by Cara Lewis | Jun 12, 2023 | News
So after a lovely run down into Bath on Day 2, we had a delightful early morning climb back out of the city! Well, that was certainly one way to get the legs loosened off and the blood pumping again!
We quickly ticked off another two counties – Wiltshire, very VERY closely followed by South Gloucestershire and made our way through some delightful wee villages en route to our first coffee stop just short of the Severn Bridge.
At which point…the Richard of the Day award was promptly won by none other than our Kenny again! On leaving the coffee stop he got “attacked” by a tree which nicked his glasses (the tree was feared of both Kevin and Stuart and left them alone) meaning he got split up from the other two. On realising Kevin and Stuart stopped on the bridge to allow Kenny to catch up. Cue a call from Kenny informing them he was lost (within 400m of the restart point) and when told the others were waiting on the bridge, Kenny asked “What bridge”? The answer given cannot be published here…
Red = Start Blue = Kevin & Stuart. Where’s Kenny?!
Once regrouped the team continued over the Severn Bridge into Wales annnnd then back out again shortly after, heading through the Wye valley and Forest of Dean. One of the three countries of Great Britain ticked off! Further on through the Wye valley we came across Kevin’s best man, Ander and lovely wife Jo and wee boy Max with their Wheelie Big Ride support sign. We were very kindly offered lunch at their house which the hungry riders jumped at. Slight catch, it was up a HUGE hill! But we will do anything for lunch!
Fraser the legend
At least what goes up has to come down so we enjoyed the downhill and rest of the journey through the very scenic and picturesque Wye Valley. After a much needed coffee stop at Leominster (the only coffee shop in town which was still open was sniffed out by Dave, and it was smashing, top marks!) we continued on to our stop for the evening at Ludlow. And what a place to stop, Ludlow looked amazing and will definitely be worth a visit when we’ve got more time! But we had to get on to the hotel where we met Kevin’s family – mum, dad, sister, brother-in-law and the main man Fraser who is the inspiration behind this trip for Kevin. A fantastic evening followed with great company and food!
by Cara Lewis | Jun 12, 2023 | News
🚴♂️ WHEELIE BIG RIDE: DAY 2 🚴♂️
The updates and pics have been flying in over the weekend! Let’s check out what the trio have to say about their second day…and their visit from Sally Dale from our partner NSSLGlobal!
🚴♂️ Starting Oakhampton, the lovely Sally Dale from our partner NSSLGlobal joined us for the first leg. It was lovely to catch up, share the journey, and it was a real boost to the team!
🚴♂️ We are getting into the swing of things; the X1 and the antennas were up and running, Dave Inglis was brilliant at setting up all things DDK ready for David Mckay at DDK HQ to track us to accuracies of less than 5cm!
🚴♂️ When we stopped off at Tiverton and Bridge Water, we met some lovely locals who donated to the charities. We can’t thank them enough!
🚴♂️ Climbing Cheddar Gorge was a real highlight of the day, with stunning views easing the pain of the climb.
🚴♂️ A few hours later, we descended to Bath, and the descent was amazing until we realised we had to climb it again the next morning!
🏆 ‘Richard of the Day’ goes to…. Kenny! For forgetting his GoPro at the beginning of the Cheddar Gorge, he turned back to pick it up; on his return…. we found out it ran out of battery! Worthy of a Richard moment for sure – there definitely seems to be a recurring theme here Kenny! 🤣
by Cara Lewis | Jun 12, 2023 | News
🚴♂️ WHEELIE BIG RIDE: DAY 1 🚴♂️
Well, folks, it’s somewhat been a bit of a learning curve for the dynamic trio over the past few days! Let’s check out what they have to say about their first day…
🚴♂️ Cornwall is hella hilly!⛰️ We knew there was a fair amount of elevation to cover but were not prepared for how relentlessly up and down it was.
🚴♂️ Our training ride speed of 25km/h is ambitious! We ended up with a long 12hr day (including cake breaks! 🍰)
🚴♂️ Garmin navigation is pretty good…when followed (more on this below)
🚴♂️ Don’t clasp your hands in front of you when posing for a photo of the back of your tops; it can have unintended consequences!
Overall though, it was a really good day; after the initial push through the weather, the hedgerows of Cornwall thankfully protected us from the majority of the wind!
David Inglis (Bailey) Inglis played a blinder at getting ahead of the “peloton” and snapping us in action 📸. And at the end of the day, we crossed into the “Sally Dale” territory of Devon and rolled into the hotel in Okehampton.
To celebrate all aspects of the challenge, we decided that each day a special shout-out should be made to the biggest doughball of the day…aka the Richard of the Day🏆 Today’s award goes to…Kenneth Anderson for ignoring his Garmin and his two colleagues shouting at him as he went the wrong way, then proceeding to crack on for a good mile before realising he was on his tod!
by Cara Lewis | Apr 17, 2023 | News
LIVERMORE, Calif. – April 17, 2023 – Topcon Positioning Systems announced it has made a strategic investment in DDK Positioning Ltd, an Aberdeen based specialist in GNSS receivers and PPP correction services. DDK Positioning delivers services exclusively over the Iridium® network to provide global precision positioning services that can augment GNSS constellations to significantly enhance their accuracy for critical industrial applications. Terms of the investment are not being disclosed.
“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,” according to Ian Stilgoe, VP of Emerging Business at Topcon.
Kevin Gaffney, CEO of DDK Positioning, stated, “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. 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.”
About DDK Positioning Ltd
DDK Positioning offers truly global, resilient delivery of precise GNSS positioning services to a number of markets, including; Marine and offshore survey & construction and IoT. The Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) correction solution enables clients to precisely locate and track their assets globally. Furthermore, a positioning accuracy of less than 5cm can be achieved, compared to the standard GPS accuracy of ≈10m. The uninterrupted delivery of the service, along with independent integrity of position, ensures a higher level of confidence in the accuracy of position and is what differentiates the company from our competitors. DDK Positioning was formed in Aberdeen, UK in 2016 and has an exclusive partnership with Iridium.
www.ddkpositioning.com
About Topcon Positioning Group
Topcon Positioning Group, always one step ahead in technology and customer benefits, is an industry leading designer, manufacturer and distributor of precision measurement and workflow solutions for the global construction, geospatial and agriculture markets. Topcon Positioning Group is headquartered in Livermore, California, U.S. (topconpositioning.com, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook). Its European head office is in Capelle a/d IJssel, the Netherlands. Topcon Corporation (topcon.com), founded in 1932, is traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (7732).
# # #
Press Contacts:
Topcon Positioning Group
Staci Fitzgerald
corpcomm@topcon.com
+1 925-245-8610
DDK Positioning
Cara Lewis, Marketing Manager
clewis@ddkpositioning.com
+44 (0)7720 216073
by dmackay | Aug 6, 2021 | News
Topcon signs agreement with DDK Positioning to provide GNSS hardware for maritime market
DDK Positioning will provide services and Topcon hardware to Oceaneering International
LIVERMORE, Calif. — August 5, 2021 — Topcon Positioning Systems announces it has entered into an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) contract with DDK Positioning Ltd. to supply Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) hardware components. Founded in 2016 by a highly skilled team with extensive experience in the positioning field, DDK Positioning has combined technical ingenuity with the Iridium® satellite network to create a robust, resilient and completely independent GNSS-augmenting positioning solution.
Topcon OEM GNSS components will be used by DDK Positioning to deliver their MAX services to Oceaneering International, Inc.’s clients. These clients, primarily in the marine energy sector, can achieve accuracy to less than 5 centimeters with this new service. Oceaneering recently conducted an extensive review of how it delivers positioning services to its clients and evaluated the significant advances made in communications infrastructure and services over recent years. Recently, Oceaneering announced an exclusive agreement with DDK Positioning to be the new provider of products and services to the offshore maritime market, delivered through the Iridium network and with Topcon OEM GNSS products.
“Our extensive research of receivers in the market, and the performance of Topcon, made the decision for our route going forward,” said Kevin Gaffney, CEO of DDK Positioning. “Topcon’s experience, their extensive support network and leadership will allow us to effectively support multiple clients, in addition to Oceaneering. We see this as a long-term partnership. Both companies worked tirelessly to bring this together.”
Ian Stilgoe, vice president of Topcon emerging business, said, “With Topcon Positioning System’s extensive history in precise positioning, providing high performance and quality GNSS boards, antennas and receivers to the OEM industry for over 20 years, the company is well-positioned to supply DDK Positioning with the hardware needed to support their clients globally. Working closely with DDK Positioning and Iridium was key to meet the requirements of Oceaneering and the maritime market. Topcon is pleased to be part of this effort to bring the latest positioning technology to this market segment.”
by dmackay | Jul 21, 2021 | News
Oceaneering and DDK Positioning Sign Service Agreement Enhancing C-Nav® Positioning Solutions’ Offerings
Oceaneering International, Inc., and DDK Positioning Limited announced the companies have entered into an agreement for the provision of GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) augmentation service and all associated software and hardware supporting Oceaneering’s C-Nav® Positioning Solutions group offerings.
DDK Positioning’s services are delivered exclusively through the Iridium® satellite communications network coupled with hardware developed by partner Topcon. This pairing of cutting-edge hardware and advanced communication infrastructure will enhance the ability of Oceaneering’s customers to precisely position their assets globally. This unified solution offers several benefits to Oceaneering’s positioning customers including, two-way communication enabling machine control and feedback, and redundancy to cover potential signal losses.
From launch, DDK Positioning will provide its MAX service to Oceaneering clients, which can achieve accuracy to less than 10 cm (2 Sigma). The MAX service uses both GPS, Galileo, and GLONASS constellations with further systems to be added within a year.
Eric Smith, Director of Survey Services at Oceaneering, said: “There have been significant advances made in communications infrastructure and satellite positioning technology over the last several years. With this agreement, Oceaneering will be able to offer enhanced positioning technology allowing us to build on our strong industry track record while continuing to serve the positioning needs of our clients now and into the future.”
Kevin Gaffney, CEO at DDK Positioning said: “We are absolutely delighted to have signed an agreement with Oceaneering to provide our precise and reliable GNSS positioning solution to Oceaneering’s customers in the maritime energy industry.
“This agreement demonstrates the need for an alternative GNSS augmentation service that increases the reach of services from Pole to Pole, with the added benefit of Iridium’s resilience and reliability. We are looking forward to working with Oceaneering to enhance their service and product portfolio while delivering market leading services for many years to come.”
