Geomatics G1-LoTUS Getting Started Manual - User Manual

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G1-LoTUS

GNSS NETWORK ROVER SYSTEM

HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE

Getting Started Guide

G1-LoTUS

| Geomatics USA, LLC | June 2017

G1-LOTUS

GNSS NR QUICK GUIDE PAGE 1

info@Geomatics.us

www.geomatics.us

Definition

G1-LoTUS

GNSS NR System is a cm-level real-time differential positioning and

navigation system.

Purpose

This guide covers basic field operation of the G1-LoTUS

GNSS NR System to precisely

survey and stakeout points using GPS

Audience

This guide is intended for G1-LoTUS

system users. Basic knowledge of GPS, GIS, and

surveying and mapping terminology is presumed.

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GNSS NR QUICK GUIDE PAGE 2

System Components

G1-LoTUS

GNSS NR is composed of the following main components:

A GNSS multi-frequency multi-constellation receiver and built-

in antenna as a source of satellite signal for positioning and

navigation,

A 2-m graduated survey Rod with quick-release bracket, tablet sun-

shade hood, compass, and levelling bubble

A Windows data collector communicating with the LoTUSTM receiver via

Bluetooth and to the correction stream CORS server via cellular connection.

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GNSS NR QUICK GUIDE PAGE 3

System Interface

There are two groups of LED and button indicators: one at the front panel of the
GNSS receiver (hardware) and the other one is part of the LoTUS

GNSS

processing software. They both cover all system activities.

2.1

Receiver (Hardware)

Interface

LoTUS

Front View

Battery Compartments
Two hot-swappable battery
compartments on each side of
the receiver; each
compartment houses two 3.7V
Lipo batteries

GNSS Antenna Housing
6” plastic ray dome housing
with a ground plane

REC Button
Press to start recording raw
data to the removable SD
card; press and hold for 5
seconds to stop recording

Power ON/OFF Button
Soft tactile button: press to
power receiver on; press and
hold for 5 seconds to turn it off

Battery LEDs
Two red LEDs - one per each
compartment, solid red =
battery attached and healthy,
off=battery not attached,
blinking red: battery is
unhealthy and must be
replaced within 30 min.

External USB Power LED
Yellow LED to indicate
external 5V USB power supply
attached (overrides battery
power)

Satellite LED
Green LED blinks the number
of GNSS satellites being
tracked from all constellations

Bluetooth LED
Blue LED to indicate receiver
and tablet communication
over Bluetooth

Data Recording LED
Orange LED showing data
recording activities

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GNSS NR QUICK GUIDE PAGE 4

LoTUS

Bottom View

TNC Connector
UHF radio antenna
connector for base-
rover systems (not
used in NR)

AUX Port
7-pin LEMO plug connector
for auxiliary operations

5/8”-11 Connector
Survey rod connector

Battery Contacts
Battery compartment
contacts

uSD Card Holder
Removable data storage

SIM Card Holder
Cellular connectivity
(not used in NR)

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GNSS NR QUICK GUIDE PAGE 5

Satellite/Data
Toggle Button

I/O LEDs

I/O
Buttons

Satellite
Signal
Display /
Survey Data
Collector

Message
Display
Zone

Show
/ Hide

Status &
Context
Help Bar

Rover
Position
Display

Main
Menu Bar

#SV/AR/
Latency
indicator
s

Settings

Play/Pause
Button

Plot
Button

Stations
Button

2.2

Software Interface

LoTUS

is also the name of the processing software running on the data

collector. It serves three purposes, namely:

2.2.1

Session configuration and satellite signal display

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GNSS NR QUICK GUIDE PAGE 6

2.2.2

Field survey data collector

Satellite/Data
Toggle Button

On-screen
Keyboard

Survey Data
Entry Fields

Options &
File(s)
Info Tab

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GNSS NR QUICK GUIDE PAGE 7

2.2.3

Accuracy verification and stakeout utility

Stakeout
Inverse Info

Display
Toolbar

COGO
Toolba
r

Main
Menu

Status Bar

Points Plot
and Statistics

Show/Hide
Toolbar

1” Stakeout
Circle

Stakeout Way
Points Tab

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GNSS NR QUICK GUIDE PAGE 8

Operation

The following is a brief description of how to operate the LoTUS

GNSS Network

Rover system.

Note: make sure system batteries are charged before heading out to the field

3.1

Starting and Stopping the System

Secure LoTUS

smart antenna to the survey rod using the 5/8”-11 connector

either by screwing it directly in or by using the quick release (QR) connector
Note: add 0.100 m to the rod height to compensate for the QR connector, if used

Use the tablet QR bracket to attach the data collector to the survey rod

Switch receiver power on by tapping on the receiver power button

Switch the data collector power on by pressing and holding its power button for
5 seconds; watch for Windows 10 booting on the data collector

Watch the satellite LED on the receiver interface as it tracks and blinks the
number of GNSS satellites in view
Note: it may take up to 45 seconds to get a full scan of all satellites in view

As the GNSS receiver tracks satellites, the data collector tablet will have booted
and the whole system is ready for operation

Click the LoTUS

icon/button on the data collector desktop screen to invoke the

software
Note: the software may take couple of seconds to initialize and load the most

recent satellite almanac

Once the software is operational and the receiver satellite LED blinks enough
satellites (more than 5), click the “Play” button on the LoTUS

software

interface

You may also press the “REC” button on the LoTUS

receiver interface to record

a backup copy of the rover raw observations on the removable micro SD card

10.

Click the satellite/flag toggle switch of the LoTUS

software interface on the top

toolbar to watch for the receiver and satellite display as the software processes
received ranges between the receiver and satellites and computes the rover
location
Note: Soft LEDs 1 and 2 on the LED soft dashboard should be blinking green

indicating healthy connection with the rover and the correction source,
respectively

11.

You may check for the following:

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GNSS NR QUICK GUIDE PAGE 9

The blue Bluetooth LED on the receiver interface to make sure the
connection between the tablet and the receiver is functioning as it
should (soft LED1 would turn orange or red)

The cellular or WiFi connection on the tablet to the correction
source, in case the correction data is not coming through (soft LED2
would turn orange or red)

12.

Soft LEDs 4 and 5 indicate saving output1 and output2 to files, while soft LEDs 6
and 7 are to show logging the base and rover raw observations to files
Note: Soft filenames are assigned automatically by the LoTUS

software in the

form: aaaDOYxx.ext
Where
aaa: three-letter prefix set by the user,
DOY: Day of Year,
xx: two alphanumeric characters between 0-Z allowing for 36x36=1296
files per day
ext: three letter extension set by the user

13.

Trouble shoot any problem before proceeding to the next step to collect or to
stake out survey data

14.

To stop recording data to the uSD card, press and hold the REC button for 5
seconds

15.

To power down the LoTUS

receiver, press and hold its POWER button for 5

seconds until all LEDs turn off

16.

To quit the LOTUS

software, click the main window “X” menu bar button

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GNSS NR QUICK GUIDE PAGE 10

3.2

Survey Data Collection

To collect survey data over points, users can use one of two methods:

3.2.1

Direct Occupation

In this case, the operator

occupies the designated point with the LoTUS

system

stay static for a few epochs,

then click the save button of the survey data collector application
Note: a screen shows up to enter point description where the operator ends the

entry session by hitting the “Return” key to accept changes or escape to
cancel the entry

3.2.2

Offset Occupation

This is a method suitable for inaccessible target points. The operator, while
not able to directly occupy the designated point, can use auxiliary information
(called offsets here) to survey the point. There are several ways to achieve
such objective, namely:

Inline Offset or Side Shot

Swing Ties

Line-Line Intersection

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GNSS NR QUICK GUIDE PAGE 11

Point Stakeout

Staking points out can be achieved inside of PloTUS

, an add-on application to the

LoTUS

software package. Waypoints are of known coordinates beforehand and

uploaded to PloTUS

in the form of a comma separated variables (csv) file with

extension “wpt”. The software calculates inverse information required to locate the
designated point(s) in one or more of the following forms:

Northing and Easting displacements

Length and Azimuth

Offsets from known points: inline, swing ties, or line-line
intersection

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