The Leica Pegasus:One mobile mapping software platform, ArcGDS, draws on synergies resulting from Leica Geosystems’ recent acquisition of Geosoft S.r.l. and is a complete solution from data acquisition to post-processing to database, Leica Geosystems said. It offers users immediate access to their imagery and point cloud data together in the same GUI. Users navigate visually through their images, clicking in their street views, and can add GIS metadata or calculate distances on the fly. Both the imagery and point cloud are calibrated together, so clicking in one immediately provides access to the data in the other.

With nearly 1 billion stop signs and 3.9 million miles of public road in the United States alone, transportation-related asset management provides substantial opportunities, Leica Geosystems said. Additionally, the introduction of new driver assisted technology for cars is putting tremendous pressure on transportation departments to document their highway systems to enable this technology to work successfully. The Leica Pegasus:One provides a solution for both applications.

In the United States, more than 700 thousand billboards exist with new laws limiting the total number of billboards allowed and their placement. Ensuring compliance will generate revenue for states and municipalities around billboard placement, and is now cost effective with the Leica Pegasus:One platform – by simply driving by, Leica Geosystems said.

“Leica Pegasus:One is an enabling product,” said Stuart Woods, vice president for Leica Geosystems’ Geospatial Division. “By providing a single integrated solution and by making our customers’ scanners mobile, we enable our customers to be more efficient.”

In situations where users want or can only afford to capture images, Leica offers an image-only system without a scanner. This provides the same calibrated camera and leverages photogrammetry software to calculate distances from the images – ideal for GIS applications. No longer is the only option a “video recorder on wheels” — now images can be used for distance calculations, Leica Geosystems said.

Vector H200 processes L1 GPS and GLONASS signals to deliver precise heading, greater positioning reliability, and better performance in challenging environments, Hemisphere GNSS said. Through using two separate antennas, Hemisphere GNSS’ patented Vector technology computes the heading and pitch or roll angle while stationary or in motion. Vector H200 can compute heading accuracy to 0.02 degrees using a 5-meter antenna separation. A variety of differential correction methods also make it possible for Vector H200 to provide sub-meter to centimeter position accuracy.

Marine industry developers can maximize performance by integrating Vector H200 into their systems for hydrographic and bathymetric surveys, auto-pilots, dredging, and buoys. For land applications, Vector H200 is ideal for aligning cameras, antennas and projectiles, and for machine control applications in agriculture, construction, and mining.

“System integrators have a lot to gain from Vector H200’s powerful combination of navigation and machine control orientation capabilities,” said Ron Ramsaran, Sr. Product Marketing Manager at Hemisphere GNSS. “They will appreciate the performance and value from such a small board package.”

Vector H200 supports SBAS, L-Band and RTK differential positioning solutions and features our exclusive SureTrack technology optimizing the use of GPS and GLONASS signals. Hemisphere GNSS offers precise GNSS antennas to fit a variety of Vector H200 applications.

The Instant Alert Device enables drivers to immediately notify dispatch.

GPSTrackIt has developed an Instant Alert Device that can attach to a driver’s keyring, to enable mobile workforce team members to communicate with their dispatchers or fleet managers. If a driver is in trouble, help can be on the way with the touch of a button.

The compact communication device enables drivers to signal for help even if they’re not with the vehicle. Dispatchers are alerted that a driver is in trouble, and can provide vehicle location information to first responders for expedited assistance.

“The device works in a similar fashion to an electronic key,” explains Eddie Bermudez, GPSTrackIt product manager. “It’s a small plastic box with a single button on it. The driver can carry it on his or her keychain. So even if they’re not with the vehicle they can still call for assistance.”

When the button on the device is depressed, it sends a signal wirelessly to a receiver connected to the tracking device in the vehicle. The Instant Alert Device has a range of up to 500 feet.

Bermudez offered an example. “Let’s say you dispatch someone to a remote oil field and there is no cellular communication out there. The tracking device uses both GPS and satellite communications, a combination that provides optimum coverage. The worker can use the Instant Alert Device to notify their team members back at the office if something is wrong or to acknowledge the completion of a task. This gives real-time, up-to-the-minute notifications to the alert contacts via Fleet Manager.”

The feature can be used with any type of switch, button or Power Take Off (PTO) that connects to an input wire on the tracking device.

The C-Tides suite combines the vertical accuracy of C-Nav’s GNSS Precise Point Positioning service with the latest advanced ocean and coastal tides models, the company said.

C-Tides Online features real-time filters and vessel dynamics, a choice of worldwide Mean Sea Surface or regional reference frame models, and tidal prediction for mission planning.

C-Tides Offline utilities include data smoothing and outlier rejection, harmonic analysis, Doodson X0 filter, and a LAT option.

“It’s been a privilege working with our academic partners to develop what is probably the worlds’ most advanced real-time GNSS tide solution,” said Russell Morton, C-Nav head of development.

C-Tides is a fully supported C-Nav utility. The results are suitable for combining with other suitably calibrated vertical components to achieve IHO SP44 Order 1 or better.

According to the article, “The recently completed phase at DIA trims arrival and departure fuel costs by eliminating several intermediary steps. The traditional system requires an airplane to come into and out of cruising altitude by firing its thrusters at every new altitude level, wasting hundreds of pounds of fuel… The traveling public will not likely notice an immediate difference in travel time, but proponents hope that the early investment pays off in the end.”

The FAA predicts that NextGen improvements will reduce flight delays by 38 percent and lead to a 1.4-billion-gallon total reduction of fuel burn by 2020.

By Janice Partyka

It’s a trifecta. The most interesting news at CES, Mobile World Congress, and now CTIA was the connected vehicle. Last week at CTIA, the biggest mobile conference in the U.S., GM and OnStar demonstrated ideas of what we can expect in vehicles once AT&T’s LTE network makes its way into vehicles. We heard about many of their concepts in February at Mobile World, but with the infotainment possibilities being shown at CTIA, it is clear the endeavor is evolving quickly. Providers of navigation, mapping, traffic, middleware, search, points of interest and mobile advertising have key roles. We’ll check in ahead with some of these companies.

GM and OnStar envision an in-vehicle curated app ecosystem with downloadable apps and remote vehicle management. Developers will have access to APIs that can access the vehicle’s speed, performance, GPS, fuel economy and other information, but are kept out of areas that could cause safety issues. GM, as well as other OEMs, is not ready to let the app marketplace take money out of its pocket. The automaker is pushing to get apps built specially for its vehicles. Mary Chan of GM said that the business model hasn’t been decided, but the apps may be free, bundled into a service that GM charges for, or paid out to the developers. Another possibility is an app subscription paid for on a smartphone could be applied to a separate app in the car. We have to wait until model year 2015 to see it come off the assembly line.

Snippets heard at CTIA:

“The biggest challenge of indoor location is having a good enough return on investment by the venue.” Derek Peterson, Boingo

“We hear many pitches from companies that want to supply us with indoor location technology, but so many of them are just unscalable.” David Hildebrandt, ATT

“Relevant, connected car data trumps free.” Mary Chan, General Motors

“The future killer mobile apps are banking, retail, medical (records, diagnosis) and government (voting, administrative).” Michael Saylor, MircoStrategy

“The ownership of data in connected cars will be a huge issue. And what happens to data in a vehicle when you transfer ownership?” Mary Chan, General Motors

Traffic Information Is Getting Better. Traffic information is getting more granular, hence more useful. INRIX and others are collecting traffic data in road segments about 250 meters long, a significant improvement from the past. Not too long ago, traffic data was provided solely by sensors, cameras and helicopters, which covered only highways and some arterial roads. The use of crowd-sourced traffic data now provides a leap in the amount of traffic data collected, enabling more current traffic conditions, as well more roads, to be monitored. “We can collect traffic data for these small road segments from all sources, crunch it and turn it around in under a minute,” says Bill Schwebel of INRIX.

How Fast? In a few years, Schwebel says we will see an expansion of navigation that goes beyond driving from point A to point B. This would include accurate estimates of the entire length of your trip, for instance, driving from your home to arriving at your airport gate. “We will be getting more feeds from parking lots with electronic counters, but we can also see the dwell time in a parking lot, or cars that exit without parking, all from crowdsourcing,” adds Schwebel. Waits at TSA lines or rental car counters can be devised using historical and near real-time data. When schedules of events in the area and school calendars are added, the predictions get better.

Navigation Changes Ahead. Turn-by-turn navigation will take a step forward to becoming more interactive when it becomes a two-way broadcast. Niall Berkery of Telenav, predicts that two-way connected navigation will appear in 2014-2016. “We are now focused on reducing the complexity of navigation and making it more personalized,” says Berkery. The entire industry, hindered by the perspective that navigation is free, is focusing on adding value. Telenav acquired ThinkNear to add hyperlocal marketing to its offering.

Embedded Navigation and the Delivery Man. Berkery estimates that 30% of navigation systems are embedded in the vehicle, which can makes updating or servicing the devices challenging. Some years ago an interesting solution was developed in China. When an embedded navigation system needed servicing, it was handled by a package delivery service, similar to FedEx. The delivery person manually removed the navigation hard drive from a consumer’s vehicle and sent it off to be fixed or replaced. When the drive came back from the factory, the package delivery person reinstalled it. That’s pretty special service.

If you missed last week’s CTIA show, held May 21-23 in Las Vegas, you will have to wait a year and a half for its next appearance. With CES and the Mobile World Congress positioned on the calendar prior to CTIA, the other shows drew the lion’s share of product announcements and crowds. CTIA will reposition itself in front of these competing shows. CTIA’s new “Super Mobility Week” will be more international and take the place of the current fall and spring CTIA shows. Super Mobility Week will be held Sept 9-11, 2014 in Las Vegas and will include MobileCON and other major partnerships to create a bigger show experience.

The R330 GNSS receiver combines the functionality and front panel display of all previous R-series products. Customers can start with sub-meter positioning accuracy and upgrade the receiver with subscriptions that add functionality and improves performance capability to centimeter-level accuracy. To provide the most reliable solutions, R330 is capable of tracking multiple frequencies and multiple constellations including GPS and GLONASS. Users can easily switch between the various DGPS correction options without any downtime. The R330 GNSS receiver is compatible with many of the Hemisphere GNSS’ multi-frequency antennas.

The small, rugged receiver includes a display and status indicators for a user-friendly experience, Hemisphere GNSS said. A standard USB flash drive can be used for data logging.

“The functionality and performance of the R330 receiver can be custom-fit to positioning applications such as pipeline, marine, and volumetric surveys, GIS mapping, vehicle tracking, machine control, meter monitoring and many others,” said Ron Ramsaran, senior product marketing manager at Hemisphere GNSS. “R330 customers will benefit from the reliability, value, and upgrade options that can be added to meet changing needs.”

R330 features Hemisphere GNSS’ exclusive Eclipse SureTrack technology, enabling a more robust RTK solution with fewer dropouts in congested environments and a fast reacquisition when dropouts do occur. Long-range RTK baselines of up to 50 km are achievable with R330.

The R330 GNSS receiver will be available in June through the Hemisphere GNSS Precision Products global dealer network.

The NexNav Circuit Card Assembly (CCA) will integrate with FreeFlight’s upgraded automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) avionics to fulfill the requirements of the second phase of the FAA Capstone Project.

“This is an excellent example of how we are working closely with FreeFlight Systems to create state-of-the-art NextGen solutions that are not only meeting upcoming mandate requirements but doing it in a cost effective manner,” stated Hal Adams, Chief Operating Officer for Accord Technology, LLC.

The Accord Technology NexNav product line revolves around two key receivers, NexNav mini and NexNav MAX. The receivers are at the heart of embedded customer solutions whether as a Circuit Card Assembly (CCA) or embedded in the Line Replacement Unit (LRU) as a stand-alone GPS solution.

NexNav mini was the industry’s first GPS receiver and sensor qualified to fully support the known worldwide and U.S. FAA ADS-B GPS source requirements The NexNav mini and MAX are compatible with EGNOS and other Satellite Based Augmentation Systems (SBAS) to the extent they are is compatible with WAAS.