Topcon Positioning Systems has just announced its strategic investment in DDK Positioning Ltd. DDK is an Aberdeen-based specialist in GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) receivers and PPP (Precise Point Positioning) correction services. However, both parties remain relativity tight-lipped with regard to how much Topcon is investing in DDK Positioning.
Global positioning
DDK Positioning delivers its services exclusively over the Iridium® network. Consequently, it can provide a very accurate augmented global precision positioning service. This is what particularly attracted Topcon.
Positioning satellite. (Image: Topcon.)
Topcon VP of Emerging Business, Ian Stilgoe tells us:
“For a number of years, Topcon has been a supplier of core GNSS components to DDK Positioning to deliver their MAX services. With the expansion and growing success of this business, specifically in the Marine sector, a closer cooperation will ensure optimal integration for the highest possible accuracies and performance in the most demanding applications,”
DDK Positioning CEO, Kevin Gaffney added, “This partnership provides an extraordinary opportunity for our two companies to work together in pursuit of our shared ambition — providing a robust, resilient and truly unique GNSS positioning service”
He continued, “We are extremely excited about partnering with Topcon and it’s a great fit for DDK Positioning, not only will it allow us to continue to develop best in class positioning services, we will also be able to continue to grow the company and expand our services globally.”
Millimetric accuracy
DDK’s GNSS correction system enables clients precisely to locate and track their assets globally. Furthermore, its system can achieve a positioning accuracy of less than 50 millimetres, compared to the typical GPS accuracy of around 10 metres. Therefore, its uninterrupted delivery of the service, along with independent verification of precise position is of great value to Topcon.
Its precision significantly enhances positioning accuracy for critical industrial applications. It is also what differentiates the DDK from its competitors. As Topcon invests in DDK Positioning, it is also worth that reiterating DDK’s exclusive partnership with Iridium Communications Inc.
Iridium. is a publicly traded American company with headquarters in McLean, Virginia. Significantly, Iridium operates the Iridium positioning satellite constellation. This is a system of seventy five error-correction satellites. Sixty-six of these satellites are active, whilst the remaining nine function as in-orbit spares.
About DDK Positioning Ltd
DDK Positioning offers truly global, resilient delivery of precise GNSS positioning services. Its markets include marine and offshore survey, construction, and IoT. DDK Positioning is based Aberdeen, Scotland. It is a relatively young company that started trading in 2016. For further information, please click here.
About Topcon Positioning Group
Topcon Corporation started business in Tokyo in 1932. Initially, it was the surveying instruments division of K Hattori and Co. Ltd, the company we know today as Seiko. The company initially made binoculars, cameras, and surveying instruments. Today, Topcon Positioning Group HQ is in Livermore, California, USA.
It has become an industry leading designer, manufacturer, and distributor of precision measurement and workflow solutions for the agricultural, geospatial, and global construction markets. Its European head office is in Capelle aan den IJssel, a small city and municipality in the western Netherlands. To learn more, please click here.