Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
As usual, a leap second that will be introduced into the coordinated universal time (UTC) system at 11:59 p.m. tonight (June 30, 2015) may cause some difficulties with devices and services that derive UTC via the Global Positioning System.
By Inside GNSS
SatGen V3 software now available for use on LabSat 3 simulatorsLabSat has launched a new version of its SatGen V3 software package that enables users to create scenarios for replay through any LabSat simulator and now includes BeiDou.
The software creates either user-generated or imported trajectory files for use with a LabSat GNSS simulator. The addition of the BeiDou B1 signals means that users can now test a device’s design and performance as if it were being used within the operating area of the Chinese GNSS constellation – which at present only provides full coverage in Asia.
By Inside GNSS
Dee Ann Divis, an Inside GNSS contributing editor who writes the magazine’s Washington View column, continues to garner journalistic awards.
On June 9 she received the Society of Professional Journalists D.C. Chapter’s award for 2015 “Washington Correspondent” for a series of articles on unmanned aerial systems (UAS) published in Inside GNSS last year.
Her 2015 award citation for the series entitled “Empty Skies” emphasized the “well-detailed and comprehensive handling of a complex subject. . . .”
By Dee Ann Divis
Belgian GNSS manufacturer Septentrio Satellite Navigation, of Leuven, Belgium, has announced the completion of the acquisition and integration of Altus Positioning Systems, based in Torrance, California.
Septentrio Satellite Navigation and Altus-PS started working together in 2007. The collaboration between the two companies has already resulted in a series of such surveying and GIS-focused products as the APS-NR2, APS-3, APS-U, and APS-GeoPod. The smart antenna form factors will form a separate product line in the Septentrio product portfolio.
OriginGPS has announced the launch of the Multi Micro Hornet, a patented, GPS/GLONASS antenna module targeting developers of “wearables” and other devices that require a small form factor, low power consumption, and high sensitivity.
The module measures 20x10x5.9 millimeters, has a signal tracking sensitivity of –165dBm, according to the company. It incorporates OriginGPS’s patented and proprietary Noise Free Zone (NFZ) technology designed to provide high sensitivity and noise immunity under marginal signal conditions.
By Inside GNSS
AsteRx-m UASSeptentrio has launched its AsteRx-m UAS, an OEM GNSS receiver specially designed for the unmanned aerial systems market.
According to the Leuven, Belgium–based company, the AsteRx-m UAS — Septentrio’s smallest receiver — provides real-time kinematic–level positioning accuracy with low power consumption, less than 600 milliwatts with GPS alone and less than 700 milliwatts with GLONASS.
Work to integrate drones into the nation’s regular air traffic picked up speed over the last eight months as aviation regulators found new ways to permit unmanned flights while still keeping the skies safe for other aircraft.
In September 2014 the agency announced the first of what is now more than 450 waivers enabling commercial companies to begin for-profit operations in the United States.
By Inside GNSS
Global navigation satellite systems provide position, velocity, and time (PVT) solutions to users whose receivers calculate position based on one-way ranging from satellites. As is well-understood, a key step in the positioning process involves a determination of the difference between the time of signal transmission identified in the satellite’s broadcast navigation message and the time of its reception by user equipment.
By Inside GNSS
Equations 2, 7, 8, 9, 10 & 11Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are finding increased application in both domestic and governmental applications. Small UAVs (maximum take off weight less than 20 kilograms) comprise the category of the smallest and lightest platforms that also fly at lower altitudes (under less than 150 meters).
Designs for this class of device have focused on creating UAVs that can operate in urban canyons or even inside buildings, fly along hallways, and carry listening and recording devices, transmitters, or miniature TV cameras.
By Inside GNSS
More than 3,000 delegates converged on China’s ancient capital of Xi’an last week to infuse the sixth China Satellite Navigation Conference (CSNC) with an energy reflecting the nation’s robust GNSS program.
By Inside GNSS
The next decade’s aircraft pilots will be able to rely on enhanced, reliable GNSS satellite navigation signals on a seamless basis across much of the world, thanks to decisions made at the latest gathering of worldwide GNSS augmentation system providers and experts.
By Inside GNSS
Trimble’s BD935-INS (left) and BX-935-INSTrimble has introduced the BD935-INS module that combines a multi-frequency, multi-GNSS receiver with an integrated 3-D microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) inertial sensor package.
As part of Trimble’s GNSS OEM portfolio, the new compact module augments real-time precise positioning with 3-D orientation, connectivity, and configuration capabilities designed to enable system integrators and OEMs to add GNSS and attitude to specialized or custom hardware solutions.
By Inside GNSS
Registrations are still available for the this year’s European Space Agency (ESA) International Summer School on Global Navigation Satellite Systems, which will take place in Barcelona, Spain, at the end of August.
