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GPS
Moves Indoors Jay Wrolstad, sci.NewsFactor.com A technological development that brings the space-based GPS (global positioning system ( news - web sites)) location concept indoors has been introduced by Arc Second. Dubbed Constellation 3Di, the system sends signals from transmitters that emit infrared light to small receivers in a triangulation processs to pinpoint the location of an object. According to Arc Second CEO Edward Barrientos, Constellation uses laser signals instead of the radio frequency signals employed by standard GPS systems that rely on a system of satellites to calculate the XYZ coordinates. Because GPS uses satellites, its use is limited to the outdoors, whereas Constellation has applications for large-scale industrial operations, Barrientos told Wireless NewsFactor. It is specifically designed for applications requiring metrology, or the science of high-precision measurements, down to the the micron level. Tom Hedges, vice president of technology and engineering for Arc Second, told Wireless NewsFactor, "With GPS you have to be able to see four satellites. With our system you need only two transmitters sending pulses of light to handheld receivers." Based on the location of the transmitters and the timing of the signals sent between them and the receivers the required triangulation can be accomplished, Hedges explained. Manufacturing Applications The number of receivers in a single workspace is unlimited. Uses for the system include the measurement and inspection of large tooling subassemblies and infrastructure in the aerospace, automotive, rail and shipbuilding industries, Barrientos said. The ability to monitor hundreds of points simultaneously -- while not compromising accuracy -- will become critical in future factory-wide positioning systems, Barrientos said. "Just as GPS-based measurement systems changed the optical surveying instrument market, our products promises to change the portable coordinate measurement market." Niche Market Opportunity? Arc Second, a Virginia-based company that focuses 3D-intelligence (3Di) technology in measurement and tracking products and mobile CAD software, also offers systems used by the construction industry for surveying, and by law enforcement agencies for pinpointing the location of evidence at a crime or accident scene. "With Constellation, we are focusing on local mapping," Barrientos said. "We are looking into applications for controlling robotics in the manufacturing field, as well." The light-based system could become a niche-market application, Yankee Group analyst Phil Marshall told Wireless NewsFactor. Line of Sight "I see a logistical issue with deploying this, though, since it requires line of sight, and that is not always possible in the manufacturing environment," he said. Also, said Marshall, manufacturing plants may prefer to rely on reference points using the machines themselves for tasks requiring high-precision location, rather than using a transmitter-receiver approach. Constellation 3Di will be unveiled officially during the Coordinate Measurement Systems Committee (CMSC) 2002 Conference later this month in Warwick, Rhode Island.
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