Internet of Things provider and geospatial positioning company to share their respective Sigfox and AllDayRTK network infrastructure and enable low cost IoT development for councils, agriculture, health and industries.

Making everyday objects smart, or the Internet of Things (IoT), is set to benefit all manner of industries and expedite the development of Australia’s smart cities.

For councils, IoT deployment will reduce pollution through smart parking and bin collection, whilst lowering the country’s carbon footprint with smart energy consumption. In agriculture, IoT can assist to reduce fertiliser use with better crop and water management, as well as monitor livestock accurately and efficiently. Asset tracking, smart monitoring and predictive maintenance will keep Australia’s industry competitive and productive. In healthcare, wearable GPS and fall detection systems will assist to monitor and proactively support the community.

To expedite the development of such IoT innovations, Thinxtra and Position Partners have agreed to share their respective Sigfox and AllDayRTK network infrastructure to enable low cost access to high precision positioning and communications services. 

Position Partners operates a national Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) network, AllDayRTK, which consists of hundreds of high precision base stations that deliver millimetre-level precision for surveying, construction and agriculture applications.

Sigfox is a global technology network dedicated to connecting things, operated exclusively in Australia by Thinxtra. Sigfox-enabled devices are up to 10 times cheaper than cellular models, 300 times more energy efficient and can transfer data between devices at long range, up to 50 kilometres apart.

“We are delighted that Position Partners shares our vision and passion for helping to make Australia more innovative,” said Renald Gallis, Thinxtra Vice President Ecosystem and Marketing.  

“The success of connecting millions of devices that don’t have much to say relies on low cost infrastructure, low cost devices and low cost connectivity, which this partnership helps to enable,” he added.  

 

The leading wireless condition monitoring platform explicitly designed for rail, infrastructure and mining applications now sold and supported in Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia by Position Partners.

With a reputation for delivering highly accurate and industrially resilient solutions in some of the UK’s most challenging construction and engineering projects, Senceive’s wireless and mains power free monitoring technology is now available in Oceania from Position Partners.

“No matter how large or complex the job, Senceive’s FlatMesh technology can be tailored to create a highly reliable and cost effective solution,” said Heath Low, Position Partners Business Development Manager for monitoring applications.

“Having successfully installed Senceive on a number of projects in Australia, we are confident this technology is ideally suited to our local markets and that we have the skills and expertise to support customers with all their condition monitoring needs,” he added.  

Unlike optical prism-based monitoring solutions, Senceive sensors require very little maintenance or technical support and have a battery life of up to 15 years. The system can also be rapidly installed and deployed, with patented fixings that can be used on any structure including track bed, tunnels, bridges, embankments and mine sites.

“A good example of just how easy and robust this system was to deploy, is in the monitoring of busy tunnels for London Underground (LU),” Mr Low added. “One particular project illustrates this particularly well.  On one 100 metre section with two tunnels, LU needed to monitor in “real time” and in a highly precise and stable manner, the impact of urgent and extensive repair work needed due to soil erosion and cavities created by water leakages in the tunnels.

“Work had to be conducted in very short four-hour maintenance windows at night,” Mr Low continued. “Hundreds of nodes had to be deployed in a matter of minutes at the start of the shift and then moved as works progressed along the tunnels. Senceive is the only system on the market that could excel in those conditions. This hugely successful and award winning project has led to many other deployments in both LU and national UK rail assets.  There are today more than 5,000 sensors deployed on the UK rail network alone.”

With a range of geotechnical sensors available to suit the project requirements, Senceive FlatMesh can use either solar powered cellular network to provide a totally mains power and wire free solution, or an industrially resilient USB-based data monitoring hub communication. The latter required where systems are underground and cannot access solar power. All transmit highly accurate repeatable movement data back to the office in real time or whatever remotely changeable reporting rates may be required.

The web-based data access system WebMonitor, provides easy to use and highly user friendly monitoring information to users anywhere in the world on laptops or phones through secure password access. Featuring fully configurable trigger levels and email or SMS alerts, comprehensive reporting tools and network visualisation via maps and images, WebMonitor eliminates the need to install and maintain software and per-user licences. 

Available now from Position Partners branches throughout Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia, visit www.positionpartners.com.au or call 1300 867 266 to discuss your next project.

Position Partners announces distribution agreement with Zoller + Fröhlich (Z+F) to deliver advanced 3D laser scanning solutions throughout Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea (PNG).

Geospatial and positioning company Position Partners is pleased to announce a distribution agreement with Z+F, a well-respected electrical engineering firm based in Germany. Under the agreement, Position Partners will offer sales, training and technical support for a range of Z+F laser scanners to customers throughout Australia, New Zealand and PNG.

“Z+F has a reputation for delivering industry-leading solutions that are innovative, reliable and highly accurate,” said Martin Nix, Position Partners CEO.

“We are delighted to partner with a company that shares our passion for pioneering a better way and we look forward to offering customers the very best when it comes to 3D laser scanning technology that is backed by our extensive technical expertise and local support,” he added.

Ideal for use in a wide range of applications for the built environment, resources industry, natural landscapes or forensic investigations, Z+F 3D laser scanners are used by engineers and surveyors to create high resolution point clouds for data analysis and reporting.

Position Partners will offer the popular Z+F IMAGER® 5010 series as well as the new Z+F IMAGER® 5016, a compact, high performance instrument that delivers more than one million points per second and high accuracy up to distances of 360 metres.

Position Partners laser scanning experts will be manufacturer-trained at Z+F’s headquarters in Wangen, Germany, to enable comprehensive support for customers. Z+F will also assist Position Partners to establish a local calibration check facility in Australia to minimise the service turnaround time.

“We welcome this new reseller agreement with Position Partners, a company with a large network of offices to support customers at a local level,” said Dr.-Ing. Christoph Fröhlich (CEO) from Z+F. “We look forward to a successful partnership and offering well supported, reliable instruments to the surveying, engineering, construction and mining industries.”      

Jacob Chenery is an engineering surveyor working at Rokon, a civil construction firm based in Melbourne. His team recently traded in an older Topcon robotic for the new GT Series and says it’s the best piece of survey gear he’s ever used.

“I’ve used all the different brands and this new GT total station tops the lot,” he said. “I definitely give it 10 out of 10 for performance, it’s by far my favourite bit of equipment.”

Mr Chenery sites the small form factor, speed and tracking performance as some of the main features he enjoys with the new robotic.

“It’s considerably faster than anything else I’ve used, especially when changing faces, when it takes a second or two at most and locks straight back on,” he said. “Some people don’t think speed is a big deal, but a few seconds here and there add up to minutes off your day and means if you’re under pressure the instrument can keep up.”

The new GT is 30% smaller and lighter than other models, which Mr Chenery says makes it easier to carry and setup.

Another powerful function that Mr Chenery uses regularly is the Longlink communication feature provided by the optional RC-5 unit. Using technology unique to Topcon, the RC-5 combines infrared signalling and a built-in gyro to search for the total station.

Unlike other systems that rely on GNSS or that search for every prism within range, the RC-5 unit communicates back to the total station to lock back onto the prism. It enables longer range and can be used in all environments as it does not need GNSS signal to function.

“I use the RC-5 constantly because, being colour blind, I can’t tell the difference between the red and green flashing lights and at a distance you can’t see them anyway. By sending out the infrared signal when I’m working further away from the unit, I can ensure the instrument is tracking me,” Mr Chenery said.

Commenting on the MAGNET survey software Rokon uses, Mr Chenery said he was getting more from it day by day. “MAGNET is still relatively new to me so I’m still learning, but it’s incredibly reliable and powerful software.”

When asked why Rokon chooses Topcon, Mr Chenery explained a main reason is the service and support offered by Australian distributor, Position Partners. “We use Topcon for our machine control and so having all equipment the same brand makes data transfer seamless.

“But aside from the equipment itself, we find the service and support from our local Position Partners team to be excellent. Our field technician is incredibly helpful and knowledgeable and the Dandenong service team always goes the extra mile when it comes to services, repairs, calibrations and so on,” he added.

Mr Chenery said the company plans to send more employees to Position Partners Campus training courses in the coming months to ensure they are getting the most from their equipment.   

 

Oh we do love our acronyms in surveying, don’t we?! Scroll to the end for a useful glossary we put together to help out.

So, you want to be down with the kids and get into RPAS aerial mapping. Your young surveyors recognise the importance of embracing new technology, but you also need to be reassured that these things can actually deliver the goods and not just give your field parties an excuse to fly toy planes all day at work.

You need survey grade results, which means you rule out the plethora of hobbyist drones that are out there and that your kids probably have on their Christmas lists.

There are a few different ways to get there, namely via RTK or PPK positioning technology. These acronyms mean business! They mean accuracy! They also go about getting it in slightly different ways.

RTK relies on GNSS positioning and requires a stable radio link between a base station on the ground and a GPS antenna on board the RPAS. This gives the user real-time processing on the go, which is the norm for land-based survey rovers and machine-mounted GNSS solutions. An advantage with an RTK solution is having the ability to control your RPAS with cm precision such as the MAVinci Sirius Pro’s new RTK spot landing feature. This allows the operator to take a cm position prior to launch and have a fully autonomous RTK assisted landing spot landing within a 5m radius (subject to conditions).

When it comes to aerial mapping, RTK positioning can have its downsides, with radio link outages and GNSS signal blocks. Due to the long distances between the drone and the base station, signals can be obstructed and this results in loss of correction data and a lower percentage of accurate camera positions in the flight.

PPK, on the other hand, processes the positioning information after the flight, not during. Data is logged in the aircraft and combined with data from the base station when the flight is completed. As a result, there is no risk of data or initialisation loss due to radio link outages. The processing is similar to RTK, however PPK is a little more thorough as it traces back and forth through the data multiple times to give more comprehensive results.

So when it comes to survey-grade results with aerial mapping, PPK can deliver more reliability and longer range from the base station to give users greater flexibility.

Glossary:

RPAS – Remotely Piloted Aircraft System

UAV – Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (also referred to as UAS, Unmanned Aerial System)

RTK – Real Time Kinematic

PPK – Post Processed Kinematic

GNSS – Global Navigation Satellite System (includes all satellite constellations, United States GPS, Russian GLONASS, Chinese Beidou, Japanese QZSS, Indian IRNSS)

GPS – Global Positioning System (the US-run satellite constellation, commonly referred to in place of GNSS)