INDUSTRY

Racelogic announce new indoor positioning system

Racelogic is launching a brand-new Indoor Positioning System, called VIPS, which is an advanced system for measuring realtime 3D position to an accuracy of ±2cm in areas where GPS is not available, making it an ideal tool for construction applications both indoors and in urban areas. The system has been designed for any application that requires accurate measurement and recording of 3D positioning and enables GPS based technologies to operate in GPS denied environments.

Discussions are already underway with construction partners to implement VIPS for applications including Indoor/Outdoor Surveys, Snagging, AR, Machine Control, Crane Safety, Depth Measurement and Automated Guided Vehicles. However, the flexibility of VIPS and the option for bespoke adaptation means there are no limits to the potential applications of this cutting-edge technology. VIPS consists of Fixed Ultra-Wideband (UWB) beacons which are placed around the perimeter of the operation area (e.g. floor plan of building or construction site), in known positions which have been manually surveyed using a handheld laser, Total Station or, if time is of the essence, a self-survey can also be performed. The beacons are completely stand-alone and can be battery-powered, making the deployment very rapid.

A fixed or hand-held receiver continuously communicates with the beacons and triangulates its position. This data is combined with the measurements from a highly accurate inertial measurement system, providing a real-time 3D position to within 2cm. The data can be viewed live on a Racelogic VBOX Touch and coordinate locations can be saved to an SD card so that they can be efficiently revisited at a later time. http://racelogic.co.uk

Trimble, Hilti and Boston dynamics partnership

Trimble Hilti and Boston Dynamics have announced a collaboration to explore the integration of Trimble’s and Hilti’s construction management software solutions, GNSS technology and reality capture devices with Boston Dynamics’ Spot Robot platform.The companies will collaborate to develop a “proof-of-concept” solution. www.bostondynamics.com

Trimble Clarity

Trimble® Clarity is available as a standalone web application that simplifies the visualization and navigation of 3D data. It enables geospatial professionals to view, use and share 3D point cloud data, models and meshes with engineers, architects, city planners and other project stakeholders via a web browser, which can be viewed on desktop and mobile devices. https://clarity.trimble.com.

Advanced RTK engine delivers increased accuracy

Trimble® R12 GNSS receiver is a highperformance GNSS surveying solution powered by an all new Real Time Kinematic (RTK) and Trimble RTX® positioning engine. It features groundbreaking Trimble ProPoint TMGNSS technology that empowers land surveyors to quickly measure more points in more places than ever before. The ProPoint GNSS technology allows for flexible signal management, which helps mitigate the effects of signal degradation and provides a GNSS constellationagnostic operation. https://trimble.com

Verified Photomontages for UNESCO world heritage sites achieves best accuracy

Verified photomontage is an important planning tool to envision how proposed surrounding development plans would affect UNESCO World heritage sites. Verified photomontage demands the best accuracy for the best visualization to determine what a development may look like to a person standing at the photographic viewpoint. For MS Environmental (MSE), selected to provide verified photomontage for multiple UNESCO World Heritage sites, including in the UK Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew and the City of Bath, the Spectra Geospatial SP80 GNSS receiver has emerged as the receiver of choice to achieve the highest quality visualization.

At the UNESCO World Heritage City of Bath, the Bath and North East Somerset Council commissioned MSE to produce technical photography from strategic views around the World Heritage City to show how development proposals would affect strategic views across the city.

The SP80 tracks and process all available GNSS signals, to provide the most reliable measurements and the highest possible accuracies in challenging environments. It also offers the best communications and connectivity capabilities available today including SMS and email alerts and anti-theft protection. www.spectrageospatial.com

Leica Geosystems announces Leica Zeno mobile

Leica Zeno Mobile data collection app now integrates HxGN SmartNet postprocessing service and Esri’s Geospatial Cloud. The new functionalities allow workforces with limited surveying knowledge to optimise data accuracy and precision in the field and office and enable a seamless data flow to Esri’s GIS products. Thanks to HxGN SmartNet, Zeno delivers high accuracy RTK positioning. In areas without internet connection, Zeno Mobile’s new automatic post processing service allows users not to have to worry whether they have a mobile internet connection or not. https://leica-geosystems.com

Leica Geosystems, autodesk collaboration

Leica Geosystems has announced a new collaboration with Autodesk, integrating the Leica iCON iCT30 construction layout tool and Leica Viva TS13 and TS16, and Leica Nova TS60 and TM50 total stations with the Autodesk BIM 360 Layout App. In this latest collaboration, users are experiencing quicker and more productive time by connecting layout tool and total stations directly to the BIM 360 Layout app, now also available in Android, for immediate use on the site. leica-geosystems.com

Second generation dualfrequency GNSS by Broadcom

Broadcom has introduced second generation dual-frequency GNSS solution – the BCM4776. These new chips will be capable of using the new BeiDou-3 constellation’s B2a signals, which is the Chinese name for L5. This means that the second generation dual-frequency GNSS will be able to track 30 new L5 signals (60 percent more) with a significant impact on accuracy. And the benefit? End users will experience much higher reliability of the submeter accuracy that is inherent to dualfrequency L1-L5. www.broadcom.com

Phantom™ and Vega™ positioning and heading OEM boards

Hemisphere GNSS has introduced its allnew Phantom™ and Vega™ positioning and heading OEM boards powered by nextgeneration Lyra™ II digital ASIC, Aquila™ wideband RF ASIC, and Cygnus™ interference mitigation technology platforms for the global agriculture market. It offer flexible and scalable accuracy and reliability for a wide array of demanding precision agriculture applications.

It improve performance and track over 800 channels for position-only (Phantom series boards) and over 1,100 channels for position and heading (Vega series boards). This new ASIC technology provides access to every modern and planned GNSS constellation and signal, including GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS, IRNSS, SBAS, and Hemisphere’s Atlas® L-band correction service. Signal support and tracking for L5, AltBOC and BS-ACEBOC, BeiDou phase 2 and 3, and QZSS/L6 (L6-D and L6-E) are also available. www.hgnss.com

NovAtel SMART7 antenna

NovAtel’s SMART7 Antenna combines a NovAtel OEM7 receiver with a VEXXIS high precision antenna in a durable and waterproof enclosure. The SMART7’s ability to track multiple GNSS signals allows for better satellite availability under variable terrain and environmental conditions. TerraStar Correction Services and GLIDE provide flexible positioning options to meet application-specific needs for accuracy and pass-to-pass performance. The SMART7 is optionally available with NovAtel’s tightly-coupled GNSS+Inertial Navigation System (INS) SPAN technology that is optimized for the unique dynamics commonly experienced in demanding applications like precision agriculture and machine control. www.Novatel.com

AgilLOC antenna element combats GNSS jamming at sea

ST Engineering has developed AgilLOC Antenna Element Compact (AEC), which provides GNSS protection against three simultaneous jamming/interference sources with its adaptive nulling algorithm for the maritime sector, ensuring continuous GNSS protection to connected systems. It was designed for easy integration with new or existing legacy systems that required uninterrupted GNSS reception.

ADVA introduces multiband GNSS receiver

ADVA has launched a modular multi-band GNSS receiver for ePRTC and PRTC-B synchronization, bringing new levels of precision timing to 5G networks. The new solution is engineered to overcome ionospheric delay variation that causes timing inaccuracy, enabling communication service providers (CSPs) and enterprises to deliver nanosecond precision.

Quectel announces dual-band highprecision positioning module

Quectel Wireless Solutions Co., Ltd. has announced that Quectel LC79D. The LC79D is an L1/L5 high precision GNSS module that offers a cost and performance level vastly superior to L1 GNSS solutions on the market today. Based on Broadcom’s BCM47755, the solution offers simultaneous support for L1 and L5 bands for GPS, Galileo and QZSS satellites, L1 band for GLONASS and BeiDou satellites as well as L5 band for IRNSS. www.quectel.com

Regulus Cyber wins CES 2020 innovation award

Regulus Cyber has won the CES 2020 Innovation Award for their breakthrough software-based cybersecurity defense against GNSS spoofing. The Regulus Pyramid GNSS solution was named an honoree in the product category of cyber security and person privacy. The softwarebased cybersecurity solution is designed to protect GNSS against highly dangerous spoofing attacks. The Regulus Pyramid GNSS is a stand-alone software solution that uses a sophisticated, proprietary algorithms to detect GNSS spoofing and defend any GNSS receiver, device, or chipset against it. www.regulus.com.

CHC navigation introduces LT700H GNSS RTK tablet

CHC Navigation has launched its LT700H RTK Android tablet, designed to increase efficiency and productivity of the mobile field workforce in applications requiring centimeter-todecimeter positioning accuracy.

Portable, rugged and versatile, the LT700H enables precision GIS data collection, forensic mapping, construction site layout, environmental surveys, landscaping and earthmoving jobs.

Powered by 184-channel high-performance GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou module and a superior tracking GNSS helical antenna, the LT700H provides position availability in demanding environments. Its integrated 4G modem ensures seamless communication from field-to-office and robust connectivity to GNSS real-time kinematic (RTK) networks corrections.

RIEGL strengthens construction and surveying market presence

RIEGL announced the expansion of its terrestrial LiDAR presence in North America with the introduction of its new distribution partner, SITECH South. Operating out of their office in Smyrna, Georgia, SITECH South is a reseller of precision technology for civil engineering and construction.