Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
Applanix, a Trimble company, invites you to its 2018 Airborne User Group Meeting in Barcelona, Spain, Nov. 27-29, 2018.
By Inside GNSS
More than 40 drones performing in a professionally organized light show fell from the sky in Hong Kong Saturday after the GPS signal they were using was jammed. The incident, which caused some HK$1 million in damage (U.S. $127,500), is now under criminal investigation.
The firm Sky Magic, which uses a customized fleet of performance dronesto do indoor and outdoor light shows, confirmed the incident but declined to discuss details of what happened because the investigation was still underway. The company, which has offices in the UK and Singapore, said it would provide more information once the investigation was concluded.
The unmanned aircraft were part of a 100-drone show that was cancelled after an outside party interfered with their operation, Asian news outlets reported. The light show was being performed in conjunction with the annual Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival.The planned seven-minute show featured 100 rotorcraft with LED lights honoring the 10th anniversary of the festival by forming the outline of a birthday cake and the number 10.
The drones were lost during a show Saturday, October 27. Shows already had been done Thursday and Friday.
“After initial checks, the GPS signals for the drones were found to be interfered [with] by external parties and the board reported the issue to police immediately,” organizers said in a press release, according to the South China Morning Post.
“These are professional drones, which are already built with technologies that would direct them back to the takeoff origin,” Hong Kong Tourism Board’s Executive Director Anthony Lau told the Morning Post, “but the signals were so strong that many of them just dropped from the air.”
Lau said an initial police investigation ruled out the possibility that the machines had been hacked.
“They [the police] were here all night working with us, and our vendor, and looking into all sorts of possibilities, and have come to the conclusion that it is not computer hacking,” Lau said. “It is because someone jammed the GPS signal.”
By Inside GNSS
Centum Solutions S.L.U. will be exhibiting at ION GNSS+ this week in Miami and will be introducing a pair of new products, including a GPS interference detection and geolocation system. The Spain-based company will be at Booth #618.
By Inside GNSS
Today, high-precision GNSS technology is integrating with autopilot for guidance and control solutions for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to deliver new and expanding capabilities all the time.
By Stan Goff
NovAtel Inc. today launched its new TerraStar-C PRO correction service with multi-constellation support, including the GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou constellations. Combined with NovAtel’s OEM7 positioning technology, TerraStar-C PRO cuts initial convergence times by nearly 60 percent and offers 40 percent better horizontal accuracy than the current TerraStar-C service.
By Inside GNSS
Commercial UAV EXPO Americas 2018 takes place October 1-3 at The Westgate in Las Vegas, Nevada. If you register by May 31, you can save $300 and also enter for a chance to win two free hotel nights.
A successful drone operation depends on reliable and up-to-the minute information. It’s not easy to keep up when the technology and regulations are constantly evolving. Fortunately, this event brings together the key people, the newest technology and the education you need for success — Commercial UAV Expo Americas.
Here’s a sample of the conference programming:
Plenaries:
Vertical Industry “Deep-Dive” Tracks:
Below is a selection of confirmed speakers:
|
|
Precision measurement professionals rely on Commercial UAV Expo to deliver the high-level content and quality programming they need for complex projects.
Check www.expouav.com for continual updates and here to register.
By Inside GNSS
Hexagon’s Positioning Intelligence division today announced the latest milestone achieved on the road to safe autonomy. The company’s ground-breaking initiative is on a mission to develop functionally safe positioning technologies for fully autonomous vehicles and other applications.
By Inside GNSS
MicroPilot and Trimble have entered into an agreement that will enable the integration of Trimble’s high-precision Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) technology into the MP2128 Triple Redundant UAS Autopilot.
MicroPilot produces autopilots for all types of professional drones, including fixed-wing, multi-rotor and vertical take-off and landing (VTOL). As Trimble looks to gain market share in the UAS industry, the team at MicroPilot can offer their years of expertise integrating guidance, navigation and support systems in these platforms.
“MicroPilot has phenomenal integration abilities,” Trimble’s Strategic Initiatives Director for Wireless & UAV InTech Division Joe Carey said during this year’s AUVSI XPONENTIAL conference in Denver. “They have a team that integrates the autopilot into the airframe. We want to be integrated into as many airframes as possible. It’s an emerging market and we want to be part of it, but we don’t want to be in the airframe business.”
Integrating autopilots can be difficult because a lot of settings have to be fine-tuned, Carey said. The team at MicroPilot offers support through the design cycle and completes extensive testing to ensure they provide a reliable autopilot that safely guides and controls drones.
MicroPilot works closely with high-end drone companies that make high-capability systems and wanted to join forces with a professional GNSS manufacturer that could support the precision and reliability needs of their customers, said Howard Loewen, President of MicroPilot. Trimble is a leader in this category and will be able to support MicroPilot customers with product development, testing and operations. Trimble’s GNSS receivers are used for many applications, including robotics and autonomous vehicle guidance.
“We’ll benefit from better technical support and better access to their technical team and vice versa,” Loewen said. “We’ll be able to take better advantage of all the features Trimble products have to offer.”
By Inside GNSS
