BAE’s $5.6 Billion Purchase of Ball Aerospace Consolidates Military GPS
Already a major GPS military user equipment provider, BAE Systems looks to the U.S. government space market with acquisition…
While last week’s $5.6 billion purchase of Ball Corp.’s BALL 0.00%↑ aerospace division by Britain-based BAE Systems [BAESY] combines two major space and defense companies, it also consolidates two major military GPS players.
The purchase, in an all-cash deal, is BAE Systems’ largest acquisition in its history. They are getting a Colorado-based space and defense company, Ball Aerospace, that earned about $1.98 in revenue in 2022.
While BAE Systems, which is the United Kingdom’s largest defense contractor, is involved in many space and defense markets, it has achieved a large market share in military GPS. In 2021, BAE Systems, with a U.S. subsidiary headquartered in Falls Church, Va., won a $247 million contract with the U.S. Space Force to manufacture an advanced GPS receiver. It also sold a number of Miniature Precision Lightweight GPS Receiver Engine – M-Code (MPE-M) receivers to the German army last year.
For its part, Ball Aerospace has produced thousands of GPS and communication antennas for civil and DoD applications. In addition, the company has worked with the military to provide a proprietary, uninterrupted Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) for some of the most widely used vehicles. The company also manufactures lidar and 3D products for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance applications.
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Nivriti Solutions Seeks $25 Million in Series B Funding
Nivriti Solutions Global has partnered with Florida-based PreIPO.com to initiate a $25 million Series B offering. India-based Nivriti Solutions offers its NSaaS fleet management platform that features GPS tracking, object warning, weapons tracking, drone mapping and monitoring, the company said.
The company said it caters to such industries as cold chain logistics, livestock transportation, pharmaceutical logistics and fast-moving consumer goods. Its vehicle monitoring capabilities include integration with Google Maps to provide visibility of vehicles, routes and schedules.
The company, founded in 2016, said the new capital will allow it to increase and enhance services. It will also allow it to go into such new markets as drone tech and agriculture technology, the company said.
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Digital Matter Offers Worldwide Asset Tracking With New GPS Devices
Digital Matter has announced the expansion of its battery-powered IoT asset tracking portfolio with the addition of 4G Cat 1bis and 2G connectivity to enable worldwide asset visibility.
The Oyster3 and Remora3 Global GPS devices feature ‘deploy once’ battery life and enable asset tracking and management across most of the world’s cellular networks.
“Many of our partners require a truly global connectivity solution. In regions where LTE-M and NB-IoT are not available, 4G Cat 1bis with 2G Fallback has proven an excellent solution to enable asset visibility anywhere in the world with a cell network,” says Ken Everett, Digital Matter CEO and founder.
The company’s Global product range also presents a tracking solution for regions such as Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia—particularly as 2G and 3G network sunsets continue.
“We’re seeing a growing reluctance to deploy 2G-only products as the lifespan of these networks is limited, but in many countries 2G still offers the best coverage. With our new Global range, partners can deploy today on 2G and migrate to 4G Cat 1bis when they are ready,” Everett said.
In addition to GPS, the Remora3 Global features Bluetooth to communicate with nearby Bluetooth tags, sensors and beacons. This enables flexible tagged asset and condition monitoring, including temperature, humidity, impact detection and more, the company said.
Through the deployment of GPS asset tracking in global supply chains, businesses can optimize routes, reduce idle times, and enhance asset recovery security. Additionally, IoT asset tracking technologies enable predictive maintenance, ensure compliance, and support data-driven decision-making, ultimately fostering increased efficiency and sustainability in the global marketplace, the company said.
Featuring a broad range of over-the-air configurable parameters for scalable device management, Digital Matter's asset tracking solutions are simple to integrate and ready for use on any existing platform, the company said.
For more information about the Oyster3 Global, Remora3 Global, and Digital Matter's comprehensive range of battery-powered asset tracking devices, visit www.digitalmatter.com.
Contact: Shay Kettner, Digital Matter, shay@digitalmatter.com, www.digitalmatter.com.
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Opinion
PNT Resiliency Race
The chasm between trials and adoption
By Ashu Pande
The resiliency section on the U.S. government GPS.gov site draws attention to the part of the U.S. Space-Based PNT Policy which states: "The widespread and growing dependence on GPS by military, civil, and commercial applications, systems, and infrastructure make the performance of many of these systems inherently vulnerable if disruption or manipulation of GPS signals were to occur. GPS users must plan for potential signal loss and take reasonable steps to verify or authenticate the integrity of the received GPS data and ranging signal, especially in applications where even small degradations can result in loss of life."
There is no doubt that GPS or rather GNSS resiliency is now a requirement. Over the past few years, there have been trials and testbeds set up to demonstrate alternate Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) technologies that hold the potential to bring resiliency and deliver an Assured Positioning Navigation and Timing (APNT) system. Various technologies met and even surpassed the benchmark set in these trials.
In a January 2021 report, the U.S. Transportation Department, in their Conclusion and Recommendation section, (p. 194) wrote: “The demonstration indicates that there are suitable, mature, and commercially available technologies to backup or complement the timing services provided by GPS. However, the demonstration also indicates that none of the systems can universally backup the positioning and navigations capabilities provided by GPS and its augmentations.”
It has been 3 years since Executive Order 13905 was issued and over 2 years since the USDOT report was published yet there is sparse adoption of resilient positioning and navigation products. Once distilled, there are two high-level challenges plaguing adoption: commercial availability of products and a financial model to build and manage the infrastructure.
Commercial product availability of Positioning and Navigation systems
Universal Time is the same, irrespective of the client. Once resilient time has been computed, the computed time can be broadcast and served to thousands if not hundreds of thousands of clients per server.
For more of the article, go to https://locationbusinessnews.com/pnt-resiliency-race.
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Other Location News:
News tip? Send them to kdennehy@driverlessreport.com. Go to www.locationbusinessnews.com for more news and an archive of stories.
Top News:
🛰 USAF Funds Quantum Navigation System to Overcome GPS Limitations. “Alphabet GOOGL 0.00%↑ spinoff SandboxAQ is developing a quantum navigation system for the U.S. Air Force to complement GPS.”
💰 29-Year-Old's Self-Driving Car Startup Was Born in a Garage—Now It Has Bill Gates' Attention and a $1 Billion Valuation. “Wayve focused entirely on artificial intelligence, while most of the industry used devices like cameras, radar and laser-powered lidar sensors.”
🚆 What Does Beidou Satellite Study Tell Us About Trains in China? “BeiDou data could be used to reduce infrastructure costs based on field trials with trains in China.”
👍 WaterMeter Corp partners with WND Mexico and UnaBiz for 1 Million Water Meters. “This strategic alliance aims to deploy 1 million water meters with Sigfox 0G technology throughout Mexico over the next 10 years.”
Maps:
🗺 MapsPeople: How This Innovative Indoor Mapping Company Is Disrupting A $120+ Billion Market.
😏 This Analyst Favors Made-In-India App Over Google Maps. “He said that unlike Google Maps, which is mainly a business-to-consumer business, MapmyIndia is a provider of advanced digital maps, geospatial software and location-based IoT technologies serving business-to-business and business-to-business-to-consumer firms.”
🤨 Google Maps Tests Redesigned Pins for Places You've Saved. “Making it easier to tell apart your own pins from those provided by Google.”
📱 Cruise and Waymo See a Surge in Robotaxi App Downloads. “Overall, the Cruise app has been downloaded a total of 146,000 times, according to data.ai. Waymo One has been downloaded about 513,000 times, according to data.ai estimates.”
📌 Google Maps Will Stop Showing Gas Stations to EV Owners. “Google Maps reportedly demoted gas stations in the points of interest categories list for electric vehicle owners while using Android Auto.”
😐 Google's Latest Material You Tweak Hits Maps for the Web. “Google has been busy in recent months working Material You into all of its products, both on Android and on the web.”
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Connected and Autonomous Vehicles:
🤷♂️ Cruise Robotaxi Gets Stuck in Wet Concrete…WTH…
😮 Cruise Told by Regulators to 'Immediately' Reduce Robotaxi Fleet 50% Following Crash. “Cruise, the self-driving car subsidiary of GM GM 0.00%↑, has been asked by the California DMV to reduce its robotaxi fleet by 50% in San Francisco following a crash Thursday night with a fire truck.”
🚌 San Francisco Launches Driverless Bus Service Following Robotaxi Expansion. “The free shuttle will run daily in a fixed route called the Loop around Treasure Island, the site of a former U.S. Navy base in the middle of San Francisco Bay.”
🚛 Averitt Wires Its 5,000 Trucks With Platform Science “Connected Vehicle Platform." “Averitt will roll out a “connected vehicle platform” from Platform Science to its entire fleet of more than 5,000 trucks.”
🤞 Robotaxis in San Diego? Cruise Testing — With Drivers — In Gaslamp. Also, Cruise is testing in Charlotte, N.C.: A Driverless Car Company Is Testing Autonomous Vehicles in Charlotte.
🛺 Orlando, Florida, Debuts Self-Driving Shuttle That Will Whisk Passengers Around Downtown.
👌 Lidar on a Chip Puts Self-Driving Cars in the Fast Lane.
Drones:
👏 Michigan To Spend $17 Million on Drone Projects. “About $10 million will fund advanced aerial mobility projects including vertiports, drone hubs and ports and last-mile delivery. Another $7 million will fund a drone park at Battle Creek Unlimited called MICH-AIR.”
🛩 Advanced drones that can fly silently 'without any signs of propulsion' may be behind mystery sightings, experts say. “Drone flies using ion propulsion with no wings or propellers.”
🤨 New Chinese Research Examines How To Get Drones to Target Without GPS. “But camera data can’t tell a drone whether hitting a target is a bad idea.”
Financial:
✔ Innoviz Reiterates Value Proposition in Open Letter to Shareholders.
✔ Automakers Are Finally Embracing Lidar Sensors. A Few Startups Look Like Market-Share Winners.
✔ Ituran Location and Control Has Announced a Dividend.
📈 ComNav Technology Listed on Shanghai Stock Exchange STAR Market.
Opportunities:
😊 UK Space Accelerator Program Taking Applications.
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Location Industry Briefs
Send your news releases to kdennehy@driverlessreport.com. Go to www.locationbusinessnews.com for more news and an archive of stories.
U.S. DoT Announces SMART Grants
The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced that it is accepting applications for the Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grants Program. Companies specializing in connected vehicles, sensors, systems integration, delivery/logistics, innovative aviation, smart grid and traffic signals are eligible. Applications must be submitted by 5 pm, EDT, on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023, to the Valid Eval submission website.
Contact: U.S. DoT, www.transportation.gov/grants/SMART.
Xona Space Systems Partners With Lockheed Martin
Xona Space Systems has partnered with Lockheed Martin $LMT to protect Xona’s PULSAR services to meet military-grade security practices, the company said. The partnership will accelerated and refine PULSAR’s features to include signal security and license management in preparation for Xona’s first production satellite launches next year, the company said. Lockheed Martin Ventures participated in a fundraising round for Xona—led by First Spark Ventures in 2022.
Contact: Jessica Hulsey, jessica@xonaspace.com, www.xonaspace.com.
STMicroelectronics Achieves Vodafone NB-IoT Certification
STMicroelectronics $STM has received Vodafone NB-IoT certification for its ST87M01 NB-IoT and GNSS modules. The ST87M01 combines cellular IoT connectivity and geolocation in a miniaturized, low-power, integrated module featured for IoT and smart-industrial applications, the company said.
The ST87M01 has also been certified by the Global Certification Forum that promotes interoperability of mobile and IoT products, the company said. The modules feature integrated native GNSS receivers.
ontact: Michael Markowitz, STMicroelectronics, (781) 591-0354, michael.markowitz@st.com, www.st.com.
Avnet Silica Partners With U-Blox
Avnet Silica has announced a partnership with u-blox [UBXN] that allows it to prioritize GNSS solutions, short-range radio and cellular technologies, the company said. The company also said that u-blox’s modules complement the NXP Semiconductors chip-level Wi-Fi and Bluetooth products and Nordic Semiconductor Bluetooth chipsets. For its part, u-blox said that the deal expands its reach in the EMEA region and enhances its distribution network.
Contact: Avnet Silica, www.avnet.com.
Inertial Labs Rolls Out Scanning, Mapping Product
Inertial Labs has launched the RESEPI TELEDYNE Optech CL-360HD, which features 4-return laser and increased range of up to 750 meters. CL-360HD use cases include mobile mapping, forestry, and crack detection in critical infrastructure areas like airport runways, the company said.
RESEPI features Inertial Labs’ INS with a tactical-grade IMU and dual antenna GNSS receiver, integrated with a Linux-based processing core and data-logging software, the company said. RESEPI is equipped with TELEDYNE’s CL-360HD lidar.
Contact: Leo Liu, Inertial Labs, (703) 880-4222, leo.liu@inertiallabs.com, www.inertiallabs.com.
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Scout Wins $1.5m Phase II STTR From U.S. Space Force
SCOUT Space has been selected by SpaceWERX for a $1.5 million U.S. Space Force contract to focus on “Robust Cross-Domain Optical Navigation with Space-Based Sensors.” SCOUT was awarded the Phase II Orbital Prime STTR in collaboration with Stanford University’s Space Rendezvous Laboratory (SLAB). SCOUT will collaborate with SLAB to enhance space mobility and logistics capabilities, the company said.
Contact: SCOUT Space, www.scout.space.
Overture Sponsoring Webinar Next Week
Overture Maps Foundation is hosting a webinar on Aug. 30 at 11 am, EST. The topic is “Working With Overture Data: A Step-by-Step Guide. The speaker is Jennings Anderson, Meta's research scientist.
Contact: Overture Maps Foundation, https://overturemaps.org.
Geotab Wins International Business Awards
Geotab was named the winner of four Stevie Awards in the 20th Annual International Business Awards competition, including Company of the Year, Transportation. The company also won awards for sustainability leadership, products and innovative tech.
Geotab currently provides telematics solutions to more than 47,000 customers in 150 countries, including 3.7 million subscriptions worldwide. The company also recently released its 2022 Sustainability and Impact Report.
Contact: Geotab, www.geotab.com.
Spire Participates in MagQuest
Spire Global SPIR 0.00%↑ will participate in Phase 4 of MagQuest, a prize challenge to advance how the Earth’s magnetic field is measured. The company, invited by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to participate, is competing to multi-million-dollar prize awards. “The World Magnetic Model cannot be overstated: It is critical to keeping everyday navigational systems running,” said NGA senior GEOINT authority J.N. Markiel, in a statement.
Contact: Sarah Freeman, Spire Global, sarah.freeman@spire.com, www.spire.com.
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People
Michael Flournoy has been named vice president of sales at Noregon Systems.
Octo Telematics CEO Nicola Veratelli has been named to the Fleet LatAm advisory board.
Edgar Martinez, who ran meetings and trade shows for ITS America and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, recently passed away.
Ouster OUST 0.00%↑ has appointed Cyrille Jacquemet to senior vice president of global sales.
Wiliot has announced the appointment of Ilan Lifshitz as vice president of platform.
Jobs
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