Sbg Systems Unveils Stellar-40: A Modular Inertial Navigation System
SBG Systems has added Stellar-40 to its lineup, a modular, scalable inertial navigation system engineered for harsh conditions and mission-critical operations.
Inertial System Design for Land, Air, and Sea
Suited to ground, aerial, and maritime platforms, Stellar-40 combines a tactical-grade inertial measurement unit, a satellite navigation receiver, and advanced fusion algorithms inside a compact, hardened chassis. It is built to deliver dependable positioning and attitude under severe vibration, fast dynamics, and electronically hostile environments.
Development centered on two goals: boosting durability in punishing operations and scaling manufacturing. To counter vibration sensitivity common in defense and industrial deployments, SBG Systems implemented a three-tier mitigation scheme:
| Mitigation Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| Isolation at Sensor Level | Dampers placed at the inertial measurement unit sensor attenuate vibration at its origin. |
| Resonance-Free Housing | A purpose-built shell minimizes resonance and internally induced oscillations. |
| Structural Decoupling | Custom external mounts separate the unit from aggressive vehicle dynamics. |
Together, these layers stabilize system behavior in highly dynamic scenarios.
High-Performance Satellite Navigation and Electronic Defense
Beyond mechanical robustness, Stellar-40 confronts contemporary electronic warfare threats. Its high-performance satellite-navigation engine actively counters sophisticated spoofing and jamming. When satellite signals are degraded or denied, multi-sensor fusion and dead-reckoning preserve navigation continuity. In navigation, dead-reckoning is the process of estimating current position by integrating measured motion forward from a last known fix when external references are unavailable. In Stellar-40, this estimate is driven by the tactical-grade inertial measurement unit and the system’s fusion algorithms, and it can be further stabilized when external aiding sources are available; as with all dead-reckoning, position error grows over time until absolute updates return.
Integration and Applications Across Autonomous Systems
As the heavy-duty sibling to Ekinox Micro, Stellar-40 debuts refreshed mechanics and electronics to streamline integration and production.
It fits:Defense programsRobotics platformsUncrewed aerial vehiclesAutonomous systems
Key features and specifications to confirm for a given Stellar-40 configuration include:
| Specification or Feature Area | What to Confirm |
|---|---|
| Accuracy and stability | Position, velocity, and attitude accuracy targets for your mission profile, plus drift behavior during satellite-denied operation. |
| Update rate and latency | Maximum output rate, end-to-end latency, and timing behavior under high dynamics. |
| Inertial sensor type | Sensor technology and grade used in the inertial measurement unit, including any options that affect drift and robustness. |
| Satellite receiver capability | Supported satellite constellations and bands, as well as anti-jam and anti-spoof features enabled for your build. |
| Power | Input voltage range, typical power consumption, and any power-up timing constraints. |
| Mechanical envelope | Weight, dimensions, mounting pattern, and connectorization needed to meet space and cable-routing constraints. |
| Environmental qualification | Ingress protection, operating temperature range, shock and vibration compliance, and any salt fog or corrosion requirements. |
| Interfaces and protocols | Available data interfaces and the supported message formats needed by your host computer and tooling. |
For a practical comparison against other SBG Systems inertial products, a side-by-side check typically focuses on:
| Comparison Category | Stellar-40 | Ekinox Micro | Apogee-D | Ellipse-D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positioning intent | Heavy-duty, modular system designed for harsh vibration and mission-critical operation. | Positioned as a smaller sibling in the lineup; confirm whether its mechanical hardening matches your platform. | Compare against your required performance class and qualification needs. | Compare against your size, cost, and performance envelope. |
| Mechanical integration | Emphasis on vibration mitigation and hardened packaging. | Check mounting, envelope, and environmental limits for compact platforms. | Verify housing, connectors, and environmental ratings in the datasheet. | Verify housing, connectors, and environmental ratings in the datasheet. |
| Electronic resilience | Designed to maintain continuity during spoofing, jamming, and satellite denial via fusion and dead-reckoning. | Validate satellite-denial behavior and fusion options for your use case. | Validate satellite-denial behavior and fusion options for your use case. | Validate satellite-denial behavior and fusion options for your use case. |
| Outputs and integration | Confirm supported interfaces, message formats, and timing features for your build. | Confirm supported interfaces, message formats, and timing features for your build. | Confirm supported interfaces, message formats, and timing features for your build. | Confirm supported interfaces, message formats, and timing features for your build. |
Compatible accessories and add-ons often used with this class of system include:External satellite-navigation antennas and antenna cabling.Mounting kits and installation hardware matched to the host vehicle.Power and data cables or harnesses for the selected connectors.Configuration, calibration, and logging software tools.Time-synchronization cabling and distribution accessories for system timing.
External aiding sources commonly integrated to improve continuity in specific applications include:Land applications: wheel-speed odometer inputs to reduce drift during long satellite outages.Air applications: air-data inputs, such as airspeed and altitude, to strengthen navigation constraints in dynamic flight.Maritime applications: Doppler velocity log aiding to improve velocity estimates when satellite conditions degrade.Cross-domain applications: vision-based motion estimates from onboard cameras to support short-duration positioning continuity.
When planning external aiding, confirm the accepted input formats on your build, such as:Nmea-style serial sentences used for navigation and sensor-aiding streams.Can-bus messages used for vehicle sensors and odometry.Arinc-style avionics data commonly used for air-data-class inputs.Timestamped binary messages over serial or ethernet transport.
Datasheets, integration manuals, and technical resources are typically provided through the Stellar-40 product page and the SBG Systems downloads or resources area; if access is restricted, request the documents through the support channel or your distributor.
To request a quotation, contact SBG Systems sales through the website contact form or engage an authorized reseller with your platform details, required performance, preferred interfaces, and expected quantities.
