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Monthly Archives: June 2023

What are the Main Benefits of Google Geospatial Creator?

By
Richa Tyagi
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What are the Main Benefits of Google Geospatial Creator?

Google Geospatial Creator is an AR (Augmented Reality) platform, launched by Google on May 2023. It is powered by ARCore and Photorealistic 3D Tiles from the Google Maps Platform. With this platform creators and developers can build, visualize and launch engaging 3D content in real-world locations.

The platform supports both android and iOS devices by using Adobe Aero and Unity. Everything that is created on Geospatial Creator can be experienced in the physical world through real-time localization and real-time augmentation.

The creations can easily be shared via a QR code scan or link. The end user can go to a particular location and scan the QR code or use the link to access the created content.

Benefits of Geospatial Creator

The AR platform is going to help in different industries and segments such as retail, gaming, metaverse, local discovery, and so on. Let’s have a look at its benefits:

Seamless 3D Model

Geospatial Creator gives the creators access to the same 3D map source used by Google Earth, through the Map Tiles API. Without spending billions of dollars on infrastructure, it enables users to have a seamless and 3D textured mesh model experience. It is really exciting to explore new horizons because location-based AR is really going to change the things we have experienced before.

For example, Gorillaz, an English Virtual Band, used the ARCore Geospatial API. The band revolutionizes the concept of a music video with a global immersive performance that will allow people to gather to enjoy the play in AR. Gorillaz’ performances utilize ARCore Geospatial API to transform public spaces with cultural experiences.

Digital Twin and Reality Capture

With the help of Geospatial Creator, creators, and developers can bring a new AR experience. They can see a 3D map representation of the city in Unity or Adobe Aero. This visual representation feature will help creators with the precise placement of their geolocalized digital AR content so that the digital content will be more closely integrated with real-world surroundings.

By using high-resolution optical imagery and 3D map sources, creators and developers can build their immersive augmented reality experience, for customized locations. However, it can be done only 2500 cities over 49 countries where Photorealistic 3D Tiles are available.

With the help of 3D Tiles, developers can visualize and customize environments, incorporating additional elements and real-time data like traffic information.

Include AR Content in Metaverse

Geospatial Creator, with the help of ARCore, is taking a significant step towards sharing AR content in the metaverse. For example, if we visit a location where we can experience a shared and interactive AR environment with a physical world environment. This sort of approach will be really helpful for education, cultural awareness, and storytelling.

Challenges and Future Possibilities

Although, Geospatial Creator is offering many possibilities in the AR world. However, there are some challenges associated with this. The key limitation is that the Google Earth 3D view is not perfectly visually constructed. Also, the 3D tiles are not available everywhere and are currently not supported on many sites. Yet, the ongoing developments and advancements in AR or emerging technologies will certainly address these limitations and pave the way for further innovation in the field.

Chennai gets India’s first Police Drone Unit

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News Desk
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Chennai gets India’s first Police Drone Unit

Chennai gets India's first Police Drone Unit

Greater Chennai Police, in India, established a ‘Drone Police Unit’ to assist cops in aerial surveillance. This is going to help in case of large gatherings, real-time checking of vehicle registration data, and spotting of suspects.

The project costs approximately Rs 3.6 crore, according to a press release by the GCP. The project was inaugurated by outgoing Tamil Nadu Director General of Police (DGP) C Sylendra Babu, in the presence of Chennai Police Commissioner Shankar Jiwal at Besant Avenue, Adyar.

A total of nine drones under three categories are available in this unit: Quick Response Surveillance Drones (6), Heavy Lift Multirotor Drone (1), and Long Range Survey Wing Place (2). These all drones are equipped with built-in artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities and can be operated up to a distance of 5-10 km from the ground station.

Heavy Lift Drone, equipped with thermal cameras, is capable of detecting and rescuing people caught in sea waves by deploying life jackets, even during the night, according to the press release.

UK’s Met Office makes climate data more accessible with Esri GIS

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News Desk
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UK’s Met Office makes climate data more accessible with Esri GIS

The Met Office’s Climate Data Portal has gone live, giving organisations improved access to climate data and other resources, allowing them to better understand and respond to climate change. Part of the Met Office’s wider strategy to maximise the benefits of its data, the portal contains 60 different data layers, as well as guidance and information.

Built using geospatial technology from Esri UK, the portal makes it easier for businesses or government organisations to combine open climate data with their own data and reveal the future impact of extreme conditions on their operations, including heatwaves, floods or droughts. The project is part of the strategic partnership between the Met Office and Esri UK who have been working together for over 20 years.

Combining Met Office expertise and authoritative data with Esri’s geospatial tools, the portal presents complex scientific climate projections in easy-to-use formats, ready to visualise and analyse in GIS and non-spatial applications or integrate into business processes for improved decision-making. Spatial analysis can be performed at a global, regional or local level enabling location-specific action plans to be developed.

“Historically, climate science has defined the problem, now it’s moving to help with the solution, providing information at a local level which is highly relevant to UK organisations,” explained Professor Jason Lowe, Head of Climate Services at the Met Office. “By combining the Met Office’s latest projections with Esri’s geospatial tools, the reach and value of this data are greatly extended. UK stakeholders can investigate their physical climate risks over the next 50 to 100 years. The most detailed climate projections reveal a greater chance of warmer, wetter winters and hotter, drier summers and these help users plan and prepare for extreme weather, climate change and the reporting which new regulations, linked to climate change, will require.”

The main users of the new portal are expected to be within the government, insurance, transport, energy, land use, urban planning and healthcare industries.

Data on temperature extremes can be used to understand the impacts on transport infrastructure, health and energy demand. For example:

  • Days above 25°C can indicate when trains could be disrupted due to overheating of railway infrastructure.
  • Nights above 20°C can indicate heat stress as nighttime temperatures impact the body’s ability to recover from higher daytime temperatures.
  • Days below 0°C can indicate transport disruption and increased energy demand for heating.

The portal will also help provide insight to help organisations start their response to regulatory climate reporting such as TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures), which is being rolled out across the UK.

During a pilot phase of the portal, which saw almost 4,000 users access the data, early users included the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) and Forestry and Land Scotland, the organisation responsible for managing Scotland’s national forest estate, owned by the Scottish government. Some of the most popular data during this phase included projections of summer days (where the temperature reaches over 25°C) for different global warming scenarios.

Emma Teuten, Lead GIS Analyst at RSPB Scotland, said: “The portal makes working with climate data faster and more accurate and saves months of development time when trying to understand the impact of climate change on specific sites in Scotland. We already use Esri’s GIS extensively and the new Met Office portal eliminates the time-consuming data conversion previously required, as the data is now in ready-to-use geospatial formats.”

Alan Gale, Adaption and Resilience Manager, Forestry and Land Scotland, commented: “Organisations like ours rely on authoritative and easy-to-access information for climate change decision-making, in land planning and management. The innovative approach being taken by the Met Office portal makes important climate data available to a broader range of users and critically, lets us understand the local and regional climate differences at a glance. Predicting future climate is particularly important in forestry, given the long time scales involved – trees we plant today will still be growing in the 2050s and 2080s, for example.”

“The Climate Data Portal is a giant step forward in making climate data more usable for UK stakeholders,” commented Pete Wilkinson, Managing Director of Esri UK. “Climate change presents a major challenge and this challenge is a geographic one. Using geospatial technology as a delivery mechanism for climate data makes it quickly accessible and usable in spatial and temporal analysis, helping to identify at-risk areas and develop location-specific action plans.”

Drone Nerds Expands Enterprise Software Offerings with SkyeBrowse

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News Desk
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Drone Nerds Expands Enterprise Software Offerings with SkyeBrowse

Drone Nerds Expands Enterprise Software Offerings with SkyeBrowse

Drone Nerds, a drone technology provider, has added SkyeBrowse to its lineup of enterprise software offerings, so law enforcement, first responders, and other agencies can easily access SkyeBrowse’s patented software.

SkyeBrowse is a platform that can create 3D models in minutes. With proprietary videogrammetry technology, SkyeBrowse can layer together hundreds of video frames – rather than still images like traditional photogrammetry – from one quick video to generate a 3D model. This greatly simplifies and shortens the process for police officers, first responders, and search-and-rescue teams to make effective and evidentiary 3D models, increasing efficiency of missions and situational awareness, while reducing risk.

Users can effortlessly create 3D models by flying SkyeBrowse or WideBrowse missions with a supported drone. SkyeBrowse is the ideal tool for documenting collision scenes and crime scenes, as well as preparing response plans for critical infrastructure, active shooter mitigation, and much more. Public safety crews can quickly acquire centimeter-accurate 3D models in near real time to expedite their missions and increase safety.

In addition, SkyeBrowse provides in-depth insights to optimize decision-making during ongoing critical incidents. It offers versatile visualization tools that allow leaders to view a scene from any perspective, determining lines of sight and analyzing risk factors related to the scene, from anywhere with a browser connection, including mobile devices.

Available as an add-on feature to Skyebrowse, TacBrowse enables officers to transmit their GPS locations from any iOS or Android device to be tracked on the 3D model in real time. By providing location in 3D space, incident commanders can maintain realistic awareness of terrain and resources, rather than just the officers’ locations on a flat map.

TacBrowse deployment is quick and efficient, with login times reduced to seconds. Uniquely generated links allow allied responders to join the session for the duration of the incident, facilitating seamless collaboration and information sharing.

“SkyeBrowse and TacBrowse platforms have been built with public safety in mind and public safety in the lead,” said Bryan Sardoch, SkyeBrowse Solutions Engineer and recently retired Deputy Sheriff.

“By combining SkyeBrowse’s advanced analytics platform with DroneNerds’ expertise in unmanned aerial vehicles, we will be able to provide our customers with unprecedented insights and actionable intelligence,” says Bobby Ouyang, CEO of SkyeBrowse.

BP Ventures invests €7.5m in Berlin EV charging service provider

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BP Ventures invests €7.5m in Berlin EV charging service provider

BP Ventures has invested €7.5m in Service4Charger, a Berlin-based EV charging service provider, as part of a €10 m Series A funding round.

Service4Charger claims it is filling the gap in the market by providing specialised, skilled electrical engineers in Germany, one of Europe’s fastest-growing EV charging infrastructure markets.

BP is the lead investor in the round, which included the participation of €2.5m from Smart Energy Innovationsfonds, the corporate venture capital arm of Energie 360°, a Swiss energy provider which invests in sustainable companies across the energy sector in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Service4Charger’s in-house trained and digitally equipped electrical engineers focus on the installation and maintenance of charging stations for electric cars throughout Germany – for various charging scenarios, such as charging in fleet depots, at public charging stations and at home. Service4Charger reports its team has grown to some 85 employees and is already represented in 25 cities – from Aachen to Berlin and from Hamburg to Munich – allowing the Service4Charger to operate throughout Germany.

“The new capital will enable Service4Charger to expand into additional markets and add more local operational staff and Service4Charger Mobile Heroes to our team across Germany,” Lucas Althammer, CEO of Service4Charger.

“In this way, we are doing our part to expand the charging infrastructure for e-vehicles, which is critical to the transition to a lower-carbon European economy. We welcome the funding from, and collaboration with, BP and its German brand Aral as well as Energie 360° as we work together to drive the electrification of mobility.

“As BP Pulse rolls out EV charging it is essential that we have the right skill sets and expertise to make charging installations an efficient process and to service our growing network of EV charge points,” said Gareth Burns, vice president of BP Ventures.

“The investment into Service4Charger brings BP a collaboration that can enable rapid and reliable installation and servicing of EV charge points in Germany.”

OroraTech Selects Spire Global to Provide Satellites for Wildfire Monitoring

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OroraTech Selects Spire Global to Provide Satellites for Wildfire Monitoring

OroraTech Selects Spire Global to Provide Satellites for Wildfire Monitoring

Spire Global, a global provider of space-based data, analytics and space services, has signed an agreement with OroraTech, the global leader in space-based thermal intelligence, to build, launch and operate an eight-satellite constellation dedicated to global temperature monitoring. Once operational, it will represent the first and largest constellation of satellites dedicated to tracking and monitoring wildfires.

Each spacecraft in the eight-satellite constellation, which will be launched in mid-2024, will carry OroraTech’s proprietary thermal-infrared optical payload and data processing unit with on-orbit fire detection capability. The urgent data collected by the satellites will be downlinked via Spire’s ground station network and delivered to OroraTech through an API. The satellites will help identify and monitor areas at risk of wildfires as well as enable early detection of wildfire hot spots, which are increasing rapidly as a result of climate change.

OroraTech has successfully operated a precursor sensor in orbit on a satellite designed, built and operated by Spire for 15 months. Initially intended as a technology demonstration, it exceeded expectations and is now serving as an active fire monitoring instrument for customers across the globe. Currently, the sensor is actively assisting SOPFEU, the fire agency of the province of Quebec, Canada. Earlier this month, another Spire satellite carrying payloads for OroraTech, was successfully launched on SpaceX Transporter-8.

Esri Partners with Databricks to Bring Spatial Analytics Functionality

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Esri Partners with Databricks to Bring Spatial Analytics Functionality

Esri Partners with Databricks to Bring Spatial Analytics Functionality

Esri, the global leader in location intelligence, has partnered with Databricks, the data and AI company. The collaboration will provide users with the advanced spatial analytics capabilities of Esri’s ArcGIS software easily accessible in Databricks’ big data platform, the Databricks Lakehouse Platform.

“The Databricks Lakehouse Platform merges data engineering, data science, machine learning, and analytics within a single platform and, in many cases, customers also need a powerful spatial component,” said Roger Murff, VP of product partnerships at Databricks. “By having geoanalytics tools run directly in Databricks, it empowers those users to perform spatial analysis at a scale they have come to expect with Databricks.”

Esri offerings that integrate with the Databricks Lakehouse Platform include ArcGIS GeoAnalytics Engine and Big Data Toolkit, which are built specifically to enable users to perform spatial analysis on big datasets.

“Organizations and data practitioners using Databricks need access to spatial tools where they do their day-to-day work,” said Richard Cooke, Esri director of global business development. “The solutions that Esri is providing allow data scientists to access the most comprehensive set of spatial analytics tools available natively within the Databricks environment.”

Innoviz and LOXO Expand Partnership to Deploy Autonomous, Zero-Emission Delivery Vehicles

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Innoviz and LOXO Expand Partnership to Deploy Autonomous, Zero-Emission Delivery Vehicles
Integration of InnovizOne LiDAR sensor on LOXO’s zero-emission delivery vehicles (PRNewsfoto/Innoviz Technologies)

Innoviz Technologies, a supplier of high-performance, automotive-grade LiDAR sensors and perception software, announced that Switzerland-based LOXO, a provider of zero-emission autonomous delivery vehicles, has signed a letter of intent (LOI) to deploy InnovizOne LiDAR units on its delivery vehicles through 2024.

Innoviz’s automotive-grade LiDAR, InnovizOne, is planned to be used in LOXO’s zero-emission, autonomous delivery vehicles, potentially allowing retailers to transport goods from local distribution hubs to end consumers efficiently and sustainably. Earlier this year LOXO and Innoviz went through a successful product evaluation and testing with Innoviz’s Automotive-grade LiDAR, which led to an expanded order of InnovizOne units and a signed LOI for their 2024 fleet.

“Our LiDAR is purpose-built to be lightweight and easily integrate with vehicles of all shapes and sizes, from passenger cars to commercial fleets to last-mile delivery vehicles,” said Omer Keilaf, Co-Founder and CEO at Innoviz. “We are pleased for this vote of confidence from LOXO and are thrilled with this advancement in our partnership. Together, we plan to deploy advanced technology to autonomously deliver goods quickly, safely and affordably.”

“There is ample opportunity to optimize the exchange of goods from local distribution centers to a customer’s doorstep to elevate the logistics experience for today’s consumers. Innoviz’s automotive-grade LiDAR is a key component in facilitating optimized and autonomous last-mile delivery,” said Amin Amini, Co-Founder and CEO of LOXO. “We’re excited to equip our growing fleet of vehicles with Innoviz’s LiDAR and continue on our mission to expand access to goods in Switzerland and beyond.”

InnovizOne is a high-performance solid-state LiDAR sensor specifically designed for automakers and could also be used for other various applications such as robotaxi, shuttle and delivery companies requiring an automotive-grade, mass-producible solution to achieve autonomy. It is purpose-built to be rugged, affordable, reliable, power-efficient, lightweight, and seamlessly integrated into unique Level 3 to Level 5 autonomous vehicle designs ensuring the safety of passengers and pedestrians alike. LOXO vehicles equipped with InnovizOne are expected to be used to meet the growing demand of the autonomous last-mile delivery market, which is projected to reach $5.9 billion by 2030.

Dynamic Map Platform Expands Mapping Operations to South Korea

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Dynamic Map Platform Expands Mapping Operations to South Korea

Dynamic Map Platform Expands Mapping Operations to South Korea

Dynamic Map Platform, an automotive high-definition map and software company, is launching mapping operations in South Korea as part of the company’s global growth plans.

“Our mission is to support innovation in a variety of industries by providing a high-precision HD data platform that replicates the real world in the digital space,” said Shuichi Yoshimura, CEO and President, Dynamic Map Platform.

“DMP is excited to expand our operations to South Korea to create and deliver best-in-class data for our growing customer base,” said Chris Thibodeau, CEO of DMP NA. “Our mission is to safely deploy autonomous technology, improve mobility, and create data which is important for smart infrastructure.”

DMP’s ‘ground truth’ roadway measurements and diverse sets of map features are essential for L2+ ADAS functions. They also contribute to robust roadway modeling and analytics. DMP’s toolchain can accurately identify and map hundreds of road features. Observable road elements such as paint lines, objects, and traffic control devices, as well as virtual features like lane centerlines, trajectories, and virtual lane edges are critical inputs to safe, hands-off driving.

DMP is currently in mass production with multiple OEMs in North America and Japan. The expansion of DMP’s mapping operations into South Korea marks a significant milestone for the company as it continues to shape the future of transportation.

Seoul Robotics Introduces QuickConnect for 3D Perception technology

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Seoul Robotics Introduces QuickConnect for 3D Perception technology

Seoul Robotics Introduces QuickConnect for Integration of Intelligent 3D Perception Capabilities

Seoul Robotics, the company driving smart 3D infrastructure solutions, released QuickConnect, an analytics tool with advanced event detection capabilities designed to make 3D perception technology more actionable and accessible for ITS deployments. QuickConnect transforms data from 3D sensors into meaningful event information, enabling faster, easier integration of real-time and statistical intelligence to contextualize and improve a wide range of roadway activities.

QuickConnect leverages the output of Seoul Robotics’ patented perception platform, SENSR™, and introduces new statistic modules that record pre-coded events, enabling organizations to gain more detailed analytics and information on the number, location, and velocity of people, cyclists, and different vehicle types within zones equipped with 3D sensors. The technology analyzes events such as pedestrians jaywalking, speeding, traffic jams, u-turns, near-miss accidents, and more within the designated zones. These programmed events provide a new layer of context into roadway activities, as well as reduce the amount of coding required to deploy SENSR so organizations can immediately begin harnessing real-time 3D data for strategic decision-making.

Furthermore, QuickConnect is a fully web-based system that seamlessly integrates with third-party applications through APIs, ensuring a continuous flow of data and insights. By enabling the software to augment existing setups, Seoul Robotics is reducing the overall time, cost, and effort required to deploy QuickConnect.

“The world around us continues to become more complex and requires technology that can analyze all of its intricacies. 3D perception is that technology but it has historically exemplified the expression that nothing worth having comes easy – until now,” said William Muller, Vice President of Business Development at Seoul Robotics.

QuickConnect joins the suite of features released with SENSR 3.0 earlier this year that make it easier for anyone to deploy and gain immediate value from 3D technology. The rapidly growing ecosystem includes QuickTune, a snap-to-point tool to expedite sensor calibration, and QuickSite, a first-of-its-kind site simulation tool that enables users to virtually design and scale 3D systems, reducing installation times.

Seoul Robotics’ 3D perception technology can be used for both indoor and outdoor environments owing to the deep learning and dynamic weather-filtering AI capabilities of SENSR. SENSR is able to simultaneously track, detect, and identify pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles within an error of 4 centimeters and create the industry’s most accurate digital twins in real-time for unprecedented insights, regardless of harsh weather conditions.

TELEDYNE e2v Sensors on ESA’s Euclid mission will explore the composition of the dark universe

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TELEDYNE e2v Sensors on ESA’s Euclid mission will explore the composition of the dark universe

Teledyne e2v, part of the Teledyne Technologies Group, looks forward to seeing the Euclid Spacecraft enter orbit to determine the properties of dark energy and dark matter on universal scales.

The Teledyne e2v team of highly experienced engineers, technicians and scientists designed and manufactured the 36 sensors for Euclid’s visible wavelength camera which forms part of the payload module.

Euclid is designed to explore the evolution of the dark universe. Over six years, it will make a 3D map of the universe by observing billions of galaxies out to 10 billion light-years, across more than a third of the sky. The mission will help to determine how the universe originated and what it is made of.

Euclid is a European mission, built and operated by The European Space Agency, with contributions from NASA. Teledyne e2v is part of the Euclid consortium consisting of more than 2000 scientists from 300 institutes in 13 European countries, the US, Canada and Japan.

The Teledyne e2v team have a rich heritage of manufacturing imaging sensors and sub-systems for over 150 space missions helping humankind to better understand the world we live in. They were selected to work with ESA on the Euclid mission as their sensors are proven to surpass the mission lifetime and are known to survive the cold hostile space environment. All Teledyne e2v’s sensors go through intensive radiation, temperature, shock and vibration testing.  Euclid will be too far out into space to do any repairs so the Teledyne e2v team have designed sensors that will deliver on performance over the mission lifetime.

The launch was delayed due to the war in Ukraine and is now scheduled for 1st July on a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA. Its operational orbit will be a halo around a point known as the Sun-Earth Lagrange point 2, at an average distance of 1.5 million km beyond Earth’s orbit. It will initially fly for 30 days for instrument testing followed by an operational lifetime of six years, with the possibility of extension.

Gabriela Druitt, Director of Engineering for Space Imaging at Teledyne e2v, who worked on Dark Matter research prior to starting at Teledyne e2v, notes:

“I think this is one of the most exciting missions that we have worked on to date. The Euclid mission will help us understand the fundamental physical laws of the Universe. It will reveal what dark energy and dark matter is and how the universe is changing. Dark matter can have some interesting applications, such as enabling futuristic space travel which would enable humankind to break current challenges that are associated with it.”

Airmo raises 5.2 million euros for climate-monitoring constellation

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Airmo raises 5.2 million euros for climate-monitoring constellation

Airmo, a German startup planning to obtain space-based measurements of greenhouse gas emissions, has raised 5.2 million euros ($5.7 million) in pre-seed funding, including investment and a European Space Agency contract.

With the funding announced, Airmo will launch the first of 12 satellites equipped with spectrometers and small light detection and ranging (lidar) instruments to measure atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane.

“Spectral data combined with LiDAR data result in much better atmospheric corrections,” Harriet von Kügelgen, Airmo chief commercial officer and co-founder, told SpaceNews. “Aerosols and wind patterns play a crucial role in the scattering and absorption of light, affecting the signal’s path and intensity. By integrating wind and aerosol data, it becomes possible to correct for these atmospheric effects more accurately, resulting in improved end data quality and more precise measurements of target greenhouse gasses.”

Airmo, founded in 2022, plans to launch its first satellite equipped with a spectrometer and a micro-lidar in late 2024.

 

Rypplzz announces Pre-seed Funding to Accelerate Adoption of Geospatial Technology

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Rypplzz announces Pre-seed Funding to Accelerate Adoption of Geospatial Technology

Rypplzz, creators of Interlife®, a multi-patented geo-location platform, announced $3M in pre-seed funding from a group of investors including Deal Box Ventures, Fulcrom Investing and Innovative Venture Partners to accelerate adoption of its geospatial mapping technology that connects the digital-physical world with greater precision than ever before.

Rypplzz creates ‘intelligent air’ that turns airspace into monetizable engagement opportunities by creating the infrastructure needed to program digital files to precise coordinates of airspace with an accuracy within 6 inches of the location. This improves the level of accuracy by several orders of magnitude over standard GPS-based technologies which operates with a precision between 10 to 20 feet of the object.

The company also announced it is collaborating with large venues such as the 27-acre Tucson Convention Center, a major U.S. sports league, Cisco Sports and Media Group and SkyPath Security to create next-generation stadium experiences. Rypplzz technology will power AR-based fan experiences, precise wayfinding and traffic analytics, geotargeting and a host of tech-enabled crowd management capabilities. The company is also exploring security-related applications for large warehouses, event locations and construction sites for precise geo-location and enhanced connectivity to improve security and asset management in these spaces, driving better efficiency and safety among workers.

Given high demand for precise geolocation services with its numerous applications in industries such as AR, web3, as well as other location-based services, Rypplzz’s patented technology is transformative in the sports, entertainment and hospitality markets to enhance fan engagement and drive new revenue for large venues and content owners. The technology is also being used for security applications for large commercial venues.

Special Aerospace Services Awarded Space Act Agreement with NASA

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Special Aerospace Services Awarded Space Act Agreement with NASA
Prototype of Special Aerospace Services’ Autonomous Maneuvering Unit
Special Aerospace Services Awarded Space Act Agreement with NASA
Prototype of Special Aerospace Services’ Autonomous Maneuvering Unit

Special Aerospace Services, a provider of spaceflight engineering and hardware solutions for the aerospace industry, has been awarded a Space Act Agreement (SAA) by NASA to develop a commercial version of an Autonomous Maneuvering Unit (AMU) to be used in civil, commercial, and national security missions. Awarded under the second Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities (CCSC-2) initiative, the AMU system will allow safer assembly of commercial LEO (low Earth orbit) space stations, servicing, retrieval, and inspection of in-space systems.

“This agreement is critical in providing expertise, historical data, lessons learned, and access to NASA personnel in order for SAS to accelerate our commercial development of the AMU technology,” said Special Aerospace Services Chief Technical Officer & Co-Founder Tim Bulk.

SAS has spent the last three years investing in in-space servicing technology, propulsion, and robotic technology, specifically in the prototype development of the AMU and the Astronaut Assist-AMU for commercial in-space servicing and mobility applications.

“SAS’ AMU technology will rapidly advance commercial space-related efforts,” said Special Aerospace Services President and Chief Executive Officer Heather Bulk.

 

CyberTech launches Esri Technologies Support Center in Kolkata, India

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CyberTech launches Esri Technologies Support Center in Kolkata, India

CyberTech launches Esri Technologies Support Center in Kolkata, India

CyberTech Systems and Software has unveiled the inauguration of its third technology support center in Kolkata, India. The facility is dedicated to offering unparalleled support for Esri’s GIS products and technologies, specifically focusing on expanding CyberTech’s capabilities in providing exceptional assistance for the ArcGIS product suite to users worldwide.

As the unrivalled market leader in GIS technology, location intelligence, and mapping, Esri sets the standard for excellence while offering its esteemed customers support services. The establishment of the Kolkata center marks an important milestone in CyberTech’s enduring partnership with Esri, joining forces with its extensive network of worldwide distributors and partners. Through this collaboration, the Kolkata center will seamlessly integrate into CyberTech’s ecosystem, bolstering our ability to deliver top-notch solutions and support to clients in conjunction with Esri’s global reach.

CyberTech proudly partners with Esri and is dedicated to supporting One Esri Mission. CyberTech has now set up its 3rd Esri International Technical Support Services Center in Salt Lake City, Kolkata. This center is built to Esri’s global standards supporting Jack Dangermond’s GIS mission. Now, Esri Technical Support Services has three offices in India’s leading IT cities, employing over 200 skilled GIS staff.

CyberTech has expanded its presence in eastern India, demonstrating its dedication to delivering outstanding service to its valued customers.

This new center is strategically located in eastern India and near the city’s technology and education hubs. This Center has state-of-the-art facilities and currently supports the vast and complex areas of the ArcGIS product suite.

Teal Drones Secures $1.2M Funding for U.S. Army’s SRR program

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Teal Drones Secures $1.2M Funding for U.S. Army’s SRR program

Red Cat Subsidiary Teal Drones Secures $1.2M Additional Funding

Red Cat Holdings, a military technology company integrating robotic hardware and software to protect and support the warfighter, announces that subsidiary Teal Drones has secured an additional $1.2 million to continue developing a new sUAS prototype for the U.S. Army’s Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) program.

Teal was first awarded a prototype contract for the SRR Tranche 2 program in March 2022, and the Army is now obligating a total of $2.7 million for Teal’s participation. Teal is one of only three vendors competing in Tranche 2, which the Army has advised will now be the final tranche of the SRR program.

After vendors complete a series of testing and demonstration milestones, the winning vendor(s) will be selected to produce a rucksack-portable sUAS. The system will provide Army platoons (20 to 50 soldiers) with a rapidly deployable surveillance and reconnaissance capability to gain situational awareness beyond the next terrain feature.

The newly obligated funding brings additional objective requirements, originally assigned to Tranche 3, for the sUAS prototypes to meet.

“Uncrewed systems are a disruptive technology that provide soldiers an unfair advantage on the battlefield,” said Maj. Josh McMillion, U.S. Army SRR APM. “SRR is the Army’s solution to provide this capability now to ensure our soldiers have the technological edge over the enemy in any operational environment and never have a fair fight.”

Teal’s prototype will feature some of the same technology found in its new military-grade sUAS, the Teal 2, officially launched in April. Teal 2 is designed to “Dominate the Night™” and arrives as the world’s leading sUAS for nighttime operations. The system offers the latest intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) technology, delivering time-critical information and enabling operators to make faster, smarter decisions.

Airbus Participates in European Defence Fund Projects

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Airbus Participates in European Defence Fund Projects

Airbus Participates in European Defence Fund Projects

Airbus is participating in 10 collaborative defence research and development projects funded by the European Commission as part of the European Defence Fund (EDF).

On 26 June 2023, the European Commission announced plans to fund 41 collaborative defence research and development projects with a total budget of € 832 million. This funding decision comes as a result of a call for proposals issued in 2022.

The EDF proposals are designed to support high-end defence capability projects in critical areas such as naval, ground, air combat, space-based early warning and cyber.

“In times where individual nations are protective of their respective national champions, European collaboration is more important than ever to create a much-needed scale for defence in Europe”, said Mike Schoellhorn, CEO of Airbus Defence and Space.

Out of the 10 projects with Airbus participation, the company is expected to coordinate four of them:

  • the Single European Sky and InterOPerability;
  • EUropean Cyber and INFormation warfare toolbox;
  • a Future Air System for European Tactical Transportation; and
  • Space based Persistent ISR for Defence and Europe Reinforcement.

The European Commission announced it will now enter into grant agreement preparation with the selected consortia. Pending a successful conclusion of these preparations, the grant agreements are expected to be signed before the end of the year.

Need of Integrated Space Defence Program in India

By
Lt Gen Dr Anil Kapoor (Retired)
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Need of Integrated Space Defence Program in India

The Indian Space Policy 2023 is a major milestone and has created reverberations among space agencies, institutions, and industry alike to harness the opportunities in defense and dual-use technologies.

The policy is expected to institutionalize private sector participation in the space sector, with ISRO focusing on R & D of advanced space technologies, and is likely to increase India’s share in the global space economy substantially from  2% to 10% in the foreseeable future.

It is envisaged that the boost in satellite manufacturing and launch capabilities will yield  USD 3.2 billion by the year 2025  against USD 2.1 billion in 2020.

The Defence Space Program Deliverables

Satellites offer huge intelligence, information, surveillance, and communication advantages, which are the center of gravity of military planning and execution. Military satellites as a part of communication and other application-based satellite systems and leasing satellites have been a need-based part of military perspective planning. As the need for maritime domain awareness grows, and as border tensions with China and Pakistan increase, vulnerabilities in Indian space security have made it mandatory to look to build up its minuscule number of military satellites. There are major opportunities in the Defence Space Technology Scenario of invisible information-based warfare. Salient deliverables are given in the succeeding paras.

Space Domain & Situational Awareness Capabilities

Space is a congested, contested, and competitive domain with a highly dynamic and rapidly evolving environment. Over the last sixty years, approximately 9,600 satellites have been placed into Earth orbit without any regulatory framework. This number is expected to exponentially increase considering the tremendous advances small satellites, launch capabilities and spacecraft design. There are a number of public and private agencies capable of accessing space as it has a major impact on civilian usage, military operations and security activities.

Therefore, Space Domain Awareness  (SDA) becomes an essential enabling capability. SDA can be defined as the capability to detect, track, identify and characterize space objects including  space debris and the Space environment, aimed at supporting Space activities in terms of safety, security, and sustainability.

Also, there is a dire need to identify risks and threats affecting Space systems in order to take appropriate countermeasures, thereby increasing space systems resilience. Consistent with SDA, Space Situational Awareness (SSA) is important ingredient of  space domain capabilities and capacities. In fact, SDA and SSA are two sides of the same coin for military, civilian and dual use. The following issues merit consideration:

  • Space surveillance and tracking systems to detect space objects and classify them as friendly, hostile or debris and predict their orbits.
  • Space intelligence collection for analysis and exploitation to identify unknown satellites, understand if they are operational and discover their capabilities and purpose. Space intelligence plays a fundamental role to coordinate, command and control Space effects in support of military commanders, thereby ensuring that  Space services driven right info is available at the right place and right time.

Space-Based Surveillance Network Systems

There is a dire need to configure a network of varied space surveillance systems space radar systems, phased array and synthetic aperture radars, thermal infrared spectrometers, multi spectral imagers, glimmers, rolling mirror space telescopes with varying resolution on ground and in space. This shall generate info for space situational awareness and debris status and ground based geospatial data for military applications and National Missions / SDGs of India.

Secure Space Communication Systems

Space Communication systems is two-way communication in uplink and downlink which need to be secured to convey signals and geospatial data in real-time. Satcom Association of India is an Agency that is tasked to identify areas of research, design, and development in seamless secure communication systems.

Research Centre of Big Data for Nation Mission & Defence

A unified secure cloud (Space Data Centres) for storing big data that will get generated would need to be created. This Research Centre would be the most important repository of the humongous amount of data for defense and National Missions /SDGs and would be a strategic asset of National Importance. This SDG Big Data Platform would aim to integrate Big Earth Data and that of aerial platforms of the Tri-Services and other agencies for collation, synthesis & monitoring for predictive and prescriptive analytics. Big Data Platforms, Multi Platform Multi Sensor Data Fusion and AI platforms would need to be created for generating an Integrated Information, Actionable Intelligence and Decision Support System.

Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) -NAVIC

A system of GEO and  Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites would need to launched to configure a robust NAVIC as a reliable global positioning system (GPS). This would need to be hardened for a robust global positioning, navigation and timing.

Micro, Nano & Software Defined Satellites

With the proliferation in miniaturized small satellites and ease of their launch, an eye in the sky as a low earth orbit satellite is a huge disruptive technology. Given the need to defend vast borders delineated by volatile international border, line of control and line of actual control and the coast line, deep and shallow look capabilities through a  technology solution is a dire necessity.

A large number of surveillance devices are deployed, but given the porosity and the sheer length of the borders and areas of interest and influences, for round-the-clock surveillance, Indian Military must develop the capability to launch Nano – tech-enabled Low Earth Orbit Satellites and have a GIS platform duly integrated. One rationale for miniaturizing satellites is to reduce the cost and being lighter, require smaller and cheaper launch vehicles, which can sometimes be launched in multiples.

They can also be launched ‘piggyback’, using excess capacity on larger launch vehicles. Miniaturized satellites allow for cheaper designs and ease of mass production. A number of academic institutions, start ups and private sector are currently developing small satellites and  launch mechanisms (vehicles) to perform the increasingly targeted launch requirements of microsatellites.

As an adjunct to National Disaster Management Program, to monitor avalanches and other natural calamities to facilitate disaster relief but primarily keep continuous watch in the areas of interest and influence for military targets of interest.

The platform ground station would be geo spatial enabled for accurate position fixes. This Program could be the vanguard to unleash the Tri Service Space Command.

Resilient Positioning Navigation and Timing (PNT) Systems

PNT is the critical mass of all space-based systems. In the digital world, it is a National level problem but can affect Armed Forces at the time of crisis and war. The Indian Satellite-Based Systems are dependent on Global Navigation Satellite Systems including the US-based Global Positioning System (GPS).

The ability of USA or an inimical Nation degrading GPS and affecting PNT will have serious implications on eGovernance and decision support systems and can be disastrous in war. There is need to design, develop and deploy three layers of systems for assured PNT:

  • A terrestrial system for PNT. This shall help in getting geospatial data from in-premise infrastructure so important in the management of information, resources, and autonomous systems
  •  This terrestrial grid must be layered with low earth orbit (LEO) satellite-based systems that are ready to launch on demand for real-time situational awareness.
  • Tethered /solar-based drones as quasi-satellite as eye in the sky, on-demand for localized PNT support up to 30 Km above the mean sea level

Launching of Satellite Systems on Demand

There is a void in real-time satellite imagery. The present system of terrain mapping in the areas of interest and influence need to be reduced to at least four hours, This calls for a concerted effort to launch more defence payload satellites. These may be nano and small LEO satellites on demand.

There is also a need to develop software-defined satellites for muti payloads. As a fallout, resilient PNT can also be achieved by developing launch on demand satellites.

Weaponizing Space Systems

Hypersonic glide vehicles, hypersonic missiles, Anti Satellite Systems based on Ground-based launchers for hard kill and soft kill systems in space is in the realms of technology demonstration and  a void. There is a need to design, develop and deploy anti-satellite missile systems.

Also, space-based hard kill guided missile systems, jamming, directed energy weapons and electromagnetic pulse systems need to be developed for use from space to earth. There is a need to create soft and hard kill systems including jammers and directed energy weapons (DEWs) for Outer Space Warfare.

The scope of such capabilities include ground-to-space warfare, space-to-space warfare (satellites destroying hostile satellites, space to-ground warfare. These technologies include EM spectrum, laser-based DEWs and hard kill missile ASAT systems.

Value Addition Space-Based Projects

That said, there are two key drivers of the Defence Space Program – Technology and Data. The technology comprises space technologies and supporting emerging technologies AI, AR, VR, nano materials and energizers, quantum technologies, communication tech, cyber and electronics warfare tech, directed energy tech to name a few big tickets.

Data comprises geospatial data and all forms of unstructured data from various sensors and devices tied into big data analytics. There is a need to create enabling technologies and space based projects for  24/7 situation awareness:

  • AI platform for satellite and other imagery interpretation and identification of military objects and combat groupings of interest.
  • Red Force Tracking and intelligence collection in real time including tracking key enemy military targets of interest for int preparation of the battlefield (IPB).
  • Blue Force Tracking in real time thereby facilitating effective command and control.
  • Seamless all weather EM and satellite communication.
  • Tri-Service Platform for Electronic Warfare – electronics surveillance, electronics counter /counter-counter measures.
  • Cyber defensive and offensive systems.
  • Weather and met data for artillery and long range vectors though autonomous space-based met data software systems.
  • Effective disaster management, precision agriculture and defence through MPMSDF based proactive forecasting and follow up actions.

The paradigm of future warfare is invisible warfare and cyber  warfare is a good example. The same would be true for information and Space Based Warfare. Given the emerging technology landscape and the primacy of space warfare with time, there is a need to develop a major Integrated Space & Aerial Systems Development Program to create a Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Cognition (C6) Intelligence, Info, Surveillance, Security, Reconnaissance Big Data Decision Support System for National Missions /SDGs  and add Combat (C7) systems for defence. This should be the ultimate intent for  exploitation of Space Mission in National Strategic interest.

Conclusion

The major benefactor of the space program is Defence. India has set up a Tri Service Defence Space Agency and recently, a Defence Space Mission tasked with operating the space-warfare and Satellite Intelligence assets supported by the Defence Space Research Organisation that has the mandate to create weapons to “degrade, disrupt, destroy or deceive an adversary’s space capability” and of course, the spin off for dual use.

Policy, structure and strategy are three quintessential macros for launch of a successful program. The three structures comprise space sector PSUNew Space India Limited (NSIL) for oversight on strategic and operational activities in the Space Sector,  Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) with focus on developing new technologies and new systems , Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) as an interface between ISRO and private entities.

There is a dire need to create and develop an overarching structure comprising SMEs for providing long-term strategy and management oversight through an Integrated Space Development Program akin to Integrated Guided Missiles Development Program to prepare a cogent strategy, plan, direct, coordinate and monitor, short, medium and long term deliverables to ensure that the policy’s efforts are carried forward as a joint effort with academia and industry stakeholders. This would provide velocity to a well-orchestrated hub and spoke wheel to the  Indian National Space Development Program.

Two Geospatial Organizations win drone-based Land Parcel Mapping Contract

By
News Desk
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Two Geospatial Organizations win drone-based Land Parcel Mapping Contract

Two Geospatial organizations win drone-based Land Parcel Mapping Contract

The Geospatial organizations Allterra and NeoGeo, collaboratively won the drone-based Land Parcel Mapping contract through an open tender process from the Karnataka government. The project covers an area of 68,000 SQ. KM. and 10 complete districts in Karnataka – Gadag, Koppal, Kodagu, Chamarajanagar, Chikkamagaluru (Chikmagalur), Vijayapura (Bijapur), Yadgir, Raichur, Bidar, Kalaburagi (Gulbarga). Both companies have chosen Aereo (formerly Aarav Unmanned Systems) as their technology partner for this project. This entire project will be done using Aereo’s drone solutions.

This work envisages deployment of approximately 60 survey-grade PPK drones to capture high-resolution images to generate maps with a resolution better than 5 cm per pixel. At full scale, the fleet of drones will be mapping an approximate area of 1,75,000 acres in a single day on an average. Furthermore, the SSLR department will be using these Ortho-Rectified Images (ORIs) to create digital land parcel maps. These digital maps will play a critical role for updating landing ownership records, ground truthing and enabling infrastructure development across the state.

Allterra is a renowned brand in the geospatial sector with extensive experience in positioning technologies including CORS, GNSS and provides complete solutions in this field. Allterra provides innovative solutions in the field of survey and mapping by bringing the latest and most advanced solutions to Indian market.

NeoGeo Technologies is a solutions provider in spatial data capture, data modelling and applications in the country with over 20 years of experience in executing large government projects. NeoGeo has proven expertise and experience in developing and deploying accurate GIS mapping technologies.

Aereo is a drone solutions provider and has proprietary and cutting-edge technology. Over the past year, Aereo has successfully mapped over 25,000 sq. km. in the state of Haryana. Aereo has built highly advanced intellectual properties (IPs) throughout the last decade. This has resulted in them filing close to 15+ patents and building India’s first DGCA-certified survey-grade PPK drone. To fulfil such a high-capacity demand, it is hiring an expansive team of around 250 people with high technical skills. That includes over 210 drone pilots, DGPS surveyors, and project coordinators.

On winning the contract, Pradeep Rathor, MD, Allterra, stated, “AllTerra’s vision is to transform the way the world works using state-of-the-art GIS and survey technology. With this project, India enters a new age of geospatial data collection, processing, and implementation. Using Aereo’s drone solutions to capture high resolution and accurate data we will help create assets that have immense use across sectors. Most importantly, this data will ramp up development across the state of Karnataka and make governance technologically advanced and simpler.”

G.V. Sreeramam, CEO, NeoGeo, said, “We are proud to embark on this historic project. It is the biggest land parcel mapping project in the world and is a leap forward in land record digitization and development. Along with our trusted partner, Aereo, we will collect high resolution GIS data, process the data and deliver at highest quality standards in the defined timeframe. Aereo’s end-to-end drone solutions will make this process seamless and efficient. This data will essentially improve the lives of crores of people living in these areas.”

Vipul Singh, co-founder and CEO, Aereo, added, “Large Scale Mapping is the need of the hour to fast-track the digitization of land records in urban and rural areas. Through our drone solutions, we aim to deliver immense value to our partners and enable the Karnataka government to create ultra-high-resolution digital survey maps that have multi-sector applications.”

Data Sharing Beyond Borders to Tackle Key Global Issues

By
Meenal Dhande
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Data Sharing Beyond Borders to Tackle Key Global Issues
Data Sharing Beyond Borders to Tackle Key Global Issues

“Data sharing is crucial for big challenges such as climate change, environmental issues, and energy transition. Spatial data is an essential part of the solution, and the ecosystem where we are functioning is growing. The role of Kadaster is increasing because of the data assets we manage. We must be able to share that data with other organizations to be a part of the solution of bigger national questions. Increased complexity of evolving issues, not just in the Netherlands, but globally, can’t be solved by any country on its own. It’s beyond borders”, says Rob Agelink, CDO, Kadaster.

Smarty, Sapiens partner to Provide Insurers Access to Location Data

By
News Desk
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Smarty, Sapiens partner to Provide Insurers Access to Location Data

Smarty Partners with Sapiens, Providing Insurers with Faster, More Accurate Access to Business-Critical Location Data

Smarty, the location data intelligence leader, has teamed up with Sapiens, a provider of software solutions for the insurance industry, to help insurers take their business-critical location data to the next level.

With access to Smarty’s tools, Sapiens customers can now transform the way they underwrite policies, manage risk, and process claims. Leveraging Smarty’s technology allows insurers to refine risk profiles, write more profitable policies, insure properties more effectively, and improve the claims lifecycle while simultaneously reducing costs, risk, and liability.

Insurers who partner with Sapiens and Smarty can take advantage of the following benefits:

  • Accelerate Straight-Through-Processing – Facilitating straight-through processing by preventing bad address data at the entry point, so pre-verified addresses can be used with confidence to write more accurate policies and better process claims.
  • Acquire New Clients – Helping streamline the customer experience through address autocompletion while also preventing errant data from disrupting insurers’ processes and making it easier for clients and prospects to submit their information.
  • Conduct Better Risk Analysis With Rooftop Geocoding – Taking address data and translating it into highly accurate latitude and longitude coordinates, allows insurers to compare a structure’s proximity to high-risk areas, which can make or break a policy’s profitability.
  • Validate and Geocode Non-USPS Addresses – Verifying and geocoding over 210 million U.S. postal and non-postal addresses, which allows for a greater possibility of straight-through processing.
  • Take Advantage of Lightning-Fast Processing – Providing quick, hyper-accurate access to location data through address verification and geocoding without the aggravation and extra costs associated with on-site installations.

“With this partnership, insurers can now access the location data they need to make better business decisions, enhance operational efficiency, and achieve broader geographic coverage,” said Rob Green, Smarty’s Chief Revenue Officer.

Hesai, NavVis partner to Reality Capture with Lidar Sensor Technology

By
News Desk
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Hesai, NavVis partner to Reality Capture with Lidar Sensor Technology

Hesai, NavVis partner to Reality Capture with Lidar Sensor Technology

Hesai Technology, a provider of lidar sensor solutions, has announced its work with NavVis, a provider of reality capture and digital factory solutions. According to the collaboration, NavVis has selected Hesai as its lidar sensor provider for its device, NavVis VLX 3, which enables efficient scan-to-BIM workflows.

NavVis has gained a stellar reputation for delivering comprehensive and highly detailed reality capture data for digital twin and industrial use cases in manufacturing, especially for factory planning, assembly planning, and shopfloor operations. They have supported major manufacturing companies like Volkswagen, Siemens, and BMW. Their innovative wearable mobile imaging system, NavVis VLX 3, enables laser scanning professionals to efficiently capture and analyze intricate environments, facilitating the accurate and efficient creation of Building Information Models (BIM).

The VLX 3 by NavVis will use Hesai’s all-new XT32M2X lidar sensor. By choosing Hesai as their lidar sensor provider, NavVis ensures that their solution benefits from the most advanced and reliable lidar technology available in the market. Hesai’s state-of-the-art lidar sensors offer exceptional 120 m range performance, accuracy with 32 laser channels, and reliability, empowering NavVis users to capture precise and comprehensive data with unparalleled efficiency. Based on the joint industry expertise of these two companies, Hesai has designed these lidar sensors specifically to serve industries such as reality capture, AEC, and scan-to-BIM.

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