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INDUSTRY | LBS | GNSS | GIS | IMAGING | GALILEO UPDATE

Nikon NivoTM 5M total station chosen for aircraft leveling

One of the world’s most successful military training aircraft, the PZL- 130 TC Orlik, manufactured by EADS PZL “Warszawa-Okecie” S.A., is now being leveled with the aid of a Nikon Nivo 5M total station. Aircraft leveling, both longitudinal (forward and aft) and lateral (left to right), is performed in the final stages of assembly. Accurate leveling of the aircraft on the ground is required before precise alignment and symmetry checks can be performed to confirm that the geometry of the aircraft is to specification.

Prior to using the Nikon Nivo total station, leveling was accomplished with a theodolite and precision leveling rod. The theodolite system was very easy to use, but distances could not be measured, and it required manually calculating the height differences and calculation errors and manually entering the values into a computer.

Leica Viva GS14 Compact GNSS Receiver

Leica Geosystems expands its Viva portfolio with the Leica Viva GS14 GNSS receiver. It has a compact light-weight design with integrated communication devices and is flexible to be deployed in any situation. Together with the most reliable GNSS RTK, the Leica Viva GS14 delivers complete confidence and knowledge in results. This combination makes the Leica Viva GS14 one of the most convenient high-performance GNSS receiver. www.leica-geosystems.com

Trimble and Bentley Create Strategic Alliance

Bentley Systems and Trimble have announced a strategic alliance to further the connection between the virtual and physical environments for infrastructure projects. This alliance will establish a new benchmark for construction and operations quality, efficiency, and safety. www.bentley.com

NovAtel New SPAN® MEMS Enclosed Receiver, Pinwheel OEM GNSS antenna NovAtel has recently released SPAN® MEMS Enclosed Receiver, Pinwheel OEM GNSS antenna. Mr Jason Hamilton, Director of Marketing at NovAtel shares his views on the same Which receivers can support NovAtel SPAN® technology? Our OEM615, OEM628, FlexPak6, SPAN-MPPC and SPAN-SE GNSS receivers all support SPAN. What are the functions of NovAtel’s IMU enclosure, slated as the lightest and smallest? The SPAN MEMS Enclosed Receiver targets unmanned airborne and land base vehicle system integration markets. Its light weight and small foot print make it ideal for applications such as these that have size and weight restrictions. As with all other SPAN products, the SPAN MEMS Enclosed Receiver can provide exceptional position, velocity and attitude determination under challenging GNSS conditions. What are the optional addons that can be added to the FlexPak6 that houses the new OEM6 Receiver Board? There is an optional HD15 pin breakout cable that customer can purchase to add-on to the FlexPak6 receiver. Via this cable customers can have easy access to Ethernet, CAN Bus and the traditional I/O signals (PPS, Event markers, VARF, PV, Error and Position Valid pins). What supporting and alternate products are required by the IMU enclosure? The SPAN MEMS Enclosure Receiver is a combined GNSS + IMU product and requires a GNSS antenna only. It belongs to the same family as our popular single-enclosure SPAN-CPT system. If customers are looking for OEM solutions, they can purchase standalone receiver boards and the OEM version of our MEMS IMU. The MEMS enclosure can also be paired with an external receiver such as the FlexPak6 to take advantage of our NovAtel ALIGN feature while having continuous position, velocity and attitude information from our SPAN MEMS Enclosure. How easy is the FlexPak6 to integrate? The translucent design of the FlexPak6 allows users to view internal status LEDs for easy diagnosis, while a wide input voltage range and an array of interface options including Ethernet, Serial, USB and CAN Bus permit quick and simple integration. The lightweight form factor makes it ideal for weight and power sensitive applications. What are the core functions of the new Pinwheel® OEM GNSS antenna? The Pinwheel OEM is a GNSS antenna module that receives L1 + L2 GLONASS, E1 Galileo and L-band correction service signals. Our Pinwheel technology is recognized for its superior multipath rejection and highly stable phase center. The Pinwheel OEM makes this technology available in a component modular form, providing choke ring like performance without the cumbersome size and weight. The Pinwheel OEM GNSS antenna module enables quick integration into OEM manufacturers’ own custom designed or branded products

Trimble Dimensions 2012: Transform the way the world works Trimble 6th international users conference was held on 5 – 7 November in Las Vegas, USA. It was attended by more than 3,500 registered attendees from 80 countries around the world. The Trimble Dimensions 2012 conference theme—Transform the Way the World Works—provided insight into how information technologies can redefine the way professionals work to achieve success. The conference explored the use of technology in a wide range of applications including heavy civil construction, building construction, survey, cadastral, geospatial, infrastructure, mapping and GIS, transportation and logistics, field service management, energy, utilities, natural resources and government. Attendees had the opportunity to network with key industry leaders, build partnerships, develop new contacts, discuss opportunities and discover how to overcome obstacles in today?s competitive business environment. With more than 480 sessions, the conference focused on increasing productivity in the field and the office by revolutionizing work processes. The conference included an off-site demonstration and training area plus a Partner Pavilion that showcased the complete suite of Trimble construction, survey, engineering, aerial and mobile mapping, railway, transportation and logistics, field service, mapping, GIS, utilities, mobile computing, agriculture, forestry and infrastructure solutions. Highlighted solutions and technologies included GNSS; total stations; field computing and data collection; 3D scanning; pre-design construction planning; machine control: 3D visualization; Building Information Modeling (BIM); construction project management; aerial and mobile mapping; wireless communications; data transfer; field and office software; and smart grid applications. In addition, technology providers who are Trimble partners participated to extend the conferences range of products and applications. The conference also included sessions that qualify for Professional Development Hour (PDH) credits. http://www.trimble.com

Integrate GPS Signals with your Motion Testing and Simulation

The Real-Time Scenario Generation (RSG™) option for Spectracom GPS/ GNS simulators supports high-end motion simulation systems. It allows the input of real time trajectory data from external devices or software via commands which support setting position, velocity, acceleration, orientation, or heading independently. This allows for external control of all or some of these parameters depending on simulation needs or capabilities.

Emapsite int div wins Malawi schools mapping contract

The international consultancy arm of a top UK mapping services provider has won a major government contract in Malawi. Emapsite’s international division will deliver a nationwide data capture and GIS project to help with the planning of schools across the African democracy’s 34 education districts. It involves the linking of GIS resources with education data such as catchment areas, enrolments, learner-teacher ratios and classroom sizes. www.emapsite.com/saudi/en.

QPS Bundles Esri Technology for Bathymetric, Charting, and Survey Solution

Quality Positioning Services (QPS) has signed an OEM agreement with Esri. The agreement enables QPS to bundle its QINSy and Fledermaus products with Esri software and provide a complete hydrographic survey, data management, and charting solution.

Using LabSat in the absence of GPS

In urban environments satellite visibility can be disrupted. Entering tunnels, or accessing inner-city ‘canyons’, can lead to a clear view of the sky being lost, with navigation devices subsequently providing inaccurate or distorted readings. To tackle this, LabSat have developed a multi-GNSS record and replay system capable of logging and applying digital data. By using signals taken from an inertial measurement device and wheel speed sensors, LabSat is able to replicate vehicle movement using an integrated turntable. www.labsat.co.uk

Intergraph® leverages Leica Geosystems’ TruView

Intergraph® has introduced a Leica TruView Integrator for SmartPlant® Enterprise as well as offline mobile device support for SmartPlant® Enterprise for Owner Operators (SPO). It enables end-users to use photorealistic and intelligent TruView laser scans as an intuitive portal to access all plant information and documentation in SmartPlant Foundation. inspection and equipment isolation in online and offline mode. http://www. hexagon.com/en/spo-truview.htm.

UltraMap v3.0 by Microsoft

The Microsoft UltraCam business unit announces the release of UltraMap v3.0, the first fully integrated endto-end photogrammetric workflowsystem for UltraCam images.

GeoEye and JSI Support Japanese Government with EyeQ

GeoEye, Inc. has partnered with the Japan Space Imaging Corporation (JSI), a Mitsubishi Corporation subsidiary, to provide a major Japanese ministry with access to comprehensive high-resolution satellite imagery of all of Japan through GeoEye’s EyeQ™ platform. Under the agreement, JSI will use EyeQ to provide Japanese ministry analysts with on-line, on-demand access to the GeoEye- and JSI-owned satellite imagery covering Japan. JSI will manage the flow of online product to the ministry to ensure that ministry analysts receive imagery on-demand and they are able to view the data through Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) services as part of their work flow process. www.geoeye.com