U.S. Congress Derails Funding for Space Force’s R-GPS Constellation
House subcommittee members turn down $77 million request for small sats that were supposed to make GPS more resilient.
The U.S. House Appropriations defense subcommittee says they aren’t sold on the Space Force’s plan to use small GPS satellites, dubbed Resilient GPS (R-GPS), to increase resiliency. Before they recommended not to fund the $77 million that the Space Force requested in DoD’s fiscal 2025 budget request, the committee said that 20 small sats transmitting core GPS signals may not provide much signal resilience.
“The [c]ommittee has several concerns about the R-GPS plan and the use of this authority for this project. First, the R-GPS initiative purports to provide greater resilience by proliferating a constellation of about 20 small satellite transmitting core GPS signals,” the House committee said in a report that accompanied the bill. “While proliferation may provide some advantages, it is not clear how these additional satellites increase the resilience against the primary jamming threat to GPS, compared to alternate concepts for position, navigation, and timing systems being pursued elsewhere in the Department of Defense.”
The committee also said that the Space Force plan does not address issues with the lack of M-code GPS user equipment that enable jam-resistant capabilities. In addition, the committee said that DoD tried to dodge the congressional budget processes and bypass its own budget process to get the funds.
In February, the Space Force said it wanted to build the demonstration satellites to augment the existing 31 GPS satellite in orbit.
DoD estimated that the cost of the small sat constellation would rise to $1 billion over the next five years. The Space Force redirected $40 million in fiscal 2023 funding for the R-GPS initiative.
Expert nationwide installation services for fleet technologies.
TomTom Partners With Marelli, Gets Frost & Sullivan Recognition
TomTom [TOM2] has partnered with auto tech supplier Marelli to offer an advanced in-vehicle infotainment system for global automakers. Marelli will pre-integrate TomTom’s Digital Cockpit SDK to offer navigation, traffic information and electric vehicle services.
For its part, Marelli offers its LeanConnect cockpit that combines the in-vehicle cluster, infotainment and telematics. As part of the overall industry infotainment efforts, Digital Cockpit SDK offers customization capability for automakers and systems integrators, TomTom said.
TomTom also announced this week that it will offer its Navigation SDK for integration into BMW Motorrad’s motorcycles. The new solution, which can be accessed through a mobile app, is on Android and iOS, the company said.
BMW Motorrad, through its Connected App, allows riders to receive information through a handlebar display. The solution features turn-by-turn instruction and navigation.
Finally, in a busy week for the company, TomTom said that Frost & Sullivan recently recognized TomTom with its 2024 Global Customer Value Leadership Award. Frost said that the company “is a trailblazer in developing location technology and digital mapping solutions.”
The D-Day Visitor's Handbook: Your Guide to the Normandy Battlefields and WWII Paris by Kevin Dennehy and Steve Powers. The D-Day Visitor’s Handbook includes everything you need to know to plan and make your visit to the site of the biggest seaborne invasion in history. This compact guidebook not only describes the most significant land invasion of World War II, but provides detailed battlefield maps and tours, identifies monuments and attractions, and locates museums and historical sites to make your planning easier and less stressful.
The guidebook uses location technology from what3words to locate monuments, museums and other attractions. Get your guidebook today!
Registration for ION GNSS+ 2024 is open. Don't miss out on early registration rates.
ION GNSS+ 2024 is set to take place Sept. 16-20, 2024 at the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Galileo Second Generation Satellites Greenlighted by ESA
Second generation (G2) satellites for the European Galileo navigation system have been approved for the first 12 of the new fleet.
Two independent review boards have confirmed that the satellites meet mission and performance requirements, ESA said. The first board met in April to review the design from Thales Alenia Space. The second board met in May to review designs from Airbus Defence and Space.
ESA says the new G2 satellites will enhance positioning, navigation and timing capabilities. The G2 fleet will have two separate families of satellites, which will be developed at the same time.
In addition, the satellites will feature electric propulsion, digital navigation payloads, a more powerful navigation antenna and inter-satellite link capacity as well as an advance atomic clock.
ESA, which says planned G2 manufacturing is on schedule, has 30 first generation Galileo satellites in orbit. An additional eight are ready for launch, with two planned for September and six starting next year.
Join us for an exclusive webinar featuring Suntech’s CEO Rob Martin, newly appointed CCO Tim Newberg, and the global engineering team. Discover Suntech’s exciting 24/25 solution roadmap, including new telematics and tracking products, market opportunities, and cutting-edge solutions. Secure your spot today!
Iridium Satellite Time and Location Service Activated for Europe and Asia Pacific Regions
Saying its signal is 1,000 times more powerful than GPS, Iridium Communications IRDM 0.00%↑ has announced expanded commercial availability of its Satellite Time and Location (STL) service. STL, an alternative positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) solution, will be sold by Iridium partners in parts of Europe and Asia Pacific.
Europe, specifically, has seen a dramatic rise in GPS jamming and spoofing, while parts of Asia are also seeing increased activity, the company said. “These attacks pose a serious threat to critical infrastructure such as transportation systems, energy grids, data centers, telecommunications networks and financial services, which all stand to benefit from the adoption of more powerful PNT signals,” the company said.
Unlike GPS, Iridium says STL service is uniquely suited for indoor use, with no need to install rooftop antennas, creating a more secure and cost-effective timing solution. STL solutions can be added to existing GNSS-reliant network systems or serve as stand-alone primary units, the company said.
"We're cognizant of the threats facing GNSS-reliant critical infrastructure around the world and our responsibility to deploy the antidote as quickly as possible," said Iridium CEO, Matt Desch. "The average person is more and more aware of how important systems like GPS are in our day-to-day lives, and when Iridium recently acquired Satelles, I pledged to step on the gas and expand market availability for this increasingly in demand solution.”
Guest Article
When Testing High-Performance Positioning and Navigation Systems, Every Millimeter Counts
By Romain Zimmermann, Product Line Manager, Spirent Communications
Developers designing or integrating GNSS receivers and other positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) technologies face a fundamental question. How can you test such devices against the seemingly infinite variables they might encounter in the course of real-world operation, under the controlled and replicable conditions of the lab? The question isn’t new, but is perpetually challenging.
There is, of course, no better way to see how a GNSS-enabled device performs under live conditions than with live field testing. But even in scenarios where field testing is feasible (and not prohibitively expensive), it’s best reserved for the last verification stage of the product lifecycle. For earlier stages, especially when trying to identify performance problems, the real world is just too real. The variables that could affect device performance are practically infinite, making traceability—the ability to identify the source of errors or unexpected changes—extremely difficult. Controlling those variables enough, over enough replications to glean meaningful scientific insights, becomes practically impossible.
The only solution is to make laboratory testbeds more realistic. Fortunately, it’s now possible to conduct exceptionally lifelike, flexible testing using high-fidelity simulation and record and playback systems (RPS). These tools can test high-performance systems with far greater precision. And they can achieve reliable, replicable results to move products forward more quickly.
Having said this, record & playback systems represent a different approach – recording as much as possible of the real world, in as high definition as the system allows, for repeatable replay in the lab. For the next couple of sections, we’ll focus on the more versatile and more controllable simulation approach.
(To read the rest of the article, go to Location Business News).
Other Location News
News tip? Send them to kdennehy@driverlessreport.com. Go to www.locationbusinessnews.com for more news and an archive of stories. Location Business News is looking for your company’s product use cases to feature in each issue. Send us five paragraphs and an image/photo for consideration. Include a contact name, phone, email and web address.
Top News:
💰 USDOT Awards Nearly $60 Million in Advanced Vehicle Technology Grants to Arizona, Texas and Utah. “The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) today announced that it is awarding $60 million in grants under the Saving Lives with Connectivity: Accelerating V2X Deployment program”
🤔 Tern AI Wants To Reduce Reliance on GPS With Low-Cost Navigation Alternative. “[Shaun Moore, CEO and co-founder of Tern AI] said the goal is for leading mapping products like Apple Maps, Google Maps or Waze to pull positioning information from Tern’s AI model, rather than from GPS.”
✈ FAA and EASA Commit To Enhanced Collaboration for Future Aviation Challenges. “Key commitments include addressing systemic safety risks and emerging challenges such as cybersecurity and GPS/GNSS interference.”
🌍 Swisscom Claims ‘Pan-Europe’ IoT With Satellite Extension from EchoStar. “Switzerland-based mobile operator Swisscom is working with French IoT stalwart Actility and Irish satellite IoT company EchoStar Mobile to expand its LoRaWAN IoT footprint across Europe.”
🛰 Orbcomm Enhances Its Managed Network Offering With Next-Generation OGx Iot Service. “OGx helps enable IoT solution providers to bring powerful, more affordable IoT solutions to market across low-, medium- and high-data usage applications in agriculture, heavy equipment, maritime, mining, oil and gas, transportation, utilities and more.”
😮 Ferrari Is Dropping Sat Nav Because of Apple and Android. “Ferrari is removing built-in navigation systems from select new models like the Purosangue and 12Cilindri. It argues that since their cars are not daily drivers, customers likely have a smartphone with preferred navigation apps.”
🙁 Satellogic Announces New Round of Layoffs. “Weeks after cutting 13 percent of its workforce, imaging company Satellogic announced it is laying off an additional 70 employees and slowing deployment of new satellites.”
⚡ London Underground Hosts Trials of GPS-Alternative Quantum Compass. “Researchers at the Center for Cold Matter at ICL are developing a quantum compass that leverages the behavior of subatomic matter to pinpoint an object’s location accurately, regardless of where it is placed.”
Contracts:
✔ Woolpert Awarded $6.8 Million Contract to Collect Aerial Lidar Data and Texas DoT Selects Woolpert for $3 Million Land Surveying Contract. “The Texas Department of Transportation has selected Woolpert to provide land surveying services under a $3 million contract supporting the Houston District. Woolpert will provide right-of-way maps, design and construction surveys, aerial mapping, horizontal and vertical control and state land surveying services.”
💰 Unmanned Surface Vehicle Contract. “A multiple-award U.S. Navy contract to support current and future unmanned surface vehicle family of systems and subsystems is awarded to 49 industry partners.”
📌 Sequans Announces a New $15 Million Licensing Agreement. “Sequans announced a non-exclusive manufacturing licensing agreement for its Monarch 2 LTE-M/NB-IoT platform.”
👍 California DoT Partners with INRIX. “INRIX announced it has been selected by Caltrans for a contract to test a new Generative Artificial Intelligence-powered solution to improve safety for vulnerable roadway users.”
🚙 Lleida.net Signs a 720,000 Euro Contract With Bosch Telematic Services.
Maps:
🙂 Trip Planning + Trip Memories: Nobody’s Nailed It. “Apple Maps and Photos (or Google equivalents) sort of come close to solving some of the challenges. Wanderlog makes a valiant try but is still laborious and totally misses on memories. Polarsteps goes a long way to reliving a trip but lacks the capabilities of trip planing.”
🤞 Tesla Bolsters Navigation With New Trip Planner and Map Updates. “Tesla TSLA 0.00%↑ is using Google Places API for points of interest, helping drivers find nearby coffee shops or parks simply by using their maps.”
😐 Google Could Discontinue Another Maps Feature Very Soon (APK Teardown). “The ability to follow places could go away from January 2025, according to a deprecation notice found within the app.”
📱 Google Maps and Waze: The Route Option You Don't Need. While Google Maps and Waze don't allow users to select the shortest route when searching for turn-by-turn navigation to a destination, they can still pick it from the route selection screen when previewing the journey.”
📝 New Waze Update Now Available for iPhone and CarPlay Users. “Waze version 4.105, now available for download from the App Store, corrects a glitch that broke down how a destination was highlighted on the map when searching using the built-in feature.”
👏 The Android Navigation Apps Users Love the Most (Surprise: Google Maps Isn't Number 1). “Sygic has long been a top name in the navigation space, and its GPS navigation software leads the pack with a 4.7-star rating (in the Google Play Store).” What the…
Webinar Promotion. Are you getting enough industry execs to sign up for your webinars? We’ve been promoting them for 15 years and know the ins and outs of webinar marketing. We will run a one-month campaign (with weekly reminders on our social media as the webinar gets closer). This includes ad placement in the newsletter, social media posts and a dedicated email blast to our subscribers. We really hit it hard on social media in the final five days as people always register at the last minute. Email us at info@driverlessreport.com for more information, or click here to view our one-page media kit.
Connected and Autonomous Vehicles:
😮 Tech Giants Invest $200 Million in Waabi for Fully Driverless Trucks. “In an announcement on Tuesday, Waabi stated that it had raised $200 million in an oversubscribed Series B round, led by Uber UBER 0.00%↑ and Khosla Ventures. The funding round includes participation from strategic investors Nvidia NVDA 0.00%↑, Volvo Group Venture Capital, Porsche Automobil Holding SE, Scania Invest, Ingka Investments and more.
💲 Bitsensing Raises $25 Million for Its High-Resolution Radar in Autonomous Driving. “The startup says its 4D imaging radar is not just for autonomous driving but can also be applied to smart cities and digital healthcare.”
🚗 Suzuki to Develop Self-Driving Micro Cars in $50 Million Partnership. “Suzuki is teaming with automated driving tech start-up TIER IV to develop self-driving micro cars. Local media in Japan have reported that Suzuki has committed to an investment of approximately 8 billion yen in TIER IV, which equates to $50 million.”
🙂 Seegrid Announces 1 Million Accident-Free Miles for Its Self-Driving Vehicles. “Seegrid’s vision-guided vehicles have logged more infrastructure-free miles at customer sites than any other infrastructure-free AGV company.”
🤷♂️ China Approves Autonomous Driving Startup Momenta's US IPO. “Momenta plans to issue up to 63,352,856 ordinary shares and list on the Nasdaq Stock Market or the New York Stock Exchange, the regulator said in a statement.”
👉 NVIDIA Research Wins CVPR Autonomous Grand Challenge for End-To-End Driving. “NVIDIA was named an Autonomous Grand Challenge winner at the Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition conference.”
🛺 Beep Deploys Autonomous Shuttles at Honolulu Airport With Partners. “Beep announced that it is working with the Hawaii DoT and Sustainability Partners to launch an 18-month self-driving shuttle pilot at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.”
😕 Tesla's New Version Of 'Full Self-Driving' Is Better, But Flawed. “FSD’s latest 12.4.1 version tries to improve the existing system, but misses the mark by a big margin, according to early reports from a handful of beta testers who have access to it.”
Location Industry Briefs
Send your news releases to kdennehy@driverlessreport.com. Go to www.locationbusinessnews.com for more news and an archive of stories.
HERE, AWS Release Transportation and Logistics Whitepaper
HERE Technologies, with Amazon Web Services, has released a transportation and logistics whitepaper that reveals the challenges faced by fleet managers. The study, conducted by ABI Research, includes responses from 300 T&L decision-makers across the Americas, EMEA and APAC regions.
For digital management, nearly 74 percent of respondents have a digital transformation strategy in place, with an additional 18 percent having already digitized their operations. To get a copy of the white paper click here: www.here.com/solutions/fleet-management/purchasing-trends-and-criteria-in-fleet-software.
Contact: Jordan Stark, HERE Technologies, (312) 316-4537,
jordan.stark@here.com.
Trimble Releases R980 GNSS System for Geospatial Professionals
Trimble TRMB 0.00%↑ has introduced the R980 GNSS system that builds on the company’s ProPoint positioning engine for land surveying, transportation infrastructure, construction, energy, oil and gas, utilities and mining projects. In addition to ProPoint, the R980 features an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU)-based tilt compensation using Trimble TIP technology to work in dense urban environments and under tree canopy, the company said.
The Trimble R980 GNSS system is available now through the Trimble geospatial distributor channel. Optional Trimble Protected Plus and Premium protection plans are also offered, the company said.
Contact: Trimble, www.trimble.com.
U-blox Launches LTE Cat 1bis Modules
Thalwil, Switzerland-based u-blox has announced the LEXI-R10 Global that provides a 16 x16mm LTE Cat 1bis solution for such IoT applications as people or pet trackers and wearables. The LEXI-R10 Global is the smallest single-mode LTE Cat 1bis module with indoor location and a US MNO certified core, the company said.
The company also launched the SARA-R10 that offers product designers using 2G and 3G u-blox SARA modules an upgrade path to 4G LTE. One of the variants is the SARA-R10M10 with embedded GNSS for asset tracking and telematics applications.
Contact: Natacha Seitz, u-blox, 41 76 436 0788, natacha.seitz@u-blox.com.
Razor Tracking Announces Mixed-Fleet Telematics Integration With CNH
Case IH and New Holland customers can now see their support vehicles equipped with Razor Tracking devices in the same platform. CNH partnered with Razor Tracking to develop an integrated system that would allow customers' equipment and tracked assets to be viewed together in either the Razor Tracking platform or the platforms of CNH
This integration allows Razor Tracking and CNH customers to monitor their equipment, service vehicles, and non-powered equipment in either platform, the company said. In addition to seeing GPS location, Razor Tracking devices will also provide vehicle VIN, fuel remaining, hours, location pings, engine running, location history, heading and speed.
Contact: Razor Tracking, razortracking.com.
Create a FREE ManyMe Account.
GPR Partners With Rheinmetall Provectus
GPR Ground Positioning Radar has partnered with Rheinmetall Provectus, a global autonomous navigation solutions provider, to integrate WaveSense into its autonomous platforms. The hope is that the integration will enable new capabilities like Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) and GNSS-denied leader-follower.
A Proof of Concept was conducted in Q3 and Q4 of 2023. The PoC, tested in Ontario, Canada, demonstrated the performance of the WaveSense technology in GNSS-denied environments, the company said.
Contact: Vanya Banjac, GPR, (904) 463-3757, vanya@gpr.com.
Inertial Labs Integrates INS with Meridian Mobile Mapping, Launches INS-FI
Inertial Labs has integrated its INS/Lidar device with Mosaic’s Meridian Mobile Mapping System. The integrated INS system has a system vertical accuracy of 2–3 centimeters and precision of 2–4 centimeters, the company said.
In other company news, Inertial Labs Launches INS-FI, a GPS-aided Inertial Navigation System for land, marine, and aerial platforms worldwide. The INS-FI is built using tactical-grade Fiber Optic Gyroscope (FOG) technology
Contact: Maria Mendez, Inertial Labs, (703) 880-4222, maria.mendez@inertiallabs.com, www.inertiallabs.com.
AirIQ and Phillips Connect Announce Partnership
AirIQ has signed a partnership with Phillips Connect, which specializes in IoT devices and solutions. With the deal, AirIQ plans to offer its trailer tracking IoT solutions to customers in North America.
Contact: Michael Robb, AirIQ, (905) 831-6444, mrobb@airiq.com, www.airiq.com.
ISAAC Instruments Partners With Eassons Transport
ISAAC Instruments today announced it has partnered with Eassons Transport to install ISAAC’s electronic logging device (ELD) and telematics solution across Eassons’ truck fleet. Easson said it expects full implementation of ISAAC’s TruckMate solution to be completed before the end of the year.
Also part of the deal is the ISAAC Coach feature that provides real-time performance feedback to drivers to help burn less fuel and reduce the chance of a highway accident, the company said.
Contact: Neil Abt, ISAAC Instruments, (503) 740-0117, www.isaacinstruments.com.
Trackingme Enters Canadian Market
With its attendance at the Collision tech conference, Trackingme said it will have its first contact with the Canadian market for its tracking solutions for the vehicle theft. Trackingme currently operates in five countries in the Middle East, where it has clients in transportation, oil, gas, and mining, manufacturing, construction, food and beverage, waste and recycling, insurance, and government institutions.
Contact: Alexander Miranda, Trackingme, (647) 331-7013, alexander.miranda@trackingme.ca, www.trackingme.ca.
People
Tim Newberg has been named chief commercial officer (COO) at Suntech USA.
Steve Wollenberg has started a new position as chief commercial officer (CCO) at
H2U Technologies.
Woolpert has hired Damien Kerr, with 30 years of government and national security experience, as geospatial program director.
Washington Yotto Ochieng has been elected as the new president at the Royal Institute of Navigation. RIN also elected Andy Proctor as vice president.
Vinayak Patil has been named director of quality at HERE Technologies.
Norah Ocel is joining the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office (ITS JPO) as the ITS Safety and Stakeholder Engagement program manager. Amber Reinmitz is joining the ITS JPO as the ITS Multimodal Digital Infrastructure program manager.
Monique Evans will start July 8 as director of the Transportation Research Board's Cooperative Research Program.
Jobs
Product Manager II, Navigation/ADAS Map. Mapbox.
Senior Customer Solutions Manager. TomTom.
Director of Product Management. Trustpoint.
Senior GNSS Systems Engineer. Trustpoint.
Director of Product Management (Mountain View). Trustpoint.
Quality Assurance Analyst. EVERYWHERE.
Program Officer. Transportation Research Board.
Staff Software Engineer, Firmware. CNH.
Click HERE to Join our growing Location Business News LinkedIn Group!