Iridium Communications Inc. announced it has made a strategic investment in DDK Positioning (DDK), an Aberdeen, Scotland based provider of enhanced Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) accuracy solutions, says in article published on seatrade maritime website.
About new deal
Standard positioning accuracy through a system like GPS is typically within 10 meters, however, by using the Iridium network, DDK’s enhanced GPS accuracy service brings incredibly precise positioning of five centimeters or less.
DDK uses the Iridium network to provide global precision positioning services that can augment GNSS constellations, including GPS and Galileo, to significantly enhance their accuracy for critical industrial applications. DDK is also developing similar services for other GNSS constellations, such as GLONASS and Beidou.
How this investment benefits the maritime industry?
More accurate positioning systems are critical for a wide-range of technologies, within the maritime sector the technology has significance in surveying, windfarm construction, autonomous vessels, a range of maritime IoT applications.
“DDK’s enhanced positioning is a unique capability that adds a high-value solution on top of our existing portfolio of custom network services. Solutions from Iridium and DDK partners that are focused on precision agriculture, autonomous systems, maritime and infrastructure projects can now experience incredibly precise GNSS accuracy from anywhere on the planet,” said Iridium CEO, Matt Desch.
Market revenue
According to a report published by the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency, augmentation services like those offered by DDK will account for $76.5 billion (€65 billion) in global GNSS market revenue by 2029, while the global GNSS downstream market, including services delivered and hardware devices, is estimated to reach $382 billion (€325 billion).
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Source: seatrade maritime
