MAPPING

Mobile Mapping System
With integrated inertial labs INS/lidar

The Meridian mobile mapping system integrates the Mosaic X camera with Inertial Labs inertial navigation system (INS) and lidar to improve mapping accuracy.

The Meridian system offers panoramas with a 74 MP native resolution and 13.5 K resolution using precisely synchronized camera modules. The design minimizes image overlap to offer clearer and more consistent panoramas. The integrated INS system has a vertical accuracy of 2 cm to 3 cm and a precision of 2 cm to 4 cm.

It features seamless, out-of-the-box operations with fully integrated and calibrated components. The Meridian system is designed for ease of use and requires only minutes of training. In addition, it features a rugged design to ensure performance in challenging environments.

Mosaic, mosaic51.com

OEM

INS
Combines a GPS master clock with an INS

The Geo-APNT serves applications requiring precise navigation data and an accurate time reference. The Geo-APNT combines a versatile GPS master clock with an INS to
offer assured positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) under all circumstances, including temporary loss of GPS signal. It minimizes size, weight and power (SWaP) due to the integration of positioning and timing that are typically achieved by two independent subsystems.

It can be easily integrated into existing systems and supports RTK and PPK positioning and offers support for MEMS, fiber optic gyro and ring laser gyro inertial measurement units (IMUs). The system also includes GPS antenna and cables.

AEVEX Aerospace, aevex.com

Tactical-Grade IMUs

For unmanned applications

<p>The post Launchpad: Tactical-grade IMUs, Spirent simulator upgrades, atomic clocks and more first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Photo: Adtran

Adtran has released two optical cesium atomic clocks, the OSA 3300 Super High-Performance (OSA 3300 SHP) and the OSA 3350 Super Enhanced Primary Reference Clock+ (OSA 3350 SePRC+). The devices use optical pumping technology to meet evolving demands across applications from scientific research to critical positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) infrastructure.

The OSA 3300 SHP offers stability and accuracy, making it a valuable tool for metrology institutes and scientific research facilities. The OSA 3350 SePRC+ is specifically designed to enhance holdover capabilities for PNT services. It maintains 100 days of 100-nanosecond precision, providing continuous and accurate timing even in environments where GNSS is compromised or unavailable. This makes it a crucial component for ensuring the integrity of mission-critical networks and supporting vital infrastructure and defense operations with reliable backup timing.

“In an era marked by rising global tensions and heightened risks of state-sponsored interference in satellite communications, our latest innovation has arrived at a pivotal moment. It will greatly enhance our capacity to address the demand for secure and reliable network timing around the world,” said Gil Biran, GM of Oscilloquartz, Adtran.

<p>The post Adtran launches atomic clocks first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Photo: Adtran

A leading Canadian hydropower producer is using the Adtran Oscilloquartz grandmaster device combined with its optical cesium atomic clock to achieve new levels of precision, reliability and resilience in its power grid synchronization network.

The deployment addresses the urgent need to implement the highest standards of protection against GNSS disruptions — including jamming and spoofing cyberattacks — and helps bolster North America’s energy resilience. Featuring multi-source protection, the enhanced timing architecture offers a zero-trust approach to positioning, navigation and timing (PNT), ensuring robust and accurate synchronization. It also seamlessly supports existing services, which allows for a smooth transition from legacy timing to power grids with advanced PTP technology. For streamlined operations and assurance, the synchronization network is remotely managed through the Adtran Ensemble Controller with Sync Director.

By enhancing its timing framework with Adtran’s Oscilloquartz solution, the hydroelectric producer is designed to maintain the highest standards of cybersecurity and energy reliability in its critical infrastructure, the company said. The deployment aims to improve the stability and security of the energy supply across Canada and the United States.

The new solution includes Adtran’s OSA 3350 ePRC+ combined with the OSA 5422 to provide precision, stability and resilience against GNSS vulnerabilities. It has an all-digital design, which utilizes optical-pumping techniques, to guarantee timing accuracy and optimal stability for over a decade. This is twice the lifespan of conventional cesium clocks.

With the OSA 5422, the solution future-proofs the utility’s timing network and assures compliance with governmental regulations. It fortifies security and underscores the renewable energy utility’s commitment to maintaining a continuous, secure power supply.

<p>The post Canadian hydropower producer upgrades timing network first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Photo: VIAVI Solutions

VIAVI Solutions has released SecurePNT 6200 with SecureTime services, to enhance the resilience and precision of positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) for infrastructure operations globally.  

The solution integrates the Fugro AtomiChron timing service, to improve security against emerging threats to global infrastructures, such as 5G networks, transportation systems and financial services. 

SecurePNT 6200 offers a multi-source PNT service that combines signals from various orbital positions — geosynchronous (GEO), low-Earth Orbit (LEO), and medium-Earth Orbit (MEO) — with traditional GNSS constellations, offering a zero-trust, multisource assurance framework. This setup is designed to protect against the vulnerabilities of public GNSS signals, which are critical for the timing and synchronization of essential services that can be disrupted by jamming, spoofing or satellite attacks. 

The SecurePNT solution incorporates several key technologies to ensure robust protection: 

• Anti-spoofing: Detects and mitigates spoofing attacks, ensuring the integrity of navigation and timing data. 
• Authentication: Extends beyond the Galileo Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA), offering enhanced security measures across all GNSS constellations. 
• Encryption: Protects the integrity and confidentiality of PNT data transmission. 
• High accuracy: Delivers timing accuracy of less than 5 ns, with an optional upgrade to less than 1 ns, all traceable to UTC/NIST standards. 

SecurePNT 6200 can be easily integrated into existing systems. It features VIAVI’s µTranscoder technology, which allows users to upgrade their legacy GPS/GNSS systems effortlessly. This technology allows a simple retrofit of the SecurePNT 6200 between an existing GPS/GNSS antenna and its receiver to improve resilience without the need for extensive hardware modifications. 

The solution aligns with various government and industry standards, ensuring compliance with the latest guidelines from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS),   

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and other regulatory bodies. SecurePNT 6200 aims to support the security and operational needs of critical infrastructures worldwide.

<p>The post VIAVI launches resilient PNT solution first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Photo: Keysight

Syntony GNSS has partnered with Keysight Technologies, an RF testing solutions manufacturer, to advance GNSS testing and simulation capabilities.

The collaboration centers on Keysight’s VXG advanced signal generator, which can generate thousands of simultaneous signals across all GNSS constellations and bands. It features time and phase synchronization for high fidelity and accuracy in simulation scenarios. This feature is particularly crucial for testing GNSS receivers under various conditions to ensure optimal performance in real-world scenarios.

The Syntony GNSS Simulator Constellator can mimic the complex dynamics of GNSS signals, providing a platform for testing and validating GNSS receivers. When combined with Keysight’s VXG, it serves as a comprehensive testing solution for all GNSS signals and scenarios.

The partnership aims to improve Controlled Reception Pattern Antenna (CRPA) testing. CRPA is pivotal in enhancing the resilience of GNSS receivers against interference and jamming to offer reliable operation even in adverse conditions. The combined solution from Syntony GNSS and Keysight offers a platform for testing CRPA systems to ensure they meet the stringent requirements of modern applications.

Telecommunications, among other sectors, relies heavily on precise timing information, typically derived from GNSS signals. The threat of jamming attacks, which can disrupt GPS time synchronization, poses a significant risk, potentially crippling communications and other dependent systems. The testing solutions emerging from this partnership provide a toolset for infrastructure managers to evaluate and enhance the resilience of their systems against such threats.

<p>The post Syntony GNSS, Keysight partner for GNSS testing and simulation first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Sweden’s leading position in digital services and telecommunications highlights the need for robust timing services, which are fundamental to the functioning and security of digital infrastructures. The introduction of coreSync OSA 3300-HP by Netnod — a company specializing in providing internet exchange, DNS, and time services in the Nordic countries — aims to enhance the accuracy, stability and durability of timing synchronization services across the country.

By deploying Oscilloquartz super ePRC technology across six pivotal timing centers nationwide, Netnod aims to address the growing concern over GNSS vulnerabilities. The optically pumped cesium technology of the coreSync OSA 3300-HP offers a highly stable and precise alternative timing source, providing frequency stability and an operational lifespan double that of traditional magnetic cesium clocks.

<p>The post Netnod bolsters Sweden’s national timing infrastructure first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Image: NextNav

NextNav has entered an agreement to acquire additional spectrum licenses in the lower 900 MHz band (902 MHz to 928 MHz) from Telesaurus Holdings and Skybridge Spectrum Foundation. This acquisition, valued at up to $50 million, significantly expands NextNav’s spectrum portfolio by an additional 4 MHz.

With the completion of this transaction, NextNav’s total spectrum assets will surge to 3.5 billion MHz-PoPs, which marks a significant leap in the company’s capacity to offer reliable and precise positioning and timing solutions.

The transaction involves an initial cash payment of $2.5 million due within 30 days following the court’s authorization to proceed. The balance will be settled in NextNav common stock, contingent upon reaching specific milestones, the final transfer of licenses and obtaining necessary regulatory approvals. The successful closure of this deal is subject to Court and regulatory clearances, including approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

NextNav aims to deliver PNT solutions that use 3D geolocation and PNT technology, facilitated by its ownership of low-band licensed spectrum. The company’s technologies are designed to ensure accurate, reliable and resilient 3D PNT solutions across a broad spectrum of applications, ranging from critical infrastructure and GPS resiliency to various commercial use cases.

<p>The post NextNav enhances positioning and timing capabilities first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Peter Thompson, Ph.D., CEO of NPL, left, with Jim McDonald, professor at the University of Strathclyde. (Image: NPL)

The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) has marked the inauguration of the first of three innovation nodes designed to enhance the United Kingdom’s capabilities in the development of time-critical technologies. The initiative is aimed at sectors such as transport, telecommunications, fintech and quantum with the application of accurate and precise timing.

In a collaborative effort between NPL and host organizations, including the University of Strathclyde, the University of Surrey and Cranfield University, the Innovation Nodes stand as a cornerstone of NPL’s National Timing Centre Programme. It represents the UK’s nationally distributed time infrastructure and offers secure, reliable, resilient and highly accurate time and frequency data. This infrastructure is crucial for the development of new technologies in time-critical 5G and 6G applications, next-generation automated factories and connected autonomous vehicles.

Throughout the development phase, the node sites at the Universities of Strathclyde, Surrey and Cranfield have hosted feasibility and demonstrator projects funded by Innovate UK, the United Kingdom’s innovation agency. These projects have benefited from technical consultancy and access to high-accuracy timing signals, which encourage the development of new products and services. These initiatives were created as an effort to establish an evidence base for redistributing positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) data to air and ground-based autonomous systems within a smart city infrastructure. This will ensure the safety, reliability and security of autonomous transport.

NPL welcomes collaboration with industry and academia to leverage the Innovation Nodes for access to traceable and high-accuracy timing signals and promises to stimulate further innovation and development in critical sectors.

Professor Paul Griffin of Strathclyde’s Department of Physics pointed out the vulnerabilities of GNSS to jamming and spoofing, underscoring the NTC’s mission to provide robust timing for the UK independent of GNSS. The initiative includes the use of atomic clocks at Anthorn in Cumbria, aligning with UTC through the NPL Time Over eLoran (NTOL) project, led by Chronos Technology. This project demonstrates the transmission of NPL’s timebase via eLORAN and its decoding by Strathclyde’s Power Networks Demonstration Center (PNDC), which is a significant advancement in securing the country’s timing infrastructure against potential threats.

<p>The post NPL to propel UK’s advancement in timing first appeared on GPS World.</p>