The Use of GNSS - Essay Example

GNSS, Machine Automation And Construction Name: Date: Affiliation: ТHЕ USЕ ОF GNSS АND АTTАINАBLЕ TОLЕRАNСЕS TО GUIDЕ MАСHINЕRY АND ОR SЕT ОUT GRIDS IN СОNSTRUСTIОN Introduction GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) is the satellite system that is used identifying geographic location of the users at any particular place in the world. The systems are currently in use, in different countries such as the United States and Russia. The United States one is known as the GPS (global Position SYSTEM) while the Russian one is known as GLONASS (Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite System) In Europe, it is known as Galileo and it started to function fully around 2008.The GNSS system employs a combination of satellites that work in conjunction with several ground network stations. Navigation systems that are based on satellite use the version of triangulation in locating the users. The location is achieved through calculations from a number of satellites. Each of the satellites in space transmit information through coded information signals at a given intervals. Upon receiving, the receiver converts such signals into velocity and position and time estimates. Using this information it is possible to calculate the distance between the receiver and the transmitting satellite. This can be done through determining the transmission delay and through that one can know the actual distance from the satellite and the receiver (Awange 2012, pg 44).) Depending on the technologies used, the precision of GNSS varies. For instance, the department of defense in United States used to using the intentional degradation which was commonly known the selective availability in an attempt to prevent the military adversaries from using the data positioning. As a result of GPA, the GPS accuracy was limited to100 meter ranges for the civilians but the military could allow single meter. However, in May year 2000 the president ordered that SA accuracy to be allowed within a single meter length. The GPS or GNSS receivers usually collect different signals from satellites in different views. They usually display the position of the user time and velocity which he or she is using in marine or aeronautical applications. Moreover, some may even the additional data on distance, bearing and the way points. Every GPS operation concept is usually based on the satellite ranging sand the users usually determine the distance from the satellite by taking into account the delay time as posited above. The distance is important specifically in construction sites. GPS is primarily used in supporting the sea and air navigation and most importantly in the terrestrial environment. In the terrestrial environment, it is used in geophysical exploration, surveying geodesy and mapping. More also, it is highly applicable in the place system of vehicles, transportation and framing. The telecommunication infrastructure is also dependent on the latter and more especially in network timing and the 911 for most cellular users (Bevly 2010, pg 44). GNSS AND MACHINE AUTOMATION Transport depends highly on machines and when GNSS is applied it makes it easier to avoid complications and also things are made easier. For example in railway transport GNSS is highly used in conjunction with other aspects of technology in tracking the location of locomotives and the rail cars. Knowing the exact location of the rail equipment helps in reducing the accidents, operation costs and delays which are attributed to the sector. This in turn leads to Customer satisfaction. In the cases of aviation GNSS is highly used in the navigation of aircraft right away from landing to the time it will land. It facilitates navigation of the aircraft in sections that are not well covered by the aids that are based on the ground. GNSS help in avoiding collision in the airport runways and also at the systems that control movement in the runways. Moreover during THE marine transportation, it is heavily used in determining the state of the ships when they are in the congested ports and also in the open sea. Underwater surveying and navigation have improved in the sea and ports and all these can be attributed to GNSS. Moreover, in the placement of ships, it is possible to ease the task through automating the machines u8using the GNSS. Surface transportation such as vehicles is highly used throughout the world and all the kudos is attributed to GNSS. Most of the vehicles are usually equipped with navigation displays that depict the location of a vehicle on the maps. This tactic is good and discourages theft of cars since it can easily be traced. It is also used in systems that forecast and track the movement of freight and also monitor the road networks, therefore, improving efficiency and safety in the long run (Gleason & Egziabher 2009,pg.67). Still in controlling machines, it is used in equipments such as bulldozers, graders and excavators in effort to provide productivity in real time operation of the machine. More also, it provides information and situational awareness of the person operating. The adoption of machines that are GNSS based control is similar to the initial hydraulic technology which is used in machinery that exhibits profound reliability and productivity. The main area where machine is automated is construction, agriculture, and surface mining and they will be evaluated critically in this paper. The machines that are made through GNSS are actually efficient since the equipment operator can easily get the desired grade since the machines driven by GNSS can speed up the work, therefore, reducing the amount of capital that would be used if another machine were used instead (Groves 2008, pg 64). The machines are actually accurate since the precision is automated by the GNSS, the surveyors cannot stop working for a while just to check the measurements. Moreover, the management of the business is easy since the managers can be in a position to view the work progress from afar, therefore, becoming an effective way of working and management. Data management and reporting is easier since the users can easily manage and print reports concerning the business and transfer them to the head office. More also, it should be noted that it is easy to detect theft in cases where GNSS is applied. GNSS permits users to define the “virtue fence” about equipment and property. For example, if the machine happens to be stolen, it easy to track it using GNSS and, therefore, it becomes easy in the long run. In the same breath, of machines and automated GNSS, Duane Doucette is actually a manager in study, in major highway construction project, in the east of Canada. He has successfully implemented and facilitated the largest GNSS controlled machine system which has ever been developed in North America. In an effort to achieve that, he has managed to embrace the new spatial technology tools which are aimed at achieving productivity. His work is challenging to an extent that he must continue staying on the top o f the learning the curves through constant solution finding in attempt to push the traditional; realm of study. Trouble shooting is not much of a problem, but it is more rewarding process that tends to challenge the analytical solution finding skills (Holmes, 2007, pg. 34). The company has continued to support the efforts through provision of all spatial engineering tools which are available and many productivity gains have been realized. More also, Duane ensures that the data is structured in such a way that it flows efficiently from the design parameters to the control systems. The plan and the cross section drawings are no longer needed for the corridor construction. However, the 3D polylines affiliated white subgrade surfaces are usually created by the designers and later digitally transferred to the machine control system. Moreover, the validation checks are usually run in the office and the machines control, emulators are primarily used in ensuring that the grading of the data is formatted correctly and actually transferred to the machine. Currently, the grading lines are actually handled manually through site foreman and later installed into the grader through some compact flashcards. It is believed that soon that all design data and the monitoring grade will be transferred through cell phone system in the actual real time as in the case of RTK and VRS (Jacobson 2007, pg. 36). GNSS positioning system on the equipment usually uses two satellite signals that are usually tracked through the receivers and later augmented through the VRS connection. The data that is streamed through an onboard cell modem can be used to generate 3D area. The information in conjunction with machine geometry and machine dimension are used in determining the actual horizontal and vertical, position of the blade in the actual real time.IN THE design, the vast majority of the earth’s surface is actually moved by machines that are GNSS controlled though not of all of them are guided by the latter. Some of the machines actually use the robotic positioning or station’s he system is actually used on the final grades in an effort to achieve greater accuracy in the long run. The machines can also operate around and under overpass structures and also some large rock cuts where GNSS enabled machine might lose some of the satellite initialization and lock frequency. The only one end of the grader blade is actually positioned with an active prism target and the actual cross slope of the blade is usually positioned with some tilt sensors which increase accuracy and precision in the long run. Field surveyor who was dispatched on the site to set up the robotic stations away from the heavy equipments was trying to create more efficient site. This was to help in establishing clear view of the grader and control points. The control was actually found through a VRS/GNSS observation using the resection design which was used in surveying the corridors (Moernaut, 2009, pg .13). Duane posits that the equipment operators the control system of the machines are usually an integral part in the field crews. The machine operators are actually embracing the technology and also other operators desire the systems in their machines so that they can increase their productivity in the long run. In cab displays usually shows a plan and cross section view of the light bar display and especially it can be used in the visual indicator and to enhance alignment. Depending on the nature of equipment and the duty, the machines have been modified to function using the hydraulic blade adjustments and real time elevations in effort of managing the feedback. The site foreman truck is usually enabled with GNSS and a tablet which allows monitoring of the job progress on the site. The control costs of the Geodetic have been reduced significantly and the reduced since the VRS correction services has been established over the entire project area. The study activities are focusing on verification of the accuracies instead of establishing and control maintaining. Survey control costs have continued to reduce the tenfold. Field surveyors usually concentrate on mainly their work structures as built in surveys and the detailed site surveys while grading surveys are actually addressed by the machines control operators. Duane finds it is satisfying to support the development and modification of the machines monitoring system (Ray 2006,p.14). The unique design and its development (GIS) are usually based on construction management and right now it is wed enabled in such a way that all the levels of the construction process can be easily accessed. The management system for drawing and the scheduling system are also based or made of the spatial basics. The surveyors have continued to embrace new technology in an effort to support the development and modification of the machines controlling system. The unique design and developments of the GIS constructions system of management is now enabled through the web in such way that all the levels are easily accessed. The surveys have been working day and night to bring the data from the fields to the offices and from the office to the field for quite a long time. Integration of the field measurement systems and the data collection system have been done for quite a long time and evolving state and the new methods of data transfer usually optimize the speed of integration. Through accessing the myriad of these kinds of technologies, the line between the office and fields starts fading away and the surveyors evolve to become more efficient and ultimately competitive in the field (Ziedan 2006, p. 36). Still in the machine automation, GNSS is highly used in the machines that are used in mining. I.e. surface is mining. The locata technology is one of the most important types of mining since it has been tested and refined through tests that are carried out in Locate Corporation. The process has been known to be successful since it e employs machines that are GNSS automated. Locata technology is highly used in the Leica geo-systems which are part of the Global Measurement Group. It is about 200 years old and experience and it pioneers solutions in measuring the world Geosystems. Leica Geosystems Products and the services are highly accepted since they are known to, produce quality work. The Leica Geosystems is mainly focused with mining solutions especially the optimized dispatching fleet management system. The system usually improves the entire productivity through measuring and monitoring on what is happening on the entire mining site (Moernaut, 2009, p .13). The first Locata equipment was installed on the Leica Geosystem direction in South Africa in around 2006 and proved to be successful in the mining operations. The deployment provided the first experience on data to apply on the Locata technology in mining. In year 2006, the Newmont Bodington Gold (NBG) started installing Leica Geosytems a high precision guidance on the systems and they actually identified early that they would need an alternative place in order to guide the systems and continue working on the life o f the mine. In the year2008, NBG affirmed that they would become developers and continue working in South Africa. The company continued and deployed a machine that was enabled with GNSS in the NBG mine, in the Western Australia region. The Locata system which consisted of 12 networks was able to monitor the gold mines efficiently (Moernaut, 2009, p.13). The effectiveness could only be attributed to GNSS. GNSS AND CONSTRUCTION Over the last few years, construction has significantly changed due to the introduction of GNSS. It has increased efficiency and productivity in construction work. For instance, the construction surveyors and engineers have adopted the strategies and they have turned out to be the best strategies ever used in construction. Moreover, most of the machines which are used in the construction work are GNSS enabled and, therefore, they turn out to be very productive in the long run. The new and integrated technologies have been changing day in day out leading to the formation of sophisticated techniques and procedures of construction. The real role of the professional surveyor is changing since the spatial accuracy is increasing at an alarming rate. Construction and surveying are inseparable and, therefore, it is important to note that advancements in surveying translate to construction (Awange 2012, p. 49). Mike Wolfe is a former GNSS engineer in one of the largest GNSS correction service in Canada. The system has approximately 180 reference stations and the VRS are eleven of them. One of the first innovations in geomatics involved in the project is the acquisition of the 55km terrain which uses the lidar design. The terrain model has been used exclusively in designing the highways and calculations of the quantity. Huge sections are modeled in a very short period of time which is important in the sensitive infrastructure as highway construction. Lidar is usually ground controlled through the entire project with the help of VRS and GNSS surveys. Typically, it is possible for one to expect field survey to the ground-through the lidar data. Ironically, times the lidar terrain model detects instrument and height blunders in the field of surveying. Being the GNSS manager from the national VRS service, Mike had to start gaining experience outside the traditional surveying and expertise in an effort to gain experience in the field of computers and networking. The initial experience of mike towards networking was limited to the home PC and Modem. Alleviating the experience of connectivity and networking provided a good platform to improve GNSS experience where he ended up continuing with connecting the stations. Most of the connectivity was enabled by internet providers and they ended up becoming successful in the long run. Internet based GNSS correction system work through observing data from a particular reference point which is passed over the internet to the server. The server usually creates correction services and later on they are sent to the field user. For example, in case of systems mike managed the data through Bluetooth and cell phone internet connections and it managed to travel approximately 7000 kilometers. However, troubleshooting connections over the four time zones were some of the most tiring challenges (Diggelen, 2009,p. 56). Machines that are GNSS enabled are highly productive since most of the works is not clear and precise. For example, the graders which are used in road construction use GNSS and they end up doing good work compared to machines that use the hydraulic system. Precision is also noted in the machines since they receive spatial command which more accurate than any other thing. Therefore, constructions that culminate from these machines will be superb considering that the machines are superior. Moreover, GNSS helps in saving time that could be used in the surveying and putting up the pegs. For example, the time that is used spatial study is negligible compared to the time that would be used in physical surveying, therefore preferring the spatial study. Physical surveying primarily involves getting into the area, and putting up the pegs and then later on building on the area to start construction. The machines used in the construction site can help people or operators to do more complex works through examination of the areas in a more specific way. For example, the machines will be able to detect the types of soil where the machine should work on and, therefore, it is not important for the operator to carry out the task first. Therefore, the operator can complete more complicated tasks through the use of the machines preferably he is guided by the machine (Holmes 2007,p.67). In the construction site, there are many materials that are used. However, when using machines that have GNSS; it is possible to reduce the tasks done since the machines can easily multitask most of the things. For example, a grader that is GNSS enabled can perform various functions and it becomes easy for the workers to continue with their construction work. The materials such hoes will be limited in the long run therefore becoming less expensive and laborious. Most of the machines used in the construction are efficient and they rarely wear and tear. Since they do not tear easily it is possible to increase productivity as the companies will not keep on buying machines now and then. Graders and excavators are expensive and they can only be used constructively and efficiently in effort to promote conservation of the machines (Jacobson, 2007p.45.) Most of the machines which are GNSS enabled efficiently and they can perform various tasks when allowed. Therefore, these machines are cost efficient since they can perform various tasks upon command. For example, grander can work in the construction of roads and in various tasks such as concrete mixing. Considering all the tasks it is evident that they are crucial machines and they should be adopted in all construction sites. Few machines can perform tasks that could be meant for many machines and, therefore, saving the capital that would be needed to buy all the other machines.GNSS machines that are used in construction are fuel efficient and one cannot use much money when fueling them. This translates to effectiveness in cost that is acceptable in business (Groves,2008,p.56). Conclusion It is affirmative that GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) is the satellite system that is used identifying geographic location of the users at any particular place in the world. The systems are currently in use, in different countries such as the United States and Russia and some Asian countries. GNSS have revolutionized machines and construction and the sectors have turned out to be effective and efficient. For example, the machines have GNSS have turned out to be the best in construction, mining and even agriculture. Moreover, application of the information surveying and construction has resulted to the dynamicity and the workload has been simplified to a mere click of the button. Supervision of jobs in construction sites have also been enhanced through satellites since they can capture the areas and then transmit the signal to the tablets and computers. Moreover, construction has been made easier through the use of GNSS enabled machines that perform various tasks and still they are cost efficient. For example, GNSS enabled graders can perform several tasks that cannot be performed by other machines. Countries that have adopted the skills have charted way forward in many areas and they are advancing the economy through securing contracts in undeveloped and developing countries. Therefore, it is paramount to embrace GNSS experience and practice in an effort to boost economies and also improve more creativity and innovation in the field of construction and other engineering sectors. 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