Environment

New Technology Could Enable UAVs to Fly Vertically
November 20, 2014

New Technology Could Enable UAVs to Fly Vertically

UT-Corpus Christi students Ian Gates (left) and Christoph Hintz review the characteristics of the 3-dimensional computer-aided design prototype. The experimental prototype should look and work like the 3D model.

Imagine an unmanned multi-copter that doesn’t just fly horizontally, but that has the capability to fly vertically as well.

This UAV would have the ability to transition from the horizontal orientation most rotor drones fly in, and rotate its body to a vertical orientation, offering access to tight and irregular spaces conventional drones just can’t reach—a capability that could drastically improve search and rescue efforts in collapsed buildings.

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By Inside GNSS
Using Unmanned Systems to Fight Wildfires

Using Unmanned Systems to Fight Wildfires

Image captured by an onboard Infra-red camera during the West Virginia demonstration

Large wildfires can create their own weather and a dynamic, uncertain environment, and that is one of the reasons they’re so dangerous, says Manish Kumar, an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering at the University of Toledo.

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By Inside GNSS
Europe Prepares Its Part of GNSS-Enhanced Search & Rescue Service
November 17, 2014

Europe Prepares Its Part of GNSS-Enhanced Search & Rescue Service

Cospas–Sarsat’s extension to MEOSAR (Medium Earth Orbit Search and Rescue) will extend its search and rescue coverage (the area outlined in red). On the ground the Galileo programme is contributing a Toulouse-based test bench, and a networked trio of MEOSAR ground stations – known as Local User Terminals (LUTs) – to cover Europe, based in Svalbard in the Norwegian Arctic, Cyprus and the Canary Islands. Existing LUTs are distributed on a per country basis, but it is an advantage of MEOSAR that fewer ground stations will be needed for greater coverage. Cospas-Sarsat illustration

The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced completion of tests that indicate the readiness of the European component of a modernized, GNSS satellite–aided search and rescue service known as Cospas-Sarsat.

ESA has completed construction and testing of a trio of located on three islands at the far corners of the continent, ready to pick up distress calls via satellite from across Europe and its surrounding waters.

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By Inside GNSS
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AUVSI 2014 New Products Roundup
June 16, 2014

AUVSI 2014 New Products Roundup

NovAtel FlexPak-S GNSS SAASM Enclosure

From small unmanned aircraft to communication systems, plenty of exciting new products appeared at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International’s show in Orlando last month.
 
More than 600 exhibitors brought their products to the event. These are just a few of the innovations that were on display.
 

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By Inside GNSS
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Michel Monnerat: Out of Africa — GNSS
May 6, 2014

Michel Monnerat: Out of Africa — GNSS

SIDEBAR: Michel Monnerat’s Compass Points

“I was born in Arles, in the south of France,” says Michel Monnerat, “but I left France before my first birthday. We moved many times, from place to place.”

Monnerat’s father worked for a civil engineering company, specializing in maritime works — harbor construction, coastal protection, and such. His family lived in Ivory Coast, Cameroon, and Tunisia, but Monnerat spent most of my early life in Lomé, the capital city of Togo.

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By Inside GNSS
It’s Spring, and EGNOS Is in the Air

It’s Spring, and EGNOS Is in the Air

Europe has been talking up its European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS, for short) — and why shouldn’t it? Talking about Galileo doesn’t get satellites off the ground. EGNOS, on the other hand, is up and running, and has been since 2009. If the object is to build confidence in European savoir faire, why not talk about a real success like EGNOS?

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By Peter Gutierrez
European Officials Consider Galileo Mandate for Mobile Devices
April 30, 2014

European Officials Consider Galileo Mandate for Mobile Devices

Perhaps taking a page of Russia’s playbook for mandating use of GLONASS in certain equipment, European officials are looking into the possibility of requiring the addition of Galileo capability to mobile phones and other device and platforms.

As it has become clear that the European GNSS will be the third or fourth GNSS available — after GPS, GLONASS, and probably BeiDou — the European Union’s executive body, the European Commission, is exploring non-market strategies to increase adoption of Galileo by manufacturers and users.

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By Inside GNSS
At ENC 2014: A GNSS Wake Up Call for Europe
April 16, 2014

At ENC 2014: A GNSS Wake Up Call for Europe

Brad Parkinson

Among the key topics to come out of this year’s European Navigation Conference (ENC 2014) in Rotterdam is how safe — or unsafe — we really are, and who in Europe cares. The answer is, a lot of people care, but almost no one can do anything about it.

Professor David Last, strategic advisor at the General Lighthouse Authorities of the UK & Ireland, made the case before the conference had even started, at the pre-conference “Resilient PNT Forum.”

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By Inside GNSS
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