Groundbreaking Collaboration with New GNSS Receiver

Scottsdale, AZ, USA – October 11, 2016 – Geospatial industry leaders Hemisphere GNSS and Carlson Software recently collaborated to produce the Hemisphere S321 and Carlson BRx6, all-new, compact, state-of-the-art GNSS receivers that are perfectly tuned for the requirements and workflows of their customers’ daily projects.

The two companies previously worked together on the design and production of Carlson's groundbreaking BRx5 GNSS receiver (Hemisphere S320), developed using Carlson's widely respected software and interface expertise with Hemisphere's design and manufacturing experience and RTK correction technology leadership.

The new S321 and BRx6 receivers are optimized for land surveying, construction fieldwork, and marine operations. Design and production of the new receiver focused on creating a lightweight and compact receiver with an intuitive interface and state-of-the-art access to multiple satellite constellations—including GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, and Galileo. The receivers also incorporate world-class RTK and L-band corrections, including optimization for Hemisphere’s subscription-based, Atlas® GNSS Global Correction Service.

“There are simply more satellite constellations available now, and more RTK correction services, and they can be used together to provide better accuracy and more efficient fieldwork,” said Carlson’s Director of Special Projects Karl Nicholas. “And even though receivers today are much lighter than they were just five years ago, our customers in surveying and construction tell us they want receivers that are even lighter and more compact, and sturdier, too. We listened, and, working with Hemisphere, we’ve delivered.”

The new receiver is based on Athena™, Hemisphere’s RTK engine, and is designed from the ground up to efficiently process multiple constellations and Atlas correction signals, resulting in both high-accuracy and robust performance. "Detailed testing performed by Carlson shows that Athena is a world-class RTK engine," says Nicholas. Together with Hemisphere’s BaseLink™ technology and a new webUI, the S321/BRx6 serves as a powerful rover or base station, even in locations where control points are not available.

“We were as motivated as Carlson to make this receiver excel as a base station,” said Hemisphere’s Senior Product Manager Lyle Geck. “BaseLink brings simplicity and freedom to setting up the S321 or BRx6 as a base station.” This expertise with RTK algorithms and L-band corrections was a primary reason Carlson sought out Hemisphere as a manufacturing partner.

Several features of the new receiver, including the new SureFix™ technology, were specifically designed to make surveyors more productive in the field or on construction sites. “In multi-path conditions, position reliability will often degrade,” Nicholas explained. “Surveyors are aware of this, but it’s hard to compensate for when they don’t have information about what’s happening with accuracy. SureFix uses proprietary algorithms and various inputs to give a reliable ‘quality indicator’ for particular points.”

With Carlson leveraging its 30+ years of experience in land surveying, combined with Hemisphere’s manufacturing experience and world-class GNSS and RTK expertise, the S321 and BRx6’s design and manufacturing process is a good example of the synergies available when partners work together.