INDUSTRY

Major Improvements on the Ellipse Series Inertial Sensors from SBG Systems

SBG Systems releases a new version of the Ellipse Series, its popular product line of miniature inertial sensors. The Ellipse has been greatly improved, showing unmatched performance in attitude measurement while adding Galileo constellation to its GNSS receiver.

After thousands of Ellipse miniature inertial sensors operational on the field, SBG Systems proves again its capability of continuous innovation. With major improvements, the Ellipse line of miniature inertial sensors strengthens its position as “best combination of innovation, performance, and reliability” while keeping the same form factor and price level.

Few notable features are

• Amazing Performance: Attitude Accuracy Improved by a Factor of Two

• GNSS Navigation: Ellipse-N Operational with Galileo Satellites

• 2-Year Warranty: The Most Reliable Industrial-grade Sensors

• An Entry-level Solution for Surveying Applications

• Compatibility and Availability

Siemens and Bentley Systems Agree to Jointly Offer Planning and Design Solutions for Utilities

Building on the strategic alliance between Siemens and Bentley Systems that was made public in November 2016, Siemens’ Energy Management Division and Bentley Systems have announced an agreement to jointly develop solutions to accelerate digitalization of planning, design, and operations for power utilities and industrial power customers.

The first of the new offerings will integrate Bentley Systems’ utility design and GIS capabilities with Siemens’ Power System Simulation (PSS) Suite, with specific solutions for power transmission, power distribution, and industrial facilities. Combining these two platforms provides customers with Bentley’s expertise in 3D infrastructure asset modeling and GIS with Siemens’ knowledge and renowned experience in energy system planning and simulation.

Caltrans takes delivery of Riegl INS/GNSS mapper

Caltrans — the California state agency responsible for highway, bridge and rail transportation planning, construction and maintenance — has taken delivery of the new Riegl VMX- 1HA mobile mapping system. The Riegl VMX-1HA is a high-speed, high-performance dual-scanner mobile mapping system.

It provides high performance and dense, accurate and feature-rich data at highway speeds. With two million measurements and five hundred scan lines per second, the turnkey solution is suited for surveygrade mobile mapping applications to meet the standards of departments of transportation nationwide.

The technology of the system comprises two Riegl VUX-1HA high-accuracy waveform lidar sensors and a highperformance INS/GNSS unit, housed in an aerodynamically shaped protective cover.

Ultra-small multi-GNSS module by u-blox

u-blox has announced the launch of ZOEM8G, an ultra-compact GNSS receiver module, especially designed for markets where small size, minimal weight and high location precision are essential. ZOEM8G offers exceptionally high location accuracy by concurrently connecting to GPS, Galileo and either GLONASS or BeiDou. http://www.u-blox.com

Spirent unveils PT TestBench software

Spirent Communications has announced the availability of PT TestBench – software to help technology, system and application developers build more accurate positioning functions more quickly. The testing, analysis and reporting package automates testing of GPS and other GNSS receivers, so higher quality systems are brought to market faster and more reliably.

Until now, there have been no standards for GNSS receiver performance assessment, leaving developers to create test plans themselves from scratch.

Apple adds QZSS support to iPhone 7/7 Plus

Apple has updated its website for the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus in Japan to add support for Quasi Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), a Japanese satellite positioning system that could improve location features for users in the region versus traditional GPS.

While it’s unclear if users are already benefiting from the support for the positioning system, the website for QZSS is also now listing iPhone 7 and 7 Plus as a supported device alongside Apple Watch Series 2. It does note, however, that support is limited specifically to the iPhones sold in Japan. https://9to5mac.com

Satellite Interference Geolocation Service launched

Austria-based Siemens Convergence Creators has announced its new Satellite Geolocation Service, designed to enable satellite and service operators to localize satellite signal interference worldwide. For satellite operators and users, including the GNSS community, the ability to rapidly identify and mitigate interference — intentional or not — is crucial to protecting the core functionality of their assets and service operations.

According to a statement by the European Space Agency (ESA), which supported the development of the geolocation system, SIECAMS ILS ONE works by analyzing the signal distortions primarily caused by satellite movement, atmospheric, or weather infl uences and other environmental factors. By comparing such signal distortions of the interference signal with known signals, ILS ONE is able to identify the precise location of the interference source.

Raytheon’s GPS OCX completes factory qualification

Raytheon’s GPS Next-Generation Operational Control System, or GPS OCX, completed its factory qualification test.

The GPS OCX is a project under development for the U.S. Air Force with the aim of enhancing navigation capabilities for military and civilian users. Raytheon officials say reaching factory qualification puts the project closer to meeting Air Force requirements.The GPS OCX’s factory qualification follows a number of other milestones for the program in 2016, including successful Critical Design Review for hardware development, LCS component-level qualification testing, and risk-reduction testing for ground system software. http://www.upi.com

ODOT Deploys DT Research Purposebuilt GNSS Rugged Tablets

California-based DT Research announced on January 9 the successful deployment of the DT391GS Rugged GNSS Tablets for the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT).

The DT391GS tablets with Intel Celeron Dual Core Processors are used as Inspector Positioning Tablets with the critical hardware and software needed for line and grade determination on stakeless highway construction projects.

The tablet comes with four GNSS module options including two from Hemisphere GNSS and two from Trimble. The GNSS options are:

• Hemisphere single frequency GNSS module (P103) with embedded antenna.

• Hemisphere dual frequency GNSS module (P303) with embedded antenna.

• Trimble single frequency GNSS module (BD910) with embedded antenna

• Trimble triple frequency GNSS module (BD930) with embedded antenna:

ODOT wanted to embrace the growing trend in highway construction sites to go “stakeless” and forego physical stakes by using modern Automated Machine Guidance (AMG) applications on jobsites to determine line and grade when building or fixing stretches of road.

Hexagon Safety & Infrastructure launches new police analytics software

Hexagon Safety & Infrastructure has launched its web-based crime mapping and analysis application, Intergraph InSight Explorer, which will empower the agencies to discover, analyze and visualize complete crime, incident and operational data.

With richer insight and clearer presentation of complex information, agencies can uncover trends and patterns that assist investigations and improve the allocation of resources. Intergraph InSight Explorer allows analysts to search through and interpret large volumes of unstructured and structured data to make more informed decisions. The application displays data in map and tabular format with interactive widgets, charts and filters for indepth analysis. It also speeds up the investigative process by allowing detectives and investigators to perform simple analysis, freeing analysts to concentrate on the most demanding tasks.

Trimble introduces new water add meters and drum rotation sensor

Trimble recently introduced its new Water Add Meters (WAM) and an upgraded Drum Rotation Sensor for ready mix construction fleets. “These solutions will enable fl eets to not only improve how they monitor the quality and consistency of their ready mix product but will also help them to streamline equipment troubleshooting and maintenance,” said Jeff Van Grootel, director of product management for Trimble Construction Logistics. The new WAM300 and WAM350 are designed to accurately measure and control the amount of water added to specific concrete mixes.

Hexagon, RapidSOS partner to provide accurate location from smartphone users

Hexagon Safety & Infrastructure and RapidSOS have partnered to provide public safety agencies that use Hexagon’s Intergraph Computer- Aided Dispatch (I/CAD) with accurate location and additional data from the RapidSOS NG911 Clearinghouse. With this partnership, the Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) working with Hexagon will be able to harness data from the RapidSOS Clearinghouse — including accurate handset location from all smartphone location sensors.

Millions of smartphones and other connected devices transmit precise device-based hybrid location and additional data to the RapidSOS Clearinghouse when a 9-1-1 call or other request for emergency is made. Through the RapidSOS integration, I/CAD users will be able to query the RapidSOS Clearinghouse when a wireless call is received to retrieve supplementary location and additional data through NG9-1-1 delivery mechanisms.