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  • Leica Releases Locata-Enabled Satellite+Terrestrial Mining System

    Locata Corporation announced today that its integration partner, Leica Geosystems Mining, has begun to sell — and ship to their global mining customers — a Locata-powered positioning systems that it calls “the world’s first.”

    The Leica Jps (the Jigsaw Positioning System powered by Locata) integrates GNSS and Locata’s ground-based GPS-like networks. The result is a seamless and a completely new “GPS everywhere” experience for Leica’s customers, the company said. This new capability is now in use at Newmont’s Boddington Gold Mine, northwest of Boddington, Western Australia. The mine has published an independent article describing the LocataNet and Jps systems deployed for the mine’s drill rig fleet. It reported that drill rig up-time and efficiency have skyrocketed to unprecedented levels since the Jps system was commissioned.

    Locata-enabled nonstop positioning brings benefits to machine automation in mining because Locata fills in the many gaps in GPS signal availability experienced in an open-cut mine, Leica said. The Leica Jps ensures a reliable and transparent experience for users with demanding machine guidance applications because it uses all available signals, satellite-based or Locata, without interruption.

    “The Locata-based Jps is therefore the world’s first system which can justly be considered as ‘a backup for GPS’,” reads a Leica Geosystems statement. “Real-world operational performance, which is being reported by Jps customers, can only be described as ‘spectacular’.”

    “Since deploying the Locata-powered Jps at Newmont Boddington Gold, there has been an increase in operational machine guidance availability of almost 23 percent – from 75 percent up to 98 percent,” said Brendon Lilly, product manager, Leica Geosystems Mining. “Newmont Boddington Gold is so happy with the results that they have turned off their GPS-only solutions altogether, and now rely solely (and successfully) on Jps alone. They have already installed Jps on 11 drills and intend to equip their entire high-precision fleet.”

    “The ROI we offer our clients through the Jigsaw Positioning System is extraordinary. Market trends indicate CAPEX is in decline, so the parameters mines use to justify expenditure have become far more demanding,” said Stefana Vella, global marketing manager, Leica Geosystems Mining. “The unprecedented production levels and machine control uptime that result directly from using the Locata-powered Jps very quickly justifies the purchase of the system. Furthermore, it aids the justification of expenditure on the high-precision machine guidance systems themselves, for, when operated with the Jps, the ROI increases exponentially. Even in today’s market, it isn’t a difficult decision to make.”

    Many mines around the world use machine guidance systems for drills, shovels, excavators, dozers, graders and more to execute the site plan work in real-time. This tight automation dramatically improves efficiency and productivity. At the core of these machine guidance systems are GPS-style receivers that provide vital positioning information, using the satellite signals to calculate a 3D position.

    Unfortunately, in most open-pit environments satellite signals become obstructed, which slows or temporarily halts production. As pits become deeper the problems become worse, drastically reducing the number of satellites the receiver can “see” to achieve GPS-style positioning. In the past, mines and other machine automation users had no choice other than to resort to much less efficient alternatives, such as manual surveying. Reduced satellite visibility therefore negated the considerable investment and operational efficiencies gained from modern machine guidance systems. The key to virtually eliminate these issues is Locata’s new “GPS-backup or replacement” capability, Leica Geosystems said.

    Locata’s Locatalite device is a ground-based transmitter that generates a GPS-like signal. LocataLites deployed around the pit rim can ensure almost 100 percent positioning coverage. Locata signals “fill-in” the GPS holes with a signal that is processed by the Jps in exactly the same way that GPS signals are. Locata is the only technology in the world that can do this. By backing up their GPS-based systems, mines have an always-on positioning network that works if satellite signals are unavailable in the pit due to physical or man-made obstructions. Jps LocataLites can be permanently positioned on site or moved at will, ensuring a mine’s Jps Locata network can be set up where and when needed.

    “We all rely on electricity from public sources, but in areas where outages occur companies invest in backup generators,” said Nunzio Gambale, CEO and co-founder of Locata. “It’s exactly the same scenario for mining companies, where they are dependent on GPS. Locata gives you a GPS backup ‘generator’ – a world-first capability which is clearly a game-changer for the whole industry. Before Locata became available mines simply had to suffer through a slow-down when GPS-based systems became flaky. Leica Geosystems had the vision early on to recognize the enormous benefits provided by our technology advancements. They threw their corporate weight behind intensive product development, carefully integrating Locata technology into their world-first Jigsaw mining solutions. It’s a marriage made in heaven, and Jps customers will be the ones who really reap the rewards of Leica’s outstanding first-mover effort. There won’t be any ‘GPS doesn’t work here’ excuses in the future.”

    John Carr, senior technical specialist at Newmont Boddington Gold Mine, puts it this way: “Look, it’s really this simple. If Locata had not invented the technology to help fix the GPS issues in a deep pit scenario I may as well have gone back home, started breeding pit ponies and sharpened up the picks and shovels… Open Cut Mines, just like everyone else that depends heavily on satellite navigation, are already hitting the wall at the outer limits of GPS technology. With Locata, we’ve virtually eliminated everyday GNSS signal challenges. And now we also have our own backup in place in case of a more significant or longer-term failure.”

  • BeiDou-2/Compass G3 Satellite Moved

    News courtesy of CANSPACE listerv.

    The BeiDou-2/Compass geostationary satellite, G3, was moved between about November 7 and 22 from an orbital longitude of  84 degrees east to 110.5 degrees east.

    The 110.5 degree east longitude slot had been previously used by BeiDou 1C, one of the demonstration or BeiDou-1 satellites, which was initially shifted to about 85 degrees east between about June 2 and July 7, 2012. BeiDou 1C has drifted slightly since and is currently at 84 degrees east.

    According to orbital data supplied by the U.S. Joint Space Operations Center, once BeiDou 1C was shifted to about 85 degrees east longitude, station keeping seems to have been no longer applied. This may imply that the satellite is no longer in use but this has not yet been confirmed.

     

  • Getting to Z: Indoor Positioning with GPS

    By Alan Cameron

    In this column, I normally write about satellites, signals, and space (as in outer), and the policies or controversies pertaining to those entities. This week we are headed indoors. Inner space, where GNSS has difficulties going, but must go, somehow, to prove itself commercially and governmentally. To do so, it needs powerful friends.

    The most rigorous indoor location testing to date got underway two weeks ago in the San Francisco Bay Area, in trials organized by a Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) advisory committee, the Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council (CSRIC). The tests seek to lay the groundwork for future FCC rulings on indoor location requirements, to which wireless carriers must adhere. The trials run through December 31, in dense urban, urban, suburban, and rural test blocks around the Bay.

    For the sake of the GPS/GNSS industry and community, whatever technology solution emerges from these trials as the favorite, GPS/GNSS had better prove itself as a part of it, not only to gain a foothold in indoor markets and applications, but to preserve its standing in outdoor environments. Other positioning technologies have sprouted up like mushrooms, filling in vacant micro-niches. The indoor environment as a whole is just that, an environment, not a niche, and where it goes — taking the money with it — outdoor may likely follow. Wi-Fi, for example, is gaining installment base by leaps and bounds, and probably currently supplies the best unaided indoor location — where it is installed.

    “Retailers are desperate for more customer data, this [indoor location data] is golden,” says Janice Partyka, GPS World’s contributing editor for wireless. “They probably won’t wait for the requirements or for the wireless carriers to push out the solution. Some venues like airports can track you now. This time around, commercial uses will precede E911.”

    Although the need for accuracy is arguably greater indoors, so too are the difficulties — and the costs. At stake is getting room-level and floor-level location accuracy from a mobile 911 call to emergency responders during the Golden Hour, a term used in heart-attack, stroke, and trauma situations, but which applies equally to fires, violent crimes, and virtually by definition to any sort of emergency. Responders need to know “which side of the wall” he/she/it is on, and which floor — even before they enter the building.

    In the floor-level or vertical component of the location coordinates resides one of the key challenges.  The vertical or Z-coordinate in a GPS/GNSS solution has always had the lowest degree of accuracy. To be sure, the barriers imposed by steel, glass, and concrete, as well as the confusion generated by multipath in dense environments, apply just as much to the X- and Y-axes, but getting to Z (since getting from floor to floor in case a mistake is made would be most time-consuming) may constitute the largest challenge.

    The FCC hosted a workshop in Washington D.C. on October 24 in preparation for the tests. The workshop introduced public-safety officials’ expectations for indoor coverage, test mechanics, the technologies under test, and more. CSRIC will draft a report for the FCC based on the test results by March 2013.

    The Candidates, Please. Four companies are actively participating in the CSRIC tests, submitting their diverse indoor solutions for rigorous and repeatable performance proof: Boeing, NextNav, Polaris Wireless, and Qualcomm.

    The CSRIC test bed discussions started in 2010 with seven potential technologies for Stage 1:

    • Polaris Wireless (RF fingerprinting)
    • Qualcomm (assisted-GPS/AFLT/cell ID)
    • NextNav (Wide-Area Positioning System (WAPS) of GPS-like terrestrial beacons, described here.)
    • Boeing (low-Earth orbit Iridium satellites; because much closer to Earth than GPS, hence 30-dB penetration margin; a range of Iridium solutions, some of them in combination with GPS
    • CSR (AGPS/WiFi/MEMS)
    • TruePosition (UTDOA)
    • CommScope (DAS proximity).

    The latter three have since dropped out of the testing for reasons not stated.

    Polaris Wireless is the only cellular-network-based location technology provider in the tests, as all other network-based location technology providers withdrew from participation in the CSRIC trials. The trial includes Polaris Wireless’ Wireless Location Signatures (WLS), a software-based radio-frequency (RF) pattern-matching approach that requires no changes to the wireless device or the wireless service provider’s base stations. The June issue of GPS World carried an article on this technology; see “Location by Database.”

    Norman Shaw, Polaris Wireless executive director of government affairs and business development, serves as co-chairman of CSRIC’s efforts on improving indoor location technology. “RF does funny things. But there are cultural issues as well. It’s natural for us to expect technology to get us all the way to the goal line. However, we often overlook the challenges. Can we deliver Z-location? And can we do it in an actionable way for the emergency responder? That person needs to know, not that the emergency is 185 meters above the ground, but the number of the floor. For this and for other reasons, you need to marry different technologies.”

    “This test is a great start,” Shaw concludes. “But this test bed will need to be maintained to continue testing and to test future technologies. Additionally, a second test bed will be needed in a denser, older city, probably East Coast; perhaps Chicago or New York. We should all be aware that once the testing concludes and the regulations appear, this is the emergency service we’re going to be living with for the next 20 years.”

    Ganesh Pattabiraman, co-founder, president, and chief operating officer at NextNav, adds that in addition to providing data to drive regulation, the testing “brings awareness to the public safety operators and the FCC that here are reliable technologies that can address the problem of indoor location. As opposed to 10 years ago, or even six years ago. Not just ours, but others too.”

    According to the NextNav website, “For devices equipped with NextNav’s technology, when a subscriber calls 911, the first responder won’t be left guessing about where they are.  Providing a unique height capability, with vertical precision of up to 1 – 2 meters, first responders can move rapidly to the correct floor to ensure that not a second is wasted in the emergency response process. NextNav’s transmission is encrypted, secure and is available for carriers as a standalone service for E911 only. A carrier can implement the NextNav solution to enhance location performance of the E911 system separate from any decision to use NextNav capabilities as part of their commercial location-based services.”

    Pattabiraman continues, “The need for accurate indoor location is greater [than for outdoor], but is the technology and the cost to the wireless carriers of implementing it up to the task?  It all comes down to economics. If we or anyone can provide a solution that is incremental, reasonably priced, and commercially viable, then we can move forward.”

    Particularly, he adds, “If we can build on the existing blocks of GPS at minor incremental cost, then we see the possibility of delivering the best possible accuracy for the lowest price.”

    Test Administrator and Parameters. TechnoCom, a location-technology-neutral business, is conducting the Bay Area tests. TechnoCom is an active contributor to the Alliance for Telecommunications Solutions (ATIS) Emergency Services Interconnection Forum (ESIF). The ATIS conducts long-term research that serves as a basis for CSRIC findings and recommendations. The two organizations have many of the same members, although CSRIC consists of FCC-nominated members who serve one-year terms and thus doesn’t have “the consistency needed to do good science,” in one participant’s words.

    The TechnoCom test parameters consist, broadly, of: a variety of locations (environments) and building types (also known as morphology), multiple test spots in each building, and each test spot to have at least 100 test calls. Researchers are looking for an indoor ground truth accuracy of 3 meters, something that would warm the hearts of public safety responders, but a level which, other experts say privately, is highly unlikely to be implemented as a requirement.

    Public safety advocates would ideally want 5 meters, to the extent of “knowing which side of a wall a heart-attack victim is lying on.” Technology vendors such as those supplying solutions for test would probably settle for a 50-meter requirement, even if their solutions can do better. That’s at least in part because they are caught between the public safety folks on the one side and the wireless carriers — to whom they must sell — on the other. The wireless carriers are the most conservative of all, and may not want anything more stringent that the current outdoor requirements: 50-meter accuracy 67 percent of the time, and 150 meters 90 percent.

    TechnoCom will test the following locations:

    • Dense urban: a four-block area north of Market Street in San Francisco’s financial district; as one participant pointed out, this is still not the densest urban environment to be found in the United States. For that, you have to look at older, Eastern cities such as New York or Chicago.
    • Urban: San Francisco and downtown San Jose
    • Suburban: Santa Clara County (malls, homes, condos and some high-rises)
    • Rural: Between Gilroy and Hollister, California.

    All kinds of structures, about 20, typically found in the four basic environments, will serve as test spots: high-rise, mid-rise, mall, apartment building, house, warehouse, and barn. Various test points will be sited in each as appropriate, probably at 5-floor intervals in multi-storey buildings.

    Indoor Positioning Webinar

    GPS World will host a December 13 webinar on the subject of Indoor Navigation. Participation is free. The time is 10 a.m. Pacific / 1 p.m. Eastern / 6 p.m. Greenwich (UK) time. Registration is free.

    This is the next frontier for personal and machine navigation — and many are out there now, working diligently on it.  In just one example, a new chip fuses input from several sensors, using the best combination at any given time to maximize coverage and accuracy while keeping power draw to a minimum. This produces continuous position availability in indoor environments, as demonstrated by performance measurements in real-world test environments.

    The senior product manager responsible for this development joins us to talk about the inner workings and the outer manifestations of this new solution. He’ll be joined by other guest experts to be announced.

    J. Blake Bullock was senior product manager responsible for CSR’s next generation of GNSS solutions. He has now transferred to Samsung System LSI Business and is responsible for GNSS and indoor positioning solutions. He holds a M.Sc. degree in geomatics engineering from the University of Calgary, an MBA from Arizona State University, and several patents in LBS and navigation.

  • Logistics, GIS and Disaster Response, Post-Sandy

    An exercise in planning for months proves timely in light of Hurricane Sandy

    By Art Kalinski

    I was going to write about the increasing presence of social media at GEOINT 2012, but I’ll cover that next month since Hurricane Sandy made an exercise I attended last week more significant in its timeliness.

    The Disaster Response Integrative Logistics Exercise was a joint effort of the Institute for Defense & Business and Lockheed Martin. Heading up the effort was retired U.S. Ambassador David Litt of the IDB and Corey Cook of Lockheed Martin. The almost week-long event was held at the Lockheed Martin Lighthouse located in Suffolk, Virginia, near Norfolk. The 65,000-square-foot high-technology facility is designed for experimentation and prototyping using analysis, modeling and simulation. It’s a reconfigurable command and control operations laboratory that permits participants to test and analyze concepts in a gaming environment.

    The stated purpose of the disaster response exercise was: “Given the nature, frequency, location and severity of disasters, inter-organizational collaboration – to include the private sector – is becoming increasingly critical to the efficiency and effectiveness of logistics in disaster responses.”  The exercise involved more than a 100 participants from the private sector, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and military services. Lou Kratz, Vice president and managing director, Logistics and Sustainment, Corporate Engineering & Technology for Lockheed Martin, stated that “Today’s crisis response efforts generally struggle with effective logistics collaboration among the multiple public and private stakeholders engaged. With our 21st-century logistics capabilities and global resources available from the public sector and private organizations, together we can develop solutions that will help our communities and businesses recover more quickly and effectively after a crisis.”

    And collaborate we did! The list of participants was quite extensive and quite diverse. To give you a sense of the attendees, here is a partial list of organizations represented:

    • commercial companies included DHL, Maersk, Florida Power and Light, Fluor, Home Depot, Walmart
    • federal government agencies included FEMA, DHS, GSA, HHS, USAID, State Department
    • military organizations included NAVSUP, NORTHCOM, USACE, USAF, USMC, USN, SOUTHCOM, National Defense University, USCG, NORTHCOM
    • NGOs included United Nations agencies, the Red Cross, Operation Blessing, Catholic Relief Services and many more.

    Conference attendance was significantly impacted by Hurricane Sandy, which also highlighted its timeliness.  FEMA, USAID, USACE, and the Red Cross, who were confirmed attendees and were instrumental in the development of the DRIL exercise, were deployed to Hurricane Sandy just hours before the start of the event. Fortunately, attendance to the DRIL by multiple organizations and substitute personnel was still robust, allowing for a highly successful exercise.

    Some of the exercise objectives included defining and understanding different agency logistics capabilities, leadership structures, institutional and regulatory obstacles, differences in cultures, missions and operating procedures while developing metrics to evaluate performance in disaster response efforts. To accomplish the objectives, all the participants were organized into four integrated teams that were then separated at times into functional teams and then reassembled with representatives speaking for each team to the entire group of attendees.

    Since this was the first exercise of its type, it was a learning experience for all involved and focused on the basics of personnel interactions and group consensus.  Each participant had access to his or her own computer, common computer resources and pre-developed exercise parameters. There were many artificial assumptions presented to the teams, and the team members made even more assumptions and guesses as they worked through the individual scenarios. Most of the exercise consisted of reviewing the effects of Category 5 hurricanes hitting the Dominican Republic, South Florida and Virginia, so there was a domestic as well as international impact. We participated in our groups, listening to individual team members with specialized knowledge and experience, then prioritized the delivery of needed resources and services. As the exercises ramped up, there were many animated discussions in which basics such as water, food, shelter, medical, electric power and transportation infrastructure were prioritized and justification documented.

    I made several observations to myself as the exercises progressed. First, there are definite cultural differences between federal, military, NGO and commercial agencies. Not bad differences, just different. Second, individual personalities can steer the group dynamics and outcomes. And third, situational awareness is critical to effective disaster response. Geospatial technology was not part of this first exercise, but would clearly have been valuable to provide a common operational picture. That level of complexity would not have been practical for this initial exercise, but it does lead me to the “Solutions” room next to the main exercise area.

    In a space adjacent to the main exercise room was a “Solutions” room that showcased potentially helpful technologies. The room was open to exercise participants toward the tail end of the week. It consisted of a diverse assortment of commercial and government solutions that addressed some of the issues  the teams struggled with during the week. Examples include a new computer-based system developed by the Navy Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) that is similar to the commercial Kayak flight search system. The Transportation Exploitation Tool (TET) was explained to me by Greg Butler, division director, NAVSUP GLS Transportation, who initiated the effort. He explained that all too often resources are wasted flying parts or personnel on dedicated aircraft that are duplicate trips of other aircraft or ships with available space traveling to the same location. The new geospatial network scheduling system optimizes transportation resources across all branches of service and already saved the Navy $23M on a $750k investment.

    Lockheed Martin displayed several technologies, including communications and data management technologies. One of the most interesting was its Hybrid Aircraft that was initially developed for military use. However, its ability to transport equipment and supplies efficiently to undeveloped sites while providing a persistent platform for communications and to collect and download imagery makes it a valuable asset for emergency response activities.  To learn more, view the following video.

    A representative from NATO explained the NATO Civil-Military Fusion Center, including a map library and custom services. Several exhibitors demonstrated the use of social media, which can be a very valuable and timely source of information to build situational awareness during emergencies. A company I work with, Soft Power Solutions, integrates GIS resources such as Google, USGS, ortho and oblique imagery married to geographically placed social media to build situational awareness that is quite robust. It was especially dramatic that during demonstrations, a 7.2 earthquake was reported off the coast of Guatemala.  One could easily see the growing number of tweets that almost immediately confirmed the earthquake and level of damage. Here is a ShakeMap generated by USGS within minutes of the earthquake showing the level of impact on the Guatemalan coast (shown in yellow).

    One of the exercise objectives was to develop metrics that would evaluate performance in disaster response efforts. There were many metrics developed that one would expect – roads open, electricity restored, utilities restored, etc. However, the one informal metric that was developed through personal experience of Florida emergency responders was the “Waffle House” metric. Waffle House is a ubiquitous restaurant chain with locations throughout the southeast. The Florida responders observed that driving from one county’s Waffle House to another open Waffle House was a good indicator that the location was in OK shape.  Since a Waffle House needs minimal staffing and utilities compared to larger restaurants, it was a good indicator as to how bad conditions were in the location. Perhaps someone will develop a “Waffle House Open” type GIS layer as a metric to “okayness.”  Sounds like a good thesis for a GIS graduate student.

    Everyone who participated was enthusiastic about conducting another similar exercise. Planning is already underway to make that happen. I, for one, feel that this kind of exercise can have a significant positive impact on future disasters because it builds face-to-face relationships that are so valuable during actual events. I’m going to do what I can to help with a geospatial aspect in future exercises.

  • The Business — December 2012

    Download the PDF.

  • Magellan Introduces Five-Inch RoadMate RV GPS Navigator

    Magellan today announced its first 5-inch RV GPS model, the Magellan RoadMate RV5365T-LMB GPS, designed for RVs with smaller dashboard spaces. Magellan will display its new RoadMate RV5365T-LMB at the RVIA Show (Booth H) this week in Louisville, Kentucky.

    The ideal travel companion for drivers of Class B and Class C RVs and those who tow other recreational vehicles such as fifth-wheel trailers or boats, the Magellan RoadMate RV5365T-LMB helps when planning trips and promotes safety while on-the-road, the company said.

    When preparing for their trips, the Magellan RoadMate RV5365T-LMB makes it easier for RV drivers to set up profile data about their vehicle’s dimensions, vehicle type, hazmat materials, as well as navigational preference so they can customize the best routes.

    The Good Sam Campground Directory and Good Sam discount locations, pre-loaded into the RoadMate RV5365T-LMB, provide RV travel resources featuring comprehensive North America campground information and amenities to facilitate locating available facilities, RV services, pet-friendly campgrounds and parks, tent spaces, Wi-Fi and more.

    During trips, the Magellan RoadMate RV5365T-LMB helps drivers navigate on its 5-inch high-definition touch screen that adjusts color and contrast for the most optimal night visibility. To help drivers keep their eyes on the road, the RoadMate RV5365T-LMB features Spoken Street Name guidance to announce street names and give turn-by-turn directions. The integrated Bluetooth wireless technology enables RV drivers to safely talk hands-free when the GPS is paired with a compatible Bluetooth phone.

    In addition to free lifetime map updates and free lifetime traffic alerts, the Magellan RoadMate RV5365T-LMB GPS navigator includes many of Magellan’s latest high-end features to make navigation safer and easier.

    • Junction View displays a realistic image of the road and highway signs to help guide RV drivers to the correct lane that the vehicle needs to be in for safe merging and exits during their trip.
    • Next Turn visibility prepares drivers with valuable information about which lane to stay in or enter when approaching the next turning location.
    • Landmark Guidance gives RV drivers an easier way to navigate to their destinations by telling them to turn at familiar landmarks such as gas stations, stores or other large, easily-seen places instead of only street names that may be hard to locate and read.
    • The Magellan RoadMate RV5365T-LMB includes one year of free service to ‘Traffic Camera Alerts,’ powered by PhantomALERT, to warn drivers about upcoming red light and speed cameras on their route.
    • OneTouch, another Magellan-exclusive feature, enables drivers to bookmark and assign a button to their favorite destinations or searches for faster access.

    Continuing to enhance the driver safety and peace-of-mind to see behind their RV, the Magellan RoadMate RV5365T-LMB is compatible with Magellan’s award-winning Wireless Back-up Camera ($149.99 MSRP). When the vehicle is in reverse-mode, the RoadMate RV5365T-LMB will automatically switch from navigation mode to become a rear-view monitor that allows the driver to see what is behind the vehicle including children, pets and toys, or for assistance when parking into a tight parking space.

    “Driving an RV or towing any size recreational vehicle can be very challenging on today’s crowded roadways and Magellan is dedicated to giving RV drivers the best navigational tools for the safest journey,” said Stig Pedersen, Associate Vice President of Product Management for Magellan.  “We are pleased to offer the RV community the most innovative navigation features plus a choice of RoadMate RV GPS devices to best fit their needs.”

    Available in January through Magellan’s consumer electronics and online partners including Camping World, Canadian Tire Corp. and Amazon.com, the Magellan RoadMate RV 5365T-LMB is $299.99 (MSRP).

  • Leadership Awards 2012: At the Frontiers of Time

    Robert Lutwak, Symmetricom, winner in the Product category.
    Robert Lutwak, Symmetricom, winner in the Product category.
    New Advances in Receiver Performance and Reliability

    Editor’s Note: This article reproduces the acceptance speeches given by the winners of GPS World’s 2012 Leadership Awards, at the Leadership Dinner in Nashville in September. The Leadership Dinner was sponsored by Lockheed Martin and Deimos Space.

    Remarks by Robert Lutwak, Symmetricom; Chief Scientist, winner in the Products category. His expertise is practical advances to overcome the intrinsic physical barriers to affordable chip-scale atomic clocks, enabling precision time and time transfer in mobile GNSS and communications systems.

    Thank you to the awards committee and especially to the individual who nominated me.

    I would be remiss if anyone left here with the impression that the development of the chip-scale atomic clock was in any way a solo effort. On the contrary, while I have had the privilege of being the front man, the success of this program can be attributed entirely to the fantastic collaboration between three highly disparate groups, from very different industries and cultures: our Research Group at Symmetricom’s Technology Realization Center, in Beverly, Massachusetts; the MEMS group at the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, led by Mark Mescher and Matt Varghese; and the optoelectronics group at Sandia National Laboratories, led by Darwin Serkland.  If any of these groups and people had been anything less than extraordinary, both technically and personally,I would not be standing here this evening.

    With this introduction I can say, with little loss of humility, that the chip-scale atomic clock (CSAC) is a really cool device. Depending on where you’re coming from, it’s either 100 times lower size, weight, and power (SWAP)  than traditional atomic clocks or it’s 100 times more accurate than quartz oscillators with comparable SWAP. Regardless of your perspective, it clearly represents a disruptive technology and a paradigm shift for portable battery-powered navigation, communication, and timing applications. For comparison, the CSAC can run for a day on a full cellphone battery charge, whereas the next lowest power clock of comparable performance will run down a car battery in an hour. The CSAC is not an evolutionary improvement in SWAP, it is revolutionary in that it enables previously untenable system architectures, mission scenarios, and network topologies.

    Since Symmetricom introduced the first commercial CSAC, roughly two years ago, the market response has been overwhelming. Despite having done our due diligence to predict the market demand and despite having nearly doubled our manufacturing output every quarter, our shipment backlog remains strong, and I am frequently surprised by innovative customer applications that we had not envisioned at the product launch. We have to date shipped many thousands of CSACs to more than a hundred different customers, representing vastly different markets and applications. While many of the novel applications are still in the early stages of prototype development and evaluation, it is clear that CSACs will be ubiquitous across diverse applications within the decade.

    I am fortunate, in my position, to interact directly with the technical integrators of the CSAC and learn the details of many of the applications. My general impression is that the timing and frequency stability performance of the CSAC is adequate for most of the emerging applications. The most common requests that I hear from customers are for reduced cost, power consumption, and size, in that order. It is not surprising that size is at the bottom of the list. In most applications, the batteries are still larger and heavier than the CSAC, so small improvements in power consumption are generally more valuable to reducing system SWAP than size reduction of the CSAC itself.

    As in any new technology, the cost will come down naturally with increased volume and improved manufacturing efficiencies, both at Symmetricom and at our vendors. While it is unlikely that you will get a CSAC in your next free cellphone, I do expect that the cost will progressively decrease over the next several years, and the technology will become cost-viable to an exponentially increasing spectrum of applications. Similarly, we continue to evolve our electronics and algorithms for improved power consumption, aided by external advancements in microwave and microprocessor electronics driven by the smart-phone industry. It is my expectation that a factor of 2X improvement in power consumption is likely within the next three to five years.

    To date, most of the commercial products that have emerged, based on CSAC technology, have been in the timing and frequency calibration space. It is not surprising to me that the time and frequency community was the first to adopt and exploit the technology, as many of them have been closely monitoring the development program and had the internal expertise and experience to rapidly exploit it.

    I admit, though, that I am a bit disappointed to see that there are no papers with “CSAC” in their titles at the 2012 ION-GNSS, but I am confident that this will change in the years to come. Adoption of CSAC by the navigation community has lagged behind the timing community in large part, I believe, because the technology has caught the community somewhat off-guard, and the benefits of the CSAC to INS and GNSS are just now beginning to be realized.

    The most obvious and straight-forward application of CSAC to GNSS is rapid P(Y) acquisition; we have demonstrated 15-second time-to-subsequent-fix (TTSF) after two hours of GPS denial. This was a fairly simple demonstration that consisted of jamming time into an unmodified GPS receiver, but I believe that this is just the tip of the iceberg. With access to the core navigation algorithms within the receiver, precise knowledge of time could improve the receiver performance and reliability on other levels, including (at least):
    ◾    Improved uncertainty of the navigation solution
    ◾    Navigation with less than four (or less than three) satellites
    ◾    Anti-spoof and anti-jam detection
    ◾    Seamless co-integration of GNSS and INS systems

    Another navigation area that I believe is ripe to benefit from CSAC technology is in self-assembling navigation systems, such as a local ad hoc GNSS-like network which self-assembles from handheld timing beacons/receivers. Such a system would have value for safety-of-life applications in GPS-denied environments, such as indoor firefighting and mine safety.

    Thank you again for the recognition and opportunity of this award.

  • Symmetricom Expands Test Set Portfolio with High-Performance Test Probe

    Symmetricom, Inc., has launched a high-performance, low-cost measurement solution, the Symmetricom 3120A Phase Noise Test Probe, which can be used to test reference clocks. The latest addition to Symmetricom’s state-of-the-art timing test set portfolio, the 3120A Test Probe comes in a convenient small form factor and measures phase noise and Allan deviation as part of the base hardware kit. Additional software options are available to measure AM noise floor and signal statistics such as HDEV, TDEV, MDEV and jitter, and for use as a frequency counter and for mask testing.

    Unlike traditional solutions that are desktop-bound due to size and weight, Symmetricom’s 3120A Test Probe is small enough to be carried around from location to location, and inexpensive enough to have at each bench. Whether used on a busy manufacturing floor, in a tight server closet or in R&D labs, the 3120A helps characterize reference clocks, used in high-performance applications, to achieve the highest accuracy without requiring calibration.

    The 3120A Test Probe comes with intuitive software to take measurements and conduct analysis, the company said. The 3120A Phase Noise Test Software displays results in seconds without the need for external data processing.

    “The Symmetricom 3120A is an excellent low-cost phase noise test probe that customers can use with their existing PC equipment to achieve state-of-the-art measurements,” said Sam Stein, chief scientist for Symmetricom. “It is an ideal extension to Symmetricom’s line of phase noise products.”

    Symmetricom will introduce the 3120A Test Probe at the Precise Time and Time Interval (PTTI) Systems and Applications Meeting, which takes place on November 26 – 29 in Reston, Virginia. Symmetricom will be at booth #6 conducting demonstrations and providing information about the 3120A Test Probe, in addition to Symmetricom’s other timing and synchronization products.

  • InfoAg 2013

    InfoAg 2013 will be held July 16-18, 2013, in Springfield, Illinois. This premier conference on precision agriculture will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

    The conference is the gathering place for the world’s best and brightest researchers and agribusiness innovators. A look back at past programs is like looking at a who’s who in precision ag today. More than 200 research presentations will cover the application of new technologies as well as the theoretical studies that introduce the technologies of the future. An A-to-Z track focuses on practical application of technologies and presentations by leading precision ag vendors. The conference boasts an international exhibit hall and plenty of opportunity to network with representatives from more than 40 countries.

  • Space Weather Workshop

    Space Weather Workshop: the Meeting of Science, Research, Applications, Operations, and Users, will be held April 24-27, 2013, in Boulder, Colorado.

    Space Weather Workshop is an annual conference that brings industry, academia, and government agencies together in a lively dialog about space weather. What began in 1996 as a conference for the space weather user community has evolved into the nation’s leading conference on all issues relating to space weather.

    The conference addresses the  diverse impacts of space weather on today’s technology. The program highlights space weather impacts in several areas, including communications, navigation, spacecraft operations, aviation, and electric power. The presentations and discussions at the Space Weather Workshop also focus on identifying the highest priority needs for operational services that can guide future research and identifying new high-value capabilities that can be transitioned into operations. The conference fosters communication among researchers, space weather service providers, and users of space weather services.

    Researchers have the opportunity to discuss relevant research in many areas of the space environment. Recent progress in large-scale modeling efforts will be featured, while new developments in Sun-to-Earth coupled modeling systems will also be a highlight.


  • General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union

    The General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union will be held in Vienna, Austria, April 7-12, 2013.

    A highlight is Session “G1.3 – High-Precision GNSS Algorithms and Applications in Geosciences.” This session is an activity of IAG Sub-Commission 4.5 “High-Precision GNSS Algorithms and Applications.”

    Session G1.3 description:

    In the past two decades high-precision GPS has been applied to support numerous applications in geosciences. Currently, there are two fully operational Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), and two more are in the implementation stage. The new systems are about to start providing the user signals, and both, GPS and GLONASS are currently undergoing a significant modernization, which adds more capacity, more signals, better accuracy and interoperability, etc. This, however, also results in new challenges in data processing. Moreover, the new developments in GNSS stimulate a broad range of new applications.

    Algorithmic advancements are needed to address the opportunities and challenges in enhancing the accuracy, availability, interoperability and integrity of high-precision GNSS applications.

    This session is a forum to discuss new developments in high-precision GNSS algorithms and applications in geosciences. We encourage, but not limit, submissions related to:

    • Modeling and strategies in high-precision GNSS,
    • Multi-GNSS potential benefit for geosciences,
    • Precise Point Positioning (PPP),
    • CORS services for geosciences (GBAS, Network-RTK, etc.),
    • Biases and calibrations,
    • New or improved GNSS products for high-precision applications (orbits, clocks, etc.),
    • Ambiguity resolution and validation,
    • Precise Positioning of EOS platforms
    • Precise Positioning for natural hazards prevention,
    • High-precision applications for geosciences,
    • and more.

    Papers are welcomed on all aspects of these issues. Deadline for receipt of abstracts is January 9, 2013.

  • Topcon’s Ray O’Connor Receives Honorary Doctorate

    The Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) has conferred the award of honorary doctorate on Ireland native Ray O’Connor, president and CEO of Topcon Positioning Systems.

    The award was conferred in recognition of O’Connor’s outstanding achievements in international business and innovation. Originally from County Kildare and now based in California, O’Connor attended the ceremony accompanied by his wife Nancy, as well as several family members who are living in Ireland and in the United Kingdom.

    Past recipients of honorary doctorates from DIT include: Pierce Brosnan, actor and philanthropist; Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland; Arthur Ryan, chairman of Penneys; Phil Coulter, musician, composer and music ambassador; Angela Brady, president of the Royal Institute of British Architects; and Dr. Martin McAleese, Irish peace activist.

    The honorary doctorate award is conferred on a small number of individuals who have made an exceptional contribution in their field.  The award is conferred at the annual DIT graduation ceremony and recipients are introduced as standard bearers for DIT graduates starting out on their careers.

    In his speech to the assembly, the DIT president, Professor Brian Norton welcomed O’Connor back to DIT, where he had completed his studies in construction in the early 1980s.

    About O’Connor, Norton said, “Your positive, forward-looking approach to developing new businesses, and your ability to work across geographical and cultural borders, provide a real example to us as educators and to our graduates as young professionals.”

    O’Connor traveled to the U.S. when he finished his studies at DIT. He worked for a number of different companies before joining Topcon America, a division of the Tokyo-based Topcon Corporation in 1993. Outlining his career path, Murphy said O’Connor had joined a Topcon team of 40 people, and now leads a company employing more than 800 worldwide.

    “O’Connor was the first person who was not Japanese or of Japanese descent to receive the prestigious Toshiba Business Performance Award for his superior leadership and performance,” Mike Murphy, dean of the College of Engineering and Built Environment, said.

    In addition to his role as president and CEO of Topcon Positioning Systems, earlier this year Ray O’Connor was appointed senior managing executive officer of Topcon Corporation. O’Connor said, “It is indeed a distinctive honor and humbling experience to be included in this extraordinary group of world leaders in receiving this special award from DIT.”

    O’Connor was conferred in the company of DIT graduates of the Department of Engineering and Built Environment, accompanied by their families. The Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) is one of the largest institutes of higher education in the country with more than 19,000 students and a staff of about 2,000.