NovAtel SPAN prepares for road ahead

June 26, 2020  - By
Image: GPS World

GNSS positioning is highly accurate and reliable — until satellite signals are disrupted. Hexagon | NovAtel has developed SPAN technology that integrates GNSS positioning with inertial measurements for a three-dimensional understanding of position and orientation.

SPAN technology delivers accurate heading, velocity, azimuth, pitch and roll. NovAtel SPAN-enabled receivers and enclosures are effective across applications, including marine environments to monitor heave movements from waves and autonomous vehicles requiring a higher level of precision and integrity.

NovAtel has demonstrated SPAN technology’s capabilities in a sensor-fusion project alongside AImotive and STMicroelectronics. Leveraging sensors on a moving vehicle — GNSS, inertial measurements, and cameras for visual odometry — allowed the teams to produce promising results for continuous positioning on real roads, in underground parking garages, and through tunnels. NovAtel’s PwrPak7-E1 enclosure was used as a reference system in the project, gathering data to confirm the accuracy of the sensor-fusion solution.

Through this project, NovAtel and its partners validated how alternative PNT like SPAN and other sensor fusion solutions complement and extend GNSS positioning availability, accuracy, and reliability.

This article is tagged with , , , , , and posted in From the Magazine, GNSS

About the Author: Tracy Cozzens

Senior Editor Tracy Cozzens joined GPS World magazine in 2006. She also is editor of GPS World’s newsletters and the sister website Geospatial Solutions. She has worked in government, for non-profits, and in corporate communications, editing a variety of publications for audiences ranging from federal government contractors to teachers.