Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
A recent test demonstrated that the combination of the SecureSync time server manufactured by Orolia and the Satellite Time and Location (STL) service provided by Satelles can deliver extremely accurate timing as compared to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
By Inside GNSS
Echo Ridge LLC of Sterling, Virginia has been working with the Air Force Research Laboratory Center for Rapid Innovation to develop a way to determine position from non-GPS satellite signals in different frequency bands.
By Inside GNSS
I strode into the plenary session of the ION International Technical Meeting, primed and ready for a barrage of modernity, of out-in-front advances in precision positioning, navigation and timing. The first thing I saw was a 7-foot tall cesium beam tube, an early atomic clock from the 1950s.
By Alan Cameron
Forward-deployed U.S. military personnel will soon benefit from warfighter localization sensor units that provide tracking information in GPS-denied environments in a bootstrap mode. The Army Product Manager Sets, Kits Outfits and Tools awarded a $16.5 million contract to Robotic Research of Clarksburg, Maryland for WarLoc units to equip four deployed U.S. Army Brigade Combat Teams in various locations. The first batch of systems has already been shipped, and should enable soldiers on foot to keep track of each other in terrain where GPS systems are less effective.
WarLoc provides localization and positioning data for teams of warfighters or first responders in signal-denied environments such as underground facilities and inside buildings and mega-cities, according to the company. The small sensor mounts on footwear. Multiple systems work together to further enhance accuracy and maintain the localization of teams.
[Heel-mounted warfighter localization sensor units, also known as WarLoc. Photo: Robotic Research.]
The tracking system augments its GPS receiver with an inertial measurement unit. The device connects with a smartphone through Bluetooth. Robotic Research fields two form factors of the WaLoc, one mounted over the top of the boot and another that wraps around the heel. Users view data readouts through an Android-based Tactical Assault Kit. The algorithms are reportedly robust to communications failures and dropouts, and the distributed nature works well in challenging communication environments.
By Inside GNSS
Someone has updated 19th century American slang to resonate in the 21st century’s international commerce and shipping scene. A mysterious new electronic weapon has surfaced in China, spoofing GPS signals in a way that experts have never seen before.
By Inside GNSS
Professor David Last described his life in crime during the Institute of Navigation’s GNSS+ 2012 conference. He was late coming to that line of work, he noted, having only been tapped by the police after his retirement from teaching at the University of Wales.
By Dee Ann Divis
The Department of Transportation (DOT) selected 11 firms to demonstrate technologies that could be used to back up the services provided by GPS should GPS signals be jammed, spoofed or unavailable.
By Dee Ann Divis
The complex and mission-critical needs of the autonomous vehicle market demand innovation at higher levels in several different sensors and in sensor integration. A new photonic chip technology offers promise in providing high-volume, low-cost manufacture of high-end, tactical-grade performance fiber-optic gyros (FOGs)for inertial navigation in GNSS-obstructed environments.
By Inside GNSS
Researchers at the Universität der Bundeswehr München (German Federal Armed Forces University, Munich) have performed real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning with dual-frequency smartphones, using the GNSS raw measurements to the user via the Android API.
By Inside GNSS
The U.S. Army is reaching out to industry for the advanced inertial measurement unit (IMU) and timing technology it needs to support warfighters when GPS is unavailable or compromised.
By Dee Ann Divis
Abstracts are now being accepted for the IEEE/ION Positioning, Location and Navigation Symposium (PLANS) 2020. The conference will take place April 20-23, 2020 at the Hilton Portland Downtown in Portland, Oregon. The deadline for submitting abstracts is October 30, 2019.
By Inside GNSS
Rochester, NY – Orolia Defense & Security announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Talen-X, a U.S. company specializing in advanced Global Navigation Simulation System (GNSS) solutions and Interference, Detection and Mitigation (IDM) technologies.
By Inside GNSS
GMV has been chosen for development of advanced safe and precise positioning technology for a new generation of autonomous vehicles. Last week the Madrid, Spain-based company announced the award of an important contract for development of a precise satellite-based (GNSS) positioning system with integrity for the new generation of autonomous vehicles of the German carmaker BMW Group.
By Inside GNSS
