Industry

INDUSTRY | LBS | GPS | GIS | REMOTE SENSING | GALILEO UPDATE

Trimble’s LaserAce™ 1000 rangefinder

Trimble has introduced the new Trimble® LaserAce™ 1000 rangefinder, an easy-to-use handheld measurement tool combining a laser distance meter, digital inclinometer, sighting scope and Bluetooth® wireless technology. The new rangefinder expands Trimble’s portfolio by seamlessly integrating with its Geographic Information System (GIS) data collection solutions.
www.trimble.com/laserace.

Trimble to buy Ashtech

Trimble entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held Ashtech S.A.S., headquartered in Carquefou, France, and its affiliates. The acquisition is expected to expand Trimble’s Spectra Precision portfolio of survey solutions and allow the company to better address emerging markets worldwide. Closing of the transaction, anticipated in the second quarter, is subject to certain closing conditions.
www.trimble.com

Swiss Meteorological Network upgrades with precision GNSS positioning

As part of a major upgrade and renewal of the Swiss Metrological Network of weather stations, the Swiss Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology, MeteoSwiss, is employing an Ashtech® ProMark™ 500, smart GNSS receiver, to measure to centimetre-level accuracy the position of each of its more than 1,100 sensors located at 135 stations throughout the country. The enhanced accuracy of the instrument positions leads to an improvement in MeteoSwiss products, especially solar radiation measurement, by improving the horizon definition; and atmospheric pressure measurements by providing an accurate altitude.
www.ashtech.com

Hungarian Chamber of Agriculture recommends Ashtech MobileMapper CX

The Hungarian Chamber of Agriculture (HCA), a public national agricultural informational and advisory service assisting Hungarian agricultural producers, has recommended that Hungarian farmers purchase MobileMapper® CX, GPS/GIS receivers to measure and calculate the size of land parcels they farm. The recommendation was made following HCA tests of several competing brands. The HCA, which purchased and tested ten MobileMapper CX receivers for its own use, determined the MobileMapper CX GIS/GPS handheld was best suited to meet the needs of local farmers.
www.ashtech.com

Ashtech teams up with GeoSam Oy

Ashtech teamed up with GeoSam Oy, a newly-formed Finnish distributor of global positioning and surveying equipment, to represent Ashtech machine control, GIS, GNSS and GPS products. Through this Finnish partner, Ashtech aims to build a strong distribution channel in the Scandinavian countries. GeoSam Oy will market the Ashtech MobileMapper 100, the ProMark 100/200/500 series and the ProFlex product series.
www.ashtech.com

Ashtech Announces the ProFlex 500 with NTRIP Caster

Ashtech has announced release of version 3.5 firmware for the ProFlex™ 500 GNSS receiver that includes a powerful NTRIP Caster to enable surveyors, municipalities, mining, engineering and agricultural operations to easily implement and control their own very cost-effective and secure corrections network via NTRIP protocol. Ashtech dealers are also expected to take advantage of the new Caster feature to setup their own service network for their customers.
www.ashtech.com.

Topcon to track GLONASS K1 satellite signals

Within an hour of the first signal emanating from the new GLONASS K1 satellite on April 7, Topcon Positioning Systems (TPS) engineers were tracking the satellite’s L1 and L2 signals. TPS receivers tracked the new code division multiple access (CDMA) L3 signals the same day.
www.topcon.com

Septentrio AsteRx3 Receiver Tracks First GLONASS CDMA Signal on L3

An AsteRx3 successfully tracked the CDMA L3 signal of the first GLONASS K1 satellite during the weekend of April 10. The AsteRx3 was able to provide a full set of user-level measurements (code, phase, Doppler and C/N0). The GLONASS Information Analytical Center announced on April 7 that the experimental navigation signals of the first GLONASS K1 satellite would be activated. Shortly after this announcement, Dr Tom Willems, a senior GNSS engineer of the signal tracking expert team at Septentrio, succeeded in acquiring the signal with the AsteRx3 receiver.
www.septentrio.com.

C-Nav launches new C-NavC2 full constellation GNSS correction services

C-Nav, the supplier of GNSS Precise Point Positioning services, has released a second independent full constellation (GPS + GLONASS) GNSS correction service called C-NavC2 . C-Nav customers now benefit from two independent and orbit correction messages produced by two independent processing hubs as well as two independent satellite networks, Net-1 and Net-2. C-NavC2 features include GLONASS and a GPS (GNSS) clock, as well as orbit correctors (Galileo and COMPASS planned).
It provides a fully independent suite of clock and orbit correction algorithms, and fully independent servers in geographically separated processing centers.
www.oilpubs.com/

NovAtel and Raven team up

NovAtel Inc., and Raven Industries have announced a new strategic partnership that will see NovAtel’s industry leading Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning technology integrated into Raven’s comprehensive line of precision agriculture products. The convergence of these two industry innovators is expected to drive new growth opportunities for both companies, and benefit customers by achieving further efficiencies in their agricultural operations.

Leica FPES v10.2

Leica Geosystems announced version 10.2 of Flight Planning & Evaluation Software (FPES). Many existing features have been enhanced and new productive features have been added to make Leica FPES v10.2 the most productive tool for cost-effective flights, according to the company’s press statement.
Leica FPES v10.2 offers the most advanced functionality and highest efficiency in flight planning for all Leica Geosystems airborne sensors to ensure seamless workflow, but also supports other airborne frame, line or on/off sensors. The company claims that it is is the first step in powering geospatial imaging.

4DMax Invest in the latest Leica High-Definition SurveyingTM Technology

UK based 4DMax, a leading company in the film, TV, visual FX and Forensic 3D data capture market has recently purchased the latest Leica High-Definition SurveyingTM (HDS) ScanStation C10 to enhance its 3D data capture services.
www.leica-geosystems.com

Magellan introduces a rugged handheld GPS for GIS professionals

Magellan has announced it’s re-entering the GIS market with the eXplorist Pro 10, a rugged, lightweight and waterproof GPS handheld device specifically designed for GPS/GIS data collection. Featuring a vibrant 3-inch, WQVGA transflective color touchscreen, 533MHz processor and 128MB RAM, the eXplorist Pro 10 packs the power needed to work with maps and large data sets into a compact-handheld form factor. It comes with 4GB of onboard storage and is expandable with up to 32GB via microSDHC card slot, enabling large data sets such as aerial photos to be loaded easily.
www.magellangps.com

Geneq introduces the Smallest GPS L1/L2 OmniSTAR® receiver in the World

Geneq has introduced the smallest GPS L1/L2 OmniSTAR receiver in the world. The SXBlue III-L is designed to use OmniSTAR’s HP service to attain decimeter accuracy in all regions of the world including North/South America, Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East reinforcing Geneq’s “Go Real-time, All the Time” strategy.
Measuring 14.cm (5.57”) x 8.0cm (3.15”) x 5.6cm (2.22”) and weighing slightly over a pound (1.14lbs, 517g) including battery, the SXBlue III-L GPS is the smallest and lightest GPS L1/L2 OmniSTAR receiver being produced in the world today.
www.sxbluegps.com.

Bentley Map V8i Is now offered in three editions

Bentley Systems has announced the release of Bentley Map V8i (SELECTseries 2), the only desktop GIS software for infrastructure that is intrinsically 3D. Used worldwide by designers, engineers, and geospatial professionals who map, plan, design, build, and operate the world’s infrastructure, Bentley Map serves as a fully featured, universal GIS platform supporting the creation, persistence, maintenance, analysis, and sharing of 2D and 3D geospatial information. The V8i (SELECTseries 2) release provides new time-saving, productivity-enhancing functionality that further reduces costs and risks of geospatial data sharing across infrastructure projects and enterprises.
www.bentley.com/500.

‘viaEuropa for PSMA’ service to benefit public sector map users

Europa Technologies has launched a hosted mapping service to deliver time and cost savings to benefit government organisations across England and Wales. viaEuropa for PSMA is a new online DaaS (Data as a Service) offering that brings high-quality cartography direct to the desktop, web and mobile devices. The service bridges the gap between raw data and fit-for-purpose mapping.