New Hexagon | NovAtel Driver Provides Optimized Interface for Autonomy Projects

Hexagon | NovAtel announces the release of its second purpose-built driver, powered by the latest series of the Robot Operating System, ROS 2. The NovAtel OEM7 drivers are developed and managed by NovAtel engineers to provide an optimized interface for autonomy projects. The drivers allow for quick incorporation of NovAtel’s OEM7 receivers into custom ROS 2 based applications.

“Automation and autonomy are at the forefront of advancing the agriculture industry,” said James Szabo, agriculture autonomy product manager. “The functional resilience and performance of ROS 2 paired with our OEM7 receivers speeds up integration and reduces time to market for our customers developing new equipment.”

As the integration of NovAtel’s OEM7 receiver increases in autonomy projects, algorithms for academic investigations, ride-share programs and agricultural autonomy solutions, NovAtel continues to support the growing needs of the robotics community. With the power of ROS 2, developers can create autonomous applications quicker and without the need to develop or adapt existing community drivers. Tested and supported by NovAtel and Hexagon | AutonomouStuff, the driver enables seamless access to the receiver’s GNSS and inertial capabilities so users can simultaneously utilize live, recorded and post-processed data.

“We have many users globally who have already adopted the ROS driver in unmanned operations, from tillage and viticulture operations to broadacre crop spraying,” said Eric Wuestefeld, executive vice president of agriculture. “The ROS driver has shortened the transition from prototype to production, allowing users to focus on furthering their autonomous solution without the worry and complexities of third-party interfaces.”

The ROS and ROS 2 drivers are available for immediate download through the NovAtel GitHub repository and as a ROS Binary Package for direct installation with documentation hosted on the ROS.org wiki. For more information on compatible OEM7 GNSS receivers, please visit novatel.com/oem7.