World-First Locata Achievement Leads to U.S. Air Force Contract for New Non-GPS Based Positioning System

Canberra, Australia & Las Vegas, Nevada – December 12, 2012 – Locata Corporation today announced the U.S. Air Force has signed a sole-source, multi-year, multi-million dollar contract to install the U.S. Military’s first revolutionary ground-based LocataNet™ positioning system at the famed White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. In an unprecedented world-first achievement, the USAF will field Locata’s new technology to supply them with extremely accurate “reference truth” positioning across a vast area of White Sands when GPS is being completely jammed.

Locata is the only technology in the world that can do this.

In a recent USAF technical report the need for a new non-GPS based positioning capability was described by the 746th Test Squadron (746TS) as the key component for “the realization of the new ‘gold standard truth system’ for the increasingly demanding test and evaluation of future navigation systems for the U.S. Department of Defense.” Locata is the new technology now contracted to enable this “gold standard capability” for the USAF’s future truth reference, the Ultra High-Accuracy Reference System (UHARS).

The above report documented extensive testing of Locata’s new capabilities when a LocataNet covering 1,350 square miles (3,500 square kms) was first deployed at White Sands. The USAF and 746TS proved a LocataNet can accurately position USAF aircraft over a large area when GPS is “denied.” In fact, Locata delivered superbly accurate independent positioning which was as good as, or better than, the USAF’s current CIGTF Reference System (CRS). The CRS is arguably the most accurate reference system available for flight and ground testing today. It’s an extremely sophisticated hi-tech system, combining a differential dual-frequency GPS solution and a high accuracy inertial measurement unit with integrated gravity deflection of vertical corrections. The CRS is the system which has provided reference in support of a plethora of high-accuracy navigation tests for the USAF over the last decade. The Locata non-GPS based positioning capability is core to the UHARS which will now replace the CRS in 2014.

Christopher Morin, Technical Director for the 746TS, said “Locata Corp delivered a LocataNet for use in our October 2011 technical demonstration on White Sands Missile Range that provided time and position truth, independent of GPS, that was better than 18 cm (6 inches) per axis while flying at 15,000 and 20,000 foot above mean sea level profiles. The solutions provided by the LocataNet were within the accuracy tolerance of the squadron’s CIGTF Reference System and met our threshold objectives. Further analysis has shown that if we optimize the LocataNet deployment, characterize its errors and tightly couple its range and carrier-phase measurements with the other GPS and inertial components on the UHARS pallet into the UHARS solution post-processing software, I am confident we will be able to meet our 5 cm (2 inch) per axis truth reference objective. I am very pleased with the LocataNet’s demonstrated ability to produce an accurate, dynamic truth reference from the relatively static implementation they had already deployed in the mining industry.”

“Locata products developed and sold by important commercial partners like Hexagon and Leica Geosystems have already shown our new technology is a game-changer for positioning over industrial-sized areas,” said Nunzio Gambale, CEO and co-founder of Locata. “However, proving Locata can provide the USAF with cm-accurate non-GPS positioning over a vast military area when GPS is jammed instantly elevates our technology achievements into a completely new league. It’s important to grasp the scale of what we’ve done here. The 2,500 square mile LocataNet at White Sands will be 74 times the size of Manhattan Island. It must be clear, our ability to deliver cm-level (inch-level) positioning over an area that large, without using GPS satellites, is both unique and totally revolutionary! No-one else on earth can do this. Many valuable industrial and consumer apps will now be built around our amazing inventions, created by Locata’s co-founder David Small and our brilliant engineers.”

“This contract makes it clear you are witnessing the arrival of one of the most important technology developments for the future of the entire positioning industry,” added Gambale.

Under this new contract, Locata will provide the USAF with Locata Receivers and LocataLite transmitters to blanket 2,500 square miles (6,500 sq km) of the White Sands Range. Locata will also:

a) deliver extended hardware warranty, along with ongoing Locata software and firmware upgrades, through to the year 2025;

b) supply multi-year support for the installation, fielding and testing of Locata networks; and

c) provide long-term consultation and expert technical advice to ensure optimal operational performance of the USAF’s fielded LocataNet systems.

“The 746 Test Squadron leads the U.S. Department of Defense tri-service GPS Test Center of Expertise,” states Gambale. “This famous squadron is without doubt the best source on earth to validate Locata’s revolutionary technology advances. The 746TS were not only instrumental in developing the original GPS system for the U.S. military, but they have a long history of pushing the limits of next-generation positioning. I cannot describe how proud the Locata team is to be awarded this contract. We spent many years working alongside the USAF to extend our capabilities to such large areas. What Locata demonstrated at White Sands has never been done by another government entity anywhere – let alone by a private company. It’s a true, world-changing first.”

Prof. Chris Rizos, Head of the UNSW School of Surveying and Geospatial Engineering and Chair of the Working Group that developed the Australian Strategic Plan for Global Navigation Satellite Systems said, “The demand for an accurate, reliable and repeatable positioning capability in all environments and at all times grows stronger daily. However, it is clear that satellite-based systems alone cannot meet positioning expectations for future applications in machine automation, robotics, mining, heavily wooded or rugged terrain, urban and indoor environments, as well as where there is intentional (or unintentional) GPS interference such as at White Sands. It is becoming critically important for the world to have a real, locally controlled ‘GPS back-up’ that addresses obvious GPS vulnerabilities. Locata must now be factored into any analysis of a viable alternative, or future augmentation, to GPS.”

For the first time, Locata makes it possible for nations, communities, organizations or companies to deploy their own accurate positioning system – what Locata calls “Your Own GPS.” It’s a critical invention which finally enables locally controlled “hotspots” to fill in areas where GPS is unreliable or completely unavailable, such as indoors. “Although GPS is the gold standard for positioning, it’s vital to realize there is absolutely nothing ‘global’ about positioning in a city or inside a mall,” states Gambale. “Locata is disruptive to the entire GPS industry because, before Locata, they believed the only way this type of positioning could be created was with a complex and expensive constellation of 24+ satellites, launched by superpowers, relying on multiple atomic clocks installed in each satellite. Now Locata proves this can be done without satellites or atomic clocks. This paradigm shift is not trivial. Our mere existence seriously threatens many in the industry as we confront the core, fundamental beliefs which they’ve been taught for years. It requires a new mindset – you have to leave the satellite paradigm behind and revise your expectations about what is now possible.”

“Regardless of our affront to the GPS status quo, they can’t deny reality forever,” continues Gambale. “Locata has proven, beyond any doubt, that we have invented a completely new way to deliver GPS-style positioning. In the process, we’ve also given the world a timely, important and extremely valuable back-up to ease the problems that plague GPS in modern applications. As impressive as our achievements to date may be, however, it’s equally exciting to know Locata technology is only in its earliest days of massive growth. We know David Small’s inventions still have plenty of gas in the tank for multiple ground-breaking advances. The Locata team has many commercial developments in the pipeline now, including the unveiling soon of cm-accurate positioning for indoor industrial applications. Locata has the technology depth to deliver many more ‘science fiction level’ advances to the world. Just watch this space!”

RELEASE 2

Locata Confirms Extraordinary Positioning Results Obtained by the USAF during Independent Testing at White Sands Missile Range

Locata Delivers Superb Positioning Accuracy and Reliability to the USAF in the Complete Absence of GPS

Canberra, Australia and Las Vegas, Nevada – December 12, 2012 – Locata Corporation confirmed today that the spectacular performance of the company’s ground-based LocataNet™ positioning system, recently reported by the USAF after independent testing at the White Sands Missile Range, was correct. The USAF tests showed that a LocataNet can be fully autonomous from GPS, yet simultaneously deliver the same or better positioning, navigation and time (PNT) to aircraft at White Sands as high-accuracy positioning derived from the entire GPS satellite constellation. This is a world-first achievement, which today led to an announcement that Locata has been awarded a “sole-source” USAF contract to install a LocataNet covering over 2,500 square miles of the White Sands Range in New Mexico.

“I believe today’s contract announcement signs off on the USAF’s impartial conclusion that Locata is the world’s first totally independent back-up for GPS,” said Nunzio Gambale, CEO and co-founder of Locata. “We have known for some time that to many in the industry the performance claims we make for a LocataNet sound impossible. Hence to date we’ve refrained from boasting too loudly about our accomplishments. However, following this contract win, our achievements are just simply undeniable. We can verify that our own tests corroborate the wide-area cm-level accuracy and nanosecond time synchronization reported by the USAF at White Sands. What we have done cannot be replicated by another government – let alone any private vendor. Locata is changing the world’s mindset about what will be possible with GPS-style positioning in the future. This USAF contract substantiates the fact that you are seeing the arrival of one of the most important positioning technology developments since the launch of the first GPS satellites.”

A demanding USAF-mandated Critical Design Review process led to a closely scrutinized week-long test at the White Sands Missile Range. That testing featured a temporary LocataNet deployed to cover around 1,350 square miles (3,500 sq km) of the Range (see image 1). The flight trials directly compared Locata’s small 5” x 5” x 1” positioning receiver against the USAF’s current “Truth Reference System” which consists of a large “rack” of equipment on the aircraft described by the military as “arguably the most accurate reference system available for flight and ground testing today (see image 2).”

After the exhaustive aircraft testing, the USAF concluded that the Locata system had not only met the extremely demanding contractual tracking and positioning requirements, but actually exceeded them on many points.

Some of the milestones documented and confirmed by the USAF included:
· World First Positioning Technology Achievement – Locata delivered exceptional levels of autonomous performance in the complete absence of GPS. The USAF report documented LocataNet position accuracy of 2.5 inches (6cm) horizontally and 6 inches (15 cm) vertically – about the size of a dollar bill – for aircraft flying at a distance of 30 miles (50km) at up to 350 mph (550 km/hr) at 25,000 feet. This level of performance without GPS is simply unprecedented.
· World First Independent Nanosecond Synchronization – Throughout the period of the testing, the entire White Sands network achieved nanosecond-accurate synchronization within several minutes of the LocataNet being activated, and remained synchronized at that remarkable level – even during severe weather – until turned off at the end of each test. Time synchronization is the most fundamental of requirements for GPS-style positioning, and Locata’s ability to distribute nanosecond timing across the Range without GPS satellites was conclusively proven.
· Locata Signals Could be Amplified for Very Long Range Performance – The USAF tests showed that a stock standard Locata transmitter – exactly the same unit used in commercial applications like mining – could have an amplifier attached to easily boost signals for long-range reception. By attaching a simple, inexpensive 10 watt amplifier, the USAF proved that Locata signals could be acquired and tracked by aircraft at distances of up to 60 miles (100 km). Longer distances could be enabled simply by attaching higher-powered amplifiers.
· Aircraft Dynamics Easily Tracked by Locata Receiver – Prior to the White Sands flight trials, commercial Locata systems had only been used to position ground-based vehicles, such as cars, trucks, bulldozers and drill rigs in local areas. For the USAF tests, however, the Locata system needed to function under dynamic aircraft operating maneuvers, including banking, angular and linear accelerations, airspeeds up to 300 knots (560 km/hr), and altitudes up to 30,000 feet above sea level. The required aircraft performance was verified in the real-world testing.
· New Locata Antennas Performed Flawlessly – the USAF required Locata to design, prototype and then deliver aircraft-certified antennas for use on both the Locata ground-based transmitters and the USAF aircraft. Locata worked with Cooper Antennas Ltd. of Marlow in Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom, to produce an aircraft-certified version of Locata’s new quadrifilar helix antenna design. The Cooper manufactured antennas were used throughout the tests with excellent results, and confirmed Locata’s research and analysis.

“The performance Locata systems demonstrated for the USAF is unmatched by any other technology,” continued Gambale. “The USAF will now use Locata signals to “fill-in” for GPS when the satellite signals are jammed at White Sands. This is a world-first technology for the U.S. military. Locata will supply them with an always-on positioning network that works regardless of whether the satellite signals are available or not. The Locata transmitters can be permanently positioned on the Range or moved at will, ensuring that local, reliable high-accuracy positioning and timing is present whenever and wherever it is needed. There is no other technology on earth that can do this.”

The USAF report concludes by stating that Locata is the key component required for the realization of the USAF’s next-generation Ultra High Accuracy Reference System (UHARS) performance in a GPS-denied environment. The UHARS, currently under development by the 746th Test Squadron at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, will become the new “gold standard truth system” for the increasingly demanding test and evaluation of future navigation and navigation warfare systems for the U.S. Department of Defense. “Locata is proud to be a core part of this revolutionary USAF positioning development,” states Gambale. “Locata-enabled commercial products already on sale by our partners such as Leica Geosystems are very important. However, proving Locata can provide the USAF with cm-accurate non-GPS positioning over a huge military area immediately elevates our technology into a completely new league. This validation and contract from the people that invented GPS is a major milestone in our history. Yet it’s critical to understand that the Locata team still has many more world-changing technology advances under development. It’s exciting to be delivering new technology to the world.”

For a complete description of the testing by Desiree Craig, Chief Program Manager for the 746th Test Support Squadron of the 46th Test Group at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, view this report.

About USAF 746th Test Squadron
With over 50 years of experience, the 746th Test Squadron (746TS) – the U.S. Department of Defense Central Inertial and GPS Test Facility (CIGTF) based at Holloman Air Force Base – is the U.S. DoD's premier facility for testing and evaluating GPS user equipment, inertial navigation systems (INS) and embedded GPS/INS navigation and guidance systems. To this end, the 746TS leads the tri-service GPS Test Center of Expertise (COE) comprised of Army, Navy, and Air Force test agencies chartered to support GPS test and evaluation initiatives. The 746TS’s GPS evaluation capability includes all aspects of GPS receiver performance, to include testing of new GPS satellite/receiver compatibility prior to launch and on-orbit, analyzing signal-in-space characteristics that affect receiver performance, and assessing operational performance of GPS in the global airspace and electronic combat environments. Additionally, it provides GPS space and control (S&C) segment monitoring and performs trade studies, technical oversight consultation services and analyses regarding GPS platform integration.
Visit: http://www.746ts.org/

About Locata
Locata Corporation has invented terrestrial positioning networks which function as local ground-based replicas of GPS. There is no other technology that can do this. The company’s LocataNets work with or without satellite-based GPS systems to improve reliability and expand coverage for modern industrial, commercial, government and consumer applications where GPS is erratic, jammed or unavailable. Partnering with global companies like Hexagon, Leica Geosystems, the USAF and others, Locata is pioneering a new “GPS everywhere” experience by developing their new technology to deliver centimeter-level accurate positioning anywhere – indoors or out. Positioning will never be the same again.
Visit www.locata.com