Mätfokus - Maetfokus

A roundup of recent products in the GNSS and inertial positioning industry from the September 2022 issue of GPS World magazine.

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OEM

Receiver Upgrade

OSNMA anti-spoofing tech now on PolaRx5 GNSS reference receivers

Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA) is now available on the high-end PolaRx5 reference receiver series. OSNMA offers end-to-end authentication on Galileo’s civilian signals, protecting receivers from GNSS spoofing attacks. OSNMA adds another layer of security to the receivers’ existing AIM+ anti-jamming and anti-spoofing technology. The PolaRx5 product range also now supports RINEX format versions 3.05 and 4.0.

Septentrio, septentrio.com

Anti-Jam Antennas

Developed with the United States military

The MAGNA-F and MAGNA-I GPS anti-jam antennas provide simultaneous L1/L2 protection and can protect commercial and military GPS receivers on aircraft. The MAGNA products were developed with sponsorship by the U.S. Navy and further improved by the U.S. Army to support GPS protection requirements for air, sea and ground platforms, such as fixed-wing/rotary aircraft, ships, UAVs and tactical vehicles. The MAGNA-F uses a 3.5-inch-diameter controlled reception pattern antenna (CRPA) compatible with existing fixed radiation pattern antenna (FRPA) footprints. The MAGNA-I (NavGuard 730) is a high-performance yet small GPS anti-jam integrated solution with a 4.5-inch diameter FRPA-compatible footprint.

Mayflower Communications, mayflowercom.com

Single-board computer

Centimeter-level GNSS for mass-market applications

The SimpleRTK2B single-board computer (SBC) is built around up to three u-blox ZED-F9P high-precision GNSS receivers. It simplifies development of centimeter-level positioning solutions supporting real-time kinematics (RTK), making the technology accessible to broader audiences. The SimpleRTK2B-SBC was developed to make RTK technology as close to plug-and-play as possible. In addition to working as a stand-alone solution, customers can program their own applications with the company’s microPython API. The SimpleRTK2B-SBC delivers mechanical integration with centimeter position on three axes (heading, pitch and roll), outputting on NMEA, RTCM, RS232 and CANBus interfaces via Ethernet, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 2G/3G/4G communication. It offers configurable input/output and an inertial measurement unit.

u-blox, u-blox.com; ArduSimple, ardusimple.com

Optical cesium clock

For assured positioning, navigation and timing (PNT)

The OSA 3300-HP is a high-performance optical cesium clock with a 10-year lifetime compared to the five-year lifetimes of high-performance magnetic clocks. It provides the resilience required for PNT assurance in critical infrastructure and empowers service providers to deliver differentiated service-level-agreement timing offerings with integrated GNSS backup. The OSA 3300-HP has embedded Ethernet- and IP-based management as well as a user-friendly touchscreen graphical user interface.

ADVA, adva.com

Vehicle Navigation System

With M-Code capabilities and upgrade paths for other GNSS systems

NavHub-200M is a vehicle navigation system for the international market with military code (M-code) receiver capabilities. NavHub-200M provides assured positioning, navigation and timing (APNT) while improving overall resistance to threats to GPS, such as jamming and spoofing. Its message formats and signal modulation techniques ensure faster and more accurate performance for ground vehicles on the connected battlespace, while advanced security features prevent unauthorized access or exploitation. NavHub-200M also includes the open interface standards and sensor-fusion capabilities required for a GNSS upgrade path, such as that for Europe’s Galileo constellation, as well as the ability to interface with key vehicle sensors such as the inertial measurement unit (IMU) and odometer.

Collins Aerospace, collinsaerospace.com

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MAPPING

Mapping Handheld

High-performance data collector

The Trimble TDC650 handheld is built for data collection, inspection and asset management activities. The rugged solution provides scalable high-accuracy GNSS positioning for professional field workflows, including apps such as Esri ArcGIS Field Maps and Trimble TerraFlex software. The TDC650 is scalable, allowing customers to choose their desired accuracy down to the centimeter level.

Trimble, trimble.com

Lidar Scanner

Powerful solution for manned and unmanned aircraft

The Voyager long-range lidar scanner has a wide field of view, with all points collected oriented toward the ground so there is no loss of points. In all, 1.5 million points per second will be usable. Voyager combines a Riegl VUX-120 laser scanner with a Trimble Applanix AP+ 50 AIR or Applanix AP+ 30 AIR GNSS-inertial board, providing a precision of 0.5 cm and an accuracy of 1 cm. Voyager’s detection and processing of up to 15 target echoes per laser pulse allows for excellent vegetation penetration. It has an extremely fast data-acquisition rate of up to 1,800 kHz, suitable for projects requiring the highest point density. The laser scanner’s specifications can be customized and can be combined with YellowScan’s software solutions.

YellowScan, yellowscan-lidar.com

ArcGIS Pro Add-In

Extends 3D Tiles Next workflow into Esri ArcGIS Pro

The 3D Environments Add-In application for Esri ArcGIS Pro allows ArcGIS users to rapidly transform 3D Tiles Next data formats, such as One World Terrain, into ArcGIS Pro projects to create 3D scenes from 2D vector data and 3D models. The add-in leverages Presagis’ building templates and texture libraries that analysts use to create enhanced 3D visualizations of GIS environments, helping increase collaboration across the enterprise. The 3D Environments Add-In contains tools to create, transform and extract a wide variety of 3D formats to provide seamless interoperability between ArcGIS Pro and modeling and simulation applications. It is available on the Esri ArcGIS Marketplace.

Presagis, presagis.com

Cloud-Based GIS

Energy performance data helps tackle climate change

Municipal geographic information system XMAP can now incorporate the energy-performance ratings of individual properties to help local authorities tackle climate change, improve housing standards, and ensure landlords comply with legislation. The Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) data layer uses a rating system similar to the one used on new appliances, ranging from A (very efficient) to G (inefficient). It allows tenants and house buyers to make informed decisions. In addition to a color-coded visualization of current ratings, the XMAP EPC layer contains enhanced analysis including generalized ratings and the potential for improvement. Bath and North East Somerset Council, UK (pictured), has embraced this resource and is looking at how the data can be used to raise housing standards.

XMAP, xmap.geoxphere.com

Caged Drone

For mapping and inspection in dangerous areas

The Elios 3 is a collision-tolerant drone equipped with a lidar sensor for indoor 3D mapping. The drone is powered by a new SLAM engine called FlyAware that lets it create 3D models as it flies. It also hosts a new version of Flyability’s software for inspectors, Inspector 4.0. The Elios 3 comes with an Ouster OS0-32 lidar sensor, allowing inspectors to collect data for the creation of survey-grade 3D models using Connect software from Flyability’s partner GeoSLAM. Protected by a cage, the Elios 3 has advanced collision-tolerance features that allow inspectors to fly it inside dangerous confined spaces such as boilers, pressure vessels and mines.

Flyability, flyability.com

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SURVEYING

Data Collector

Ergonomic yet rugged for fieldwork

The R60 is a powerful handheld with an ergonomic design. It runs on Android 12 OS, providing a suitable workhorse for surveying professionals in the field. Survey Master field software works seamlessly on the R60, which features a Qualcomm 8-core processor for massive data processing. Its 64-GB memory allows ample data storage and enables the opening of CAD drawings in seconds. Other features include a QWERTY keyboard, a 5.5-inch sunlight-readable high-resolution screen, an IP67 rating (dustproof and waterproof), and a 9,000 mA Li-ion battery for more than 30 hours of continuous functioning.

ComNav Technology, comnavtech.com

Base Station

Mobile station provides cm positioning

The Mobile Centimeter (MobileCM) Space Weather Station is a ready-to-use GNSS device that will act as a real-time kinematic (RTK) base station and collect space weather data. The device is pre-configured to securely connect with the Global Earth Observation Decentralized Network (GEODNET) using a home Wi-Fi network. The full four-constellation GNSS base station has built-in NTRIP server functionality and is packaged with a survey-grade triple-band roof antenna and required cables.

HYFIX, hyfix.ai

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MACHINE CONTROL

Guidance System

Upgradeable for precision agriculture

The SAgro10 GNSS guidance system is an entry-level guidance system for precision agriculture, providing users with higher navigation precision and higher productivity, which can be upgraded to an automatic steering system. Embedded with a high-precision GNSS module, the SAgro10 system tracks all four global constellations. For users with network coverage or a UHF base station, the system provides centimeter-level accuracy navigation in real-time kinematic mode. In the absence of base stations, the SAgro10 system provides sub-meter navigation accuracy in single-point smoothing mode. Compatible with most agricultural tractors, its components can be installed within 15 minutes. The 10-inch sunlight-readable touchscreen has a clear and simple graphic interface.

SingularXYZ, singularxyz.com

Excavator Guidance

Brings 3D mapping to small sites

iDig 3D Connect is a solar-powered excavator guidance system with a GNSS receiver that can be removed and used as a rover, rather than permanently installed on the machine. 3D excavator guidance has seldom been used for small projects such as house foundations because of the need for a surveyor to stake out points and map a site. The removable receiver enables contractors to complete these tasks. The software provided creates a GNSS-generated site map, enabling precision digging relative to the area and making the process quicker, simpler and more eco-friendly than with 2D.

iDig, idig-system.com

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MOBILE

Asset Tracking

Cloud-based service uses GNSS and Wi-Fi

The Cloud Locator service takes data from LoRa Edge-enabled devices and uses Semtech’s LoRa Cloud Geolocation and Modem services for asset tracking both indoors and outdoors. It features built-in serverless technology and enables testing of ultra-low-power asset tracking on either a private or public LoRaWAN network. It is designed to work with trackers using Semtech’s LoRa Edge LR-series chips. The LR-series chips combine Wi-Fi and GNSS to obtain the latitude and longitude of devices in any indoor or outdoor location. Once configured on the service, together with Semtech’s LoRa wireless radio frequency technology for transmission to the cloud, customers can view the tracker location on a map in less than 15 minutes.

Semtech, semtech.com & locator.loracloud.com

Bike Computer

Features multi-band GNSS receiver

The Edge 1040 bike computer features solar charging and multi-band GNSS technology. Its multi-band GNSS receiver (GPS, GLONASS and Galileo) provides accurate positioning in challenging ride environments, such as dense urban areas or under deep tree cover. Advanced navigational tools help cyclists stay on track, such as turn-by-turn navigation and alerts that notify riders of sharp curves ahead. Route guidance and off-course notifications can be paused for exploring and turned back on for return to the original route. When using the Trailforks app, Forksight mode automatically displays upcoming forks in the route and where a rider is within a trail network.

Garmin, garmin.com

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SIMULATORS

Simulator Upgrade

Features advanced hardware-in-the-loop testing

Skydel 22.5 is a significant software upgrade to the Skydel simulation product line. It features advanced hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing solutions providing very low to zero effective latency. Enhanced visualization tools can monitor internal latency through real-time curves showing when the data is generated and sent to the RF signal. Users can also review the transmission of HIL packets for optimizing the entire network’s latency, checking its stability (jitter), and that data is available and used at the right time in Skydel. HIL testing is an essential step in the verification process of the model-based design approach because it involves all the hardware and software that will be used operationally.

Orolia, orolia.com

Synchronizer and Simulator

Contained in an easily deployable suitcase

The Time-Loader is designed for defense and mission-critical applications, for deployment in environments where GNSS signals are denied or disrupted. It supports any ground, naval or airborne system that needs real time of day (TOD) and 1PPS external synchronization aligned to the UTC or GNSS. It generates a GPS L1 C/A code RF output as if the signal were coming from a live-sky GPS antenna. It provides full-constellation GPS output and is compatible with external GNSS receivers. Its GPS-disciplined oscillator (GPSDO) is the Microsemi MAC-SA53/55, which provides excellent UTC accuracy with outstanding hold-over rubidium clock performance. A self-contained, miniature GPS simulator provides real-time extremely accurate signals. The 18-channel full-constellation simulator stores location/time/date data in internal memory and stores complex vector data to simulate dynamic scenarios. The simulator also can be used to transcode NMEA or SCPI position/ velocity/time (PVT) data into GPS RF signals.

Focus Telecom, focus-telecom.com

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) has issued a report discussing whether a terrestrial wireless network proposed by Ligado Networks — and approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in April 2020 —will cause widespread interference to millions of GPS receivers.

The 77-page report reviews order FCC 20-48, which authorized Ligado Networks LLC to operate a low-power terrestrial radio network adjacent to the GPS frequency band. It considers how best to evaluate harmful interference to civilian and defense users of GPS, the potential for harmful interference to GPS users and DOD activities, and the effectiveness and feasibility of the mitigation measures proposed in the FCC order.

Section 1663 of the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act called on the Department of Defense (DOD) to enter into an agreement with the NASEM to carry out “an independent technical review of the order and authorization [of  FCC 20-48] to the extent that such Order and Authorization affects the devices, operations or activities of the Department of Defense.”

The committee formed in response met weekly from September 2021 to April 2022 to plan the study; receive briefings from experts and stakeholders; and review relevant reports, technical literature, and written submissions to the committee. In addition, a cleared subset of the committee received a set of classified briefings.

Most receivers in the clear,
high-precision and Iridium vulnerable

The committee found that most commercial and certified aviation GPS receivers will not experience significant harmful interference from Ligado emissions as authorized by the FCC.

However, high-precision receivers are vulnerable. That said, the committee claims current technology enables building a receiver robust to Ligado signals for any GPS applications.

“All GPS receiver manufacturers could field new designs that could coexist with the authorized Ligado signals and achieve good performance even if their existing designs cannot,” the report states.

For Iridium, the report states, “Iridium terminals will experience harmful interference on their downlink caused by Ligado user terminals operating in the UL1 band while those Iridium terminals are within a significant range of a Ligado emitter — up to 732 meters.”

For defense devices, operations and activities, the committee acknowledged that proposed mitigation procedures may be effective, but “may be impractical without the extensive dialog among the affected parties,” and mitigation “may not be practical at operationally relevant time scales or at reasonable cost. ”

This report concludes, “Spectrum real estate is a living asset and approaches must allow not only for a degree of confidence that a deployed system will not be compromised by future, unforeseen entrants, for a period of time, but also must recognize that capabilities will evolve.

“Some form of more definitive receiver standards and establishment of set time periods where adherence to those receiver standards will ensure successful operation for a frequency band’s incumbents and new entrants seem to be important tools in this regard.”

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Responses to the Report

Ligado Networks

“Ligado’s licensed and authorized operations can co-exist with GPS. As the report concludes, the technology to enable compatibility has been in use for over a decade, and most consumer equipment, commercial general navigation, timing, cellular and aviation receivers will not experience harmful interference from Ligado’s operations.

“The NAS found what the nation’s experts at the FCC already determined: A small percentage of very old and poorly designed GPS devices may require upgrading. Ligado, in tandem with the FCC, established a program two years ago to upgrade or replace federal equipment, and we remain ready to help any agency that comes forward with outdated devices. So far, none have.

“Now that the review is completed, it is our sincere hope the DOD and the NTIA will stop blocking Ligado’s license authority and focus instead on working with Ligado to resolve potential impacts relating to all DOD systems, including but not limited to GPS. We will continue working with all involved stakeholders to determine a mutually beneficial way forward.”

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U.S. Department of Defense

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GPS Innovation Alliance

Acting Executive Director of the GPS Innovation Alliance (GPSIA), Alex Damato, issued the following statement on the release of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine study on reviewing the FCC’s Ligado Order:

​“GPSIA and the GPS industry applaud the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s reaffirmation that Ligado’s terrestrial operations would have a harmful, real-world impact on the millions of federal and commercial users that rely on GPS, satellite communications, and weather forecasting services every single day. The report’s evaluation of the materials, developed over years of extensive and technically rigorous testing, demonstrates that Ligado would pose an unacceptable risk to services critical to safety-of-life operations, our national security, and our economy. It also builds on the broad consensus, including within fourteen federal agencies and departments, that Ligado’s proposed deployment would result in widespread interference to a substantial number of GPS receivers.

“Following the release of this study, GPSIA urges government action to address the imminent, but preventable, harm that would result from Ligado’s deployment.”

**Consistent with the terms of their litigation settlements with Ligado, GPSIA members Deere & Company and Garmin International, Inc. do not affirmatively endorse or oppose the deployment of Ligado’s proposed communications network.**

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Keep GPS Working Coalition

The Keep GPS Working Coalition was formed in response to the FCC order. Spokesperson Dale Leibach issued the following statement.

“The NAS report, which follows the analysis of an immense amount of technical information and review by experts from a broad range of disciplines, highlights the fundamental flaws in the FCC’s Ligado decision. The order must therefore be vacated in its entirety, so that millions of GPS devices are protected from harmful interference caused by Ligado’s planned network.

“It is important to note that the potential for interference arises because Ligado proposed, and the FCC approved, a fundamental change in the use of the spectrum adjacent to the band used by GPS. With this approval, the FCC essentially authorized terrestrial operations in a satellite band without adequately considering the impact Ligado’s proposed operations would have on countless consumers, farmers, ranchers, pilots, boat owners, surveyors, construction companies and others.

“Furthermore, the FCC’s decision failed to take into account that there are more than a billion GPS receivers in use in the United States. The NAS report notes, and the Keep GPS Working Coalition acknowledges, that the majority of GPS receivers will not be harmed by Ligado’s operations. However, the massive GPS user base means that tens of millions of devices will suffer harmful interference if Ligado deploys its network. And, as stated in the report, the risk of interference is greatest for high precision receivers used in some of the most significant sectors of the U.S. economy.

“Lastly, the NAS report describes in detail the fundamental flaws in the safeguards the FCC adopted to address harmful interference where it occurs. It is simply not feasible, nor reasonable, to force first responders, farmers, boat owners, and the many other owners of equipment and machines that rely on GPS to police interference and bear the costs of addressing it. The best approach is to avoid interference altogether by rescinding Ligado’s authorization to conduct terrestrial operations under its satellite license.

“While Ligado may seek to cherry pick details to fit its misleading narrative, the truth is that this report validates the concerns raised by virtually everyone who has taken a position on this matter other than the FCC and Ligado itself. In particular, the report highlights significant national security concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Defense, which has said the FCC Ligado order will put missions and troops at risk. Likewise, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Departments of Homeland Security, Transportation, Interior and Justice, the Federal Aviation Administration and other expert agencies all opposed the FCC order because of the substantial harm it would cause to critical civilian industries and users.”

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Iridium

“The findings from NAS are consistent with the opposition from 14 federal agencies, more than 80 stakeholders, and Iridium’s concerns that Ligado’s proposed operations will cause harmful interference. The NAS study clearly demonstrates what the rest of the industry has known for years: the prior FCC order failed to fully consider the risk of harmful interference posed to mission-critical satellite systems. Iridium urges the FCC to take swift action to reverse the order before Ligado starts its technical demonstrations this fall.”

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Satellite Safety Alliance

“The Satellite Safety Alliance applauds NAS for its comprehensive review of the record and findings that Ligado’s plan threatens vital GPS and satellite communications services. These findings align with the concerns across the vast federal and commercial user base of GPS, satellite communications, and weather forecasting services.

“This study is a reminder to our nation’s leaders and the Federal Communications Commission that Ligado’s harmful interference will disrupt day-to-day operations and cost billions of dollars to the consumers of these mission-critical services. The FCC must stay or reverse the Ligado order to address the imminent — but preventable — harm from the company’s proposed terrestrial network that it intends to deploy a test network this fall.”

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National Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce

“The Report from the National Academies indicates that Ligado’s terrestrial operations would cause harmful interference to GPS devices and that a number of the FCC’s mitigations would be practically unworkable. NTIA will review this detailed report more carefully, but we believe this offers the commission an important opportunity to reconsider Ligado’s authorization.”

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BAE Systems has received a $13 million contract for advanced GPS technology to protect U.S. F-15E aircraft from GPS signal jamming and spoofing. The company’s Digital GPS Anti-jam Receiver (DIGAR) will ensure the reliability of military GPS systems for aircraft operating in challenging signal environments.

DIGAR uses advanced antenna electronics, high-performance signal-processing and digital beamforming — a capability that combines 16 steered beams — for better GPS signal reception and superior jamming immunity. These capabilities are critical for high-speed aircraft as they maneuver through the battlespace.

The F-15 Eagle is the second U.S. Air Force fighter platform to receive DIGAR GPS upgrades, following the F-16 Fighting Falcon. DIGAR also provides advanced GPS capabilities for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft as well as multiple unmanned aerial vehicles.

“Modern airborne missions require accurate positioning and navigation data, and GPS systems must be able to withstand adversaries’ best disruption efforts,” said Greg Wild, Navigation and Sensor Systems product line director at BAE Systems. “Our DIGAR antenna electronics are trusted to protect these platforms in contested environments.”

BAE Systems’ family of military GPS products offer size, weight and power characteristics suitable for a variety of applications, including handheld electronics, vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, aircraft and precision-guided munitions. In addition to GPS anti-jam products, the company is delivering advanced GPS products compatible with the next-generation M-code satellite signal, and is developing the next generation of receivers to ensure dependable GPS for warfighters across land, air and sea domains.

BAE Systems work on military GPS technology takes place in Cedar Rapids, where the company is investing more than $100 million to build a 278,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art research and manufacturing center.

Partnership will test future eVTOL flight routes and concept of operations in the Kansai region

Airbus is partnering with Japanese helicopter operator Hiratagakuen to develop advanced air mobility services in the Kansai region and beyond. Through this agreement, the companies will tackle crucial aspects required to launch a commercial transportation service with CityAirbus NextGen.

As a first step, the partners’ joint project to organize a simulation of ideal routes, concepts of operations, and necessary equipment for safe electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle (eVTOL) flights in the Kansai region. Kansai was selected by the Osaka prefecture for the project. A demonstration flight is scheduled for later this year.

With the aim to implement air mobility services beyond urban environments, the joint work of Airbus and Hiratagakuen will support the development of advanced air mobility solutions with CityAirbus NextGen for use cases ranging from air medical services to commercial air transport and ecotourism in a variety of operational contexts.

Airbus and Hiratagakuen will use an H135 helicopter to test advanced navigation and communication technologies for safe operations of eVTOLs in urban environments, while simulating CityAirbus NextGen’s flight configuration.

Hiratagakuen is a Kansai-based helicopter operator that specializes in helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS), transportation of personnel, flight training and maintenance. The company’s fleet includes 14 H135 and two H145 helicopters.

In September 2021, Airbus unveiled its eVTOL prototype CityAirbus NextGen to explore advanced air mobility technologies. The company plans to construct a dedicated center to test the aircraft’s systems in the lead-up to its maiden flight. Airbus is also working closely with industrial and institutional partners to lead the development of urban air mobility ecosystems, including ITA Airways in Italy and launch of the Air Mobility Initiative in Germany.

SABIC, a global leader in the chemical industry, has introduced two new LNP Thermocomp compounds that offer the potential to improve signal gain performance compared to ceramics in second-generation automotive GNSS antennas.

The new compounds, LNP Thermocomp ZKC0CXXD and LNP Thermocomp ZKC0DXXD, help enable the design and molding of antenna substrates with more complex pattern markings that add effective surface area, a critical factor in enhancing signal capture.

For customers that use ceramics, switching to the LNP Thermocomp compounds can help lower system costs by avoiding secondary operations, as well as improving antenna performance. Designers and engineers who find current materials inadequate for developing novel, high-resolution GNSS antennas can help address new requirements with the SABIC products, the company said.

“As GNSS antenna technology advances to its second generation with higher resolution, SABIC continues to enhance the scope and capabilities of our LNP specialty compounds portfolio to meet new performance requirements,” said Joshua Chiaw, director of business management, LNP, SABIC. “Our new LNP Thermocomp compounds can help antenna manufacturers achieve superior signal gain compared to ceramic substrates. They also provide flexibility to produce smaller parts with the same performance as ceramic, or equal-size parts with better performance. This remarkable combination of improved signal capture and design freedom, plus system cost advantages, can help propel innovation in GNSS technology — a keystone of occupant safety today and autonomous driving in the future.”

The LNP Thermocomp compounds, which offer a high dielectric constant (Dk) for miniaturization and a low dissipation factor (Df) to facilitate signal acquisition, can be tailored to meet the electrical requirements of individual applications. They feature electroplating capability, good thermal resistance for reliability, and the design freedom and production efficiency of thermoplastics. Both are well-suited for shark fin-style and new conformal antenna designs.

A free 12-day online course on GNSS will be offered by the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), part of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

“Overview of Global Navigation Satellite System” (Course-ID: 107) will be held Sept. 19-30. The course is designed to help with the urgent demand for trained manpower in remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS), GNSS and associated geospatial technologies. The course will introduce GPS and GNSS, receivers, processing methods, errors and accuracy.

The course will cover the following topics:

• GPS receivers, processing methods, errors and accuracy
• satellite-based augmentation systems and GPS-aided and GEO-augmented navigation (GAGAN)
• GPS signal characteristics and data formats (broadcast and precise ephemeris)
• Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)
• DGPS demonstration
• advanced GNSS processing
• development of satellite navigation technology, TRANSIT, TSKLON, GNSS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou), principles of GNSS, segments and applications
• satellite navigation.

The course is open to undergraduate and postgraduate students; technical or scientific staff of central or state government; and faculty or researchers at university or institutions.

Course study materials — lecture slides, recorded video lectures, open-source software and handouts of demonstrations — will be made available through the IIRS learning management system E-CLASS.

Visit the IRSS website for details.

Vodafone and Topcon Positioning Group are developing a European precise positioning system, Vodafone GNSS Corrections, that will locate Internet of Things (IoT) devices, machinery and vehicles with a greater degree of accuracy than using individual GNSS.

Vehicles, scooters and robotic lawn mowers can be securely monitored in real time to within a few centimeters when connected to Vodafone’s global IoT network.

Vodafone GNSS Corrections will use technology from Topcon, which corrects inaccuracies from navigation satellite signals. Location accuracy is improved from a few meters to centimeters using Topcon’s dense European network of thousands of GNSS reference stations, especially when vehicles and devices are fitted with suitable antennas and receiver equipment.

Vodafone will offer a singular module configuration that can extend across national borders.

Vodafone is inviting select customers to join pilot customer trials in Germany, Spain and the UK, which will begin this month. The companies aim to test the service using a wide variety of devices connected to Vodafone’s global IoT network — one of the largest with more than 150 million connections — and its pan-European network covering 12 countries.

Pinpoint accuracy is critical to the mass adoption of vehicle-to-anything (V2X) technology used for driverless vehicles, autonomous machinery and robots. For example, e-bike riders could use Vodafone GNSS Corrections to provide details of their exact location and then alert other road users of their presence.

Vodafone GNSS Corrections also supports Vodafone’s efforts to improve V2X location accuracy, especially when sharing trusted data to help prevent unnecessary accidents and fatalities on Europe’s roads. As such, Vodafone is offering precise positioning as a complement to Vodafone’s new Safer Transport for Europe Platform (STEP) which allows entities to communicate with each other where no line of sight exists. Unveiled in March 2022, STEP has been successfully tested in Germany and the UK and will be made available via Vodafone Automotive and third-party apps later this year.

Technology changes the rules of the game, and surveying may be more in its crosshairs than the profession will admit

Maps have existed for centuries. The lines on maps — boundaries of cities, counties, states, and countries — are graphic representations of the limits of those entities. These lines don’t, however, typically exist in real life. There isn’t a large line between the United States and Canada stretching from the Pacific Ocean, through the Great Lakes, and onto the Atlantic Ocean.

The same goes for latitude and longitude lines on maps and globes. The public generally accepts the various delineations on maps as being somewhat accurate with an unwritten level of trust in those who have produced these maps.

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Definition

trust: assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.

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Here are the guidelines surveyors use for determining surveys.

1. Lines physically verified in the field and proven from evidence
2. Monuments and/or boundaries set and called for within legal descriptions
   • Natural monuments
   • Artificial monuments
3. Adjoiners (to determine junior/senior rights)
4. Courses
   • Bearings, then distances (metes and bounds states)
   • Distances, then bearings (public land survey states)
5. Recitation of area
   • Controlling description
   • Evidentiary description
6. Coordinates: local and/or geodetic

Surveyors rely on physical monuments, title documents and evidence of occupation to assist with the establishment of not just major dividing lines, but all lines of property, public or private. Finding, setting and honoring physical monuments has been a significant character trait of the surveyor for as long as maps have existed.

Monuments are placed to determine the endpoints of these lines as depicted on maps or plats, but what happens when technology introduces new ways to re-establish these lines? What will happen to our monuments when technology — more specifically those who utilize them — deems them obsolete?

The guidelines above are known as “priority of calls” or “rules of construction” by the surveying community. These items have provided the instructions for surveyors to follow in retracement of lines for many years. But, like nearly everything else in our modern world, technology has a hand in modernizing even this time-honored “surveyor’s code of retracement.”

Who would have guessed that the rotary phone dial would give way to touch-tone buttons, that the system would jump from landlines to cellular and satellite signals to remote handsets, then progress to receivers evolving away from physical buttons to touchscreens?

Technology changes the rules of the game, and surveying may be more in its crosshairs than the profession will admit.

Here come the numbers

Note that the last entry in the above guidelines for survey retracement is “coordinates.” In accordance with most accepted lists, coordinates can be local or geodetic. These coordinate values are generated by surveyors, geodesists and public agencies; they can be found on plats, and in records and websites kept by government agencies.

Now that we are more than two decades into the 21st century, it would be safe to say most of the surveying profession uses an established geodetic coordinate system. The use of GNSS receivers is widely accepted as normal practice by many surveyors because these systems are much more user friendly than years past. Additional constellations have added to the availability and accuracy of GNSS positional values, so utilizing state plane coordinates has become the norm.

We are now surrounded by something that has an incredible impact on our profession and the world around us. We are placing trust in a georeferenced coordinate system that cannot be identified by any of our senses, like we can with a physical monument.

A coordinate cannot be seen.

A coordinate cannot be touched.

A coordinate cannot be tasted.

A coordinate cannot be heard.

A coordinate cannot be smelled.

We are placing our full trust in a reliable position on the Earth as determined by our GNSS receiver working within a published coordinate system. Because of these advancements in technology, a new generation of geospatialists is insisting we should revise the way we survey, because technology provides much higher precision and accuracy.

Just like lines on a map or plat, coordinates only exist as a calculation of a position on the face of the Earth. So why is there animosity in trusting coordinates over the more traditional items on the list of retracement guidelines? It may have to do with the fact that the ground we are surveying is not in the same place it was a short time ago. Depending on where you live, it may have moved more than you think. For more information on the shifting ground we live on, let us dig into some research about our continents.

Pangea: Description of moving land masses

(Text from USGS.gov)

From about 300-200 million years ago (late Paleozoic Era until the very late Triassic), the continent we now know as North America was continuous with Africa, South America and Europe. They all existed as a single continent called Pangea. Pangea first began to be torn apart when a three-pronged fissure grew between Africa, South America and North America. Rifting began as magma welled up through the weakness in the crust, creating a volcanic rift zone. Volcanic eruptions spewed ash and volcanic debris across the landscape as these severed continent-sized fragments of Pangea diverged. The gash between the spreading continents gradually grew to form a new ocean basin, the Atlantic. The rift zone known as the mid-Atlantic ridge continued to provide the raw volcanic materials for the expanding ocean basin.

Meanwhile, North America was slowly pushed westward away from the rift zone. The thick continental crust that made up the new east coast collapsed into a series of down-dropped fault blocks that roughly parallel today’s coastline. At first, the hot, faulted edge of the continent was high and buoyant relative to the new ocean basin. As the edge of North America moved away from the hot rift zone, it began to cool and subside beneath the new Atlantic Ocean. This once-active divergent plate boundary became the passive, trailing edge of westward moving North America. In plate tectonic terms, the Atlantic Plain is known as a classic example of a passive continental margin.

Today, the Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary rock layers that lie beneath much of the coastal plain and fringing continental shelf remain nearly horizontal.

In geologic terms, a plate is a large, rigid slab of solid rock. The word tectonics comes from the Greek root “to build.” Putting these two words together, we get the term plate tectonics, which refers to how the Earth’s surface is built of plates.

The theory of plate tectonics states that the Earth’s outermost layer is fragmented into a dozen or more large and small plates that are moving relative to one another as they ride atop hotter, more mobile material. Before the advent of plate tectonics, however, some people already believed that the present-day continents were the fragmented pieces of pre-existing larger landmasses (“supercontinents”).

The diagrams below show the break-up of the supercontinent Pangaea (meaning “all lands” in Greek), which figured prominently in the theory of continental drift — the forerunner to the theory of plate tectonics.

Continental drift, plate tectonics and prime meridians

Historians and other scientists have theorized about Pangea for centuries. Common soil types, fossils, and other evidence found on different continents help to solidify the concept of Pangea. Items discovered on the west coast of Africa have many similarities with those found on eastern South America. The physical evidence is quite convincing that an earlier supercontinent existed many centuries ago.

Now, let’s apply a fixed measurement system with lines upon the Earth that defines latitude and longitude. In the past, geodesists, geographers and mathematicians established various “prime meridians” around the world to serve as a basis for maps. Locations and cities used included Amsterdam, Antwerp, the Bering Strait, Bern, Brussels, Copenhagen, Florence, Giza, Jerusalem, Kyoto, Lisbon, Madrid, Naples, Oslo, Paris, Philadelphia, Pisa, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Stockholm, Warsaw and Washington, D.C. (in four different places!), just to name a few.

Thankfully, scientists gathered together in the 19th century to agree upon a singular “initial meridian” that would pass through Greenwich, England, and was based upon several centuries of astronomical observations at the nearby Royal Observatory.

For approximately 100 years, mapmakers (and geodesists) used the new Prime Meridian at Greenwich as the beginning baseline for latitude determination around the world. After all, it was based upon years of astronomical observations and solved the age-old problem of where latitude starts. (Longitude was a much easier calculation for astronomers and geodesists, but that story is for another day.)

The late 20th century and the fourth industrial revolution

Technology, once again, provides us with conflicting results. While most technological advancements are game-changing improvements to mankind, they also tend to shake up information and standards that have existed for many generations. Like the previously discussed advancements in telephones, technology makes us change the way we look at things and how we go about our lives.

Mapping has become a central part of our everyday lives. Georeferenced positions for literally everything is now a standard characteristic of many functions within our environment, especially in our surveying world. Most of these improvements is because of GPS. GPS was originally developed for the U.S. military to guide and assist with positional location of our defense systems in relation to our enemies. We use this same precise technology to establish positional locations for boundary points, infrastructure and topographic information.

We have also used GPS to learn much about our tectonic plates and varying movement of the continents.The first thing we learned is that the Prime Meridian established in 1884 does not fall in the same place as our 0° latitude designation as determined by GPS/GNSS calculations.

This finding, however, is not the telling item within our adaptation of GPS data; it came when various agencies established the continuously operating reference system (CORS), composed of static GPS base stations. CORS stations, while used to help establish new survey positions in relation to a known reference location, also measure a continuous drift of latitude and longitude positions over time.

The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) is in the process of finalizing a new reference framework for establishing coordinate values that utilize time as a core component. Future implementation of the new National Spatial Reference System (NSRS) will require the additional attribute of time within the metadata of any new values.

Read more in David Zilkoski’s Survey Scene column.

The reality of ‘moving’ monuments

So how does this affect surveying and the monuments we surveyors hold on such a high pedestal? The answer varies depending on who one asks. Most surveyors will continue to hold the “priority of calls” as listed above. Several practitioners, however, want to move coordinates higher up the list because of technology, and the ability to retrace a published point because of the increase in technology and higher accuracy and precision of today’s GNSS.

This is possible if the user of the technology follows the procedures as established by NGS with metadata and accurate timing, but there are still several variables in the setting and retracing methodologies. When was the last time the equipment was calibrated? Was adequate research performed to minimize environmental errors? Was there any interference due to solar storms or multipath? There are many potential issues a surveyor can face, but few are checking all the boxes when performing highly accurate and precise positional measurements.

Technology has brought surveying into the 21st century with GPS/GNSS and ever-increasing accuracy and precision. It should also be the profession’s goal that the technology does not override what the general public can see. They can see monuments, fence lines, buildings and other improvements, but they cannot see coordinates, which remain invisible to the naked eye. Technology may change that in the future, too, but until that time, we must rely on what we can see.

The latest chapter of the decades-long Lightsquared/Ligado saga will be revealed this week

The National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) will hold a public online briefing at 11 a.m. ET on Sept. 9 to present the results of its Ligado interference study. The committee’s report will be available at National Academies Press at that same time.

The decision by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to grant Ligado Networks permission to operate a terrestrial service in a frequency band adjacent to that used by GPS has been controversial since it was announced in April 2020.

The Executive Branch has formally objected to the decision because of its potential to interfere with various kinds of GPS receivers and requested its reversal. So have numerous industry groups.

The satellite communications company Iridium and some weather organizations also formally objected.

Seven different “Petitions for Reconsideration” were filed with the FCC in May 2020 reflecting a variety of engineering- and process-based objections. None have been acted upon and all are still open issues for the commission.

As a result of the long dispute over the potential for interference, the National Defense Authorization Act for 2021 required the Department of Defense (DOD) to contract with NASEM to examine the issue. The study effort began almost exactly a year ago with the announcement of a proposed study team.

According to the NAESM website:

This study will review Federal Communications Commission order FCC 20-48, which authorized Ligado Networks LLC to operate a low-power terrestrial radio network adjacent to the Global Positioning System (GPS) frequency band. It will consider how best to evaluate harmful interference to civilian and defense users of GPS, the potential for harmful interference to GPS users and DOD activities, and the effectiveness and feasibility of the mitigation measures proposed in the FCC order.

Specific results were intended to include:

• which of the two prevailing proposed approaches to evaluating harmful interference concerns — one based on a signal-to-noise interference protection criterion and the other based on a device-by-device measurement of the GPS position error — most effectively mitigates risks of harmful interference with GPS services and DOD operations and activities

• the potential for harmful interference from the proposed Ligado network to mobile satellite services — including GPS and other commercial or DOD services, and including the potential to affect DOD operations and activities

• the feasibility, practicality and effectiveness of the mitigation measures proposed in the FCC order with respect to DOD devices, operations and activities.

Other relevant issues the study committee found are also expected to be discussed.

The NASEM committee has been meeting regularly since the end of September 2021 and has heard from numerous industry and interest groups on both sides of the issue. Materials presented as well as videos of the public portions of all the meetings are available at the group’s website.

Both a classified and an unclassified version of the report are supposed to be produced. No information has been released about whether the classified report has been completed and provided to the Department of Defense.

Based on previous NASEM reports, some observers predict the results of the study will not strongly support either side of the dispute. “Most of these kind of reports say, ‘On the one hand this, but on the other hand that.’ Usually they are not really conclusive. I expect both sides will find something in it to support their assertions and the dispute will continue as it has to date,” said one stakeholder.

Members of the public interested in viewing the on-line release and briefing can register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-national-academies-review-of-fcc-order-20-48-report-release-webinar-tickets-398176525707

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Dana A. Goward is president of the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation.

The consortium of Archangel Imaging, UAVaid and Novit AI have begun a GNSS-denied development program for the National Aerospace Technology Exploitation Programme (NATEP) of the United Kingdom. The 12-month project plans to develop innovative aircraft navigation technology for use in GPS-denied or contested environments.

Project GENIE (GNSS Excluded Navigation Intelligent Enhancement) will mature and advance non-GNSS solutions as part of a long-term objective to enable assured location and navigation in commercial aerospace, helping to unlock the benefits and value of autonomy in civil aviation. The support from NATEP will enable the consortium to take a significant step toward navigation in GNSS-spoofed or -denied environments, the companies said.

“Tomorrow, as we look towards single-pilot operation and future autonomous aircraft, there will not be a pilot or air traffic controller available to mitigate these risks,” stated the companies in a press release. “GENIE has been developed to step into this role. It will be able to identify when a GPS signal has been compromised and, using a combination of techniques, provide a location position as accurate as GPS.”

“The need to provide assured, resilient navigation is a critical enabler for autonomy in the aerospace environment,” said Charles Smith, CCO at Archangel Imaging. “GENIE is a core element of this, and we are very excited to be working with NATEP to help push this technology forward. We see significant commercial exploitation opportunities as a result of this project in the UAV and broader aviation markets and are thrilled to be a part of this round of NATEP funding and support.”