Trimble Takes Ultra Rugged To The Next Level With New GNSS Smart Antenna For Heavy Civil Construction

PARIS, April 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Trimble (NASDAQ:TRMB) today introduced the new ultra-rugged Trimble® SPS985 GNSS Smart Antenna for performing high accuracy construction site measurements. The new smart antenna is made of a specially developed alloy that combines unprecedented strength and durability into a compact form to withstand the daily abuse of construction work. With its enhanced internal shock isolation, the SPS985 is well suited for high-vibration use on an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) or supervisor truck. User-friendly features such as a quick release connector and smartphone configuration make it easy to deploy and use as a base station or rover, mounted on a range pole or truck roof. Advanced communications including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and optional wideband radio integrate the receiver into the connected construction site.

The announcement was made at Intermat 2012, the international exhibition of equipment, machinery and techniques for the construction and materials industries.

A New Level of Rugged

As an industry-leader in GNSS grade control systems that withstand machine vibration and harsh construction conditions, Trimble continues to push the envelope of rugged and functional housing design. Leveraging Trimble engineering innovation and extensive field-testing for machine control, the new SPS985 applies the same toughness and usability standards for an off-machine GNSS receiver.

"The Trimble SPS985 was engineered to be the toughest, smallest and easiest to use GNSS receiver we've ever built," said Chuck Maniscalco, director of engineering for Trimble. "We listened to customer feedback and built the housing 50 percent stronger than any previous Trimble antenna, because we wanted it to perform ideally under extreme conditions—such as being dropped, tossed in a truck bed, rained on and otherwise abused in the construction setting. Contractors will likely never treat their SPS985 antennas as harshly as the Trimble engineering team has, but we intended to take rugged GNSS to the next level and we certainly achieved that."

Flexible and Easy-to-Use as a Rover or Base

When used as a rover, the SPS985 allows for maximum flexibility for use on a wide variety of site measurement tasks. For initial site reconnaissance, it can be deployed with satellite-delivered GNSS corrections without a base station. For higher accuracy site measurements, it can receive Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) corrections via the internal wideband radio, Wi-Fi or the Internet.

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