Industry

Spirent Sim3D – Realistic multipath simulation

Spirent Communications plc has announced the availability of its innovative multipath simulation solution, Spirent Sim3D. It enables the testing of realistic multipath and obscuration effects on GNSS signals in a true-to-life synthetic environment.

Historically, researchers and developers of GNSS receivers have had to rely on statistical models and time-consuming fi eld testing to study the effects of multipath on GNSS signals. With Sim3D, the industry can now gain a greater understanding of the impact of multipath and obscuration in a broad range of real life situations. It offers the level of control and traceability needed for developers to improve their customers’ experience in the most challenging environments.

The unique system has been developed in partnership with OKTAL Synthetic Environment. It offers the ability to simulate multipath effects in a range of life-like geo-typical environments, using different models to recreate locations such as urban highway, an inner city or a forest. Geo-specific models of real locations can also be commissioned. www.spirent.com/products/sim3d.

Next generation GPS III satellite responding to commands

The U.S. Air Force’s second next generation GPS III satellite, built by Lockheed Martin is responding to commands, under control and now using its own internal propulsion system to get to orbit following its successful launch.

GPS III SV02 is the second GPS III satellite designed and built by Lockheed Martin to help the Air Force modernize today’s GPS constellation with new technology and capabilities. It provide 3x greater accuracy and up to 8x improved anti-jamming capabilities. It also provides a new L1C civil signal, compatible with other international global navigation satellite systems, like Europe’s Galileo. www.lockheedmartin.com

Rohde & Schwarz completes industry’s first 5G LBS session

Rohde & Schwarz, in collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., have successfully verified an A-GPS control plane LPP test session over 5G NR using a device powered by the Snapdragon X55 5G modem and Qualcomm(R) RF Frontend solutions. The device was able to successfully establish a 5G non-standalone (NSA) connection and then perform GPS fixes according to 3GPP requirements.

The R&S TS-LBS test system, which consists of the R&S CMX500 and R&S CMW500 radio communication testers and the R&S SMBV100B vector signal generator, covers 3GPP conformance and network operator test plans for 5G NR, LTE, WLAN, WCDMA and GSM location based services. Test coverage includes all minimum performance and protocol tests, which can easily be extended to cover R&D-level control testing or VoNR E911 in 5G NR Standalone mode. www.rohde-schwarz.com/wireless

GPS III satellite launches with RAD750™ single board computers

The U.S. Air Force has launched its second GPS III satellite, the most powerful GPS satellite ever built. BAE Systems’ RAD750™ Single Board Computer (SBC), part of Harris Corporation’s navigation payload for GPS III prime contractor Lockheed Martin, will provide radiation hardened, high-performance onboard processing capability for the satellite’s mission. baesystems.com/space.

L3Harris Technologies delivers eighth GPS III navigation payload

L3Harris Technologies delivered its eighth navigation payload to GPS III satellite prime contractor Lockheed Martin.

The GPS III navigation payload features a Mission Data Unit (MDU) with a unique 70-percent digital design that links atomic clocks, radiation-hardened processors and powerful transmitters – enabling signals three times more accurate than those on current GPS satellites.

The payload also boosts signal power, which increases jamming resistance by eight times and helps extend the satellite’s lifespan. L3Harris.com

CHC Navigation introduces new corporate website

CHC Navigation is proud to announce the launch of its brand-new website which conveys its expanding role as a global leader in Geospatial Solutions. It provides a clear insight about the company and its ambition when developing, delivering and supporting high-end, professional and innovative GNSS-based solutions to its customers.

NovAtel unveils RTK from the sky corrections for precision agriculture

NovAtel introduced a new addition to its corrections portfolio – TerraStar-X service is available for use in precision agricultural applications across the Midwestern United States. It delivers RTK From the Sky performance by providing convergence in under one minute with 2 cm RMS accuracy and 99.9% uptime while reducing equipment needs and increasing productivity for end-users.

By combining global and regional correction technology with L-band delivery of data for precision agriculture applications, TerraStar-X provides users the precision and speed of traditional RTK networks without the need for base stations, saving growers time and money. www.novatel.com

Komatsu dozing control logic combines GNSS/INS for machine control

Komatsu America Corp. has introduced Proactive Dozing Control logic, a fully-integrated dozing control system that allows operators to perform auto-stripping, auto-spreading, high production dozing and finish grading.

Built on the company’s intelligent machine control, the system uses GNSS positioning in conjunction with an inertial measurement unit (IMU) to calculate precise position. The two sensors work together to calculate exactly where the tracks are on the ground.

New technology makes GPS more secure and reliable for military systems

Raytheon received security certifi cation for new GPS modules and receivers from the Global Positioning Systems Directorate at the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center.

The new modules and receivers will give military aircraft, ships, ground vehicles and weapon systems secure and reliable access to modernized GPS. Raytheon’s military code common GPS module was certifi ed, along with its ground-based GPS receiver, or GB-GRAM, and the avionics GPS receiver, or GRAM-S/M. GB-GRAM and GRAM S/M are jointly developed with Trimble Inc., while General Dynamics provides cryptographic capabilities for the modules. www.raytheon.com

Drotek releases Sirius RTK F9P GNSS rover

The new Sirius RTK GNSS Rover F9P is meant to be mounted on the vehicle that’s moving. Whereas the base is supposed to be immobile (even though it can be mobile, which implies a loss of accuracy), the rover is the module receiving the corrections, providing the information to the autopilot with its position, heading, height…

This new rover module has a built-in active antenna patch. It is capable of interacting with the Galileo satellites network, along with GPS, BeiDou, GLONASS and Galileo networks, which is designed to provide more accuracy for its positioning.

Precise Positioning for Autonomous Vehicles

Swift Navigation has announced nationwide coverage for its network connected Skylark™ precise positioning service in the USA. Full contiguous United States (CONUS) coverage reduces initialization times to seconds, ensuring high-accuracy— and high-integrity—positioning is available when customers need it.

Unlike legacy Real-Time-Kinematic (RTK) services that are designed for smaller regions and Precise Point Positioning (PPP) services that suffer from slow convergence times, Skylark is a high performance hybrid nationwide U.S. network that delivers initialization times in seconds, better than 10 centimeters of accuracy and integrity required by the most demanding safety-of-life critical applications. swiftnav.com/skylark

MicroSurvey introduces a new generation of data collection software

MicroSurvey Software Inc. released FieldGenius for Android version 1.0. This fi rst release of our new multi-platform fi eld software is built on the Android platform and supports most popular GNSS sensors on the market today.

FieldGenius continues to be the world’s premier third-party, brand-neutral data collection software choice amongst surveyors. This new release builds on decades of innovation MicroSurvey has invested into the original FieldGenius software, providing users with an easy to use and intuitive mobile data collection software package for the next generation.www.microsurvey.com/fga/

EagleView sets up R&D centre in Bengaluru

EagleView Technologies has opened its Research and Development centre in Bengaluru on of the southern state of India.

The centre is EagleView’s third R&D centre other two are located in Bellevue, Washington and in Rochester, New York. While the former is focussed on Machine Learning and Applications development, the latter is focussed on the hardware side of the company’s business. www.eagleview.com

Compact-sized tablet for geospatial field applications by Trimble

Trimble has announced the launch of the latest addition to its portfolio of data collectors—the Trimble® T7 tablet. Purpose-built for survey and GIS data collection applications, the next-generation tablet connects to Trimble’s suite of survey instruments and GNSS receivers in a portable and ultra-rugged package. Equipped with a tough 7-inch multi-touch screen, modular expansion capability, multiple connectivity options and featuring a Windows® 10 Professional operating system, the T7 streamlines the flow of geospatial data between the field and office for maximum efficiency and productivity.

A professional grade built-in GNSS receiver supports GPS, GLONASS and BeiDou constellations as well as Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS) capabilities for accurate real-time positioning. https:// geospatial.trimble.com/t7.