Swift Navigation and Carnegie Robotics (CRL) have announced the immediate availability of Duro, an extremely rugged, low-cost, centimeter-accurate, dual-frequency RTK (real-time kinematics) GNSS receiver in an easily-deployable enclosure.
San Francisco-based Swift Navigation, a Californian technology company building centimeter-accurate GPS technology to power a world of autonomous vehicles (AVs), teamed with Pittsburgh-based CRL, one of leaders in reliable robotic components and systems, to develop Duro, a ruggedized, enclosed version of Swift’s flagship Piksi Multi dual-frequency RTK GNSS receiver. The new product can now be ordered, and initially the product will ship only to North America, with worldwide shipping delivery to follow.
Built for outdoor operations, Duro combines a robust enclosure with centimeter-accurate positioning at a breakthrough price. Using design and test standards from military and mining hardware, the GNSS sensor is protected against weather, moisture, vibration, dust, water immersion and EMI exposure typical of long-duration, harsh outdoor deployments. The Duro is easy-to-deploy right out of the box, and is suitable for AVs, precision mapping, and other applications where accurate positioning is essential.
Duro builds on Swift’s mission to use RTK technology to provide location systems that are 100 times more accurate than traditional GPS, at a fraction of the cost of other equipment.
Duro’s features include:
• Dual-frequency RTK GNSS, providing accurate position and fast recovery;
• Tough, military-grade hardware;
• IP67-rated enclosure, with M12 standard-sealed connectors and passive thermal design;
• Raw IMU data stream output;
• Future-proof hardware, with in-field software upgrade capability;
• Protected I/O, including RS232 Serial Ports, 100mbit Ethernet, Event Inputs, Pulse Per Second (PPS) and more;
• Mounting accommodation for GPS antenna, simplifying vehicle installation;
• Durable UV and chemical-resistant powder-coating.
“We are thrilled to make this product available for the many industries that can now unlock vast autonomous vehicle applications with cost-effective RTK solutions”, said Tim Harris, CEO and co-founder of Swift Navigation. “Duro is the perfect combination of our centimeter-accurate GNSS technology and Carnegie’s rugged robotic systems, renowned for getting work done for real-world applications.”
John Bares, CEO of Carnegie Robotics, added, “This product, the first of many joint developments between us and Swift, marks an exciting innovation milestone that ticks all the boxes: high-accuracy, low-cost and ruggedized for real-world applications. We are providing a solution with significant implications for manned and unmanned vehicles in industries including mining, material handling and precision agriculture. Duro’s feature-set and price point will unlock a new generation of outdoor autonomous robotic systems.”
