Locata Corporation

Locata's origins are traced to positioning research begun by David Small and Nunzio Gambale in 1994. The company itself was founded in 1997 in Australia, with Canberra serving as its headquarters. Its work focused on the problem of maintaining accurate position, navigation, and timing information when GPS signals are blocked, corrupted, or intentionally jammed. The company's principal innovation was a terrestrial alternative to satellite positioning. Locata developed LocataLites, radio transceivers that can be installed around a defined site and operated as a synchronized local constellation. A group of these devices forms a LocataNet. Receivers within the network calculate their position by measuring the transmitted signals and applying trilateration, broadly analogous to the method used by a GPS receiver but without dependence on satellites. The network is designed to provide local latitude, longitude, altitude, and timing information, with coverage and radio characteristics adapted to the site. Time synchronization is central to the system. Locata developed TimeLoc to coordinate the network's timing with very high precision, allowing the ground-based transmitters to operate as a coherent positioning infrastructure. The company positioned LocataNet as a way to duplicate or augment key GPS functions within a mine, harbor, military range, or other controlled area. The approach is particularly relevant to operations where satellite visibility is reduced by terrain or structures, or where GPS interference is expected. Locata also developed VRay, an 80-element spherical antenna and receiver-processing concept aimed at reducing multipath errors. Reflected signals can produce substantial errors in urban canyons, indoors, and around large structures. VRay's electronically switched elements and correlator design were intended to form virtual beams, identify the direct signal, and suppress reflected components. The system could additionally derive signal-direction information useful for determining the three-dimensional attitude of the receiving platform. In April 2013, the company entered a cooperative research and development agreement with the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology to investigate military GPS variants of the technology. The technology was applied in several specialized fields. Hexagon, through Leica Geosystems, integrated Locata's terrestrial positioning technology with receivers supporting multiple satellite-navigation constellations. At Newmont's Boddington Gold Mine in Western Australia, the first commercial LocataNet was deployed to support accurate positioning and automation as the open-cut mine became deeper and satellite coverage became less dependable near pit walls. In the United States, Locata technology was selected for a White Sands Missile Range deployment associated with the U.S. Air Force 746th Test Squadron. The system was intended to supply an independent positioning reference for testing navigation and navigation-warfare equipment in GPS-denied conditions. TMC Design was identified as the technology integrator for design, installation, and testing. Locata technology was also used in vehicle research. In 2013, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and Perrone Robotics began installing a local network at the Vehicle Research Center. The system was intended to provide precise positioning for robotic control across both an outdoor track and an indoor test space, supporting research into next-generation collision-avoidance systems. By December 2013, public reference material stated that Locata had been granted 122 patents concerning its positioning technology. The available account presents Locata as a privately held specialist technology company rather than a mass-market brand. It documents a Canberra headquarters and a wholly owned Las Vegas subsidiary, but does not establish the company's current ownership, executive team, financial condition, or continuing commercial activity. Those matters therefore remain unconfirmed.

• 2014

  White Sands Missile Range deployment planned

  [1]Locata Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  Locata technology was identified as the core of the U.S. Air Force's Ultra High Accuracy Reference System for GPS-denied testing at White Sands Missile Range.

• 2013

  VRay research agreement with the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology

  [1]Locata Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  Locata and the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology entered a cooperative research arrangement concerning antenna and correlator technology for military GPS applications.

• 2013

  Vehicle Research Center positioning deployment

  [1]Locata Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  The first phase of a Locata network was installed at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's Vehicle Research Center with Perrone Robotics.

• 2013

  Patent portfolio reported at 122 granted patents

  [1]Locata Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  Public reference material reported that Locata had been granted 122 patents related to its positioning technology by December 2013.

• 1997

  Locata founded

  [1]Locata Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  Locata was established as an Australian technology company focused on high-precision local positioning.

• 1994

  Initial Locata concepts developed

  [1]Locata Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  David Small and Nunzio Gambale began work on the concepts that later became Locata's terrestrial positioning technology.

Specialist provider of high-accuracy, resilient positioning infrastructure for environments where satellite navigation is obstructed, unreliable, or jammed.

• Terrestrial local positioning network

  LocataNet

  A LocataNet is a site-specific positioning, navigation, and timing network built from ground-based LocataLite radio transceivers. The transceivers collectively perform a role similar to a local GPS constellation, transmitting signals that configured receivers use to calculate latitude, longitude, and altitude through trilateration. LocataNets are designed for areas such as open-cut mines, military ranges, harbors, and other controlled sites where satellite signals may be blocked, unreliable, or jammed. Commercially deployed designs were described as operating in an ISM radio band, with each LocataLite covering a site-dependent area.

• Radio transceiver

  LocataLite

  LocataLites are the ground-based radio units installed throughout a LocataNet. They transmit the ranging and timing signals used by Locata receivers to determine position. Unlike GPS satellites, these units can be placed and configured for a particular operational environment, allowing network designers to tailor coverage, frequency, and power to the site. Their coordinated operation depends on Locata's TimeLoc synchronization technology.

• Network synchronization technology

  TimeLoc

  TimeLoc is Locata's patented synchronization technology for coordinating the timing of the ground-based transmitters in a LocataNet. The technology is described as providing nanosecond-level synchronization, an important requirement for deriving precise ranges and maintaining a coherent local positioning solution.

• Multipath-mitigation antenna and receiver technology

  VRay

  VRay is an 80-element spherical antenna and correlator design intended for dense urban and indoor environments, where reflected signals can create large positioning errors. By rapidly switching antenna elements and forming virtual beams, the system is designed to emphasize direct signals and reduce multipath effects. Signal-angle and signal-strength measurements can also support estimation of a platform's three-dimensional attitude. Locata researched military GPS applications for the technology with the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology.

• 2014

  Pursue GPS-denied defense testing through the White Sands deploymentStrategy

  Background

  Military navigation and navigation-warfare systems require independent reference data when GPS is deliberately jammed or otherwise unavailable.

  Action taken

  Locata technology was selected for the U.S. Air Force's Ultra High Accuracy Reference System at White Sands Missile Range, with TMC Design identified as the integrator for the local positioning installation.

  Aftermath

  The deployment was described as intended to improve validation and testing of mobile and airborne systems in GPS-denied conditions. Later performance or commercial results are not established by the supplied sources.

  Source

• 2013

  Expand terrestrial positioning into commercial miningStrategy

  Background

  Deep open-cut mines can lose reliable satellite visibility near pit walls and at greater depths, creating challenges for machine positioning and automation.

  Action taken

  Locata worked with Leica Geosystems on a LocataNet deployment at Newmont's Boddington Gold Mine in Western Australia.

  Aftermath

  The deployment was described as the first commercial LocataNet and as a positioning foundation for mining automation. No subsequent operating metrics are provided.

  Source

• 2013

  Develop multipath-resistant receiver technologyStrategy

  Background

  Indoor and dense urban environments can cause reflected satellite signals and substantial errors in conventional GNSS receivers.

  Action taken

  Locata entered a cooperative research agreement with the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology to develop and test VRay antenna and correlator variants for GPS-related military use cases.

  Aftermath

  The agreement broadened the company's work beyond local terrestrial networks into antenna-based signal processing. The supplied sources do not document the final product or later program outcome.

  Source

1. 1Locata Corporationen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Locata Corporation official websitelocata.com