has launched its upgraded dual-frequency ADS-B receiver, pingStation 2. The high-integrity, low-cost ADS-B ground station provides for networkable low-altitude airspace and airport surface monitoring, as well as Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Ground Control Station (GCS) integration for Detect & Avoid (DAA) capability.
pingStation 2 integrates 978 and 1090 MHz ADS-B receivers, GPS, antenna, and Power-Over-Ethernet (POE) 
interface into an easy-to-install, rugged IP67 weatherproof enclosure. With a selection of non-proprietary data interfaces, pingStation 2 is designed to integrate into a multitude of end-user applications, including airport displays, UAS GCS, Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) Solutions, and Flight Information Displays (FID). pingStation 2 is robust enough to be permanently mounted outdoors in harsh environmental conditions and small enough to be used as a mobile asset for roaming operations.
pingStation 2 improves over the original, popular design with performance improvements including 50% greater range and high-resolution timestamps, enabling third party multilateration (MLAT) using time-difference-of-arrival (TDOA) calculation. Set-up ease is also enhanced with tool-free installation.
pingStation 2 In Use
pingStation and pingStation 2 are being used globally to enhance situational awareness. The following examples highlight real-world use-cases where the high-integrity / low-cost solution has been a key component of pushing the boundaries of UAS integration and bringing airspace awareness to areas where surveillance data was not previously available.
UAS Detect and Avoid
- pingStation is a core component of the Vantis UAS Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) network in North Dakota, where ADS-B reception is combined with Command and Control (C2) infrastructure.
- pingStation provides the foundational surveillance infrastructure for the New York UAS BVLOS Corridor between Syracuse and Rome, NY.
Airspace Situational Awareness
- Trials at three airports in the UK have led to draft policies for providing Flight Information Displays (FID)to Class G airports to improve situational awareness and reduce the risk of mid-air collisions.
- pingStation 2 is a core component of the United Kingdom Research & Innovation (UKRI) funded project to demonstrate BVLOS UAS Operations in Non-Segregated Airspace, combining pingStation 2 with uAvionix TIS-B/FIS-B infrastructure to enable the capability for a local re-broadcast of traffic to provide a cooperative airspace, significantly enhancing the safety and services at smaller airports and to remote and off-shore aviation operations.
- uAvionix hosts uavionix.com, which provides a real-time view of several pingStation receivers deployed globally at internal and customer locations.
“We have used pingStation for a number of years in a wide range of projects. It has proven extremely reliable and accurate and without devices like pingStation 2, many of our customers would have airspace awareness only at high altitudes, or none at all,” says VP of Sales and Marketing at Kongsberg Geospatial, Paige Cutland. “pingStation 2 integration with our IRIS AM Airspace Management Solution provides detect and avoid situational awareness to UAS operators for BVLOS operations.”
Source: Press Release