INDUSTRY

Shom to renew its entire fleet of inertial navigation systems

Shom, the French national hydrographic and oceanographic office selected SBG Systems’ inertial navigation sytems to renew their whole fleet of INS. They chose the cost-effective and easyto- use Navsight Apogee INS for their speedboats and survey vessels for both shallow and deepwater real-time bathymetric surveys and Qinertia PPK software for post-processing tasks.

Shom, the French national hydrographic and oceanographic office

Shom, as a public institution, has 3 major objectives: national hydrography and cartography, defense support in hydrooceanographic fields, and support in maritime geospatial products and services for public policies on the sea and the coast. The fleet used by Shom is based in Brest and is composed of eleven boats, including seven speedboats, and three 59-meter long BH2 survey vessels. They operate on shallow and deep water in France, Africa, the Indian Ocean and in the Caribbean Sea. Shom also uses a fleet based in New Caledonia composed of two boats, one speedboat and a buoy-laying Vessel used part of the time for hydrographic surveys.

Renewing the fleet of Inertial Navigation Systems with SBG

When it came to renewing the fleet of inertial navigation systems (INS), the Shom looked at INS complying with IHO standards for bathymetric surveys, with a focus on roll and heave that have the biggest impact on the multibeam echo sounder data compensation.

After having conducted several tests in their official test zone where each element’s location is strictly and precisely known, Shom selected SBG Systems for the replacement of inertial navigation systems. If at first, they acquired a Navsight Ekinox grade (0.02° roll) for shallow water survey in New Caledonia, they then decided to move the fleet in Brest with Apogee grade INS solutions (0.008° roll). “The Apogee is highly versatile; it fits both deep and shallow water requirements. Having a homogenized fleet of sensors for speedboats and BH2 is easier to maintain, like the number of spare equipment, for example,” explains Rémi Labonde, in charge of Positioning and Hydrographic Equipment at Shom. Designed for hydrographers, Navsight Apogee grade is composed of a GNSS receiver and a processing unit enabling the real-time fusion of inertial and navigation data. Navsight provides connections to several external equipment such as echo sounders, computers, etc. With its titanium enclosure, the Apogee sensor could be installed in the floodable engine compartment, close to the multibeam echo sounder.

Navsight Apogee INS: Choosing Simplicity and Best Price/Performance Ratio

Navsight Apogee solution is a high performance cost-effective inertial navigation system based on state-ofthe- art MEMS technology; it, therefore, requires no annual maintenance. The SBG solution includes free unlimited firmware updates and technical support. “We have selected SBG for the good performance/price ratio and the high level of service. The SBG technical support team is available, reactive, and committed,” adds the Shom professional. Another key factor when choosing the INS solution was the ease of use. Once connected through Ethernet, the Navsight inner web interface guides the user during the installation phase. For example, a 3D view of the boat shows the entered parameters so that the user can check the installation in realtime. The embedded filter also controls and validates lever arms and antenna alignment during this procedure, which can be a plus if the Shom needs to calibrate a new system abroad. “We are big fans of SBG’s web interface. It is modern, extremely clear, and easy to use; it really makes a difference in our team’s work,” to conclude Rémi Labonde.

Saving the Day with Qinertia Post-processing Software

Navsight Apogee INS accepts real-time corrections from Real Time Kinematic (RTK) or Precise Point Positioning (PPP). In their daily surveys, the Shom uses PPP positioning for its big advantage of not requiring any installation compared to RTK. It also allows surveying offshore, or even near shore when no RTK correction is available. If most of their data is collected in real-time, Shom hydrographers employ SBG Systems’ in-house post-processing software called Qinertia to understand and fix data issues due to communication cuts. At the end of the day, the onboard team checks the data and corrects them with Qinertia if needed. The PPK software is known to be intuitive and Rémi Labonde confirms this: “It’s nice to have a software that is clear and easyto- handle.” www.sbg-systems.com

Leica Geosystems brings the world’s first MultiStation to the next level

New Leica Nova MS60 MultiStation brings sensor fusion to the next level by combining upgraded faster 3D laser scanning capabilities, GNSS connectivity and digital imaging with a highestend total station. It features several laser scanning updates, including an incredibly fast scanning speed of up to 30,000 points per second, optimised scan area definitions, adapted scan managements, and an improved scanning path for zenith scans.

The MS60 is also equipped with the unique AutoHeight feature, enabling users to save time by automatically measuring the instrument’s height with a simple button press. Measurement professionals can make decisions directly in the field performing point cloud analysis, such as flatness analysis and as-built checks in the Inspect Surface app of the MS60.

Gexcel announces RECONSTRUCTOR® 4.2

New release of Reconstructor by Gexcel introduces some very interesting improvements for mining, tunneling, construction, and infrastructure applications thanks to new strategic workflows designed to easily guide customers to final deliverables from the surveying data.

Reconstructor 4.2 makes a step forward into the processing of large datasets from various 3D sensors and in particular from Mobile Mapping Systems. Reconstructor 4.2 increases the capability to manage data from tunnels, underground and open-pit mines 3D surveys, thanks to new and improved tools that help users get the result done by a smart process.

Casablanca’s Medina buildings monitored during tunnel construction

Vibrations during the construction of a new 1,890-meter tunnel adjacent to Casablanca’s Old Medina, the 250-yearold section of the famed Moroccan city, challenged the stability of its historically important buildings.

To monitor in real time the effects on the Medina’s aging buildings and to confirm that the construction work meets all engineering standards and guidelines, ETAFAT, a geospatial information acquisition and processing company, used the Nikon XF Total Station to perform more than 100 daily inspections. The ETAFAT team relied on optical targets placed on building facades whose coordinates were determined by forced centering to complete the inspections.

The Nikon XF 1” with its fast autofocus function, saved considerable field time. It enabled very fast collection of highly accurate observations throughout the monitoring and control of the planimetric and altimetric locations of the structure. The monitoring of the buildings during the various phases of the tunnel’s construction generated a large amount of data essential for understanding the consequences of the work and defining any necessary corrective measures. www.trimble.com

Teledyne CARIS’ HIPS and SIPS 11.3 release

Teledyne CARIS released HIPS and SIPSTM 11.3. This new software upgrade will introduce the first-ever COTS (commercial-off-the-shelf) release of an AI solution for classifying and cleaning sonar noise. Teledyne CARIS seeks to reduce significantly the need for manual cleaning and to move data swiftly from acquisition to review. The Sonar Noise Classifier automatically identifies the vast majority of sonar noise, resulting in a reduction of manual cleaning effort by a factor of up to 10x at an accuracy of 95%. This allows the hydrographer to focus more time on other important aspects of the survey and processing workflow. teledyne.com

Sonardyne instruments to support pioneering tsunami research

High-accuracy, long-endurance underwater instrumentation from Sonardyne Inc. is set to play a major role in helping scientists across the US better understand and possibly predict earthquake and tsunami risk at a far greater scale than has been possible before. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, through a US$5.5 million grant from the US National Science Foundation (NSF), is procuring equipment to be used by the broader scientific community to study seafloor deformation. Comprising of more than 50 Sonardyne Fetch subsea sensor logging nodes, this major new equipment pool will also include Sonardyne’s advanced acoustic positioning modules fitted to three Liquid Robotics Wave Gliders. These will, for the first time, make highly precise seabed monitoring capability – at scale – available to the entire US earth science community using a technique known as GNSS-A. sonardyne.com

ADVA tackles GNSS jamming and spoofing

ADVA has launched the industry’s first centralized GNSS monitoring and assurance tool. Using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) for comprehensive predictive maintenance, it addresses the key concerns of GNSS users around the globe. The new customer-owned tool enables users to collect and analyze huge amounts of information from across the network to remotely identify issues and protect networks from GNSS vulnerabilities, including jamming and spoofing attacks.

It also helps to identify GNSS obstruction issues, detect blind/poor spots that appear over time and enable optimal antenna positioning. Built into ADVA’s Ensemble Controller network management suite with Sync Director, the solution enables customers to detect potential problems in advance, maintain the highest quality of network synchronization and significantly reduce opex. By complementing today’s limited distributed approach to GNSS assurance with a centralizedglobal system, it offers a major boost to critical infrastructure dependent on satellite-based timing. www.adva.com

U.S. Navy awards Booz Allen $178M GPS contract

The U.S. Navy’s Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC Pacific), in partnership with the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), has awarded Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE: BAH) a $178 million contract to provide technical engineering services toward the modernization of advanced Global Positioning System (GPS) systems. The NIWC Pacific Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Division is the Navy’s principal research and development center for navigation sensors and systems. SMC is the center of technical excellence for developing, acquiring, fielding, and sustaining resilient and affordable military space systems. BoozAllen.com

Sapcorda releases Unique Data Service for High Precision GNSS

Sapcorda Services GmbH has announced the release of the unique SAPA (Safe And Precise Augmentation) Premium GNSS positioning service. It enables massmarket GNSS devices to operate with unprecedented accuracy and reliability across Europe and the Continental United States. The service›s cutting-edge technology unlocks advanced performance with instantaneous sub-decimeter position accuracy for devices used in all market applications. www.sapcorda.com

GNSS/INS Localization Solution

Designed to replace expensive and bulky precision RTK/INS systems, this compact navigation solution meets the needs of automotive, robot, drone, construction and agriculture systems. The system includes a triple-band RTK/ GNSS receiver coupled with redundant inertial sensor arrays to provide cmlevel accuracy, enhanced reliability, and superior performance during GNSS outages. The system integrates a very precise 2 Degree/Hour IMU to offer ten to thirty seconds of high accuracy localization during full GNSS denial. This enables autonomous system developers to safely deliver highly accurate localization and position capabilities in their vehicles at prices that meet their budgets. The unit’s embedded Ethernet interface allows easy and direct connection to GNSS correction networks around the world, and its CAN bus interface allows simple integration into existing vehicle architectures. www.aceinna.com

Leica Geosystems announces new most accurate total station

The new Leica Nova TS60, said to be the most accurate total station, with newly integrated DynamicLock and AutoHeight features. It is now equipped with DynamicLock, allowing the instrument to lock onto a moving prism, and devised with AutoHeight, enabling users to get the instrument’s height with a simple button press. With these new integrated capabilities and sub-second and submillimetre accuracy, the TS60 is the most accurate total station for minimising risks of downtime and unexpected costs and delays. The TS60 is the only total station in the market that enables users to work with an angular accuracy of 0.5” and a distance accuracy of 0.6mm + 1ppm. Designed and manufactured to the highest levels of quality, this high-end total station is the best fit for most demanding projects due to its reliability even in the harshest conditions. leica-geosystems.com

Development of NTS- 3 navigation satellite

An experimental navigation satellite being developed by L3Harris for the U.S. Air Force has passed a preliminary design review, clearing the way for the program to move forward. The Navigation Technology Satellite-3 (NTS-3) is an experiment to show that a layer of smaller satellites in geosynchronous Earth orbit could be deployed to supplement the medium Earth orbiting GPS constellation and improve the resiliency of the military’s positioning, navigation and timing capabilities. The Air Force Research Laboratory plans to launch NTS-3 in 2022.

NTS-3 also will be used to develop technologies such as experimental antennas, flexible and secure signals, automation and use of commercial command and control systems. If successful, these technologies would transition to the GPS 3F satellites made by Lockheed Martin, the Air Force said. In September 2018, the Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin a contract for up to 22 GPS 3F satellites. L3Harris in January 2019 received a $243 million award to provide the navigation signals for the first two GPS 3F spacecraft. https://spacenews.com

HERE unveils geodata models

HERE has unveiled HERE Geodata Models to help accelerate the telecommunications industry’s planning and deployment of 5G wireless networks while reducing network planning operational expenses.

It is a highly precise and scalable 3D digital representation of the buildings, trees and roadside objects (e.g. streetlights, utility poles, overpasses, billboards, etc.) making up the physical environment surrounding 5G antennas. The 3D digital representations provide 5G network planners and radio frequency (RF) engineers with the ability to remotely conduct field surveys and precisely plan where to locate 5G antennas in order to create optimal signal coverage. HERE is partnering with multiple industry leaders, including Nokia and Kinetica, to integrate this 3D data into their network planning and design solutions. www.here.com

Juniper systems limited expands to India

Juniper Systems Limited has announced its expansion into India via a new partnership with Elkay India. The alliance fills a need in the Indian surveying, industrial, and energy markets for data loggers and receivers that continue operating in harsh weather conditions.

India is a prime marketplace for Juniper’s products, which continue operating in extreme weather conditions. www.junipersys.com