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The last two U.S. presidential administrations failed to follow through on promises to protect GPS and the nation with a system to backup GPS. A recent Department of Transportation (DOT) appointee is aiming to fix that.

Diana Furchtgott-Roth is deputy assistant secretary of Transportation for Research and Technology. Her office has a broad range of responsibilities including as the federal government lead for civil GPS and PNT issues.

Since Furchtgott-Roth arrived at the department in February, she has been adamant about the need to establish a complementary and backup system that users can access when GPS is not available or signals need reinforcing. She notes that this has been a presidential policy requirement for DOT since 2004.

There are also two Congressional mandates on this issue. The first mandate was in a law passed in 2017. The National Defense Authorization Act tasked the Departments of Defense, Transportation, and Homeland Security to jointly conduct a technology demonstration of GPS backup technology.

Congress funded this project in 2018 through the Defense department, even though DOT was the lead agency. Bureaucratic delays in transferring the funds between departments has meant that, rather than concluding in the summer of 2019 as initially required, the demo is behind schedule by about eight months.

Much of this transpired before Furchtgott-Roth arrived on scene and she is determined to make up for lost time.

A Request for Information (RFI) seeking candidate GPS backup technologies was issued in early May of this year and closed 30 days later. Twenty-two responses were received, though some just offered comments and observations rather than proposing technologies.

Working through the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, Furchtgott-Roth’s goal is to demonstrate as many of the technologies as possible and conclude the effort by March of next year.

“We want to thoroughly understand all of the proposed technologies, including their ability to penetrate indoors and underground without assistance,” Furchtgott-Roth said.

The department’s procurement website forecasts a Request for Proposals for this effort this month (the site says it will be issued in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year which ends on Sept. 30). The opportunity is described as “Backup Global Positioning System (GPS) Technical Consulting Services for participation in a technology demonstration” with an estimated value of between $700,000 and $2,000,000.

Small businesses that want to be on the notification list for this can do so through the FedBizOpps announcement page.

The second legislative mandate was signed into law in December 2018. The National Timing Resilience and Security Act requires the Department of Transportation to establish a timing system to back up GPS by December 2020.

Among the requirements specified in the Act are that the system must be terrestrial, wireless, have wide area coverage, be difficult to disrupt, and be capable of expansion to provide positioning and navigation services.

Furchtgott-Roth plans to integrate the department’s responses to both taskings as much as possible. “What we learn from the tech demo should very much inform the implementation of the National Timing Resilience and Security Act,” she said.

She also wants everyone on the project to keep in mind that establishment of the timing system is just the first phase of creating a more robust and resilient national PNT architecture. “Timing is important, and we are going to reinforce it first,” she said. “But it is not going to provide resilient positioning and navigation for drones, autonomous vehicles, and all our other transportation needs. America must have a combination of systems available that, when used together, will be very difficult to disrupt.”

To keep things moving quickly, Furchtgott-Roth says she is leaning toward signals provided by a commercial entity, rather than a government-built system.

“The Act suggests we consider a public-private-partnership, and there are a lot of advantages to that,” she said. “The government wouldn’t need to stand up a big acquisition staff or have a large appropriation of funds from Congress. Also, private entities are often able to act faster and be more agile. And they assume most of the project risk.” The aviation safety ADS-B system was created using such a procurement model.

The only snag is that while Congress has appropriated money for the tech demo, it has not yet done so for the mandated operational system. Sources in Congress point out that although the House version of the 2020 budget has $32 million for Air Force “Resilient PNT,” nothing has been allocated for civilian users.

“$32 million would go a long way for DOT’s efforts to protect the 99.9% of GPS users who are not in DoD,” said one congressional staff member. He was hopeful the Senate would designate funds in its version of appropriations for DOT and the issue would be resolved positively in conference.

“GPS has become an invisible utility that so many of our technologies depend upon,” observed Karen Van Dyke, who leads PNT efforts for Furchtgott-Roth’s office. “Providing a complementary and/or backup capability ensures users have PNT even when GPS is disrupted. It may also help protect the signals themselves by deterring malicious actors who might otherwise want to jam or spoof GPS.”

“President Trump’s top priorities are national and economic security. We can’t have GPS signals be a single point of failure for transportation and other critical infrastructure sectors,” Furchtgott-Roth said.

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Dana A. Goward is the president of the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation.

Multi-frequency, multi-GNSS RF simulator now has greater performance and flexibility

Spirent Communications plc has launched its enhanced GSS9000 Series GNSS constellation simulator.

Providing significantly improved capability, flexibility and performance, the GSS9000 Series has been updated to meet the ever more demanding test needs of high-performance satellite navigation systems.

Spirent already leads the market in multi-frequency, multi-GNSS RF constellation simulators, and the enhanced GSS9000 Series’ enriched features and capabilities raise the bar for GNSS development and test still further.

“We’re seeing the number of GNSS signals growing all the time, and an ever-increasing number of the receivers and systems we rely on every day are making use of these signals to improve accuracy, availability and continuity,” said Spirent Managing Director of Positioning, Martin Foulger. “That’s why it’s important that GNSS testing today and going forward reflects the reality of real-world situations, where simultaneous generation and testing of all signals is vital.”

The enhanced GSS9000 Series addresses this need by doubling the number of supported channels (320 in a single chassis) while maintaining its full performance specification, including in key areas such as signal iteration rate and low latency, under maximum signal dynamics.

These attributes, together with the ability to produce a comprehensive range of emulated multi-GNSS, multi-frequency RF signals, enables full and future-proofed testing of advanced applications.

“Because the GSS9000’s dedicated platform and software are designed from the ground up to work together, there is no need for a trade-off between capacity and performance,” says Foulger. “The newly-enhanced platform provides full control and verification at maximum performance across all channels at all times, removing any need for our customers to compromise their testing regimes.”

Greater signal flexibility is also built into the enhanced GSS9000 Series, through its open API and flexible system architecture. This delivers a highly-sophisticated arbitrary waveform generator (AWG) capability.

It also provides unrivalled coverage and support for all current Signal-in-Space Interface Control Documents (SIS ICDs), with even greater flexibility for both system and signal evolutions.

This includes built-in and user-defined parameter controls for generation of non-current SIS ICD PRN codes, navigation data content, navigation data rate, chipping rate, edge shaping and modulation types.

The enhanced GSS9000 Series also features sophisticated spoofing test capabilities, with full parametric control of multi-copy constellations, and trajectory spoofing/meaconing. Precise phase-aligned signal wavefront generation and multi-antenna/output capability is supported, creating the most capable anti-jam and anti-spoof test system available anywhere.

“Spirent has an unmatched pedigree in GNSS test, stretching back more than 30 years. The enhanced GSS9000 Series is the next step in the continuous advances we’ve been making over that period,” Foulger said. “Once again, we have applied our unique expertise and experience to provide those working in high-end GNSS technology and application development with an advanced test solution that meets their current and future needs.”

The enhanced GSS9000 Series will be officially unveiled at ION GNSS+ 2019 in Miami, Florida (Sept. 16 – 20).

In what seems like just yesterday, GPS World published my article in the May 2017 issue of Survey Scene on the upcoming datum change by the National Geodetic Survey (NGS) in 2022.

With the calendar pages turning rapidly and as we get closer to the witching hour of geospatial voodoo, more items have surfaced to discuss and educate ourselves on in relation to “the change.”

Let’s delve into these topics and break each down into what the common surveying and geospatial practitioner will need to know with the advancements in coordinates, geodesy and our everyday uses.

NATRF2022: The continental U.S. replacement for NAD83 and NAVD88

It is no secret that with the advancing use of GNSS technology, flaws in both existing horizontal and vertical datums establishing our National Spatial Reference System (NSRS) have been identified and exposed.

NGS estimates that NAD83 is non-geocentric by over two meters, while the model establishing NAVD88 contains a tilt of approximately one meter across our continent.

For most geospatial practitioners, these flaws are minimal to the integrity of their data. It does, however, give us a glimpse of how assumptions of geodetic information can produce incorrect modeling of surveying and mapping data and could lead to more flawed earth models without significant changes to their structure.

With a great number of surveying and mapping practitioners using GNSS technology with little or no knowledge of the origins of our NSRS, it is a good time to provide the primers below to explain the history of our geodetic datums.

Besides my previous article, follow these links for much more thorough technical information:

• GPS World Contributing Author David Zilkoski

• NGS 2022 Informational Videos

• NGS Publications and Webinars

• NGS Video Library

• NGS / COMET Program YouTube Channel

With changes in both horizontal and vertical datums, slight variations in the data we are used to seeing will seem insignificant, but will require the user to pay close attention to potential data traps when converting between the old and new systems. The NGS graphics below depict the severity of datum change in the horizontal and vertical component across the U.S.

Depending on where you are working, new state plane coordinates will vary from –2 meters to +4.5 meters from previously published values, with elevations fluctuating up to one meter from previous norms. All these changes are due to the increased knowledge of our world using various forms of emerging technology not thought possible several decades ago.

These new measuring methods and studies, including GNSS and gravity monitoring, have allowed scientists and geodesy experts to establish more accurate geographic location systems than past terrestrial ways and procedures.

We have geodetic monuments and marks everywhere; will they still be usable?

The short answer to this question is an unequivocal yes, but with some caveats. Use of GNSS monitoring has proven we reside on tectonic plates that move slowly over time; thus, the geographic values (latitude and longitude) used to calculate any number of coordinate value systems are changing as well.

Relational data between established points are not likely to change, but studies have shown significant shifts in areas that result in movement of our previously considered “unmovable” monuments.

With additional parameters and characteristics being introduced with the 2022 datum, time and tectonic plate shift are main factors in establishment of a point.

The concept of a “permanent” point no longer exists in relation to a published and unchangeable coordinate value of horizontal and vertical data. The surveying and geospatial data collector must recognize that the user is establishing a particular X/Y/Z or N/E/Z value for that exact moment in time and it, theoretically, will change from the moment one steps away from the point.

This may be too “splitting of hairs” for most users, but the new system simply recognizes the reality of the moving data-collection stage, no matter how minute.

This datum re-establishment has been a monumental undertaking (no pun intended), and NGS deserves many kudos for coming up with a realistic solution for a complex problem.

However, most of its users still have a problem, and it lies within the standard unit of measurement: the U.S. survey foot. NGS (and its predecessor, U.S. Coastal and Geodetic Survey) have always used the meter for the basis of all units of measurement (as does the rest of the world.) The new 2022 datum is bringing us, the surveyors and mappers, to a new reality — nationwide adoption of the international foot. Let the grumbling and arguments begin!

The meter v. international foot v. U.S. survey foot

The unit of measurement aptly named the “foot” has existed since early times, with most sources crediting King Henry I of England making a decree that his foot shall become the standard for measurement.

No matter where the definition of the foot came from, it has varied slightly throughout history. The origin of the meter (or metre, as it’s known worldwide) also has a variety of beginnings. The most established story starts from John Wilkins, an English philosopher, who published in 1668 what he described as a new standard of measurement based upon the length of a pendulum that swings approximately 38 inches across in one second. This length was eventually named the meter by an Italian scientist.

Another century later, King Louis XVI of France issued a integration law establishing the modern metric system with weights and measures having a base-ten system of units and sub-units. Within this system was the meter with a new length definition of being one ten millionth (1/10,000,000) of the distance from the North Pole to the Equator.

Upon completion of the calculations, a rectangular bar made of platinum and iridium was created to establish the “standard” meter from which all future measurements would be based.

The United States first recognized in 1866 the metric system and the meter (set forth as one meter equaling 39.37 inches). During this time, the International Commission of the Meter officially adopted the physical meter bar as the standard.

Over the next 100+ years, many studies were undertaken to re-establish the length of the meter. Using wavelengths of various elements, including cadmium, mercury, neon, zinc, helium, thallium and krypton, new definitions were created. In 1983, the current definition of the length of the meter was finalized.

The meter is now based upon the speed of light in a vacuum (299,792,458 m/s) with the meter being the length traveled in 1/299,793,458 of a second. While the length is very close to the original measurements set forth over the centuries, it is better defined for reproduction worldwide without having to possess a standard bar or other device.

To further muddy the standardization of units, in 1959 an international agreement was made by Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom so one yard would equal 0.9144 meters. Meanwhile, the U.S. National Bureau of Standards published a notice that all survey-related measurements will remain based so one inch equals 0.3937 meters.

We have two different measurements for the foot. What’s the big deal?

The difference between the two standards is two parts in one million; while that doesn’t affect everyday physical measurement, it does cause havoc on coordinate systems with values beyond the millions. (See NGS video “Two Right Feet?” for details).

What makes it even more confusing is that states across our county vary on which “foot” is standard within their legislation and daily practice. Currently (at the date of publication), six states recognize the International Foot as their standard unit of measurement, with four states not defining it. The remaining states have officially adopted the U.S. survey foot as their standard unit of measurement.

NGS has suggested that starting with the 2022 datum change, the U.S. survey foot will not be supported in applications and software produced by them for geodetic computations. It will be limited to meters and the international foot, so they are recommending that states update their existing definitions to change to the international foot along with recognizing the 2022 datum as the official coordinate-system base.

How to train our profession, the construction industry and John Q. Public on the new datum

I would be lying to you if I said I’m not concerned with the rollout of the new datum and with converting all surveying and mapping work to the international foot. My biggest concern is not with those direct relationships I have with my staff and fellow professionals within my company.

My main concern starts with these two areas: the tens of thousands of surveying practitioners working within projects containing state-plane coordinate systems in addition to contractors and other mapmaking providers using survey-grade equipment for construction and other mapping applications.

Both groups have little to no technical knowledge of the intricacies of state-plane coordinate systems and the geodesy network “behind the curtain.” To paraphrase a well-known mortgage company with an app-based home loan system, “push button, get data” is the limit of most users’ knowledge when it comes to state-plane coordinates.

Add to this the double-edged sword of real-time networks, where the user does not have to be concerned with setting up a base station, and the potential problems could get worse.

While there will be a few early and timely embracers of the new datum, the majority will dig their heels in and refuse to switch. When the conversion to the 2022 datum is upon us, many users will drag their feet on learning about the new system as existing projects continue under the old datums.

Until there is a mandate by government agencies and others, many newer projects beginning around the adopting time will remain on NAD83 and NAVD88 until directed otherwise.

Most practitioners I have spoken with on this issue agree that it will be a tricky period for surveying and mapping. Rather than get bogged down with negativity and fight change, the surveying, mapping and geospatial community should do the following:

• Rally our professions around these significant changes to educate our technicians and future professionals.
• Coach contractors and other trades who rely on the technology to understand the new system.
• Work with governmental agencies at all levels to educate them about what these changes entail and why to make the appropriate revisions to codes and statutes now.
• Capitalize on this opportunity to teach the public about who we are and how spatial data is part of everyone’s life.

All these points are paramount to the success of the datum upgrade and need to be followed through to the end. Ultimately, the faster we adopt and adapt, the better our geospatial world will be. There is lots of work ahead of us, but as the staff at NGS has shown us, the hard work necessary to make significant change is well worth the effort.

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CALLING ALL SURVEYORS AND GEOSPATIAL PROVIDERS!

NGS announces GVX data f0rmat for GNSS vector processing

The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) is requesting input and feedback on a new data format for sharing real-time kinematic (RTK) GNSS vector information.

The new format will be like the static GNSS standard, Receiver Independent Exchange (RINEX), and is utilized by most software packages and the Online Positioning User System (OPUS).

The new GNSS Vector Exchange format (GVX), will introduce a new industry standard for sharing of RTK vectors across differing platforms and software packages.

Earlier users of GPS-based data collection remember the number of proprietary files created by each manufacturer, and having their own unique format for data and attribute interpretation. In response, the NGS created RINEX to help standardize data collection as a universal file format that would easily be adopted by receiver and software producers.

That same goal is being set with the introduction of the GVX format as the next step in data-collection standardization for GNSS RTK vectors. GVX elements include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Mark-to-mark Earth-Centered, Earth-Fixed (ECEF) vector components
• Variances and covariances of vector components’
• Reference frame information
• Start and stop time of the observation
• A-priori coordinates for the end points of each vector
• Receiver and antenna types
• RTK and real-time network (RTN) settings, if applicable
• Quality control metadata (e.g., PDOP, number of satellites used, orbit type, etc.)

The introduction to the new format along with technical specifications and examples are on the NGS website.

The National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) works directly with NGS to provide input on maintaining and updating the National Spatial Reference System and will include significant assistance with educating geospatial data providers with the upcoming 2022 datum change and implementation of the North American Terrestrial Reference Frame of 2022 (NATRF2022).

You can send your feedback here.

For more information, visit the NGS website.

Takeaways from this geospatial refresher…

The surveying, mapping and geospatial professions have exciting times ahead with these cool upgrades from NGS, so we need to take advantage of the calm before the storm to educate ourselves to make the most of the opportunity.

Geospatial data surrounds all of us, and we are the profession specifically educated for correctly and efficiently keeping a handle on it all. It all starts with growing your knowledge a little bit each day. Please join me in growing the profession as well.

Ten projects in the MyGalileoApp competition have been named finalists.

Out of a shortlist of 30 semi-finalists, the 10 were judged to be the most exciting in terms of innovation, market potential and technical feasibility.

The 10 projects will now advance to the second development phase, at the end of which they should deliver a fully functioning app.

Four of the 10 shortlisted projects are in the Augmented Reality and Games innovation area:

• uMaze (Finland) — uMaze creates mazes in specific outdoor areas in which users can play.
• ARGEO (Italy) — ARGEO allows users to discover content such as prizes, coupons and shopping cards geo-located around the streets of a city.
• STPR (Poland, Australia, Ukraine) — The STPR app combines a virtual environment with game-related physical experiences in the real world.
• arstory (Germany) — Arstory is a complete augmented reality ecosystem based on four main components: Galileo location, virtual objects in the real world, clustering of objects and a wide array of content options.

Apps in the smart navigation and Infotainment innovation area include:

• Ready Park (France) — Ready Park makes parking easier by pairing drivers leaving a spot with users looking for one.
• Galileonaut (France) —Galileonaut helps sailors navigate inside a port or a marina and provides a link to the harbour master’s office.
• Trukatu (Spain) — Trukatu is a mobile C2C platform that connects people who want to rent or lease items with owners who have items to rent.

Two of the shortlisted projects fall in the Fitness, Sport and mHealth category.

• PanPan – Possible Assistance Needed (Germany) — PanPan serves as backup safety solution for potentially dangerous activities that may leave users in need of assistance.
• LetMeAut (Italy) — LetMeAutmakes everyday tasks easier for people with autism.

One app is in the Mapping, GIS and Agriculture innovation area.

• Tractor Navigator (France) — Tractor Navigator provides guidance for farmers driving tractors, enabling them to visualise their current position and trajectory in an open field.

The 10 projects have until Oct. 21 to deliver a finalized version of their app with 100% functionality. During this phase, the teams can receive technical support from the competition’s technical and business advisory team. At the end of the phase, the application should be already available for download on the Google Play and Apple platforms.

“The standard of entry in this year’s competition was very high, which made the judges’ task a difficult one. However, the final 10 projects stood out in terms of their innovative approach and uptake potential and we are looking forward to seeing the final working apps in October,” said Justyna Redelkiewicz Musial, in charge of LBS and IoT market development at the European GNSS Agency (GSA). “We hope that the 20 projects that didn’t make it into the second development phase will continue to develop their apps because, at the finals, they will also have the opportunity to demonstrate the progress that they have made,” she said.

All teams that will successfully complete the second development phase will be invited to the finals in November, where they will present their application to the GSA evaluation board.

The awards will be decided after these presentations, with the first-place winner receiving a EUR 100,000 prize. The runner up and third place winners will receive EUR 50,000 and EUR 30,000 respectively.

News from the European GNSS Agency (GSA)

The French national rail company SNCF is adopting Galileo technology to boost customer services, in particular in its high-speed TGV network. TGV is France’s intercity high-speed rail service, and is operated by the SNCF.

With almost 50% of TGV trains already equipped with Galileo receivers, European GNSS is enabling improved customer information and traffic management.

Galileo is a technology building block that can precisely and safely locate trains and contribute to the future evolution of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS). ERTMS aims to harmonize signaling systems across Europe, and European GNSS can help reduce its costs.

SNCF is already embracing GNSS-based systems, in particular for passenger information, and fleet and traffic management.

“At the beginning of 2019, some 250 high-speed trains were already equipped with Galileo-ready receivers,” said Antoine Barre, head of SNCF train localization projects. “This represents nearly 50% of SNCF’s TGV fleet. Some 320 trains are expected to be Galileo-ready by the end of 2019.”

70 million passengers to benefit

The aim is to deliver Galileo-enabled services along the entire train journey and customer experience. During 2019, more than 70 million passengers will benefit from the improved accuracy and positioning availability delivered to French TGV trains by Galileo.

SNCF aims to equip its entire train fleet with Galileo receivers to assist non-safety relevant train localization. It also plans to further investigate the future contribution of European GNSS within ERTMS.

“Having Galileo on the iconic TGV trains is a major milestone for us, confirming that European GNSS is delivering a clear value added to one of the main EU Railway undertakings,” said Daniel Lopour, GSA market development officer.

“It is also good to see that SNCF is further progressing towards GNSS adoption on the regional fleet on the basis of the GSA position paper delivered earlier to the Community of European Railways (CER), explaining the benefits of Galileo for such applications,” Louper said.

Currently, signaling is enabled by equipment installed along rail tracks that requires regular inspection and maintenance. Accurate and reliable geolocation using GNSS will enable rail networks to reduce the cost related to the infrastructure.

Receivers installed in the train and connected via wireless networks should considerably reduce the costs of operation, maintenance and renewal of the network.

SNCF has identified three main themes of work for future rail technologies: geolocation, telecommunication and the use of satellite images for infrastructure monitoring.

Technology forward

Speaking at the Space for Innovation in Rail event, held in Vienna, Austria, March 18-19, Corinne Talotte described SNCF’s Technology Forward programme. Talotte is director of Innovative Technologies at SNCF. Talotte explain that the SNCF program is looking to build the “Railway for the Future” — a railway that is “autonomous, connected and zero emission.”

This spirit of innovation at SNCF aims to accelerate the implementation of new technologies. “First, this involves keeping an open mind on innovation and learning from other transport sectors,” Talotte said. “And our second important principle is to move to demonstrate innovative technologies as soon as possible in real operational situations to prepare the future deployment of innovations.”

Highly precise geolocation is a key element to enable autonomy in all modes of transport and future mobility systems. For trains, autonomous operation can increase the density of trains operating in the network while at the same time improving safety and reliability of customer services.

Space4Rail: From innovation to implementation

“We need to know accurately the position, velocity and attitude in real time to enable autonomous train systems,” explained Talotte. “We are developing a multi-sensor system for localisation based on GNSS but combined with other inertial sensors.

“This hybrid approach is inspired by the approach already adopted in the aviation sector. SNCF is undertaking a number of demonstrations with several partners, including the ERTMS user group and the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking.”

Hybrid architecture

At the Space for Innovation in Rail event, Corinne Talotte said that SNCF was working on the remote operation of trains for use cases like shunting yards and the development of fully autonomous train prototypes.

The hybrid architecture makes it possible to take advantage of the benefits offered by both technologies: GNSS corrects the natural drift of the inertial unit, and when GNSS is not available, for example in tunnels or in dense urban environments, the inertial unit can take over to ensure continuity of location data. The inertial unit also protects the system from any possible disturbances in the GNSS signal, such as jamming or spoofing, as well as environmental factors.

The use of autonomous trains with innovative network control systems should enable SNCF to increase throughput on its lines. The objective is to carry more people and more goods, with greater regularity, improved energy efficiency and better economic performance, while ensuring continuing high levels of safety.

SNCF believes that the autonomous train is no longer science fiction, but the immediate future. A first prototype remote-controlled freight train should be tested some time this year, and the first prototypes of freight and passenger trains with autonomous driving capability are predicted beginning in 2023, with gradual implementation.

Latitude Geographics (a VertiGIS company) has released 4.12 version of its flagship product Geocortex Essentials, to make it easier for developers of mapping applications to take advantage of Esri’s ArcGIS technology.

Smart mapping. Using Esri’s smart-mapping functionality, GIS departments around the world are creating eye-catching, informative maps in ArcGIS Online. Smart mapping allows analysts to visualize and review their data in unique ways to discover trends and solve complex problems. By styling data and displaying it in a thematic map, hidden meaning can be found.

For example, a map can now be created that uses clustering, opacity and varying color schemes to display:

• the most prevalent level of education in a county by neighborhood,
• the incidence of that level of education in that neighborhood, and
• the variance from that mean level of education in that neighborhood.

Web maps output from ArcGIS Online can now be imported into Geocortex Viewer for HTML5 (GVH) exactly as they are, meaning that all smart mapping symbology, legends and other information will be preserved and appear in GVH in the same format.

Scripting. The Arcade expression language adds powerful scripting capabilities to the ArcGIS platform. By writing simple scripts, users can manipulate their map data on the fly in several ways.

For example, a user could use an Arcade script to set up an identify parcel operation that also returns a summary of both the population density and communications infrastructure in the area, along with any other variables of interest. The portability of these scripts allows them to now be used within Geocortex applications.

“The new functionality added in this release provides even stronger support for developers using the ArcGIS platform, particularly those familiar with creating smart maps in ArcGIS Online,” said Drew Millen, chief technology officer for Geocortex. “It’s now easier than ever to build a mapping application that pulls data from various sources and uses it creatively to improve decision making.”

To learn more about the latest version of Geocortex Essentials, visit the company’s product release page.

UAvionix is offering free pingRX unmanned aircraft system (UAS) ADS-B receivers to first responders and UAS service organizations participating in rescue and recovery efforts associated with Hurricane Dorian.

Hurricane Dorian is expected to travel along the Eastern coast of the U.S. northward at a slow pace, creating extensive damage from winds and flooding.

UAvionix is a designer and manufacturer of communications, navigation and surveillance (CNS) equipment for unmanned and manned aircraft.

PingRX is a dual-frequency ADS-B receiver designed for use onboard a UAS. Retailing for $249 and weighing 5 grams, pingRX can provide the operator with a digital view of ADS-B-equipped aircraft in the airspace up to hundreds of miles away.

When integrated with a compatible autopilot — such as ARDUPILOT, Pixhawk, PX4 or the Cube — local ADS-B traffic is displayed on the ground control station (GCS) display.

The FAA’s mandate for ADS-B OUT equipage on manned aircraft has a deadline of Jan. 1, 2020, so equipage levels are currently high. Users are cautioned, however, that equipage is not at 100%, so reliance on ADS-B as a sole means of detect and avoid (DAA) is not advised.

In 2017, in response to Hurricane Harvey’s landfall in Houston, Texas, UAS were used extensively for the first time in recovery and rescue efforts. The use of UAS has continued to grow in response to hurricane efforts ever since.

“Over the past few years, the use of drones in hurricane and natural disaster recovery efforts has increased significantly due to the value of the real-time data collected in combination with ease of deployment,” said Christian Ramsey, uAvionix president. “First responders and recovery crews will undoubtedly work tirelessly for weeks in response to Dorian. We hope to make these efforts just a bit safer and encourage good airspace safety practices with the use of the pingRX systems.”

The FAA has published guidance for UAS operators, urging strict adherence to Notices to Airmen (NOTAMS) and Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR). The airspace in these areas can be crowded and unpredictable.

First responders and UAS service organizations are encouraged to contact uAvionix at responseteam@uavionix.com for details on the offer.

Topcon Agriculture launched a number of digital farm management tools, including updates to its cloud-based farm management platform, Topcon Agriculture Platform (TAP). According to the company, the platform integrates state-of-the-art connectivity, cloud services and data analytics. The package is designed to suit virtually any agricultural machine, implement or technology, Topcon added.

The Topcon Agriculture Platform features a new interface designed to increase productivity and profitability for farmers. It also has the ability to provide data on a number of variables, including yield, soil, fertility, imagery and topography.

“We’ve worked with farmers and institutions while beta testing and are excited to roll the platform out to farmers worldwide,” said Brian Sorbe, vice president of global production solutions for Topcon. “It is the ideal solution for mixed fleets, so farmers can focus solely on decisions and action.

“Additionally, the platform can provide seamless connectivity for sharing information so those supporting the farmers, such as dealers and agronomists, can provide real-time support, recommendations and tasks directly to the cab.”

The company also released yield data management tools, an autosteering tool and a GNSS base receiver. The company’s Smart Cart solution is designed to provide farmers with the capability to gather highly accurate, weight-verified, geo-referenced harvest data that automatically uploads to TAP for visualizing, post processing and yield reporting, the company said.

The other yield monitoring solution released by Topcon is the YM-2 YieldTrakk. This system services crops using conveyor-type harvesters, such as potatoes, sugar beets, grapes, onions and tomatoes.

Topcon debuted the HiPer VR mobile base station to provide the latest GNSS tracking technology and RTK capability in a compact, rugged design to bring satellite guidance and value to any agricultural application, as well.

Finally, the company launched its AGS-2 auto guidance system, which provides autosteering for agricultural machine types and models.

“For increased flexibility and connectivity, the system will leverage the new TAP Cloudlynk connectivity devices for RTK corrections via cellular or radio,” Sorbe said. “A major benefit is the introduction of new TopNET Global signal options and SkyBridge, which will reduce downtime by allowing the system to continue steering due to signal coverage interruption’s when using RTK.”

According to the company, Topcon Agriculture Platform subscriptions and cloud connectivity devices — Cloudlynk — will be available worldwide September 2019.

The Topcon GTL-1000 transforms construction layout and as-built verification from infrequent spot checking to a digital real-time reality capture solution enabling layout, scanning and verification with daily frequency. A scanner integrated with a fully featured robotic total station, it provides quick layout and scanning with a single instrument and only one operator that drives increased productivity and cost savings.

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Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V. has established a High Precision Positioning Systems Division at its German branch headquarters in Ratingen, Germany.

According to the company, the new division offers key technologies to German and European customers to accelerate the introduction of centimeter-level autonomous driving and safe driving assistance. These solutions include the Mobile Mapping System (MMS) and the high-precision AQLOC positioning receiver with centimeter-level accuracy for applications in road and utility vehicles, harbors and drones, as well as the agricultural sector.

AQLOC will be compatible with GNSS services and positioning data augmentation services by Sapcorda, a joint-venture by Mitsubishi Electric, Bosch, Geo++ and u-blox. MMS uses car-mounted GNSS antennas, laser scanners and cameras to gather 3D positioning data for road assets with high-level accuracy, creating the comprehensive, high-definition 3D maps needed to support autonomous driving, the company said.

“We are happy to add this new business area to our wide-ranging mobility solution portfolio, which already includes automotive equipment, power devices and railway systems,” said Andreas Wagner, president of the German Branch of Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V. “The High Precision Positioning Systems Division rounds out our mobility sector and will offer German and European customers essential technologies for highly precise autonomous driving systems in a variety of scenarios.”

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation is making mobile mapping and high-precision positioning systems available in Europe, North America, Asia and Oceania. The company also will showcase the new business unit’s portfolio at Intergeo 2019, which will take place Sept. 17-19 in Stuttgart, Germany.