Topcon Positioning Systems has signed a deal with Xona to secure early access to its low Earth orbit satellite navigation constellation.
The agreement makes Topcon one of the first commercial customers preparing to integrate Xona’s Pulsar low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into future high-precision positioning workflows.
“The letter of agreement reinforces Topcon’s long-standing commitment to innovation and customer-driven technology leadership,” said Ron Oberlander, head of the Topcon Geomatics Platform.
“It lays the groundwork for a new era of high-precision performance possibilities as LEO satellites come online.
“By proactively adopting next-generation navigation infrastructure, we strengthen our commitment to provide reliable, resilient, and future-proof solutions for our customers.”
Xona has begun the process of building its LEO constellation. Its first production-class satellite, Pulsar-0, was launched on 20 June last year.
The company’s LEO approach is expected to provide a number of advantages over the traditional GNSS.
For a start, with the satellites being closer to the ground, the received signal strength will be much higher — Xona claims 100 times higher — with benefits for both jamming resistance and signal penetration in locations where GNSS sometimes struggles.
Xona also claims that its system will have a “new way to verify the authenticity of our signal in action,” as opposed to legacy GPS which has open and unencrypted signals that can be spoofed by malicious actors.
Satellite manufacturer, Aerospacelab, has been awarded a contract to build eight additional satellites for the Pulsar constellation. Launches will commence in late 2026.
Referring to the new agreement with Topcon, Bryan Chan, Xona’s co-founder and VP of Strategy, said “Topcon understands where accuracy, continuity, and confidence matter most for operators in the field”.
“By adding a modern navigation layer into Topcon’s offerings, Pulsar will strengthen signal performance and resiliency in even the most challenging environments, ensuring Topcon customers can operate with greater confidence wherever their work takes them.”
