles carry out the repetitive, “boring” tasks.
“Very soon, when the automation system is fully implemented, our straddle carrier fleet will consist of 27 Konecranes Fully-Automated Straddle Carriers (A-STRAD), and 24 manned straddle carriers,” said Ross Clarke, program manager of Auckland’s Port Automation Project. “This interaction of manned and automated machines, without any physical infrastructure separating them, is a world first.”
The A-STRADs are bigger than the manual straddles. The 50-ton, four-story-high machines can move 40-foot containers weighing 50 tons around the port at up to 30 kilometers per hour. Each can stack containers up to three high and closer together.
Five fully autonomous Konecranes A-STRADs at work in the Ports of Auckland. The Locata VRay Orb antennas can be seen at the top of each straddle. (Photo: Photo: Ross Clark/Ports of Auckland)
With the new automated system, the Ports of Auckland will almost double the capacity of the terminal to 1.7 million containers per year once automation is fully implemented in early 2021.
The Ports of Auckland chose Konecranes to supply the fully-autonomous straddle carriers. With no cab, A-STRADs are uniquely identifiable as autonomous. A-STRADs can drive around the port, lifting and moving containers in the same way as their manual predecessors, using their spreader and assisted by the onboard sensors. A critical difference is how they position themselves and how they safely operate in an environment with many other objects, manual straddles, A-STRADs and container stacks.
At the heart of this capability is the Locata local positioning system. It allows A-STRADs to reliably position themselves to centimeter-level accuracy throughout the terminal work area. Every A-STRAD has two Locata antennas, each attached to a Locata Rover receiver, that enable an A-STRAD to accurately determine its position and orientation.
Driver Assistance. Both the A-STRADs and the manual straddles at the Ports of Auckland are positioned using Locata technology. The manned straddle carriers are fitted with a driver-assistance system, which is also positioned by Locata, so their operations can be monitored and coordinated in lock-step with autonomous A-STRADs.
“The driver assistance system operates a lot like the auto-parking system in a car,” Clarke said. “When manned straddles are near the interchange area where they interact with A-STRADs, operators change to driver-assist mode and can take their hands off the steering wheel, allowing the system to autonomously guide the straddle carrier to the correct stack location with an accuracy of +/–3 cm.”
Roots of a New Strategy
The groundbreaking positioning system has been in the works for several decades.
“Locata has been working on this ‘terrestrial replica of GNSS’ capability for 25 years,” Locata CEO Nunzio Gambale told GPS World. “It didn’t spring up one day just because co-founder David Small and I thought, hey, we’d like to replace the GPS satellites.
“Our driving vision has been to provide accurate performance in myriad environments where we always knew GNSS was going to fail to deliver,” Gambale continued. “Importantly, what you see today is not just ‘a lab experiment’ or a prototype test system. It’s operationally deployed, enabling some of the most demanding positioning applications on Earth. Our team has been laser-focused on developing real technology which improves on GPS-like positioning, and delivering solid solutions for real-world problems modern applications now face.”
The Locata System
Two LocataLite transmitter antennas, installed 23 meters up a light pole, provide high-accuracy positioning coverage over part of the Ports of Auckland. (photo: Photo: David Small/Locata)
LocataLites. Locata is a local positioning system that uses a network of synchronized transmitters, known as LocataLites, installed in and around the port to cover all straddle work areas. The LocataLites work like miniature GPS satellites, transmitting GPS-like signals using two frequencies in the 2.4-GHz ISM band.
LocataLites are strategically installed and configured to deliver reliable centimeter-level accuracy, with particular attention paid to the geometry available from the network when the installation layout is designed. This LocataLite network (called a LocataNet) enables the equipment on each straddle carrier to trilaterate its position using a method similar to GNSS positioning.
Locata technology is built upon two critical proprietary capabilities developed and perfected over many years: TimeLoc and multipath mitigation. To date, Locata has been granted more than 160 patents on these core advances.
Sub-Nanosecond TimeLoc. First, LocataLites use their own broadcast signals to time synchronize with each other using a proprietary technology called TimeLoc. This allows all the LocataLites in a LocataNet to time synchronize with each other to sub-nanosecond levels without requiring atomic clocks.
Mutipath Mitigation. Second, Locata’s proprietary multipath mitigation technology enables Locata receivers to correctly track direct signals, even in an environment filled with reflected signals. Multipath is the main reason GNSS can’t deliver the accuracy and reliability required at a port.
Locata’s multipath mitigation technology has two components: the Locata receiver and the VRay Orb antenna.
Locata receivers. The receivers incorporate a proprietary signal-processing technique, correlator beamforming (CBF), which delivers beam-forming capability comparable to advanced phased-array antennas.CBF allows the Locata receiver to combine signal samples from its multiple antenna elements to form virtual “beams,” and any signal outside of a given virtual beam is ignored.
Unlike traditional phased arrays, however, the Locata CBF system is markedly less complex and orders of magnitude less expensive. CBF uses only one RF front end, yet it can form millions of individually-steered beams per second.
VRay Orbs. The straddle carriers at the Ports of Auckland are the first commercial operating deployment of Locata’s VRay Orb antennas, with two orbs atop every A-STRAD as well as the manual straddles (Opening Photo).
A row of Locata VRay Orb60 antennas atop Konecranes A-STRAD machines stretch into the distance toward Auckland’s business district. (Photo: David Small/Locata)
Bespoke Positioning
The placement of LocataLite positioning transmitters on any site is entirely within the control of the LocataNet designer. “Our partners can place them where they want, in as high a density as they want, and as accurately as they need to get their job done,” Gambale said. “The LocataNet delivers rock-solid, super-reliable positioning in environments where that wasn’t possible before.”
With GNSS, users have no control over the geometry of the satellites in view. “That’s a huge problem in many of these high-accuracy applications because it can greatly affect your DOP [dilution of precision] geometry,” he added. “Engineers trying to rely on GNSS can see huge variability — or complete failure — in a machine’s position. Unreliable positioning is not acceptable when an enterprise is relying on 50-ton autonomous machines, doing critical work that you cannot afford to stop.”
According to Clarke, “Locata is well-suited to our requirements as it offers high precision, high resistance to interference, and high reliability.”
Breakthroughs at the Port
Locata’s enabling technology has brought multiple breakthrough advantages to terminal automation. Critical among them is the ability to automate a terminal while in full operation.
“Because our container terminal is working at high utilization, with no spare space to operate, we are deploying the automation in two phases,” Clarke said. “The first phase started commercial operations in August 2020, and we have now handled more than 35 ships using the automated system. The next phase, with the entire terminal running fully operational automation, is scheduled to enter service in early April 2021.”
Flexibility. The new system also provides extreme flexibility to alter the layout of operations in real time, something never possible with transponders embedded in the ground. A-STRADs drive around using a digital map. With Locata, this map can be changed as often as needed without having to change anything in the infrastructure.
Reduced Wear and Tear. Before automation, line markings on the pavement guided operators on paths and in storage areas. While this kept operations orderly, following the marked lines caused ruts in the pavement that eventually require costly and time-consuming repairs.
“With A-STRAD positioning being so precise and repeatable, this accuracy could have caused serious ruts and also become a problem,” Clarke said. “With Locata and the ‘invisible’ digital pavement markings, we came up with a cool solution to this that we call ‘stack shuffling.’ We shift the digital drive paths and storage plots over time so that wear and tear on the pavement is spread more evenly, requiring fewer repairs to the tarmac.”
The shuffling is imperceptible to a human, but the A-STRADs are spreading the wear across the entire tarmac and greatly extending the service life of the terminal surface, according to Clarke.
Less Fuel. The automation also brings significant environmental benefits. “A-STRADs use approximately 10% less fuel, which means they are indeed cheaper to run,” Clarke said.
Locata-enabled manned straddles near STS cranes unload a ship at dusk. (Photo: Photo: David Small/Locata)
Autonomous and Manned
Ensuring the safety of workers, machinery and cargo is a critical requirement at any port. All parts of the Ports of Auckland’s new system were tested for two years, including system software from both Konecranes and Locata.
The software was tested in pieces as it was developed. Then, full system functionality was delivered and tested. Both automated and manual straddles are centrally monitored and coordinated by this terminal operating system.
Working Together. Auckland’s port is the first in the world to use autonomous and manned machines together without a physical separation. This allows skilled operators to manually handle operations in specific areas, while the autonomous A-STRADs are tasked with monotonous and time-consuming jobs with no practical limitation on the machine’s repeatability.
Within the access-controlled premises in Auckland, all work areas are constantly monitored by the centralized system. The Locata system tracks the location of all straddle carriers at all times.
Training. All manual straddle drivers go through virtual and hands-on training with specific attention paid to safety protocols.
“Once they’ve first learned what to do in a simulator,” Clarke said, “they then carry out the same tasks with an instructor in a real straddle carrier. We also train our control room staff in a virtual training environment that’s a bit like a container terminal version of a flight simulator.” Figure 2 shows the screen of the operator training simulator.
Figure 2. The straddle carrier simulator used for manual straddle operator training shows (top left) the container drop-off location, designated path, and open and restricted zones. (Photo: Ross Clark/Ports of Auckland)
Laser Scanners. As a last line of defense, autonomous A-STRADs are equipped with laser scanners that detect obstacles and automatically engage collision prevention measures, if required.
More Locata Applications
Port machinery automation is the most recent industrial sector to reveal the adoption of Locata technology. However, Locata is already used by large industry partners for deep-pit mining where mine pit walls act like deep urban canyons and severely limit the sky view. (See GPS World, March 2017.)
Locata also is being used as the core truth reference positioning system at the U.S. Air Force (USAF) White Sands Missile Range. There, it is independently providing high-accuracy non-GPS-based positioning when GPS signals are heavily jammed; this is practically the Holy Grail for alternative PNT, and the USAF has been using the system operationally at White Sands since 2016. (See GPS World, January 2020.)
NASA is another Locata user, working with the Federal Aviation Administration on research for next-generation air traffic control. Numerous other applications are currently in stealth development.
Gambale said the company’s technology is not representative of a solution just for ports, mines, aviation, military or any other specific application. “Our ground-based technology has myriad advantages in the many environments where satellite-based positioning was never designed to work. We can change the game for many modern applications because Locata allows users to have total control over where transmitters are placed, the power they transmit, the design of their network structure, and much more.”
For more than 10 years, the company worked to develop technology to reduce multipath — the bane of high-accuracy GNSS positioning in urban, industrial, indoor and occluded areas.
“Those are all real-world environments where satellite-based signals cannot be tracked reliably enough for next-gen, extremely demanding applications like fully-autonomous operations,” Gambale said. “Our business is the direct result of GPS changing the world, and the industry then fueling a largely unqualified public expectation that centimeter-level positioning would be available everywhere. Clearly, that is not correct.
“The growing roster of huge, globally significant companies adopting our technology for applications that go beyond GPS limitations shows our developments deliver real benefits to many markets. Auckland is living proof that Locata is a true, terrestrial, centimeter-accurate alternative-PNT system.”
For the past decade, widespread deployment of autonomous vehicles (AV) has been just over the horizon — that imaginary line that recedes as you approach it.
It has been delayed mainly by technical issues, which will eventually be followed by legal and regulatory ones, mainly regarding liability, and by a struggle to gain public acceptance. When they finally reach the mass market, however, AVs will reduce traffic fatalities by at least an order of magnitude because they do not get distracted, drunk, drowsy or enraged and are much better able than humans to gauge distances and speeds.
Additionally, they will be able to communicate with each other and with the infrastructure, which will not only further improve safety but also reduce congestion and fuel consumption via the adoption of techniques such as convoying.
Logically, even if AVs only somewhat reduced traffic fatalities (about 38,000 per year in the United States), the public should welcome them with open arms. In reality, though, the reaction to even a single death caused by an AV — like the one in Tempe, Arizona, in March 2018 — can set AV deployment back years.
Therefore, car manufacturers are challenged to develop AVs that can navigate extremely safely in a wide range of traffic, road and weather conditions. For more than a century, human drivers have routinely managed sudden obstructions, poor visibility and dangerous behavior by other drivers that still bedevil their new robotic counterparts, despite the sensors, microprocessors and algorithms at their disposal.
The primary technological obstacle to widespread deployment of AVs on roads is “the complexity of the system and the amount of time that it takes to develop a functionally safe autonomous vehicle,” said Steve Ruff, general manager of Trimble’s On-Road Autonomy Division, which develops positioning solutions for autonomous vehicles that operate on public roadways. He cites the time required to develop “a comprehensive, safe, autonomous vehicle technology stack” and points out that “we are on the verge of going from level two to level three, which requires the driver to stay engaged in the driving experience in case the autonomous system has a problem.”
Multiple sensors
While AV developers are exploring different ways of obtaining reliable sub-centimeter positioning accuracy, all generally rely on collecting data from multiple sensors on the vehicle and applying an algorithm to synthesize the data in real time and generate a continuous, accurate position. Computer vision, radar and lidar play important roles in an AV by perceiving its surroundings and localizing it to an a priori map. This functions well in feature-rich urban environments, but can degrade in sparse highway settings.
Radar has good ranging accuracy, but is unable to detect and recognize traffic signs and road markings. Lidar has even greater ranging accuracy but is challenged in featureless areas, such as straight highways and country roads. Digital cameras are good for detecting objects and navigating in tunnels and urban canyons, but, like lidar, are less effective on featureless roads and in low visibility conditions (rain, fog, darkness, snow, sun glare).
Plus, they are challenged by the absence of road markings or the presence of construction. Inertial navigation systems (INS), while excellent at compensating for brief GNSS outages, can only guide vehicles for short stretches due to their inherent drift. (INS are essential on aircraft and vessels, whose attitude is constantly changing, but that is not relevant for vehicles, which travel essentially flat relative to, and at a constant distance from, the road surface.)
GNSS and Corrections
Satellite navigation plays a central role in an AV. At a minimum, it guides it from a trip’s origin to its destination, including stops or waypoints in between, the same way it would advise a human driver. It also continuously alerts the vehicle to upcoming stops, slowdowns, turns, congestion and other challenges that are already mapped—whether long in advance by map makers or moments earlier via crowdsourced updates. Finally, if sufficiently accurate, it can steer the vehicle to keep it in the center of its lane and to make smooth lane changes and turns. Determining on which road a vehicle is requires an accuracy of less than 5 meters; determining in which lane it is requires an accuracy of less than 1 meter; and determining where in the lane it is requires an accuracy of less than 0.5 meters.
Two kinds of GNSS corrections are commonly used for AVs: real-time kinematic (RTK) and precise point positioning (PPP). RTK, which is generally accurate to the centimeter level, relies on ground-based reference stations at fixed, surveyed locations that process and transmit error-corrected signals to receivers within a 10- to 20-kilometer range, typically in real-time via a cellular link. PPP, which is accurate to the tens of centimeters, uses a global network of ground stations to generate an accurate signal, and transmits it to subscribers via the internet or geostationary satellites. However, the receiver in the vehicle needs 20 to 60 minutes to align with the PPP signal before it can rely on it.
Both RTK and PPP are established in industries such as mining, construction and precision agriculture, where vehicles operate in controlled environments with little or no traffic. AVs on public roads present a far greater challenge. A car’s typical range far exceeds that of any RTK base station, and base stations can also have down time, while in-vehicle systems must use multi-frequency receivers to reduce the convergence time of the PPP signal. In case of outage of either the GNSS signal or the correction signal, the vehicle’s system must rely on data from its other sensors and recover swiftly from the error state.
Trimble’s RTX is road ready
The first PPP service in commercial use for passenger vehicles is Trimble’s RTX, which provides real-time, centimeter-level positions via IP/cellular connection or satellite broadcast worldwide. It delivers positioning via satellite to GM’s Super Cruise, a hands-free driver assistance feature for use on limited access freeways.
“We’re GNSS receiver-agnostic,” said Steve Ruff of Trimble’s On-Road Autonomy Division. “We’ll use any receiver that’s preferred by the OEM building the AV.”
Image: Trimble
Trimble, he recalled, became GNSS agnostic with regard to automotive navigation nearly 15 years ago, when it decided to get out of the commercial-grade or consumer-grade GNSS business. “It has worked out quite well, because not only can we meet the quality costs and performance targets of our OEM customers, it also allows us to do what we’re good at. We can take our positioning solution, adapt it to work with any measurement engine, and put together a solution that fits the OEM’s requirements just right.”
Automotive companies, Ruff explained, generally have certain requirements for the GNSS receiver, including certain standards for application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) and automotive safety integrity level (ASIL), as well as meeting their accuracy requirements. “So, if the receiver has suitable code and carrier phase measurements that can support their accuracy level, then that will be the third requirement for the receiver for the automotive segment.”
For off-road vehicles for agriculture, construction and mining, Trimble only uses its own receivers, said Thomas Utzmeier, general manager of the company’s Off-Road Autonomy Division. Their requirements center on precision, position availability in challenging environments, and integrity of the position. “In the use cases on which we are working,” Utzmeier said, “we certainly see sub-decimeter accuracy. We are targeting probably three, four, sometimes five centimeters.” In more challenging use cases, GNSS plus sensor fusion — including INS and optical data — maximizes position availability and accuracy, he explained.
For the on-road segment, Ruff’s division offers a “positioning stack” that includes corrections, the GNSS position algorithm and inertial fusion. “Then we provide services to help the OEMs take our software and integrate it on the platform of their choice.”
GNSS is a critical single point of failure for navigation in the aviation industry. A new white paper published by Egis says it’s time for the industry to get rid of legacy navigation aids (NavAids) and catch up technologically with the rest of the communications industry.
Current navigation backups are ground-based navigation aids such as distance measuring equipment (DME). These use post-World War II technologies, with very low spectrum efficiency. Some might find it surprising to learn that they are still using Morse code.
While difficult to jam due to their strong signal, current navigation aids are not cyber secure. Due to their spatial distribution, they can be limited in their support to PBN (performance-based navigation) or any new concept of operations.
The horizontal positioning error was measured under 10 m, so the LDACS-NAV would easily meet RNP 0.3 requirements.
Legacy NavAids — NDB (non-directional beacon), ILS (instrument landing system), VOR (VHF omnidirectional range) and DME — all require a specific frequency band, various equipment, and airborne and ground antennas.
As a result, the average commercial airliner can carry around seven specialized navigation antennas, and as many as 20 when accounting for all the other communication, navigation and surveillance (CNS)functions. Having different radio systems is adding redundancy but makes the aircraft and the ground equipment very costly, as well as difficult to engineer and to maintain.
Two major problems could affect the aircraft industry. First, software-defined radio, and powerful low-cost radio systems are available to the public and any ill-intended person could interfere, deactivate or worse, divert these vulnerable systems from their purposes. Second, spectrum is a finite and fixed asset (aviation uses 14% of the total available spectrum).
Why hasn’t this problem been solved already?
There are no market incentives for air navigation service providers (ANSPs) and airlines to make expensive investments in ground infrastructures and aircraft retrofits. With an average lifetime of 25 years per plane, commercial fleets take a long time to be renewed.
Also, the aviation spectrum is protected, which has led to complacency and a lack of pressure to use the latest technologies to improve spectrum efficiency.
Stakeholder Coordination. States, ANSPs, airlines, airports, aircraft manufacturers, communications providers and system providers all have their own interests and perspectives, which increases the difficulty in developing and maintaining a global CNS roadmap.
Deployment. Once a roadmap is agreed on, the deployment challenge remains. For instance, the retrofit compliance date for ADS-B was pushed back from June 2020 to to June 2023 due to the pandemic. The capacity of aviation to evolve depends on when the operational and commercial benefits are clear, such as when GNSS was implemented for navigation.
The Human Factor. Human factors have to be considered for any critical change in aviation. Pilots are trained on navigation aids and GPS, and used to communicating by VHF voice with air traffic control officers. This is the reason why the evolution of navigation and communication systems must be seamless with current systems or require an in-depth human-factor risk assessment.
Potential Solutions
To future-proof aviation and performance-based operating procedures, aircraft need both a broadband, IP-based datalink capable of VoIP and a secure, cost-effective alternative positioning, navigation and timing (A-PNT) system as a back-up to GNSS. Today, GNSS backup is the 70-year-old DME — using the signals from multiple DMEs, aircraft can locate themselves with reasonable accuracy.
The main choices to replace the DME are either an enhancement of DME systems (Multi-DME RAIM, eDME, Mosaic DME) or an A-PNT solution (LDACS-NAV, WAM-TISb, SSR mode N, eLoran).
If we look at the most mature solutions, the DME/eDME and the LDACS-NAV are the main options, and they represent a real dilemma.
DME/DME. This solution represents the best GNSS backup currently available. One possibility is to improve the signal to improve accuracy. Other improvements would allow the detection of more than two ground stations, or even receiver autonomous integrity monitoring (RAIM) capability. Only small improvements need to be made to the signal and to the FMS (Flight Management System), making it the option requiring the least effort and expense.
However, to reach a reliable Required Navigation Performance (RNP) standard of RNP 0.3, additional distance measurements are required, especially at low altitudes, and more DME facilities might be needed. Plus, this solution does not provide a secure, integrated communication and navigation solution and does not improve spectrum efficiency.
LDACS-NAV. The L-band digital aeronautical communication system (LDACS) for continental ground communication is an IP-based data-link solution with a built-in navigation capability. It uses orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing, organized as a cellular network and sharing features with 3G and 4G. It works by detecting signals of opportunity within the communication exchange, and then multi-laterating the signals from at least four ground transmitters to calculate an airborne position. The frequency is ingeniously placed in the L-band between each DME frequency. It is built with interference mitigation algorithms and minimizes out-of-band radiation to protect DME.
This solution is spectrum efficient, cybersecure, doesn’t require additional frequency assignment, and is scalable and adaptable to local needs. Given LDACS is almost certain to be implemented in communications to replace VDLM2, using this capability would be an easy choice for navigation.
Features like air-to-air ranging, surveillance or enhancements to DFMC GBAS are possible. Also, additional navigation information can be transmitted, such as trajectory-based operations and 4D trajectories.
Both Frequentis AG and Leonardo SpA have built fully functional and interoperable prototypes. In March 2019, the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) tested LDACS. The flight campaign showed its capabilities in practical scenarios with industrial demonstration equipment. The horizontal positioning error was measured under 10 m, so the LDACS-NAV would easily meet RNP 0.3 requirements.
ICAO Recognition. An International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standardization group has started work on LDACS for both communication and navigation. The LDACS-NAV will first be used to augment the DME system.
More Study Needed
To fully validate the LDACS-NAV concept, further studies and large-scale demonstrations must be conducted, and a cell-planning study needs to determine the number of necessary ground stations.
Also, a detailed cost/benefit analysis must be undertaken to evaluate the cost of an EU-wide LDACS-NAV network. It would take into account the manufacturing and deployment costs of ground stations as well as equipment costs of multi-mode LDACS/VDL avionics, identifying whether it can support navigation functions.
Also studied should be the benefits of having a GNSS back-up system, equipage costs of a dedicated avionic system and the direct operational benefits of providing a reliable, low latency and cost-efficient communication and navigation network for all aviation stakeholders, including secured proprietary information for airlines and aircraft manufacturers, and including full 4D trajectory-based operations and flight-centric air traffic management for ANSPs.
If both the cell-planning study and the cost/benefit analysis suggest a positive economic advantage to implement the LDACS system compared to the current system or the other potential A-PNT solutions, then European institutions could select LDACS as the official long-term A-PNT solution in the CNS Roadmap & Strategy and enable the SESAR Operational Concept high-level goals. This would help accelerate the standardization and industrialization activities to resolve the current lack of redundancy in our CNS systems.
Tallysman Wireless has introduced two lightweight and compact active Iridium helical antennas designed to receive Iridium Satellite Time and Location (STL) signals.
The signals are used by STL terminals to provide worldwide position, navigation and timing independent of GPS/GNSS via an encrypted satellite broadcast signal that is strong and secure and can also be received indoors.
Because GNSS signals may be jammed (intentionally or accidentally) and spoofed, STL signals are a reliable alternative to augment and authenticate time for applications, such as electrical grids, wireless communications networks and financial systems, as well as position for private and public infrastructure.
The housed HC610 and embedded HC610E active Iridium antennas operate in receive-only mode and enable Iridium terminals to be installed tens of meters away from the antenna.
Photo: Tallysman
Both antennas are light and compact and feature a precision-tuned helical element that provides an excellent axial ratio and operates without a ground plane. They also feature a low-current, low-noise amplifier (LNA) and pre-filter to prevent harmonic interference from high-amplitude signals, such as 700-MHz band LTE and other nearby in-band cellular signals.
The housed HC610 weighs 23 grams, is 33 x 54.2 mm, and features an IP67 robust, military-grade plastic enclosure, with a base-mounted male SMA connector and two screw holes for surface attachment.
At 10 grams, the embedded HC610E is 27.5 x 38.7 mm and can be installed in a custom enclosure. It provides a base-mounted female MCX connector. An optional embedded helical mounting ring is available to attach the antenna to a flat surface.
Tallysman also provides support for the installation and integration of embedded helical antennas to enable successful implementation and to ensure optimal antenna performance.
A roundup of recent products in the GNSS and inertial positioning industry from the December 2020 issue of GPS World magazine.
OEM
Inertial system
Ready for UAVs, robotics
Photo: Inertial Labs
The INS-DU is a high-performance strapdown inertial navigation system (INS) that determines position, velocity and absolute orientation of a platform it is mounted to. Its dual-antenna u-blox receiver provides 1-cm real-time kinematic (RTK) position from RTCM 3 RTK corrections and supports multiple GNSS constellations. Designed for UAVs, land vehicles and marine vessels, the INS-DU uses a range of aiding data to deliver a highly accurate solution for GNSS-denied environments. It uses a miniAHRS with 3-axes each of precision magnetometers, accelerometers and gyroscopes to provide orientation. It contains algorithms for the motion of robots, autonomous vehicles and antennas.
The high-accuracy tactical-grade STIM277H gyro module and STIM377H inertial measurement unit (IMU) were designed to meet space segment needs. Both have hermetic aluminum enclosures, and all parts are tested for fine and gross leak to conform to MIL-STD-883J, Class H. While a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) product, Sensonor has carried out extensive radiation characterizations. The design is tested for a 20+ years operating life through high-temperature operating life (HTOL) testing. Backwardly compatible with Sensonor’s other IMU and gyro modules, STIM277H and STIM377H are designed for satellite attitude and orbit control systems (AOCS), launchers, portable target acquisition systems, UAV payloads, land navigation systems, turret stabilization, missile stability and GNSS-supported navigation systems.
The AsteRx-m3 family features GPS/GNSS OEM boards optimized for power consumption and ease of integration. An easy-to-integrate design enables short set-up times and faster time-to-market. The AsteRx-m3 offers multi-frequency, multi-constellation positioning combined with Septentrio’s GNSS+ technology while optimizing power. The AsteRx-m3 Pro rover receiver tracks signals from all available GNSS constellations on three frequencies, and operates both in single- and dual-antenna modes. The AsteRx-m3 ProBase is designed to operate as a reference station for RTK and PPP-RTK networks. The AsteRx-m3 Pro+ is a full-feature OEM receiver board flexible enough to fit into any application and to be used either as a rover or a base station in a single- or dual-antenna mode.
New anti-jamming antennas available are the QR200 GPS dual-frequency L1/L2 anti-jamming antenna, the QR201 GNSS multi-frequency band anti-jamming antenna, and the QR202 GNSS multi-frequency band anti-jamming antenna with additional L-band reception (1520–1560 MHz). All models provide robust GPS or GNSS navigation and block intentional jamming and unintentional RF interference timing or 3D positioning. All three are lightweight (230 grams for the QR1xx series and 500 grams for the QR2xx series) with low power consumption (1–1.5W typically, depending on configuration), and can be mounted on any platform (cars, poles, drones, etc.).
The Vision-RTK positioning sensor is a compact centimeter-accurate solution with high reliability and availability in challenging environments. The module integrates two real-time kinematic (RTK) GNSS receivers and visual inertial navigation. Its sensor-fusion algorithm is based on deep integration of GNSS, camera and inertial sensors. Real-time sensor fusion provides centimeter-accurate absolute positioning in any outdoor environment.
Deploying ground control targets on accurately surveyed ground control points (GCP) assures that a UAV lidar survey has been properly executed. UAV lidar surveys are typically undertaken in remote, rural and sometimes hazardous locations where no fixed points are available, such as solid surfaces or concrete features. Routescene’s GCPs are raised from the ground using a mini tripod. A built-in bubble level enables accurate leveling and removes the need for a tribrach. Robustly engineered, the targets stay in position during adverse and windy conditions, reducing the risk of repositioning during a survey. They are covered with highly retro-reflective material to provide high-intensity returns. As a result, the targets are easily identifiable and can be automatically extracted from the geo-referenced point cloud.
The Toughbook A3 Android tablet is aimed at the mobile workforce. It has an outdoor viewable screen and patented rain-touch functionality. With a 10.1-inch screen and 6-foot drop rating, the A3 enables users across industries to tackle tough jobs and critical applications. The Qualcomm SDM660 chipset, which supports BeiDou, Galileo, GLONASS, GPS, BeiDou QZSS and SBAS. 4G LTE Band 14 EM7511 multi carrier mobile broadband with GPS. The tablet has a powerful octa-core processor, an optional integrated barcode reader, an insertable smart card reader and an insertable stylus. The A3 has a 5-foot drop rating and IP65 certification for dust and water resistance.
Veronte Autopilot 1X is a miniaturized avionics system for advanced control of unmanned systems. The control system embeds a suite of sensors and processors with datalink radio, with reduced size and weight. The control system Veronte Autopilot 1X adds fully autonomous control capabilities to any unmanned system for complete operation. The Veronte control system is fully configurable for payload, platform layout, control phases and control channels. It uses real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning and provides cloud connectivity, sense-and-avoid support, electromagnetic interference and vibration isolation.
The Astro commercial drone platform is equipped with Freefly’s multi-band, real-time kinematic (RTK) system, which provides centimeter-level precision with a u-blox F9P GNSS module. The drone is equipped with a 60-megapixel Sony camera. A customized version of Skynode powers each Astro, providing LTE connectivity, an onboard Linux mission computer, and seamless connectivity to Auterion Mission Control and Cloud Suite. The Auterion ecosystem provides robust, secure and scalable drone planning, flight and compliance management solution.
The guidance system AgPilotX for aerial applicators uses three wireless components: a GPS/GNSS lightbar, a hub and an Apple iPad. The smart components run off their own computer, communicating to each other wirelessly. The AgPilotX Smart Lightbar has onboard GPS+GLONASS as well as a GNSS antenna, so there is no need to run an antenna up to the aircraft canopy. The Lightbar logs the data, while a hub connects the switches (swath advance, swath decrement, spray on/off) and peripherals, and an iPad runs the interface software through an Apple App. All logs are saved as unique jobs and can be returned to at any time. The lightbar is not dependent upon the iPad to operate and will continue to work the active job even if you start using a different App or even shut the Apple device completely off.
Insero, inserosolutions.com
Antennas
High accuracy for autonomous vehicles, robotics
The Colosseum X XAHP.50 antenna. (Photo: Taoglas)
Two new active, multiband GNSS antennas are engineered for applications that require critical high-accuracy positioning and timing, including autonomous driving and precision agriculture. The MagmaX2 AA.200 is designed for space- and weight-constrained applications, such as robotic lawnmowers. Embedded versions are also available. It is a low-profile active multiband GNSS magnetic mount antenna for use across most major constellations including GPS (L1/L2/L5), GLONASS (G1/G2/G5), Galileo (E1/E5a/E5b) and BeiDou(B1/B2). The Colosseum X XAHP.50 is a geodetic-quality small-dome antenna suitable for a vehicle roof mount or pole mount. It is engineered to operate with high-precision capabilities on the full GNSS spectrum. Sub meter positional accuracy better than 55 cm is achievable, even without the use of RTK correctional services.
A new start-up has introduced an autonomous lawn mower to bring intelligence, automation and sustainable solutions to commercial landscaping. The first autonomous lawn mower by Graze is set to hit the market this year.
The electric lawn mower is designed to increase efficiency and maintenance speed for mid- to large-sized commercial lawns, enhance cutting blades to perfect trim precision, add new sensor capabilities to increase safety, and improve GPS-based mapping and computer vision while optimizing intelligent and applicable insights through advanced machine-learning capabilities.
Analyst reports have found landscaping services in the U.S. generated $101.7 billion in revenue in 2020, while commercial landscaping services (maintenance and general services) have been projected to range between 40 and 60 percent of the overall landscaping service industry in the U.S. Yet, despite the major opportunity to capitalize on an approximate $53B market, commercial lawn mowing has remained an undisrupted industry. Small margins, labor limitations and increasing scrutiny on environmental impact has been met with a lack of impactful solutions.
Graze’s initial prototype attracted investors from major operators as well as individuals on crowdfunding platform SeedInvest.
“We are living in new era of artificial intelligence that stands to transform age-old industries,” said John Vlay, Graze Mowing CEO. “Robotics and automation open up a world of efficiency, and when you apply intelligence, traditional models can be completely reimagined. I’ve been in commercial landscaping for more than 35 years, and can confidently say we built a lawn mower that will bring a new level of quality and safety to the market, and we are doing it sustainably. We are excited to unveil the future of commercial lawn-mowing with our new Graze commercial mower.”
The new model optimizes features and incorporates in-the-field feedback. It has a longer battery life. It can consistently learn and apply data via an intuitive user experience, improving lawn care and creating new optimization opportunities for fleet operators.
Machine learning, coupled with computer vision and a robust system of sensors, allows the new Graze commercial mower to map job sites, plan and execute mowing paths, and avoid obstacles and dangerous inclines while continuously collecting and apply data to further improve aesthetic quality and efficiency.
Powered completely by electric and solar panel technology, the new model allows operators to maximize revenue by deploying mowers during evening hours. Fuel costs are drastically cut, as are carbon emissions. Current fleet operators manage 500 to 1,000 mowers.
Graze is backed by lead investor Wavemaker Partners, a global venture capital fund with $400 million in assets under management including Wavemaker Labs, a robotics and automation focused venture studio.
Emlid has debuted the Reach RS2, a fully-featured multi-band RTK receiver. All of its features are available out of the box, along with a survey app for iOS and Android.
The Reach RS2 tracks L1/L2 bands on GPS, GLONASS and BeiDou, and L1/L5 on Galileo, and acquires a fixed solution in seconds. It achieves centimeter-level precision for surveying, mapping and navigation and maintains robust performance even in challenging conditions. Centimeter accuracy can be achieved on distances up to 60 km in RTK and 100 km in PPK mode.
Up to 22 hours of autonomous work when logging data and up to 16 hours as a 3G rover, even in cold weather—no more need to carry spare batteries with you. Reach RS2 can charge from a USB wall charger or a power bank over USB-C.
Reach RS2 comes with a free app for iOS and Android called ReachView, which supports thousands of coordinate systems worldwide. With ReachView, users can fully configure their Reach receiver, enable RINEX data logging, and survey in RTK.
Reach RS2 also features a power-efficient 3.5G HSPA modem with 2G fallback and global coverage. Corrections can be accessed or broadcast over NTRIP independently, without relying on an internet connection on a smartphone.
Base for RTK Drone. The Reach RS2 can be used as a base station for drone mapping, using an RTK drone such as the DJI Phantom 4.
A new service offered by Emlid is Emlid Caster, a free way to pass corrections between receivers over the internet. Emlid Caster works with any NTRIP-capable device.
E38 Survey Solutions, an Emlid dealer in the United States, conducted a case study with the Reach RS2.
