Editor’s note: So rarely do new major players arise in the high-precision GNSS industry that we feel the following to be a significant development of which our readers should be aware.
In the case of Hemisphere GNSS, this already-successful provider of GNSS for marine, agriculture, machine control, and the OEM market was given an additional mission by its new owners: create new products and solutions for surveying–both RTK and an L-band (PPP) positioning service.
The popularity of our October 2016 story, “Birth of a New Instrument“, and our article on the collaboration between Carlson Software and Hemisphere GNSS on a new receiver prompted this backstory profile.
Hemisphere GNSS, Inc., based in Scottsdale, Arizona, designs and manufactures GNSS products and services for use in OEM/ODM, machine control and guidance, surveying and mapping, L-band correction services, marine, monitoring, and unmanned systems. The company is owned by Beijing Uni- Strong Science & Technology Co., Ltd., which created it in January 2013 when it purchased, from Hemisphere GPS, Inc., its precision products business–which served the marine, land survey, construction, mapping, and OEM segments–and related GNSS technology and intellectual property. Hemisphere GPS’ significant agriculture business then changed its name to AgJunction.
Taking advantage of UniStrong’s broad talent pool and all the best available technology, Hemisphere has designed new receivers from scratch, from the code tables to the RTK engine, and integrated L-band positioning capabilities. Recently, Uni- Strong has also acquired Stonex Europe, based in Italy, giving it a survey channel across Europe and other areas in which Stonex has representation.