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Flirtey, a pioneer of the commercial drone delivery, has unveiled the Flirtey Eagle, along with a video of the next-generation delivery drone performing consumer and automated external defibrillator (AED) deliveries to homes.

Flirtey’s system is designed to safely get packages to customers with the delivery goal of less than 10 minutes using drones.

Along with the Flirtey Eagle, the aircraft designer and manufacturer unveiled the Flirtey Portal, a sophisticated takeoff and landing platform that enables scalable store-to-door operations. Also part of the system is an autonomous software platform that enables drones to deliver safely to American homes.

Flirtey said it is on course to conduct drone deliveries to U.S. homes as early as 2019.

Here are highlights of the UAV’s technology.

• Flirtey’s aircraft is designed to operate in 95% of wind and weather conditions, making it highly reliable for flight.
• The Flirtey Eagle is designed to fit 75% of packages that get delivered to its customers’ homes during last-mile deliveries.
• The Flirtey Eagle safely and precisely delivers its contents by lowering a tether, while the drone is suspended in air, and once the package is delivered, it then retracts the tether.
• Flirtey’s aircraft is controlled by its autonomous software platform, which has received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval for the first multi-drone delivery operation in the United States, enabling a single remote pilot to simultaneously oversee ten Flirtey drones.
• Flirtey’s Portal is a sophisticated takeoff and landing platform that fits into one parking space, making its infrastructure easily scalable to the company’s partners for store-to-door delivery.

Flirtey’s drone delivery technology has been developed from the ground up, originating from NASA’s drone program. Flirtey Founder and CEO Matthew Sweeny has brought together a team of aviation industry veterans from NASA, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and SpaceX, as well as military veterans from the army, navy, and air force.

“We expect Flirtey’s advanced drone delivery system will become the industry standard in America,” said Matthew Sweeny, Flirtey founder and CEO. “Flirtey’s latest technology makes life-saving and commercial drone delivery to homes in the United States an imminent reality.”

The Flirtey Eagle builds upon the advanced technologies developed for Flirtey’s previous generation aircraft that conducted the first Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-approved drone delivery in the United States, which is going on display alongside the Wright Flyer in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Flirtey’s goal is to not only meet, but to surpass the rigorous safety standards of the FAA. Flirtey’s regulatory approvals include:

• Approval to conduct multi-drone delivery operations, enabling a single remote pilot to simultaneously oversee 10 Flirtey drones
• Approval to conduct drone delivery flights beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), enabling Flirtey to conduct drone delivery operations with a pilot controlling the flights from a remote location
• Approval to conduct drone delivery flights at night, making drone delivery accessible at any time

Flirtey and the City of Reno were chosen for the FAA and Department of Transportation’s Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Integration Pilot Program (IPP). Within the IPP, Flirtey and the City of Reno have partnered with REMSA, local emergency medical services provider, to deliver AEDs to those in need. Flirtey’s AED delivery technology has the potential to save 150,000 lives per year, the company said.

Based on demand from customers, Flirtey expects demand initially to outstrip supply. Flirtey’s drone delivery system was designed from the outset to meet the anticipated high demand.

Updated GSS9000 Series takes a bow, joining range of test solutions on show

Spirent Communications will unveil its enhanced GSS9000 Series GNSS constellation simulator at ION GNSS+ 2019 in Miami, which will take place Sept. 16–20. It joins Spirent’s already impressive range of test solutions on display at the world’s largest showcase of GNSS technology, products and services.

“The industry is at a very important point,” said Spirent Marketing Director Steve Hickling. “With the volume of GNSS signals growing, more multi-constellation receivers being developed every day, and the need for greater precision increasing all the time, it’s vital that testing solutions are able to stay ahead of this reality. This is why we’re excited to demonstrate the enhanced GSS9000 Series at ION.”

The GSS9000 Series constellation simulator has been improved with enriched features and enhanced capabilities combined with an increased channel capacity. Most importantly, this greater flexibility, coherence, fidelity, performance, accuracy and reliability is maintained under all test conditions.

At ION, Spirent (booth E) will also be showing its GSS6450 — the highly portable 16-bit RF record and playback system — and the GSS7000 series multi-frequency, multi-GNSS RF simulation solution. Visitors can also learn more about Spirent’s realistic multipath and obscuration simulation tool, the new Sim3D.

Spirent’s expertise will also be demonstrated during three ION GNSS+ speaking panels:

1. “Simulating Realistic Ionospheric Scintillation of GPS Signals for Robust PNT Testing,” presented by Spirent’s Talini Pinto Jayawardena
2. “Development of Array Receivers with Anti-Jamming and Anti-Spoofing Capabilities with Help of Multi-Antenna GNSS Signal Simulators,” presented by German Aerospace Center’s Andriy Konovaltsev
3. “Robust and Resilient PNT in Autonomous systems — the Need for the Development and Testing of Both Offensive and Defensive Technology,” reserve paper to be presented by Spirent CAV software engineer Felix Krefft

For more information about Spirent at ION GNSS+ 2019, visit this page.

“Seen & Heard” is a monthly feature of GPS World magazine, traveling the world to capture interesting and unusual news stories involving the GNSS/PNT industry.

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Batman only wishes he had one

New miniature GPS “backpacks” are making it possible to track tiny desert bats, providing insight into their lives. Tiny 1-g GPS tags showed University of Helsinki researchers that Africa’s yellow-winged bats struggle during dry periods. The species is one of the few desert bats large enough to carry the tag. Researchers placed GPS trackers on 29 bats, 15 in the rainy season and 14 in the dry season, for one week each, and recorded their positions every 30 to 60 minutes each night.

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The wheels on the bus need GPS

All New York City public school buses will provide GPS tracking by the first day of class this fall. The city has teamed up with Via to install the equipment and provide an app for real-time tracking of the nearly 10,000 buses. The city council approved the tracking program after a sudden snowstorm in November 2018 left buses stranded in traffic for hours, and parents couldn’t reach their kids.

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Keep on truckin’

Shipping company UPS is investing in autonomous deliveries, specifically in TuSimple, a robot-trucking startup. UPS is testing self-driving tractor trailers on a route between Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, to help it understand requirements for Level 4 autonomous trucking. TuSimple completed a two-week pilot with the U.S. Postal Service in May, hauling mail between Phoenix and Dallas. All TuSimple trucks operate with two technicians in the cab, with the aim to operate without drivers within two years.

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A+ for GPS Cows

High-school students interested in agricultural professions can now learn about the use of GPS for monitoring livestock, and even make their own GPS collars. The collaborative GPS Cows program brings together industry researchers, professionals and educators from the U.S. and Australia. GPS Cows is fighting the misperception that ag-focused students don’t need digital literacy, and is engaging them in agri-tech, specifically tools and systems that provide animal location and behavior data.

The Javelin Joint Venture team, a partnership of Raytheon Company and Lockheed Martin, successfully fired Javelin missiles from a Kongsberg remote launcher mounted on a Titan unmanned ground vehicle built by QinetiQ North America and Milrem Robotics.

The demonstrations, conducted at the U.S. Army Redstone Test Center, Alabama, validated the integration of the weapon station, missile and vehicle.

“Javelin is ready to support emerging military robotic vehicle requirements,” said Sam Deneke, Raytheon Land Warfare Systems vice president. “Remotely operated technology like this protects soldiers in battle.”

Javelin has been fielded on the Common Remote Operations Weapon Station-Javelin across U.S. Army Stryker 8×8 vehicle brigades in Europe.

“Javelin offers true fire-and-forget engagements to 4 kilometers in most operational conditions,” said David Pantano, Javelin Joint Venture vice president and Lockheed Martin Javelin program director. “Once the launch command is issued, soldiers and vehicle assets like the UGV can reposition out of harm’s way. These tests demonstrated our ability to evolve Javelin capabilities to address new missions in support of the warfighter.”

Javelin is a versatile one-man-portable and platform-employed anti-tank and multi-target precision weapon system. The Javelin Joint Venture team has produced more than 45,000 Javelin missiles and 12,000 command launch units. The program continually updates the system to stay ahead of advancing threats, including enhancing its platform-mounted capabilities.

U.S. and coalition forces have used Javelin extensively in Afghanistan and Iraq in more than 5,000 engagements.

Japan-based IP-Solutions has introduced Portos Team, a new GNSS RF signal record-and-playback system.

The Portos Team can record and play back — or simulate —multi-frequency, multi-system GNSS signals when paired with the company’s Replicator. It can do the same for  CRPA signals when paired with the Ninja (see photo).

The Portos itself can also operate as multi-frequency or CRPA front-end for a GNSS software receiver.

The high-end Ninja simulator allows for multi-antenna controlled radiation pattern antenna (CRPA) and local-area augmentation system (LAAS) simulation.

The 24-channel Replicator — developed in collaboration with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) — provides real-time generation of GNSS signals, recording and playback of dual-frequency GNSS RF signals, and GNSS RF signal analysis with JAXA COSMODE ionospheric scintillation monitor.

Learn more from iP Solutions here.

A sonar survey, camera and sensor data of the world’s largest marine sinkhole is shining light on sea level and climate change over 100,000 years.

From Nov. 27 to Dec. 13, 2018, the Blue Hole Belize Expedition mapped the sinkhole. Led by Aquatica Submarines, the team of scientists, explorers and film makers included Virgin ’s Sir Richard Branson and Fabien Cousteau, grandson of the conservationist Jacques Cousteau.
Kongsberg used both surface and submarine-mounted sonar equipment.

Sonar expert Mark Atherton from Kongsberg’s Canadian subsidiary Kongsberg Mesotech was a key member of the science-based sonar and scientific data collection team. Atherton operated the sonars aboard the Research Vessel Brooks McCall, contributing to an invaluable high-resolution map of the entire sinkhole.

“By understanding the geological history and geometric structure at the Blue Hole we can contribute new data to the global scientific community studying sinkholes and cenotes,” he said.

Aquatica Submarine’s Stingray 500 submarine was used for sonar surveying, filming and dives. The team conducted more than 20 dives into the large sinkhole, taking videos and 3D images during each trip. They also completed a two-hour live broadcast featured on The Discovery Channel.

A key outcome of the Expedition is creation of a complete 3D sonar map of the Blue Hole. The sonar map is enhanced with other passive submarine-collected environmental data. Once processed and collated, the data will be shared with the Government of Belize and the larger global scientific community as a legacy from the expedition.

The number of Galileo-enabled smartphones in use has soared to 1 billion in just 3 years.

News from the European GNSS Agency

The estimated number of Galileo-enabled smartphones in use has reached one billion. This significant milestone has been achieved in the week when the European GNSS Agency (GSA), responsible for operation of the Galileo programme, celebrates its 15th anniversary.

The company BQ pioneered Galileo use in smartphones with its Aquaris X5 Plus in July 2016. Since then, market uptake of Galileo-enabled smartphones has been rapid as other manufacturers were quick to embrace the opportunities that Galileo offers.

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Global annual GNSS receiver shipments are forecast to grow from 1.8 billion units in 2019 to 2.7 billion units in 2029.

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Currently, 156 Galileo-enabled smartphone models available on the market. The “1 billion users” milestone is based on the number of smartphones using Galileo sold across the world. The actual number of Galileo users around the world is much larger. You can track which devices, including smartphones, are Galileo-enabled on the UseGalileo.eu site.

Today, 95% of companies that produce smartphone chips for satellite navigation make chips that enable Galileo. According to figures in the latest GSA GNSS Market Report, which is to be published soon, global annual GNSS receiver shipments are forecast to grow continuously across the next decade, from 1.8 billion units in 2019 to 2.7 billion units in 2029. Most of these shipments are for receivers costing less than €5, and 90% of receivers in this price segment are used in smartphones and wearables.

“Galileo is now providing high quality timing and navigation services to 1 billion smartphone users globally,” said Elżbieta Bieńkowska, commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs. “This has been made possible by a truly European effort to build the most accurate navigation system in the world, with the support and dedication of the GSA. I am confident that our space industry will continue to thrive with more work, ideas and investment under the new EU Space Programme.”

“One billion smartphone users is a significant milestone and a major achievement for the Galileo programme and for the GSA,” said GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides. “The GSA has worked tirelessly to build bridges with research and industry and create a strong community of service providers who trust Galileo and understand the technological innovation opportunities it brings.

“Chipset and receiver manufacturers in particular have been quick to leverage Galileo’s outstanding performance,” des Dorides said. “These manufacturers believed in Galileo from the beginning, when Galileo was still an idea, and invested in the technology. It is thanks to them and the unique blend of expertise and knowledge of the GSA team that we are now celebrating 1 billion Galileo-enabled smartphones.”

News from the European GNSS Agency

The European GNSS Agency (GSA) hosted a special event on Sept. 10 to mark the 15th anniversary of its creation. The agency was set up as the European GNSS Supervisory Authority in 2004 to oversee the development of the European space programmes EGNOS and Galileo.

GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides welcomed special guests to the GSA’s Prague headquarters to celebrate the event, including European Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska, Czech Transport Minister Vladimir Kremlik, French Space Agency (CNES) President and GSA Administrative Board Chair Jean-Yves Le Gall and European Space Agency Director General Jan Woerner, in addition to other EGNOS and Galileo stakeholders.

“Over the last 15 years, the GSA has become one of the key players in building Europe’s independent capacity in satellite navigation,” said Commissioner Bieńkowska, responsible for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs. While participating in the celebrations, the commissioner also presided over another historic milestone for both the Galileo programme and the GSA — the countdown to the 1 billionth Galileo-enabled smartphone sold.

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“GSA has been at the heart of the EGNOS and Galileo programmes over the past 15 years.” — Carlo des Dorides.

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Linking space to user needs

GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides said: “It is an honour and a great pleasure to celebrate this important milestone with representatives from all our stakeholders – the Commission, users, industry and other institutional bodies. Their presence here clearly shows that the GSA is delivering on its mission– linking space to user needs”.

“15 years ago, no one imagined how far the GSA and the EU satellite navigation systems EGNOS and Galileo would go. Now, no one can imagine Europe without Galileo and EGNOS, or Galileo and EGNOS without Europe. The GSA has been at the heart of these two programmes, accelerating progress in service provision, market uptake and guaranteeing operation security over the past 15 years. All that has been accomplished has been made possible thanks to the unique blend of expertise, dedication and commitment of the GSA’s staff,” des Dorides said.

Speaking at the event, GSA Administrative Board Chair Jean-Yves Le Gall said: “Today thanks to the European Union’s impressive investment, the European Space Agency’s technical expertise and the GSA’s outstanding commitment, Galileo is offering the best localization available worldwide. The range of applications is vast. This is structuring our economy and the implementation of the public policies to ensure that European companies are taking full advantage of these fantastic services.”

Czech Transport Minister Vladimir Kremlik noted the importance to the Czech capital of hosting the EU agency. “It has been fifteen years of hard work and continual development. By chance it is also seven years since the seat of GSA has been relocated from Brussels to Prague. I am very proud, that the Czech Republic is the hosting country of the seat of such an important European agency with real global reach,” the minister said.

Looking to the future

Galileo will soon reach its Full Operational Capability, a phase that will require new governance to comply with benchmarked standards for the management of operational satellite services. It was with this in mind that the European Parliament and the Council agreed on a new EU Space Programme Regulation establishing the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) as the successor to the GSA.

“In the new governance the Commission will continue to be responsible for managing the overall programme. The GSA, to be renamed the ‘EU Agency for the Space Programme,’ will increasingly support the exploitation and market uptake of EU space activities and play an increased role in ensuring the security of all programme components. The intergovernmental European Space Agency (ESA), given its expertise, will remain a major partner in the technical implementation of the EU space programme,” des Dorides said.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency (GSA) have signed an agreement to cooperate on supporting investment in the European space-based service economy.

The signing took place in Prague, Czech Republic, during the celebration to mark the 15th anniversary of GSA.

To explore new investment support for the European space-based economy, the EIB and GSA are bringing together their expertise and experience. The common objective is to create high-skill jobs in the EU and improve the day-to-day lives of Europeans by supporting innovative companies and accelerating the development of new applications that use European global navigation satellite systems and earth observation data. These applications could be used to ensure smooth navigation, such as in search-and-rescue operations to save lives, for observing crops, and in precision farming to reduce the need for fertilizers and pesticides.

“Space is the final frontier, and there is a new worldwide ambition in reaching it. The EU’s global competitors and new private actors are investing heavily in the space sector. At the same time, new disruptive technologies and business models are emerging and changing the playing field,” said EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle, who is responsible for innovation. “We need to make sure that Europe stays in the game. That is why we are particularly enthusiastic about this agreement with GSA. It is an important step to develop further support for European space entrepreneurs and businesses to eventually give them and the EU a competitive edge in this new space race.”

“Our expertise in market intelligence for satellite navigation and in supporting new business opportunities — thanks to EGNOS and Galileo — is the basis of our agreement with the EIB,” said Carlo des Dorides, GSA Executive Director. “We are confident that our cooperation will bring the extra added value required by entrepreneurs to transform their application businesses into globally successful companies.”

A changing space sector

The global space economy has been evolving rapidly in recent years. On average it has grown by 6.7% per year over the last 10 years, which is almost twice the 3.5% average yearly growth of the global economy. This growth has been partially driven by the US, China and other countries that have developed new ambitious space missions.

The main driver, however, has been the “New Space” phenomenon: a number of technological and business model innovations that have introduced new products and services and reduced the cost of accessing and using space.

The transformation of the space economy has seen new space companies investing over EUR 14.8 billion since 2000, with a fast accelerating trend: total investment in space companies grew by a factor of 3.5 in 2012–2017 compared with the previous six-year period. Moreover, US-based investors dominate the field accounting for around two thirds of the 400+ worldwide investors in space companies.

Historically, Europe has always been at the forefront of publicly-funded space exploration, investing massively in space infrastructures such as the Copernicus and Galileo satellite programmes. Europe still boasts academic and scientific excellence but risks missing the next wave of space innovation unless it seizes the opportunity to stimulate more private investment in the new space sector.

According to a recent EIB and European Commission study on the future of the European space sector, European space entrepreneurs feel there is a lack of private financing sources, particularly for late-stage investments. They therefore tend to keep an eye on private capital outside the EU, especially in the US.

In this context, European public innovation instruments play an essential role in unlocking private capital for the space sector. 40% of the European companies surveyed seek public funding, which serves as a seal of approval in the market, as a precondition for further private investment.

As George Bernard Shaw said, “Progress is impossible without change.” Our industry is a great example of that. We have grown from a single GPS service to multiple GNSS constellations, to today’s increasing integration of GNSS solutions with other positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) technologies.

Since its founding 30 years ago, GPS World also has been constantly adapting and advancing so we can better report on, and help shape, our brilliant GNSS/PNT industry.

GPS World now includes expanded coverage of PNT solutions and related integration trends. We also dive deeper into GNSS/PNT developments through Q&As with leading industry suppliers, and we deliver more leading-edge application stories in high demand by our readers.

Other recent changes at GPS World revolve around our editorial staff. This month, we say goodbye to Alan Cameron, our editor-at-large, who served our media brand for 19 years. We wish Alan well.

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“Our commitment to delivering timely, accurate, insightful GNSS/PNT intel has never wavered.”

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Please join us in welcoming Diane Sofranec as GPS World’s staff editor. Diane brings with her more than 30 years of experience writing and editing content for business-to-business magazines and digital media.
GPS World also is excited to welcome Matteo Luccio as a regular contributing editor.

Luccio possesses almost 20 years of experience as a writer and editor for GNSS and geospatial technology media. Luccio began his career in the industry in 2000, serving as managing editor of GPS World and Galileo’s World, then as editor of Earth Observation Magazine and GIS Monitor. Luccio earned a master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In 2020, Luccio will pen GPS World cover stories detailing trends and new solutions in receivers, antennas, simulators and PNT technologies, as well as monthly secondary features on wide-ranging topics.

During the evolution of GPS World over the past 30 years, one thing has remained constant: Our commitment to delivering timely, accurate, insightful GNSS/PNT intel has never wavered. Our stable of staff editors and regular contributors collectively possesses 200 years of GNSS/PNT experience, and our audited audience reach tops 237,000 across all media platforms.

We’re excited to continue to serve you, our family of loyal readers and marketing partners, for decades to come. Together, we remain committed to advancing our knowledge, organizations, profession and world.