Thales Alenia Space Signs $334 Million G2G Contract
Company working with entities from 14 European countries on the new generation of Galileo satellites
Thales Alenia Space has signed a $334 million contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) to build the Galileo Second Generation (G2G) Ground Mission Segment and system engineering activities. The contract, which include Leonardo and Telespazio, call for a first version of G2G to be in operation to support the launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) of the first new generation satellite.
Approximately 12 satellites will be launched in the next few years that offer better flexibility, security and infrastructure than the previous generation, the company said. The second version of the ground mission segment is in charge of generating and up-linking navigation services to the Galileo satellites.
Thales, which has two other contracts for G2G cybersecurity, said the new contract follows ones signed in 2021 that makes it the prime contractor for six out of the 12 satellites in the new constellation. The company said it was working with 14 European countries on the constellation contracts.
Overall, Galileo, which is the only GNSS under civilian control, is scheduled to have a constellation of 38 first-generation satellites. All smartphones sold in Europe are guaranteed to have Galileo-enabled capability, the company said.
Expert nationwide installation services for fleet technologies.
Hawkeye 360 Raises $58 Million
Signaling that low-Earth orbit satellite companies continue to be a hot investment, Virginia-based HawkEye 360 has raised $58 million in funding. The latest round was led by BlackRock, with other funding from Manhattan Venture Partners.
HawkEye 360 operates a constellation of 21 satellites that detect, characterize and geolocate radio frequency signals. These signals come from such emitters as those used for communication, navigation and security, the company said.
To date, the company said it has geolocated more than 200 million RF signals to provide insight on early-warning radar activity, military activities, illegal fishing, illegal mining, and indicators of GPS interference. Some of its customers include those in the telecommunications, maritime and defense industries.
The company, which has been monitoring overseas conflicts, including in the Ukraine, has grabbed several contracts with U.S. Defense Department agencies. The company has used its satellites to track GPS interference in the Ukraine conflict.
To date, the company, which hopes to have as many as 60 satellites in LEO by 2025, has raised about $360 million. Its existing investors include Insight Partners, NightDragon, Razor’s Edge, Alumni Ventures, and Adage Capital.
Power Your Business with Vetted Digital Marketing Experts
GrowTal's marketing experts are pre-vetted and experienced, so you can focus on taking your business to the next level. Anywhere from social media management and SEO to paid social channels and high-level strategists. GrowTal experts are ready to work.
TomTom Reports Quarterly Earnings, Updates Outlook
TomTom [TOM2] raised its full-year revenue outlook after revenue for its automotive unit grew 52 percent to 91 million euros. The company had forecasted a 7 million euro loss, but the total operating loss for the quarter, before interest and tax, turned out to be 3.6 million euros.
"Our Location Technology business performed well in the second quarter, showing continuing momentum and good growth. After a strong first half of the year, we are increasing our outlook for 2023 revenue and free cash flow,” said Harold Goddijn, TomTom’s CEO, in a statement.
For the quarter, the company highlighted its deal with Alteryx to power its cloud-based analytics solution to provide location insights. The company also expanded its automotive ADAS portfolio with Live Speed Restrictions. Finally, TomTom co-founded the Overture Maps Foundation, releasing specs for a structured data model and interoperability.
TomTom Falls Victim to Cyberattack
In other company news, TomTom was targeted in a cyberattack by a pro-Russian ransom group, according to published reports. The company said it had taken action to protect data after CL0p attacked its MOVEit file transfer system in May.
Your First Draft, Fast
Looking for some words of inspiration to kickstart your creative process? Magic Write in Canva Docs is your very own AI text generator to help you get out a first draft, fast. Simply start with a prompt and watch as copy, blog outlines, lists, bio captions, content ideas, brainstorms, and more appear in seconds.
Radar Details Whataburger Partnership
Geofencing provider Radar has announced a partnership with fast food chain Whataburger to improve customer experience through location-based data. Radar is providing geofencing capabilities to include real-time customer pickup estimated time of arrivals (ETAs) and automatic arrival detection.
A customer has to place a mobile pickup order and opt in to location tracking. After that, the burger chain can use Radar’s technology to track a customer to the pickup to allow kitchen staff to prepare the order in time.
Whataburger has said that location-tracked orders have increased by 25 percent. The company said that more than 80 percent of their app users opt into location services.
The company also announced a partnership Cordial, a marketing platform that allows brands to automate marketing strategies. The companies will combine Radar’s location infrastructure with Cordial's marketing and data platform to send location-triggered or location-targeted messages to increase conversions.
Get smarter in 5 minutes with Morning Brew (it's free)
There's a reason over 4 million people start their day with Morning Brew - the daily email that delivers the latest news from Wall Street to Silicon Valley. Business news doesn't have to be boring...make your mornings more enjoyable, for free.
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:
🚗 NHTSA Announces New Autonomous Driving Regulations. “A new pathway to the deployment of autonomous vehicles is expected to be unveiled this autumn, which may result in more self-driving vehicles hitting the road.”
😕 Launch of Air Force Research Lab Navigation Satellite Delayed Again. “Navigation Technology Satellite-3 was slated to fly at the end of this year on Vulcan’s first national security mission, USSF-106. However, Denver-based ULA announced that the milestone will be delayed well into next year as the company incorporates a fix to a testing anomaly discovered in March.”
🌍 How Space Force Keeps U.S. on the Map in the Face of Enemy Threats to GPS. “Even after President Bill Clinton offered military-grade accuracy to civilians in 2000 and the continuous advances to navigational tools that ensued this century, GPS jamming and other forms of interference continue to threaten civilian aviation.”
😮 Sigfox Joins LoRaWAN Gang – Unabiz Signs as Contributing Member to LoRa Alliance. “Really, who saw this happening 18 months ago, when Sigfox was in the gutter?”
📱 A Proposed Massachusetts Law Would Ban the Sale of Your Cell Phone Location Data. “Data brokers can sell your location data to any paying customer but a Massachusetts bill designed to protect abortion-seekers would outlaw such sales.”
Maps:
🏆 Fresh from the Esri User Conference – The “Cool Map Happenings” Awards! James Killick’s update on the recent Esri UC and the cool map companies.
👍 People Have Begun to Love Apple's Most Hated Product. “The biggest competitive advantage Apple Maps AAPL 0.00%↑ has over Google GOOG 0.00%↑ is its deeper integration in the iPhone. Any iOS service that requires directions—from finding restaurants in Yelp to locating AirTags in Find My—uses Apple Maps. Users can’t change that.”
🙂 Introducing the Google Maps Platform Architecture Center. “The Architecture Center is a central resource for product managers, architects, and technical leads who are looking to design a location-based application or accelerate the integration of Google Maps Platform into their products or infrastructure.”
😦 Looks Like Google Maps Really Wants Android Auto Users to Switch to Waze. “Not long ago, Google Maps started producing a noticeable lag on Android Auto, eventually making the application impossible to use. The lag expanded to affect other applications, including Spotify.”
🙂 HERE Creates System To Detect Flooded Roads and Send Warnings to Drivers. “The feature is called "method and apparatus for generating a flood event warning for a flood-prone location" and describes an automated system to detect flooded roads and then generate notifications for nearby drivers.”
🗺 Placer.ai, Vibenomics Partner to Improve In-Store Retail Media. “Vibenomics will leverage Placer.ai’s in-store visitation data to create relevant and accurate solutions for audio and display advertising inside physical stores.”
Reach nearly 14,000 subscribers and 100,000 more via social media by advertising in Location Business News!
We can promote your webinar, service or product to a focused group of industry executives. Email us at info@driverlessreport.com for more information, or click here to view our one-page media kit.
Connected and Autonomous Vehicles:
😐 US To Decide on GM Request To Deploy Self-Driving Cars. “U.S. regulators will soon decide on a petition filed by General Motors GM 0.00%↑ Cruise self-driving technology unit seeking permission to deploy up to 2,500 self-driving vehicles annually without human controls.”
🚘 Ford Picks up the Pace on Hands-off Driving With Bluecruise 1.3 Release. “Ford F 0.00%↑ autonomous driving boss Sammy Omari explains the shift from Argo AI to Latitude AI.”
🚜 John Deere Moves Further in the Field of Autonomy. “John Deere DE 0.00%↑ has seven new automation products currently in development, including ExactShot for precise fertilizer placement during planting.”
😮 The Truth and Lies About Driverless Cars in SF…
✈ How Lidar Improves Airport Operations. “Since lidar is just creating a radar image, it can’t be used to identify someone. This makes lidar nearly perfect from a privacy perspective.”
☹ Autonomous Vehicle Companies Claim That "Humans Are Terrible Drivers" and Their Tech Is Needed To Save Lives. Don't Buy It. “Better yet, safety-motivated public officials could accomplish a world of good by investing in public transportation.”
🚦 City of Bellevue and T‑Mobile Join Forces to Reduce Traffic‑Related Fatalities. “Washington’s fifth‑largest city to deploy network‑based C‑V2X and T‑Mobile TMUS 0.00%↑ 5G.”
Other Stuff:
📲 A New Apple Patent Covers Infrared Technology Used for the Purpose of Tracking Another iPhone in Indoor Facilities. “Apple describes using infrared technology for indoor tracking which they claim is superior to using GPS.”
👏 Google One's VPN Will Use Local Servers To Make Location-Based Services More Accurate. “Starting on July 29th, the VPN will begin connecting to servers that are physically close to your location, rather than just connecting to any server within the country.”
🏍 Digades and Sygic Introduce In-Helmet Head-Up Display. “This technology leverages Sygic’s Mobile Software Development Kit (SDK) to provide personalized routing and turn-by-turn navigation specifically designed for motorcyclists.”
🤞 Q-Ctrl's Quantum Navigation Uses Atom Vibration for Dead Reckoning. “Australia-based Q-CTRL has officially announced that it will partner with the Australian military and AUKUS to develop GPS-free navigation using quantum sensors.”
UAVs:
🛩 With RFP on the Way, Marines Are Eyeing a Variety of 'Non-Kinetic' Counter-Drone Weapons. “The push for more air-defense capabilities comes as the Marines are worried about the threat posed by small UAS including kamikaze drones, also known as loitering munitions.”
💲 DARPA Air-Launched Armed Drone Reaches Final Demonstration Phase. “The $95-million phase 3 contract includes prototype manufacturing and flight tests in 2024.”
Financial:
✔ Kerlink's H1 2023 Sales Declined by 34% To €6.6m Compared to €10.0m Year-On-Year.
✔ Garmin Shares Bought by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.
✔ Ericsson Announces Second Quarter Results.
Engaging Short-Form Video for B2B SaaS
Spacebar Visuals creates engaging short-form videos for B2B SaaS companies by turning your written content, such as blog posts, eBooks, surveys and more into engaging video content to drive top- and mid-funnel lead gen.
Location Industry Briefs
Send your news releases to kdennehy@driverlessreport.com. Go to www.locationbusinessnews.com for more news and an archive of stories.
Telefónica Tech, Geotab Announce Collaboration With Vecttor
Telefónica Tech and Geotab have announced a partnership with Vecttor. Telefónica Tech provides fleet management service to Vecttor vehicles in Madrid, Barcelona, Málaga, Sevilla and Valencia.
This solution includes different components such as IoT connectivity, the device and the telematics platform, the company said. The data provided by the Telefónica Tech and Geotab solution has enabled Vecttor’s fleet to save between 14,000 and 18,000 litres of fuel per month, which in economic terms means a saving of more than €200,000 per year, the company said.
Contact: Telefónica Tech, www.telefonica.com.
Digital Matter’s Hawk IoT Data Logger Wins Award
Digital Matter has announced that its Hawk IoT Data Logger has been awarded the 2023 IoT Evolution Product of the Year Award by IoT Evolution World. Hawk serves as an IoT data logger and sensor hub to reduce costs and installation complexity, the company said.
The Hawk collects sensor data and transmits it via cellular LTE-M and NB-IoT networks to any end platform, the company said. Target markets include environmental monitoring, resource and equipment management.
Contact: Shay Kettner, Digital Matter, shay@digitalmatter.com, www.digitalmatter.com.
NextNav Completes Initial Tests of 3D PNT Service
NextNav NN 0.00%↑ has successfully tested its positioning and timing solution that combines the company’s assured PNT TerraPoiNT system with existing LTE and 5G network signals. The test, which took place in San Jose, Calif., demonstrated how TerraPoiNT signals can be integrated with existing cellular signals to deliver 3D positioning and timing information that is not reliant on GPS and GNSS signals. This includes indoors, urban areas, or situations where GPS signals may experience interference, the company said.
Contact: NextNav, media@nextnav.com, https://nextnav.com.
HERE Anonymizer Allows Personal Data Control
HERE Technologies has announced its enterprise-grade anonymization tool is now available for businesses to utilize in self-hosted development environments. HERE Anonymizer processes real-time and historical location data, making it possible to preserve data privacy while unlocking business value, the company said.
The extension of HERE Anonymizer for self-hosted environments gives customers full control of personal location data before it leaves their facility. The extension enables data processing in compliance with such regulations as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) and the Japanese Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI).
Contact: Sebastian Kurme, HERE Technologies, 49 173 515 3549, sebastian.kurme@here.com.
U-blox Rolls Out LTE-M/NB-IoT Module
Thalwil, Switzerland-based u-blox has introduced the smallest LTE-M / NB-IoT cellular module with 23 dBm RF output power and 2G fallback, the LEXI-R422. The company says that the new module is 40 percent smaller than its SARA-R422.
Applications include personal/pet trackers, wearables, livestock monitoring, micromobility, smart tools, usage-based insurance, stolen vehicle recovery and healthcare. The LEXI-R422 supports u-blox CellLocate and AssistNow positioning services.
Contact: Natacha Seitz, u-blox, 41 76 436 0788, natacha.seitz@u-blox.com, www.u-blox.com.
GeoTraq Launches Micro-Tracker
GeoTraq has rolled out its Micro-Tracker Modem miniature tracking device. The device's small size allows for inconspicuous placement to track assets, vehicles, personal belongings, and even pets without drawing attention, the company said. Some markets include logistics, supply chain management, asset tracking, personal safety and others.
Contact: GeoTraq, tmatula@spyr.com, www.geotraq.com.
Create a FREE ManyMe Account.
Quectel Partners With Finite State for Module Security
Quectel has partnered with Finite State to enhance the security of its modules through testing, improved software, supply chain visibility and software risk management. The company said it launched the partnership because of the evolving regulatory environment and need for verifiable information regarding secure software development.
Quectel also said the deal not only addresses security concerns, but is differentiating itself from other IoT industry companies.
Contact: Quectel, www.quectel.com.
PlanetiQ Begins SNR GNSS RO Data Delivery
PlanetiQ has announced today that it will begin daily delivery of its Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) GNSS-Radio Occultation data to NOAA. The agency has allocated $59.6 million over the next five years to use commercial satellite data for weather forecasting, the company said. PlanetiQ supplies GNSS-RO data to NOAA from its constellation of satellites.
Contact: Diane Murphy, (310) 658-8756, PlanetiQ, diane@aquariusgroup.net.
Uffizio Offers Trakzee for Changing Telematics Market
Uffizio has announced that its Trakzee provides a set of features including real-time tracking, fuel management, tire management, video telematics, expense management and job management.
Uffizio says that the telematics industry is evolving with the adoption of advanced technologies such as IoT and AI. By integrating IoT devices, Uffizio enables seamless connectivity and data exchange between vehicles, infrastructure and backend systems, the company said.
Contact: Tushar Bhagat, Uffizio, 91 7283855133, official@uffizio.com.
Zonar Partners With ChargePoint and Highland Electric Fleets
Zonar has announced new capabilities for electric vehicle (EV) management through partnerships with ChargePoint and Highland Electric Fleets. With ChargePoint, joint Zonar customers gain consultation for charging infrastructure planning and deployment, the company said. Highland Electric Fleets has selected Zonar's V4 telematics control unit to provide real-time data on bus location and each bus battery's state-of-charge.
Contact: Larry Meyers, Zonar, 310-721-9587, larry.meyers@zonarsystems.com.
If you're a student in the US looking for a better way to pay for higher education, Bold provides thousands of students with $25k scholarships every year. Enter to win one of our monthly $25,000 scholarship to go towards your tuition, student loan debt, or other education related expenses!
Apply to a Bold scholarship today
People
Lockheed Martin LMT 0.00%↑ has announced Christopher Wronsky as senior vice president and chief human resources officer.
Tammy Aalto has joined JAVAD GNSS as director of sales, Europe. Aalto has held positions at Satel, Topcon (Sokkia), and Trimble TRMB 0.00%↑.
Lakenya Kelly has been named Pointr’s director of enterprise accounts.
Myriota has named Mike Kerrigan as its new chief commercial officer.
Jobs
Customer Success Manager. HERE Technologies.
Careers. U-blox.
Open Roles. Radar.
Click HERE to Join our growing Location Business News LinkedIn Group!