Post by flyjoe180 on Nov 11, 2007 11:46:29 GMT 12
www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/eveningstandard/4262503a24059.html
Lost aviator Steve Fossett would have been found within hours had his aircraft been fitted with a new tracking device developed in Manawatu, Mervyn Dykes writes.
The businessman leans across his desk and says, "I need a portable tracking device that is satellite-based, uses a GPS, has no exterior aerial and yet can be accessed from anywhere in the world."
"That's easy," says his adviser, "but you'll need to go to the Valley."
"Silicon?"
"No. Pohangina."
And he would be right.
In the middle of a lush farming area half an hour's drive from Palmerston North there is a small hi-tech research centre that has counterparts in Europe and the US scrambling to catch up.
About twice the size of a cellphone, Spider Tracks boxes can be fixed with Velcro to the dashboards of vehicles - ground or air - and plugged into cigarette lighter power outlets.
Once in place in an aircraft, Spider Tracks logs altitude, speed and position at requested intervals and the course and data show up on a map that can be accessed from computer terminals anywhere.
Should the aircraft crash, the site will be shown on the map.
If the aircraft gets into difficulties, the pilot can shorten the reporting interval to reduce a possible search area.
The pilot can also use the system to activate pre-recorded rescue instructions or issue more mundane messages such as "Send fuel tanker" or "I'll be home in 10 minutes".
"There's quite a lot of 'smarts' gone into the system," says partner and company spokesman Don Sandbrook. "What we've done and how we've done it are world firsts.
"The day this system saves a life is the day we achieve what we set out to achieve."
He began his work on Spider Tracks when liquor baron Michael Erceg and a passenger were killed in a helicopter crash near Raglan on November 4, 2005, and searchers took 16 days to find them.
"I thought there has got to be a better way," Mr Sandbrook says. "Essentially, I designed the system for myself. (He is a helicopter pilot, too) But if others want to use it, that's fine."
When Spider rolled off the production line earlier this year, the first sale was to helicopter operator Bruce Bartley who liked it so much he bought a third of the company. The other third is held by electronics engineer James McCarthy, 23, who came to Spider Tracks directly from Massey University and is described by Mr Sandbrook as one of the "bright young minds" behind the system.
There are many areas in New Zealand where cellphone reception is patchy, or non-existent, says Mr Sandbrook, who set out to develop an aircraft tracking system that did not use the cellphone network.
Spider Tracks has also been built with ease of installation and use in mind. The result is an integrated unit that only needs power and a view of the sky to operate.
It uses Iridium - the only satellite network to offer secure, real time, gap-free data communications with guaranteed reliability everywhere in the world.
In the quest for portability, the young design team achieved wonders that enabled satellite communication, GPS and antenna to be combined in a box small enough to slip into a pocket.
Another key part of the project was the development of software that allows the system to be accessed by computer anywhere in the world.
The solution is completely web- based, which means users do not need to install special software in their own computers, unless they want to base the system on, for example, Google Earth.
As Spider Tracks is not hard- wired into aircraft and there is no external antenna to mount, it doesn't require CAA certification. However, Mr Sandbrook would like to see it replace the present mandatory mounted Electronic Location Transmitter (ELT) systems that he describes as "30-year-old technology".
These units require exterior aerials that are often snapped off in crashes,or burnt in fires. Where aerials survived, the race was then on to locate the electronic beeper before the battery died.
Mr Sandbrook says Spider Tracks can be given a permanent mounting quite easily and less expensively than the ELT system.
In cases where an operator had several aircraft, they can be listed under the same log-in on the website, but each given its own name. All the viewer then needs to do is select the name of the aircraft for which data is required.
Because the server records all flight paths there is no difficulty calling up and duplicating a route used two years earlier, should the need arise.
Reporting frequencies could be set according to distances travelled, intervals of time, or a combination of both. There is also a feature in which a pilot, such as a top-dresser, can set up a "fence" around the area where the work will be done.
Data will show the aircraft flying to the job site and then the system will go on hold until the aircraft passes out of the fenced work area again. This is designed as a further cost saving on those provided already by the Iridium system. Iridium uses burst technology in much the same way as cellphone users effect savings by texting instead of using voice.
Mr Sandbrook says Spider Tracks costs $2800 plus GST and there's a further charge of about $30 per month for the Iridium connection.
The small helicopter he flies is fitted with the required ELT system, but he uses Spider Tracks as well. Besides the more formal applications there are many others which he values, such as easing the worries of his wife.
For example, if he set out to flying to Hamilton and encountered difficult weather conditions near the mountains, he might decide to make the longer detour around them.
Rather than worry about him being overdue, his wife could call up his flight path on the Spiders tracks system and see where he was and realise what he was doing.
"This is world-class technology and I'm quite proud that it has come out of the Manawatu."
For more information on Spider Tracks, check out the website, www.spidertracks.com
Lost aviator Steve Fossett would have been found within hours had his aircraft been fitted with a new tracking device developed in Manawatu, Mervyn Dykes writes.
The businessman leans across his desk and says, "I need a portable tracking device that is satellite-based, uses a GPS, has no exterior aerial and yet can be accessed from anywhere in the world."
"That's easy," says his adviser, "but you'll need to go to the Valley."
"Silicon?"
"No. Pohangina."
And he would be right.
In the middle of a lush farming area half an hour's drive from Palmerston North there is a small hi-tech research centre that has counterparts in Europe and the US scrambling to catch up.
About twice the size of a cellphone, Spider Tracks boxes can be fixed with Velcro to the dashboards of vehicles - ground or air - and plugged into cigarette lighter power outlets.
Once in place in an aircraft, Spider Tracks logs altitude, speed and position at requested intervals and the course and data show up on a map that can be accessed from computer terminals anywhere.
Should the aircraft crash, the site will be shown on the map.
If the aircraft gets into difficulties, the pilot can shorten the reporting interval to reduce a possible search area.
The pilot can also use the system to activate pre-recorded rescue instructions or issue more mundane messages such as "Send fuel tanker" or "I'll be home in 10 minutes".
"There's quite a lot of 'smarts' gone into the system," says partner and company spokesman Don Sandbrook. "What we've done and how we've done it are world firsts.
"The day this system saves a life is the day we achieve what we set out to achieve."
He began his work on Spider Tracks when liquor baron Michael Erceg and a passenger were killed in a helicopter crash near Raglan on November 4, 2005, and searchers took 16 days to find them.
"I thought there has got to be a better way," Mr Sandbrook says. "Essentially, I designed the system for myself. (He is a helicopter pilot, too) But if others want to use it, that's fine."
When Spider rolled off the production line earlier this year, the first sale was to helicopter operator Bruce Bartley who liked it so much he bought a third of the company. The other third is held by electronics engineer James McCarthy, 23, who came to Spider Tracks directly from Massey University and is described by Mr Sandbrook as one of the "bright young minds" behind the system.
There are many areas in New Zealand where cellphone reception is patchy, or non-existent, says Mr Sandbrook, who set out to develop an aircraft tracking system that did not use the cellphone network.
Spider Tracks has also been built with ease of installation and use in mind. The result is an integrated unit that only needs power and a view of the sky to operate.
It uses Iridium - the only satellite network to offer secure, real time, gap-free data communications with guaranteed reliability everywhere in the world.
In the quest for portability, the young design team achieved wonders that enabled satellite communication, GPS and antenna to be combined in a box small enough to slip into a pocket.
Another key part of the project was the development of software that allows the system to be accessed by computer anywhere in the world.
The solution is completely web- based, which means users do not need to install special software in their own computers, unless they want to base the system on, for example, Google Earth.
As Spider Tracks is not hard- wired into aircraft and there is no external antenna to mount, it doesn't require CAA certification. However, Mr Sandbrook would like to see it replace the present mandatory mounted Electronic Location Transmitter (ELT) systems that he describes as "30-year-old technology".
These units require exterior aerials that are often snapped off in crashes,or burnt in fires. Where aerials survived, the race was then on to locate the electronic beeper before the battery died.
Mr Sandbrook says Spider Tracks can be given a permanent mounting quite easily and less expensively than the ELT system.
In cases where an operator had several aircraft, they can be listed under the same log-in on the website, but each given its own name. All the viewer then needs to do is select the name of the aircraft for which data is required.
Because the server records all flight paths there is no difficulty calling up and duplicating a route used two years earlier, should the need arise.
Reporting frequencies could be set according to distances travelled, intervals of time, or a combination of both. There is also a feature in which a pilot, such as a top-dresser, can set up a "fence" around the area where the work will be done.
Data will show the aircraft flying to the job site and then the system will go on hold until the aircraft passes out of the fenced work area again. This is designed as a further cost saving on those provided already by the Iridium system. Iridium uses burst technology in much the same way as cellphone users effect savings by texting instead of using voice.
Mr Sandbrook says Spider Tracks costs $2800 plus GST and there's a further charge of about $30 per month for the Iridium connection.
The small helicopter he flies is fitted with the required ELT system, but he uses Spider Tracks as well. Besides the more formal applications there are many others which he values, such as easing the worries of his wife.
For example, if he set out to flying to Hamilton and encountered difficult weather conditions near the mountains, he might decide to make the longer detour around them.
Rather than worry about him being overdue, his wife could call up his flight path on the Spiders tracks system and see where he was and realise what he was doing.
"This is world-class technology and I'm quite proud that it has come out of the Manawatu."
For more information on Spider Tracks, check out the website, www.spidertracks.com
