Industry

Iridium makes maritime industry history

Communications Inc. has announced that the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) agreed to recognize that the Iridium network meets all the criteria of the IMO needed to provide mobile satellite services in the GMDSS, and to adopt the “Statement of Recognition” proposed by the United States as a Committee Resolution. This is a significant achievement that ends a decades-long satellite industry monopoly in which only one company was authorized to provide satellite GMDSS service and for the first time will bring competition and truly global coverage, to mariners sailing any of the world’s oceans.

The MSC also agreed that Iridium and the United States, the delegation sponsoring Iridium’s application at the IMO, will work with the International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO), which will monitor progress in Iridium’s implementation of the service. The IMSO will report to the MSC once a Public Services Agreement has been entered into between Iridium and the IMSO, likely marking the start of this service. Iridium formally began the process to become a recognized GMDSS mobile satellite service provider in April 2013. Iridium plans to begin providing GMDSS service in early 2020. www.iridium.com

Focus 35 total station with auto scan helping build china’s expressway network

Spectra Precision FOCUS 35 robotic total stations are hard at work helping build the world’s largest expressway network. In one notable example, the FOCUS 35, with its time-saving automatic scan template, is checking the cross-section quality of the twin Nan Kunshan tunnels for the new six-lane Shazhan S14 regional highway.

Excavation under Nankun Mountain for the twin tunnels, each 4.1 km long and each capable of carrying three lanes of vehicular traffic, began in September 2016. In the current second phase of construction, the FOCUS 35 is being used to gather data that will be used to compare the as-built tunnels to the design specifications to determine what adjustments to the tunnel surfaces may need to be made. The FOCUS 35 was selected for the scanning work because it offers a particularly streamlined and efficient workflow that yields significant time-savings. www.spectraprecision.com

SXblue Introduces Android Application ToolBox

SXblue ToolBox, the Android application for SXblue GNSS receivers has been developed with special consideration to modern mobile device development and an attention to user and dealer feedbacks. With the SXblue ToolBox application, the user can view and analyse the position data provided by the SXblue receiver, and metadata related to its location. The user is able as well, to send commands that enable or disable some features: Systems in use, Mask angle or differential age, constellation in use: GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BEIDOU, SBAS. It is also an NTRIP client capable of connecting to a NTRIP server for RTK corrections and thus allow the receiver to issue a very accurate location information.

Swift Navigation announces SBAS support for Piksi Multi

Swift Navigation has announced the latest firmware upgrade to its flagship product Piksi® Multi GNSS Module. This marks the fifth major point release to Piksi Multi and is available free of charge to Swift customers. The firmware release also enhances Duro®, the ruggedized version of the Piksi Multi receiver housed in a military-grade, weatherproof enclosure designed specifically for long-term outdoor deployments. support.swiftnav.com .

All-New Rugged Atlas®-Capable UAV GNSS

Antenna by Hemisphere GNSS Hemisphere GNSS has announced the all-new multi-GNSS, multi-frequency 4-helix HA32 UAV antenna. The HA32 is a high-performance antenna that supports GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, Hemisphere’s own Atlas L-band correction service, and was designed specifically for UAVs, GIS, surveying, RTK, and other applications requiring high-precision positioning and navigation.

The HA32 is built on an innovative and proprietary 4-helix antenna technology that provides superior filtering and anti-jamming performance with LNA features such as low noise figure of 2.0 dB (typical) and up to 30 dB gain (typical). www.HGNSS.com

Mobile devices to turn into high-accuracy GNSS tools

Eos Positioning Systems Inc is partnering with enterprise mobile solutions provider CartoPac International to enable consumer smartphones and tablets to become professional-grade GNSS data collection and management devices for staking, inspections and more.

Eos manufactures the Arrow receivers for any smartphone or tablet. CartoPac develops enterprise utility software, including a mobile solution for asset management and data collection.

Eos and CartoPac partnered to integrate the Arrow Series with CartoPac‘s mobile software. This allows CartoPac users to bring submeter and centimeter location into their asset-management solution on either iOS, Windows or Windows Mobile devices.

Hexagon Positioning Intelligence releases PIM7500

Hexagon’s Positioning Intelligence division has introduced the new PIM7500 Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver explicitly designed for autonomous automotive platform development and solutions. This singlesided receiver features a compact form factor that solders down directly for easy integration with electronic control modules and Artificial Intelligence (AI) development platforms.

The PIM7500 is available in low- to mid-volume quantities making it an ideal GNSS receiver to use in mileage accumulation fleets. The new receiver also features dual-frequency GNSS reception from all available constellations including GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, NavIC, QZSS and SBAS. The PIM7500 offers sub-meter and centimeter-level positioning using Hexagon Correction Services to deliver the high-accuracy positioning required for the autonomous industry. www.hexagonpositioning.com

PCTEL launches multi-GNSS L1/L2/ L5 antennas for precision navigation

PCTEL Inc. has launched a new series of multi-GNSS L1/L2/L5 antennas for precision navigation and timing. The antennas combine aerospacelevel precision with global satellite compatibility, in a highly durable package. They enable critical applications including vehicular automation, 5G network timing synchronization and Positive Train Control (PTC) systems.

Positioning solutions for space constrained systems by NovAtel

NovAtel has introduced several new precision positioning solutions for space-constrained applications. With enhanced positioning accuracy in a compact form, the PwrPak7D, PwrPak7DE1 and OEM7600 are suitable for automotive, airborne and other smaller unmanned systems.

NovAtel’s new PwrPak7D and PwrPak7D-E1 enclosures provide space efficiency without sacrificing position accuracy and heading stability, even in stationary, slow-moving or hovering dynamics. The PwrPak7D-E1 enclosure integrates an inertial measurement unit (IMU) with NovAtel’s OEM7720 dual-antenna receiver board to deliver GNSS and inertial navigation system (INS) capabilities.

Sokkia introduces new highperformance manual total station

Sokkia has introduced the latest addition to its iM line of manual total stations designed to provide powerful performance in an affordable package – the iM-50.

The iM-50 EDM features a prism range of up to 4,000 m and up to 500 m in reflectorless mode with a 1.5 mm/2 ppm accuracy. “The beam can precisely measure walls, corners, manholes on the road surface, even chain-link fences and tree branches. It offers a rapid distance measurement of 0.9 seconds regardless of the target,” he said. The instrument offers integrated Bluetooth technology for connectivity with the controller.

Trimble GNSS integrates MicroPilot UAS autopilot

MicroPilot and Trimble have entered into an agreement that will enable the integration of Trimble’s high-precision GNSS technology into the MP2128 Triple Redundant UAS Autopilot.

Integrating autopilots can be difficult because a lot of settings have to be finetuned. The team at MicroPilot offers support through the design cycle and completes extensive testing to ensure they provide a reliable autopilot that safely guides and controls drones.

Rohde & Schwarz Collaborates with PoLTE

Rohde & Schwarz is collaborating with PoLTE Corporation, a leader in cellular-based location solutions, to accelerate the robustness and accuracy of cellular location technologies. Rohde & Schwarz and PoLTE are enhancing the cellular IoT ecosystem and expanding the opportunity for new IoT use cases. Location-based services will enable a wide range of use cases, including industrial IoT, healthcare IoT, Internet of Life Saving Things IoT, manufacturing IoT, agriculture IoT, energy IoT, automotive IoT and countless others.

The R&S TS-LBS test solution uses the R&S CMW500 network emulator to simulate LTE Release 8-14 3GPP IoT technologies, including NB-IoT (Cat- NB1), eNB-IoT (Cat-NB2), eMTC (Cat-M1), LTE Cat 1 and LTE Cat 4 in combination with terrestrial location technologies, such as OTDOA and eCID. PoLTE will help pilot advanced testing using the R&S CMW500 by simulating difficult mobile environments so that they can deliver the most comprehensive and robust location solution for the cellular IoT marketplace. rohde-schwarz.com

KVH and VectorNav collaboration

Inertial sensor companies KVH Industries Inc. and VectorNav Technologies LLC have announced that KVH’s fiber optic gyro (FOG)-based 1750 IMU and 1775 IMU will now be offered to enhance the operation of VectorNav’s VN-210 and VN-310 Tactical Series GNSSaided inertial navigation systems.

DJI releases the Phantom 4 Pro V2.0

DJI has released the new Phantom 4 Pro V2.0. First off, the new DJI Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 does come with the noisereduction propellers we first saw in the FCC filing. According, to the Chinese drone maker that reduce the noise of the unmanned aerial vehicle by 4Db, which may not sound like much but will make a significant difference.

The Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 has the same 1-inch 20MP Exmor R CMOS sensor with a mechanical shutter, a flight time of 30 minutes and smarter features. It has a range of 4.375 miles, shoots video in 4K at 60fps and burst mode at 14 fps. Its FlightAutonomy system includes dual rear vision sensors and infrared sensing for a combined 5 directions obstacle sensing and 4 directions of obstacle avoidance with a 100 feet sensing range.

SpaceX’s new rocket studied by Air Force, Delaying GPS Upgrades

The U.S. Air Force has delayed the launch of its first Global Positioning System III satellite to October at the earliest as it reviews the upgraded rocket that Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans to use to boost it into orbit.

The satellite valued at about $528 million would be launched on the latest version of the Falcon 9 rocket from Space Exploration Technologies Corp.The Block 5 rocket has more powerful engines, a stronger heat shield for the return trip through Earth’s atmosphere and new retractable landing legs. The GPS III satellites being built by Lockheed Martin Corp. promise increased accuracy for navigation, a signal compatible with similar European satellites and improved security against cyberattacks. But the satellites meant to upgrade the Global Positioning System, which is widely used for military and civilian applications, are already years behind schedule. www.bloomberg.com

Airobotics Partnership with Shapir-Ashtrom

Airobotics, the Israeli startup that built the world’s first fully automated drone, has announced its partnership with Shapir- Ashtrom to survey the construction of Haifa’s new seaport, “Gulf Port”, intended to further develop Israel’s coastline areas, and increase maritime traffic and international commerce.

With this collaboration, Airobotics is implementing the first technology of its kind for industrial spaces, and is working closely with Israel’s top construction and civil engineering companies, Shapir Civil and Marine Engineering Ltd., and Ashtrom Properties Ltd., which created a joint venture “Shapir- Ashtrom”, specifically for this new Haifa seaport initiative, valued at 4 billion Israeli Shekels (approx. $1b). Airobotics has applied its drone missions to assist in surveying reclamation areas, monitoring breakwater construction and stockpile measurements, which increases construction accuracy and accessibility, while reducing production costs, and adhering to project timelines. www.airoboticsdrones.com

No-Base Station – Accurate Georeferencing for UAV surveying

Klau Geomatics has announced their new No-Base-Station high accuracy georeferencing solution for UAVs. This revolutionary new solution is the result of close collaboration between Klau Geomatics and Hexagon’s Geosystems Division, enabling users to conduct UAV surveying projects without running a local GPS receiver.www.klauppk.com