Leadership Talks: Seeds of Growth
July 1, 2007 By: GPS World Staff GPS World
Michael L. Whitehead (MW), chief scientist at Hemisphere GPS, leads a team of engineers designing applications in machine control, guidance, marine, and survey. Managing editor Tracy Cozzens (TC) spoke with him on June 4.
TC: What are your goals in innovating beyond L1-only technology? Any results to report so far?
MW: Hemisphere GPS has been quite effective at pushing the envelope with our L1 technology. A good example is the Crescent chipset. This chipset has driven our SBAS accuracy to better than 1⁄2 meter and is the foundation of our BaseLine HD L1-RTK system. Another example is our e-Dif technology which has enabled precision farming in places where other sources of differential aren’t readily available. A third example is our increasingly popular Vector heading products. That being said, it’s clear that there are benefits to adding robustness and accuracy when using the additional signals available today such as L2 and GLONASS. Our current L1 technologies and applications were designed to easily adapt to the use of these additional signals.
We’re applying the same innovations that we applied to L1 to enhance the value of L1/L2 and other future products. Furthermore, each innovation spurs subsequent innovations. For example, the ionosphere effect that can cause e-Dif receivers to slowly drift can be eliminated with the use of both L1 and L2.
We have at least one new product incorporating signals besides L1 and that should be introduced towards the end of the year. Results are very competitive with other products but will be suited specifically for our applications to achieve the greatest value.
TC: What about your goals for expanding the use of GNSS signals?
MW: Our plan is to be ready for the signals as they become practical to use. It’s a somewhat wasted effort to move too quickly and to design for signals that won’t be useable for years down the road. GLONASS and L1/L2 GPS are here today, so obviously these are our first priority. We also certainly have plans for the other signals such as L2C and those from Galileo. And we are keeping a close eye on systems such as China’s Compass.
TC: Do you differentiate your products or approach for positioning and heading devices among different applications in machine control, guidance, marine, and survey? If so, how? How do their requirements differ?
MW: I believe one of the ways we differentiate ourselves in the market is that we’re oriented towards applications, not just standalone GPS products. These applications include automated steering for precision agriculture, automated variable and constant rate-flow control for aerial applications, and heading devices used in marine applications such as autopilots. The markets dictate the applications. We focus on the applications while the GPS systems that we develop really just serve as enablers for the applications.
Hemisphere GPS optimizes positioning and heading technology for the specific markets and applications that we serve. The aerial market was our major focus when we initially developed our GPS technology. Off-the-shelf GPS receivers weren’t performing well on planes that pulled high Gs, banked sharply, and then were expecting high accuracy within seconds as they swooped back on a new pass. We made sure our receiver met the stringent needs of the aerial market and did so better than anything else out there.
Since then, we’ve developed numerous other applications and markets, but we still make sure that receiver technology matches the application. Requirements differ in the need for relative versus absolute positioning, high and low dynamics, degree of smoothing, and even the type of differential that works best. We introduced our COAST technology for applications such as forestry and the aerial market where signal blockages are frequent. As a rule, we don’t produce “one-size-fits-all” solutions. We tailor towards the application and that gives the customer the best value.
Our approach to machine control is broader than traditional construction applications. Some examples include automated steering in agriculture, GPS heading input for marine autopilots, and position and heading sensors for ports handling equipment.
TC: Do you have figures for the size of the precision agriculture GNSS market worldwide? What is your market share?
MW: The global precision ag addressable market, when factoring in multiple vehicles per farm, is somewhere between $6 billion and $10 billion. The real question is how fast the industry penetrates into this addressable market. In ground agriculture, we account for approximately 60 percent of aftermarket systems being sold today, through both our retail products and through the supply of technology components for others’ systems. In aerial guidance, we account for 75 percent of the global market share.
TC: Would you characterize the precision ag market for GNSS as early adoption, developing, or mature?
MW: Precision ag is very much in early adoption stages. Basic guidance has only penetrated about 20 percent of farms in North America, while auto steering has penetrated less than 5 percent. Markets outside North America (with perhaps the exception being Australia) are lagging even farther behind in adopting guidance and auto-steering technologies. So there still exists a big opportunity for mass-market adoption.
TC: How does Hemisphere GPS plan to increase market penetration and awareness of use of GPS in precision ag?
MW: One way is through ride-and-drive events. For automated steering products, this is the single most effective marketing activity we do in terms of awareness and uncovering the need to buy. The value proposition of driver fatigue elimination is obvious when a first-time user has the confidence to “just let go.” It’s also a great referral marketing tool. To complement this, we also invoke a variety of sales and marketing activities in trade shows, publication-based marketing, online marketing, and public relations.
On top of this, Hemisphere GPS targets specific needs and specific price points. Once those people who are in a wait-and-see mode become fully convinced of the benefits, the adoption rate will pick up. Our goal at Hemisphere GPS is to deliver reliable, productivity-enhancing products that will do the convincing.
TC: You also mentioned the machine control areas of marine autopilots and ports handling equipment. Are there any special challenges in addressing those markets?
MW: Part of the marketing challenge is to deliver the right products. The engineering challenges are a high degree of customization for these markets. There are also specific environmental challenges. For example, in container ports there is often a high degree of multipath and blockage, but nevertheless accuracy and robustness must remain high.
An example of meeting these challenges can be found in our Crescent Vector products where additional sensors such as gyroscopes are used to overcome some of the issues of a pure GPS-based solution. In marine navigation, the Crescent Vector provides continued heading output while passing under a bridge, and in ports, robust heading is achieved aboard Rubber Tyred Gantry cranes.
By tailoring our products for the application, we help make the products successful and this ultimately leads to increased market penetration.
TC: What share of the market does Hemisphere GPS have in these areas, and how big are these markets?
MW: We have approximately 50 percent of the existing marine heading (GPS compass) market. The market size is potentially very large as GPS compasses could replace the majority of magnetic heading sensors of which tens of thousands are sold every year. Within Hemisphere, we are anticipating that this portion of our business will grow by 20 percent per year.
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