After releasing their first MEMS-based oscillators in 2007, the team at SiTime knew there was still work to be done.

Using MEMS was a brand new concept for timing, and back then, clients were telling them the performance just wasn’t there. The team went to work to change that, developing innovative products that rival the more traditional quartz crystal oscillator options the industry has used for years.

SiTime released its latest offering, the Endura Epoch Platform, earlier this month. This ruggedized MEMS oven-controlled oscillator (OCXO), designed to provide the robust and resilient positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services needed for defense applications, was certainly a labor of love, Executive Vice President of Marketing Piyush Sevalia said. Development took years, with the company first defining the solution back in 2011 and design work beginning in 2018. The process involved various cross functional teams working together to get the timing solution to where it is today.

“We had to figure out not just from the customer point of view what they want, what matters now and what will matter in the future, but from the technology point of view as well,” Sevalia said. “How do we get the level of stability needed under all of the different harsh conditions the device will be subjected to?”

A look at the benefits
Developing a MEMS timing solution for the aerospace and defense markets comes with a long list of challenges and performance requirements, Sevalia said. Such environments are difficult to operate in, with extreme temperatures, shock, vibration and electromagnetic interference all issues to contend with. The silicon-based Endura Epoch OCXO was designed to overcome those challenges. It features a small footprint and can be placed anywhere on the board without users having to make adjustments. Very little external force couples on the oscillator, so it has no problem handling vibration and shock, which is critical in these environments.

It is also programable to any frequency between 10 to 220 MHz, with a very short lead time for custom builds. The company hires its own analogue teams who can help solve various analogue clocking problems in-house rather than outsourcing, Sevalia said, and the devices are manufactured leveraging proven semiconductor processes that provide the reliability and quality needed for extreme conditions.

Being able to overcome common challenges natively without adjustments or compromises leads to a faster innovation cycle, Sevalia said.

“Some people compromise on the performance of the system because they can’t get the exact frequency they want. I’ve seen people redesign an entire system because it was putting out too much power into the electromagnetic spectrum,” he said. “You don’t have to do that with this device. That’s a change in the way people are doing their design work and the way they’re going to production with their devices.”

Protecting PNT
Today, defense systems are structured around GPS-based PNT, but GPS signals can be disrupted unintentionally or spoofed or jammed by nefarious actors—which can lead to various problems such as equipment malfunctions and even mission failure. This is where an ultra-stable local clock device like the Endura Epoch Platform becomes critical, serving as an accurate time reference for PNT until the GPS signal returns.

“The DOD has projects ongoing to update GPS capabilities, calling it assured PNT, and in that new systems are being designed with new GPS standards,” Sevalia said. “We expect they will want better vibration resilience and timing accuracy from the part-to-part level and a reliability point of view while still addressing SWAP-C requirements. Applications could be missiles, ground comms, radar, drones.”

The timing device has low power consumption, enhanced acceleration sensitivity, optimal g-sensitivity and long-term aging. The silicon-based MEMS device is consistent, and offers the performance needed in harsh environments where vibration and temperature changes are an issue. During GPS disruption, PNT performance is driven by the time error on the local clock, with its benchmark time error 3µs over 24 hours.

The Endura Epoch Platform is a true source of pride for the SiTime team, as it provides real value for customers, Sevalia said, and helps to solve some of their most difficult problems.

“This product changes the game by delivering a level of performance not seen before,” Sevalia said, noting there is still plenty of room for more MEMS innovation. “We’ve climbed a peak that others thought was impossible 15 years ago when the company first started.”

The post A Labor of Love: SiTime Corporation Introduces its Endura Epoch MEMS OCXOs for Defense and Aerospace Applications After Years of Development appeared first on Inside GNSS - Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design.

San Jose, California, USA, November 30, 2023 – JAVAD GNSS announced that its industry-leading receivers are successfully tracking the NavIC L1 signal broadcast from the first of its second-generation navigation satellites, launched May 29, 2023.

As additional satellites with L1 frequency (1575.42 MHz) capability are launched, JAVAD will include their measurements into the navigation solution through firmware updates. The NavIC L1 capability is available on all TRIUMPH-2 ASIC and TRIUMPH-3 ASIC- based receivers, ensuring seamless availability for customers through firmware.

Simon Baksh, Vice President of Product Development at JAVAD GNSS, commented, “With the expansion of regional satellite navigation systems worldwide, JAVAD has strategically invested in research and development to stay at the forefront with capabilities to utilize regional satellite systems like NavIC for diverse applications in their service footprint. JAVAD’s distinguished history as a leader in satellite signal
acquisition allows us to apply our advanced technology to integrate signals from NavIC effectively.”

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The u-blox MAYA-W3 brings the benefits of Wi-Fi 6 and the 6 GHz band to industrial applications, preventing network congestion and ensuring power efficiency.

u-blox, a global provider of leading positioning and wireless communication technologies and services, has announced the MAYA–W3 family, a series of compact dual-mode Bluetooth LE 5.4 modules with LE Audio. The modules also support Wi-Fi 6/E and are designed for demanding industrial applications, including healthcare, industrial automation and monitoring, asset tracking and management, and smart home applications.

MAYA-W3 is available in several variants, offering Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6/E, tri-band, dual-band, and single-band configurations. It can be combined with various antennas, such as antenna pin(s) or U.FL connectors, and comes equipped with an LTE filter to coexist with other technologies. The choice of variant depends on the desired performance.

According to TSR* (Techno Systems Research CO. LTD.), Wi-Fi 6 adoption is expected to increase steadily, reaching almost 50% of the market by 2028, with IoT devices beginning adoption as early as 2024. The u-blox MAYA-W3 series aligns with this trend, bringing the latest benefits of Wi-Fi 6 and the 6 GHz band to a wealth of industrial applications. It alleviates network congestion, enhances power efficiency, and can operate in temperatures ranging from -40 ºC to +85 ºC.

The new modules also support designers’ efforts to scale solutions for current and future market trends. Maintaining the same compact dimensions as its predecessors (10 x 14 x 1.9 mm) simplifies migration across generations.

MAYA-W3 includes Bluetooth LE Audio for point-to-point voice communication and voice broadcasting. All module variants hold global certifications for both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

“MAYA-W3 incorporates the latest wireless technologies, Wi-Fi 6/E and LE Audio. It is a fast time-to-market solution within a compact, cost-efficient and globally certified module. Its versatility makes it an asset for various applications, including assisted living, power tools, container tracking, and solar inverters, to name a few. Additionally, the u-blox technical support team can assist with fast implementation,” says Sebastian Schreiber, Senior Product Manager for Short Range Radio, u-blox.

MAYA-W3 is based on Infineon chipsets with a tri-band, dual-band, and single-band variant.

“We are thrilled to expand our long-term partnership with u-blox with the integration of our ultra-low power AIROCTM CYW55513 Wi-Fi 6/6E and Bluetooth® 5.4 chipset into the MAYA W3 module. CYW55513 goes beyond the Wi-Fi 6/6E standards to deliver robust connectivity in all types of environments enabling the MAYA-W3 to be used in a variety of industrial applications like remote monitoring and control, industrial automation, asset tracking, solar infrastructure and EV charging, etc.,” said Sivaram Trikutam, Vice President of Wi-Fi Products, Infineon Technologies.

Samples are available now, with volume production scheduled for Q3-2024.

*TSR is a global business analyst group headquartered in Japan.

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VectorNav is expanding its lineup of tactical GNSS/INS solutions with the VN-210-S and VN-310-S, bringing all-new GNSS capabilities and improved performance to operations in GNSS-contested environments.

VectorNav Technologies, a global leader in Inertial Navigation solutions, announced the development of two new products, the VN-210-S and VN-310-S, to expand the company’s tactical series of GNSS-aided Inertial Navigation Systems (INS).

The VN-210-S GNSS/INS combines VectorNav’s tactical-grade IMU comprised of a 3-axis gyroscope, accelerometer, and magnetometer with an all-new triple-frequency GNSS receiver. The integrated 448-channel GNSS receiver by Septentrio adds several new capabilities, including L5 frequencies, Moving Baseline RTK with centimeter-level accuracy, along with support for OSNMA message authentication and robust interference mitigation. Together, these capabilities and high-quality hardware deliver significantly improved positioning performance in RF-congested and GNSS-denied environments.

The VN-310-S Dual GNSS/INS leverages VectorNav’s tactical-grade IMU and integrates two 448-channel GNSS receivers to enable GNSS-compassing for accurate heading estimations in stationary and low-dynamic operations. The VN-310-S also gains support for OSNMA message authentication and robust interference mitigation, offering more reliable position data across a variety of applications and environments.

The VN-210-S and VN-310-S are packaged in a precision milled, anodized aluminum enclosure designed to MIL standards and are IP68-rated. For ultra-low SWaP applications, VectorNav has introduced L5 capabilities to the VN-210E (Embedded) when using an externally integrated L5-band GNSS receiver.

VectorNav VN-210-S Overview:

• 0.05-0.1° heading; 0.015° pitch & roll
• 0.6 m horizontal and 0.8 m vertical position accuracy
• 1 cm RTK positioning accuracy
• < 1°/hr gyro in-run bias; < 10 μg accel in-run bias
• 448 channel Tri-band GNSS receiver
• High update rates (800 Hz IMU; 400 Hz Nav)

VectorNav VN-310-S Overview:

• 0.05-0.1° heading; 0.015° pitch & roll
• 0.6 m horizontal and 0.8 m vertical position accuracy
• 1 cm RTK positioning accuracy
• < 1°/hr gyro in-run bias; < 10 μg accel in-run bias
• 448 channel, Dual-band GNSS receiver
• High update rates (800 Hz IMU; 400 Hz Nav)

The VN-210-S and VN-310-S development kits are available for immediate purchase in low quantity, with full production and additional capabilities expected to be announced in early Q1 2024. For additional information, contact VectorNav at: sales@vectornav.com; +1-512-772-3615; www.vectornav.com.

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LITEF has received ETSO certification from EASA for its LCR-110 GNSS-aided Inertial Reference System (GIRS).

The certification of the LCR-110 includes the ETSO-C201 for the AHRS functionality and – as an essential component and for the first time for LITEF – the ETSO-C196a. The latter allows the user to perform so-called RNP (Required Navigation Performance) procedures, for which the LCR-110 monitors the horizontal position and provides the user with information about the trustworthiness of the navigation data.

“We are very pleased that we have now received ETSO certification from EASA. This is a great achievement for the whole project team and for LITEF. Another milestone has been reached and we can now extend our product portfolio with a cost-effective inertial reference system”, says Klaus Blatter, Product Manager Commercial Aviation at LITEF.

LCR-110: The ideal solution for Performance Based Navigation

The LITEF LCR-110 is a low cost, small size, low weight inertial reference system based on MEMS accelerometers and fiber optic gyroscopes. In addition to heading, attitude and navigation data for use in fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft, it provides a navigation solution based on Kalman filtering of raw inertial and satellite navigation data that facilitates improved integrity monitoring of the GNSS information (Aircraft Autonomous Integrity Monitoring – AAIM). Based on its high-class inertial sensors the LCR-110 continues navigation and integrity monitoring even after loss of GNSS information. It is therefore the ideal solution for executing cost and time-optimized flight paths as part of Performance Based Navigation (PBN) with enhanced reliability, worldwide and at any time.

With its low cost and weight saving design the LITEF LCR-110 is the ideal alternative to classic IRS/INS and it therefore facilitates more reliable NextGen and SESAR operations of aircraft that are usually not equipped with such systems.

The LCR-110 IRS satisfies the certification requirements defined in FAA AC 90-101A and EASA AMC 20-26 for performing RNP-AR flight procedures (RNP <0.3 nm) and has been certified according to ETSO/TSO-C201 and ETSO/TSO-C196a.

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Exail, a leading high-tech company specializing in the design and manufacturing of advanced navigation and georeferencing solutions, showcases at Intergeo trade show a new cost-effective Inertial Navigation System (INS) dedicated to land and air mobile mapping applications: the Atlans 3.

The Atlans 3 is an all-in-one positioning and orientation system integrating unique MEMS-FOG (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems – Fiber Optic Gyroscope) hybrid technology and a high-quality dual-antenna RTK GNSS receiver, all within the same compact housing. Providing North-keeping capability at FOG-level performance across a wide spectrum of land and air mobile mapping applications, it delivers highly accurate real-time heading accuracy (up to 0.05°), even in GNSS-challenging environments such as urban canyons, mountainous terrain, or forested areas. Weighing only 850 g and featuring a very compact form factor, the Atlans 3 is an excellent cost-effective choice to meet the requirements of high-performance LIDARs mounted on small and lightweight vehicles where space and weight constraints are critical.

“After the success of our high-grade Atlans A7 INS, which had already been adopted as the preferred georeferencing solution by leading surveying companies worldwide, we decided to develop a more compact and cost-effective INS that meets the specific requirements of applications where the smallest payloads and vehicles are used. With our new Atlans 3, we seamlessly combine the unmatched georeferencing accuracy offered by FOG technology with the compactness and lightweight characteristics of MEMS technology, all within a single device. This hybrid technology enables robust and uninterrupted data acquisition through the most compact platforms” said Marie-Lise Duplaquet, Product Manager at Exail.

Quick and simple to install on all platforms, the new Atlans 3 offers efficient “set-and-forget” operations for a wide range of land and air applications including road and rail asset inventory, pavement condition survey, vehicle automation, HD mapping, ground-truth, airborne surveys (UAVs, planes, helicopters), as well as precision pointing.

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SBG Systems, a leading provider of advanced inertial navigation systems and software solutions, is pleased to announce the release of Qinertia 4 on November 7th. This version introduces several innovative features that provide users with a complete solution for precise trajectory and motion analysis.

Qinertia, the de facto choice of surveyors, is a superior post-processing software delivering better precision and reliability compared to RTK systems. It is continually updated to incorporate user feedback and add new features. Its latest version, Qinertia 4, features a multitude of new capabilities and enhancements.

Qinertia 4 is packed with an array of innovative functionalities that push the boundaries of navigation capabilities. Its enhanced Geodesy engine boasts an extensive selection of preconfigured Coordinate Reference Systems (CRS) and transformations, making it a versatile solution in applications that use diverse geodetic data. Whether you are in land surveying, hydrography, airborne surveys, construction, or any other field requiring precise positioning, the engine ensures seamless and accurate processing in the right datum and coordinate system.

To tackle the challenges of variable ionospheric activity, Qinertia 4 introduces Ionoshield PPK mode. This cutting-edge feature compensates for ionospheric conditions and baseline distances, allowing users to perform Post-Processing Kinematics (PPK) even for long baselines and/or harsh ionospheric conditions. This ensures surveyors achieve centimeter accuracy even in regions with unpredictable ionospheric disturbances.

Another exciting addition to Qinertia 4 is the extended CORS network support. This feature gives users access* to a vast network of 5000 SmartNet Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) for reliable GNSS data processing. These base stations add to the already impressive network of base stations directly available in Qinertia, bringing the total to over 10,000 bases in 164 countries. This global coverage ensures that Qinertia remains a reliable and efficient solution, regardless of geographic location. In addition, users can import their own base station data and verify its position integrity with Precise Point Positioning (PPP).

For data that cannot be processed using PPK (for example, in regions without a nearby base station), Qinertia 4 offers an alternative solution with its new tightly coupled PPP algorithm. This new processing mode, available for all customers with active Qinertia maintenance, provides post-processing anywhere in the world without a base station, with a horizontal accuracy of 4cm and a vertical accuracy of 8cm.

“We are very proud about the launch of Qinertia 4,” said Léa Lian, Software Product Manager at SBG Systems. “It is an exciting milestone for us! With its cutting-edge functionalities and user-centric approach, Qinertia 4 simplifies the post-processing of global navigation and positioning data for professionals. We are confident that it will provide our users with the tools they need to excel in their specialized fields and set new standards of excellence.”

Qinertia’s new functionalities will be demonstrated live at the next Intergeo exhibition in Berlin.

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Dr. Todd E. Humphreys, known for his fundamental contributions to secure, precise and robust PNT and GNSS software-defined receivers (SDR), received this year’s Johannes Kepler Award. The Institute of Navigation’s (ION) Satellite Division recognized Dr. Humphreys with this prestigious honor, the highest it bestows, during the ION GNSS+ 2023 conference in Denver.

Dr. Humphreys, who holds the Ashley H. Priddy Centennial Professorship in Engineering in Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at the University of Texas at Austin, was honored for his “sustained contributions to the art and science of navigation signal processing” and “increasing the public awareness of the vulnerability of GNSS,” according to a news release.

He developed the first GNSS SDR on a small general-purpose processor that can continually track dozens of signals in real time. This C++-based receiver is a highly optimized science-grade multicore GNSS SDR—and the first of its kind to demonstrate centimeter-accurate GNSS positioning with a smartphone antenna.

Through his publications on assessing the threat of civilian spoofers, he initiated the study of GNSS security in open literature. Dr. Humphreys designed and studied diverse methods to detect and counteract spoofing attacks and developed standardized test conditions to evaluate GNSS signal authentication concepts. Because of his work, more people now understand the risks associated with GNSS spoofing and jamming. His live demonstrations and public addresses, which include testifying before Congress and participating in international advisory boards, have helped to increase awareness of GNSS vulnerability beyond the PNT community.

Dr. Humphreys also helped accelerate the movement to carrier-phase-based GNSS into the mass market.

“His laboratory was the first to demonstrate cm-accurate real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning through a smartphone antenna,” according to the release. “Dr. Humphreys laid the theoretical foundation for simultaneously mapping the signals-of-opportunity landscape and exploiting the signals and map for PNT.”

Most recently, Dr. Humphreys developed an interface specification for the Starlink signal structure to enable their use for PNT.

Dr. Humphreys directs the Radionavigation Laboratory and the Wireless Networking and Communications Group at the University of Texas at Austin. He received his BS and MS from Utah State University and his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from Cornell University.

Dr. Humphreys has co-authored many technical papers for Inside GNSS, including “Pinpointing GNSS Interference from Low Earth Orbit,” which was the cover story for the September/October issue. Other Inside GNSS articles include “Robust Navigation for Urban Air Mobility,” and “Seeing and Inertial Integrating Is Believing: Multi-Antenna Vision-and-Inertial-Aided CDGNSS for Micro Aerial Vehicle Pose Estimation.”

The Kepler Award honors an individual for sustained and significant contributions to the development of satellite navigation. Past recipients include Dr. Oliver Montenbruck, Professor Peter Teunissen, Professor Terry Moore, Dr. Boris Pervan and Dr. Mark Psiaki.

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Inertial Labs recently released TAG-304, an advanced performance, tactical-grade MEMS gyroscope.

The three-axis gyroscope solution accurately stabilizes assorted platforms where low latency, wide bandwidth, high data rate and low noise are critical, according to a news release.

TAG-304 can withstand extreme shock and vibrations in accordance with MIL-STD-810 standards. The gyroscopes are fully digitized (RS-422 interface), include built-in test (BIT) functionalities, and have no moving parts.

The gyroscopes feature very low latency (group delay), small size, 4K Hz data rate, 1K Hz Bandwidth and very low noise. They’re well suited for miniature electro-optical systems, gimbals, line-of-sight, and pan and tilt platforms stabilization and pointing applications.

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The localized version of the PointPerfect GNSS augmentation service is designed for applications with restricted data bandwidth and connectivity plans.

u-blox, a global provider of leading positioning and wireless communication technologies and services, has announced the u-blox PointPerfect Localized Distribution feature, the newest enhancement of its PointPerfect GNSS augmentation service. This localized version transmits significantly less data than continental streams, reducing the bandwidth by up to 70%. As a result, user data costs also drop substantially. Localized Distribution is ideally suited for high-precision applications with constrained bandwidth and connectivity plans, including precision agriculture use cases such as autonomous farming and agricultural robotics. It can also apply to other applications such as service robots, micromobility, heavy machinery, and other high-precision mobile robotics applications.

PointPerfect is a PPP-RTK GNSS augmentation data service that delivers centimeter-level accuracy in seconds. It offers uniform coverage in Europe, the USA, Canada, South Korea, and Australia regions, including up to 12 nautical miles (roughly 22 km) off coastlines. The service typically requires 2400 bit/s data bandwidth for these continental streams. Now, with this localized version, the bandwidth has been reduced to almost one-third the size. “PointPerfect Localized Distribution is another step forward in our strategy to realize the mass adoption of precise positioning solutions, even for data-constrained applications, by lowering bandwidth and reducing user data costs,” states Ari Kuukka, Product Owner, u-blox Services.

In this innovative approach, a device subscribes to the Localized Distribution stream according to its location. The data transmitted is optimized based on that location, filtering out unnecessary data irrelevant to the user. This approach significantly reduces the required bandwidth. As with the continental stream, using the Localized Distribution stream does not require communicating the location of the rover to PointPerfect, ensuring privacy and security. The new feature is available immediately.

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