Septentrio’s Stellar 2022

Receiver maker Septentrio, based in Leuven, Belgium, has made a series of announcements this year that push the industry forward, from updating existing receivers to accepting new services to launching new product lines.

Head of the CLAS

In March, the company launched three new products that support Japan’s high-accuracy Centimeter Level Augmentation Service (CLAS). CLAS, which receives the L6 signal, transmits high-accuracy corrections from Japan’s QZSS constellation. The technology was developed in close cooperation with CORE, a leading integrator of high-accuracy positioning technology and services in Japan.

Photo: Septentrio

Septentrio now offers the mosaic-CLAS receiver for high-volume industrial applications; the AsteRx-m3 CLAS that combines PPP-RTK CLAS with dual-antenna heading functionality; and the AsteRx SB3 CLAS in a ruggedized IP68 enclosure to protect it in harsh environments.

Septentrio is simultaneously offering various receiver types to the Japanese market ensuring an optimal match between products and customer needs in various applications including robotics, precision agriculture, construction, machine control and UAV.

Stopping the Spoofs

Following the CLAS upgrade, the mosaic line received another boost in April, when Septentrio announced Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA) functionality. OSNMA offers end-to-end authentication on Galileo’s civilian signals, protecting receivers from OSNMA attacks.

For the past two years, Septentrio has been working closely with the European Space Agency (ESA) during the test phases of OSNMA deployment. The know-how gained during this period allowed Septentrio to be one of the first to market with this advanced security feature.

OSNMA’s anti-spoofing capability complements Septentrio’s Advanced Interference Mitigation (AIM+) technology and further strengthens the overall security of Septentrio GNSS receivers, making them suitable for assured PNT solutions as well as critical infrastructure, such as 5G network synchronization.

Vertical Markets

Machine Control. In April, Septentrio launched the AsteRx-U3 ruggedized GNSS receiver, successor to the AsteRx-U for construction, mining and other machine control applications. The new receiver combines Septentrio’s latest triple-band precise positioning GNSS core with extended wireless communication features including Wi-Fi, UHF and 4G LTE. The versatile connectivity features of this receiver make it easy to fit it into any control system and enable simple and cost-effective overall design.

Photo: Septentrio

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Also in April, Septentrio is collaborating with MicroPilot, maker of professional UAV autopilots. Septentrio receivers, including the small form factor mosaic modules, as well as the OEM board AsteRx-m3, will support seamless integration of positioning and orientation into MicroPilot’s autopilot ecosystem. MicroPilot chose Septentrio GNSS receivers for their resilience to radio interference such as jamming and spoofing, as well as security and robustness with high-accuracy real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning.

Marine. In May, Septentrio introduced the housed AsteRx-U3 Marine and the OEM board AsteRx-m3 Fg, two receivers for dredging, marine construction and offshore applications. Both offer accurate positioning near shore and offshore via centimeter-level real-time kinematic (RTK) or the built-in Fugro precise point positioning (PPP) sub-decimeter subscription service, delivered either over NTRIP internet or over L-band satellite.

Corrections delivered over L-band allow dredging, bathymetry or marine construction projects even in areas where there is no internet service. The AsteRx-U3 Marine receiver, enclosed in an IP68-rated housing, offers a dedicated L-band demodulator with a separate L-band RF input, which allows for the use of dedicated antennas for excellent reception of L-band signals even at high latitudes.