Vendor News

19Apr

Altavian Awarded US Army TUAS Contract

Altavian, Inc., announced they were awarded a $250MM Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity contract with the US Army. With this award, Altavian now supports the largest small UAS program in the world. It exists under the Program Executive Office Aviation, Products Office for Tactical Unmanned Aircraft (TUAS), The US Army Family of Systems, Unmanned Aircraft Systems (FoSUAS) includes the RQ-11, the RQ-20. It supports control and communications equipment, and other technologies fielded over the contract period of performance. All systems are for a single, dismounted war-fighter. The design enables the individual to carry, assemble, and deploy the system for immediate over-the-hill surveillance and reconnaissance.  

Altavian contract award

Altavian supports the mission of the Army to provide critical, real-time intelligence for warfighter protection and extended operational reach. “The entire Altavian team is proud to be supporting our warfighters," said John Perry, CEO of Altavian. "It is part of our mission to design and build incredible technology. Knowing that it is at work in service of those who defend the United States is our highest honor. We are committed to meeting the challenges of this contract and accelerating innovation in the US Army UAS capabilities.” Under this new contract, Altavian is in competition to provide quality components to sustain the FoSUAS fleet. It is also competing to provide upgrade offerings which increase capability, resiliency, and cost-effectiveness of the fleet. New offerings include upgraded avionics and radios with increased frequency options. Plus, a handheld ground control station (H-GCS). Altavian continues to supply RQ-11 and RQ-20 direct replacement parts for the Government. “We are proud to continue to bring competition to Group I [under 20 lbs] UAS.” said Thomas Rambo, co-founder of Altavian. “Our prior efforts were successful in breaking vendor lock on non-integrated components such as composite structures and ancillary parts. This new contract brings the opportunity to open the rest of the system (flight control, radio, payloads, and ground control) for greater integration. All the technologies that we are proposing for this contract embrace the US DoD’s Open Systems Architecture objectives and by adopting this technology will ensure the continued sustainment, upgradeability, and interoperability of Group I UAS for years to come.” This contract has a base award period of five years and is the primary acquisition method for Group I UAS in the Army. Altavian performed sucessfully on the predecessor contract since 2012.  

Shop Altavian's line of UAVs at Unmanned Systems Source.

 
By Vendor News, , , , , Comments OffRead more...
17Apr

FT742 Wind Sensor Now Reads Acoustic Temperature

Recently, FT Technologies updated the 722 and 742 digital wind sensors. Now, these models can read acoustic temperature as well as wind speed and wind direction. The air temperature is derived from the operating frequency of the sensor. It has an accuracy of ±1°C.  

FT742 wind sensor upgrade

Customers who currently use FT digital wind sensors for wind speed and direction measurement, can now read the air temperature. All this capability from one maintenance-free device. The new software is available to existing users at no extra cost. The FT742-SM model also includes an electronic compass.  

How it works

FT wind sensors work by establishing a resonant, ultrasonic frequency in the measurement cavity. Sensors then measure the phase change of that ultrasonic signal as air passes through the cavity. The resonant frequency varies with the speed of sound which itself is heavily dependent on air temperature and, to a lesser extent, relative humidity and air pressure. Therefore, the sensor can derive the temperature of the air from the frequency of the ultrasonic signal. Hence, the name ‘acoustic temperature’. The accuracy is affected by the temperature difference between the sensor and the cavity. This is common with all ultrasonic systems measuring acoustic temperature. With the heater off, accuracy is ±1°C at wind speeds between 5m/s and 60m/s and at temperatures ranging from -20°C - +60°C. Accuracy is ±2°C with the heater on. FT sensors have no moving parts to break or degrade. As such, they are ideal for use in extreme conditions. Additionally, these sensors are great for extended operations.  

Shop FT Technologies line of wind senors at Unmanned Systems Source.

 

About FT Technologies

FT Technologies specializes in the design and manufacture of high performance Acoustic Resonance wind sensors – also known as anemometers or air-flow sensors. All our sensors incorporate our own patented Acu-Res® Technology which enables them to deliver reliable wind speed and direction data, from compact, lightweight sensors. Users typically experience over 99.9% data availability, even in harsh climates with the toughest weather conditions.  
By Vendor News, , , , Comments OffRead more...
23Mar

BoE Systems’ LiDAR platforms leverage lightweight Velodyne 3D LiDAR sensor

Late last year, Velodyne LiDAR Inc., the world leader in 3D vision systems for autonomous vehicles, created a partnership with BoE Systems. Velodyne integrated its VLP-16 Puck and Puck LITE 3D LiDAR sensors into BoE Systems’ UAV fleet for geospatial data collection and analysis. With this integration, BoE Systems now offers full 360° imaging of geography and equipment that serve a multitude of industries. These services meet a growing need for quick, safe, and accurate aerial inspections. Such industries, include: transportation, utilities, telecommunications/infrastructure, construction, aggregate, forestry, and agriculture.  

Tailored Solutions

BoE Systems acquires imaging data, processes it, and provides customers tailored analysis and inspection reports. This information allows companies to address immediate as well as future needs and compliance issues. In addition, BoE Systems’ proprietary hardware and software integrations provide highly detailed digital maps. Such detail allows for the development of highly accurate flood models, drainage analysis, Building Information Modeling (BIM), contour mapping, and more. “UAV mapping is a nascent industry that has quickly evolved with the adoption of LiDAR sensor technology,” said Mike Jellen, President and Chief Commercial Officer, Velodyne LiDAR. “With BoE Systems’ integration of Velodyne’s advanced VLP-16 Puck and Puck LITE sensors, the result is an incredibly valuable service that quickly and accurately maps geography and equipment to save customers critical man-hours, cost, and effort.” “BoE Systems’ hardware and software integrations leverage cutting edge technology like Velodyne’s VLP-16 LiDAR sensors to produce highly accurate 3-dimensional environmental models for industry professionals,” said Jason Littrell, President, BoE Systems. “Those professionals appreciate that our systems can do the job quickly, safely, accurately, and without breaking the bank.”  

Shop BoE Systems' LiDAR solutions at Unmanned Systems Source.

 

About Velodyne LiDAR

Founded in 1983, Velodyne is a technology company known worldwide for its real-time 3D LiDAR sensors. The company evolved after founder/inventor David Hall developed the HDL-64 Solid-State Hybrid LiDAR sensor in 2005. Velodyne emerged as the unmatched market leader of real-time 3D vision systems. Its products range from the high-performance, surround view UltraPuck™ VLP-32, classic HDL-32/64 and cost-effective VLP-16, to the upcoming, hidden Velarray™. Velodyne’s rich suite of perception software and algorithms are the key enablers of its perception systems.  

About BoE Systems

BoE Systems integrates cutting-edge hardware and software to provide highly accurate geospatial data collection solutions. BOE's drone-based aerial LiDAR systems create detail-rich 3D models for a variety of industries. Analytics are applied to determine critical data points such as geodetic locations, slope identification, point-to-point measurements, volumetrics, and more. BoE models are perfect for creating digital elevation models, overlaying contour lines. Additionally, these models even support predictive analytics such as flooding and drainage analysis.
By Industry News, Vendor News, , , , , Comments OffRead more...
06Mar

How GPS brings time to the world

Knowing the correct time is something we take for granted. But, who exactly decides the correct time in the first place? How does anyone go about determining the correct time? And, how does GPS fit in to the story?

Ultimately, the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM, Paris) determines the correct time.

To determine the time, BIPM in Paris relies on contributions from a worldwide collaboration of timing laboratories. Each of these laboratories maintain their own measure of time and compare it with GPS time.

 

One clock to rule them all

Timing labs employ precise clocks. To measure time precisely, Cesium atomic clocks and Hydrogen masers are among the most popular devices.

Although these clocks are very reliable -- accurate to about 2 nanoseconds per day -- small variations still occur. At BIPM in Paris, they compare the performance of clocks in timing labs from around the world. They use a weighted average of all contributions and calculate Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

Interestingly, labs with better performing or more stable clocks receive more weight in the UTC calculation.

This means that real-time UTC is only an approximation... albeit a very accurate one. Thus, they determine the more precise calculation in retrospect.

The Circular-T journal, published monthly by BIPM, contains the small corrections. They apply these corrections to UTC for the previous month.

GPS receivers and time

Each timing lab contributing to UTC measures its own version of UTC. For example, UTCBrussels is the Belgian measure of UTC.

So how does BIPM compare the performance of all these different clocks?

It uses GPS receivers. Or, more accurately, GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receivers which - in addition to GPS -- track constellations, such as: GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou and IRNSS.

The precise measurement of time is at the heart of every GPS receiver.

They determine the distances between satellite and receiver, used to calculate position, by measuring the transit times of the satellite signals to the receiver.

An error of 1 nanosecond in the transit time translates into an error of 30cm in the distance.

 

Flying clocks

The GPS satellite constellation uses its own precise measure of time called: GPS time. Each GPS satellite has its own, on-board set of atomic clocks. Thus, satellites are also very accurate flying clocks.

By tracking a GPS satellite, a receiver can record the time differences between its own receiver clock and the satellite clock, e.g. UTCBrussels - GPS time.

The time differences, along with other information, are in a data format called CGGTTS and sent to BIPM. Using CGGTTS and other data, BIPM compares a clock in Brussels with a clock in New York by subtracting the individual differences with GPS time. As such, this technique is known as "common view".

UTCBrussels - UTCNew York = (UTCBrussels - GPS time) - (UTCNew York - GPS time).

The two GPS time terms above cancel each other out leaving the difference between UTCBrussels and UTCNew York.

Setting up a timing laboratory

In order to compare the atomic clocks used in timing labs around the world, they need to connect to a GPS timing receiver. A GPS timing receiver uses an external atomic clock instead of its own clock; which it does by using two output signals from the atomic clock:

  • a pulse every second synchronised to UTC (PPS IN) and
  • a 10 MHz frequency reference that is essentially a sine wave (REF IN)

Figure 3 depicts the basic ingredients of a timing laboratory.

However, to reach the nanosecond accuracy required, it takes a great deal of expertise and preparation.

Signal delays in all elements in the setup require accurate calibration. To do this, BIPM maintains a set of pre-calibrated travelling receivers as calibration references.

As well as providing 1/3 of the timing receivers used for the calculation of UTC, Septentrio also provides BIPM with timing receivers for calibration.

Pushing the boundaries of science

Beyond defining and disseminating UTC, GPS timing receivers are staking their place at the forefront of science.

For example, take the case of the T2K experiment. By precisely measuring the transit time of neutrinos between two locations, limits are placed on their mass. Thus, it sheds more light on the nature of these elusive particles.

At the other end of the size spectrum, the Very-Long-Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) technique uses radio telescopes at distant locations. These telescopes are linked together in networks by time-synching their observations using GPS common view. The resulting resolution is far in excess of anything that can be achieved by any single telescope on its own.

GPS technology continues to find new ways to improve our world and advance our knowledge of it.

Shop Septentrio's line of receivers at Unmanned Systems Source.

By Vendor News, , , , , Comments OffRead more...
26Feb

GPS Spoofing: is your high-end receiver safe from an attack?

Threats from jammers have long worried GNSS users. And, now, a new GNSS bogeyman is here...spoofers. Unlike jamming, which attempts to block GNSS signals, spoofers are altogether far more sinister.

By replicating GNSS signals, a spoofer can fool a receiver into thinking that it’s elsewhere in either time or location.

And, given a growing reliance on GNSS technology for positioning and timing, it’s not hard to imagine the potential havoc a spoofing attack might cause.

 

$150 SDRs bring spoofing to the masses

Traditionally, spoofing is an expensive pursuit. A GPS simulator, with a price tag in the tens of thousands of dollars, is usually enough to put off most would-be spoofers.

But the now affordable price of this technology is changing the landscape.

In 2013, a team of researchers from the University of Texas commandeered a 213‑foot yacht using $3,000 worth of equipment.

The arrival of cheap Software Defined Radios (SDR) and open-source code availability is making spoofing more accessible.

 

Signs of spoofing

If a smartphone provides positioning, the first inkling of a spoofing attack is the phone reporting an obviously wrong location.

Figure 1 shows an example of an attacker spoofing an iPhone6 into reporting its position at the top of Mount Everest.

It was harder to spoof an Acer Android phone. The Acer uses additional positioning information from WiFi and the cellular network.

During this test, the phone owner’s wife was alerted via Facebook that he had left the country.But, spoofing a trip to North Korea might have a slightly less amusing outcome.

In the case of high-end receivers that use multiple frequencies from several satellite constellations, spoofing is more challenging. Below are signs to look for if there is suspicion of spoofing.

 

1) The spoofed signal is visible in the RF spectrum

The low power of GPS signals means that they are barely discernible from the thermal noise background.

In order to spoof a receiver, the SDR signals are transmitted with a much higher power making them clearly visible above the background as Figure 2 shows.

2) Divergent code minus carrier behavior

Over short time frames, satellite distances measured using the code and carrier phase of the satellite signals should show very little difference - Figure 3 (upper panel).

This behavior is difficult to replicate. So, spoofed signals exhibit a difference that can increases rapidly over a short period of time - Figure 3 (lower panel).

3) Incomplete and inaccurate nav data

Spoofed satellite navigation data is often missing the GPS constellation almanac and is still only a vague match for the real navigation data.

 

4) Jamming of Glonass and/or L2

Spoofing techniques are advancing but at the moment, only the GPS L1 signal is spoofed so a common tactic is to additionally jam the L1 Glonass frequencies and the L2 band. This will manifest as a sudden fallback to a GPS only standalone mode.

What can receivers do about spoofing?

As shown, single-frequency, low-end devices and smartphones are relatively easy to spoof. High-end multi-frequency receivers aren't so easy. These high-end receivers offer a number of tricks to detect spoofing.

However, in the event such a receiver detects spoofing, what exactly can it do?

 

1) Signal integrity alerting

High-end receivers have the option of employing spoofing flags. As such, the receiver can alert the user if it detects a spoofing attack directly in the RF spectrum or in the GPS measurements.

 

2) Frequency diversity

If the receiver detects spoofing on one frequency, it can switch to using measurements from other frequencies. Thereby, effectively ignoring the spoofed frequency.

Figure 4 shows this technique in action.

Three receivers are subject to GPS L1 spoofing. As the spoofer power increases, the Septentrio AsteRx4 receiver detects the spoof on L1. At this point, it switches from an L1/L2 to an L2/L5 PVT and successfully maintains an accurate position.

The other multi-frequency receiver also detects a problem. However, it has no alternative dual-frequency solution so simply stops outputting a PVT.

The L1-only module, with no detection mechanisms, switches to tracking the spoofed signal and its position gets spoofed.

3) Inertial sensor integration

An IMU device, either coupled to the receiver or mounted on the board itself, provides a unambiguous check for spoofing. In the presence of spoofing, IMUs can also provide input for an integrated PVT solution to mitigate the effects of spoofing.

 

Staying one step ahead

High-end GNSS receivers, particularly those employing spoofing detection and mitigation methods are still relatively safe from spoofers.

However, the increasing sophistication of both hardware -- in the form of SDRs and open-source software -- means there’s no room for complacency.

Are you spoof proof? Learn more about Septentrio's line of high-end, multi-frequency receivers.

By Industry News, Vendor News, , , Comments OffRead more...
20Feb

MicroPilot Now Supports Transitioning VTOL Drones

Recently, MicroPilot announced that their autopilot now supports transitioning VTOL drones. MicroPilot autopilots already fly a wide range of UAVs, including: fixed-wings, multi-rotors, helicopters and even tail sitters. Now, manufacturers of transitioning UAV drones have the option of a professional autopilot known for its reliability.  

Transitioning VTOL Drone Autopilot

Transitioning drones benefit from the many options that come standard with MicroPilot autopilots. The MicroPilot’s HORIZONmp ground station software features a built-in VTOL simulator. This simulator helps speed up the learning curve and provides an operator training mode. The MicroPilot’s XTENDERmp software development kit also enables customers to differentiate themselves from other transitioning drone manufacturers. In addition, MicroPilot’s trueHWIL2, the highest fidelity simulator in the industry, also supports transitioning drones. “I’m very pleased that we now have a solution for our customers that want to fly transitioning VTOL drones,” said Howard Loewen, President of MicroPilot. “As the industry matures, high reliability professional products are more important. Manufacturers of transitioning VTOL drones can now choose an autopilot designed with the professional in mind.”  

Why MicroPilot?

Drone manufacturers choose professional grade autopilots to ensure high quality and reliability. MicroPilot’s professional grade autopilots are subject to 100% environmental stress screening. In addition, they also go through multi-point calibration and testing during the manufacturing process. This ensures that all of MicroPilot’s autopilots offer consistent performance and outstanding reliability. By supporting transitioning drones, MicroPilot demonstrates its ongoing efforts to support a wide range of UAV. MicroPilot continues to adapt to the constant changes of an increasingly high-tech world. As new UAVs appear, MicroPilot works to ensure customers have the option of choosing a high-reliability autopilot.  

Shop MicroPilot's line of autopilot solutions at Unmanned Systems Source.

 

About MicroPilot

Started in 1994, MicroPilot is the world leader in professional autopilots for UAVs and drones. An ISO 9001 certified autopilot manufacturer, MicroPilot markets single-board autopilots, enclosed autopilots, and a triple redundant autopilot. MicroPilot offers a family of lightweight UAV autopilots that can fly fixed wing, transitional, helicopter, and multirotor UAVs.
By Vendor News, , , Comments OffRead more...