Positioning system has integrated antenna

The Seres is a high-performance positioning product which features a combined GPS/SBAS receiver and antenna system for precision agriculture, GIS and mapping, and other markets.

The Seres is a high-performance positioning product which features a combined GPS/SBAS receiver and antenna system for precision agriculture, GIS and mapping, and other markets.

Its originator CSI Wireless has already received an $850,000 purchase order for the Seres from a US firm.

"We will begin delivering to this initial US customer by mid February", said Stephen Verhoeff, CSI Wireless' President and CEO.

Several other potential customers are testing the product.

We're very pleased to see a lot of interest in the Seres from several markets, including precision agriculture and GIS and mapping".

The self-contained Seres receives free location-determining signals from the US government's Global Positioning System (GPS), and receives free accuracy-enhancing signals from the US government's Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS).

Seres can also receive accuracy-enhancing signals from two WAAS-like systems - the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System (EGNOS), and Japan's MTSAT Satellite-based Augmentation System (MSAS) - that are under development.

WAAS, EGNOS and MSAS are compatible with each other, and collectively known as space based augmentation systems (SBAS).

Seres can also receive more accuracy-enhancing data from other sources via its dual communication ports.

In the precision agriculture market, the most popular role for the Seres will be as the positioning tool of a larger precision guidance system, typically installed on the roof of a sprayer vehicle.

In the GIS and mapping market, the Seres will usually be mounted on a backpack equipped with an antenna pole to provide precise position data to a handheld data collector.

Seres features CSI Wireless' patent-pending e-Dif technology, which permits users to operate for up to 40 minutes without requiring accuracy- enhancing services, while providing submetre accuracies initially.

Seres also features CSI Wireless' exclusive Coast technology.

Coast, similar to e- Dif, enables the receiver to use old correction data for up to 40min without seriously degrading accuracy.

e-Dif and Coast make Seres less likely than competing products to be affected by blocked signals, which occur when trees, buildings or other obstacles temporarily block signals from reaching receivers.

No competing product offers this flexibility.

The Seres - nicknamed the "smart antenna" because it houses not only the antenna but the microprocessor with which to compute positions - combines consistent high accuracy with quick start-up and signal- acquisition capabilities.

It achieves sub-meter positioning accuracy when employing SBAS corrections, and features start-up times of typically 35s, or only 15s if the system has been on anytime in the previous 2h.

The Seres is very easy to install and operate because it uses a single power and data cable, whereas competing products feature separate receivers and antennas, and often require three or more cables for power input, antenna signal, and data distribution signals.

Other attractive Seres features include: the ability to process positioning "fixes" at a rapid-fire rate of five times per second; automatic dual-channel tracking of SBAS satellites; easy installation and portability, thanks to a magnetic mount, pole mount or surface-mount; and compact size (104 x 70 x 28mm) that is very attractive for portable GPS applications.

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