This firmware introduces several enhancements and new features for the ELLIPSE 3.x series.

At its core, this release delivers significant improvements specific to UAV applications, covering both advanced algorithms and new GNSS-denied capabilities. The key highlights and detailed changelog are provided below.

Firmware Compatibility

This firmware is compatible and intended to work with the following applications and libraries versions:

  • sbgCenter 5.2 and above
  • sbgECom 5.1 and above

ELLIPSE Compatibility

This firmware is ONLY compatible with ELLIPSE hardware revision 3.x and above. For older ELLIPSE, please use the latest 2.7.29-stable firmware.

Firmware Download

You can download below the sbgFirmwareUpdater setup package for Windows and Linux platforms. The sbgFirmwareUpdater tool is bundled with the ELLIPSE firmware to ease the update procedure.

You can also download the firmware with a CLI tool as a ZIP archive.

Download for Windows Download for Linux Download Firmware Archive

Migrating from V2.x to V3.x

Please refer to the dedicated migration guide for a step-by-step guide to help you upgrade from v2 to v3.

Important Highlights

Enhanced UAV navigation framework

This version represents a significant step forward in UAV navigation performance, with extensive work dedicated to improving navigation capabilities when GNSS is not available.

This new UAV navigation strategy includes:

  • New "Fixed Wing UAV" motion profile: optimized for fixed-wing UAV, adding platform-specific dynamics to improve navigation accuracy.

  • Air data support: support for both airspeed and barometric altitude from an air data computer, enhancing a lot navigation performance in GNSS-denied situations.

  • Support for generic position and velocity inputs: dedicated interfaces for external aiding sensors such as cameras, LiDAR, radar, or other sources, significantly improving navigation accuracy in GNSS-denied environments.

Support of new external aidings

This version extends compatibility with external aiding sensors to further enhance navigation performance:

  • Support for Nucleus format within Nortek DVL

  • Support for generic position and velocity inputs in sbgECom format: this feature can also leverage SLAM algorithms in some mobile mapping applications, where SLAM-derived 3D velocity provides richer aiding than traditional odometers

Additional notes

Advanced GNSS receiver configuration

The firmware introduces new advanced GNSS receiver configuration capabilities, allowing users to fine-tune system behavior, including:

  • Enabling or disabling specific GNSS constellations

  • Choosing whether to use SBAS and/or PPP corrections

  • Enabling or disabling OSNMA authentication

  • Activating GNSS-based interference mitigation features

Please note that the default configuration is already optimized for most applications. These advanced settings are primarily intended for specialized or edge-case use cases.

New motion profiles

A new motion profile has been added with this firmware release, expanding its capability to handle a wider range of applications:

  • Fixed Wing UAV: for fixed wing aircraft that primarily move forward and execute coordinated turns

Alignment flag behavior update

The previous INS alignment flag SBG_ECOM_SOL_ALIGN_VALID was overly restrictive for non-RTK operations, often leading to a misleading interpretation of the alignment state.

Firmware v3.3 presents a new definition of the alignment flag to better reflect the actual convergence of the navigation solution for RTK and non-RTK users.

If the alignment flag SBG_ECOM_SOL_ALIGN_VALID was previously used to trigger system-level decisions, its usage must be requalified.

SBG Systems recommend monitoring this flag as an indication of solution convergence, but not using it to trigger critical actions. Instead, solution standard deviations should be used as the primary criteria for decision-making.

Release 3.3.464-stable

New features

  • [ELFW-468] - GNSS: Add internal receiver configuration to enable/disable specific constellations
  • [ELFW-469] - GNSS: Add internal receiver configuration to enable/disable OSNMA
  • [ELFW-471] - GNSS: Add internal receiver configuration to enable/disable SBAS/PPP usage
  • [ELFW-472] - GNSS: Add internal receiver configuration to enable/disable Interference Mitigations
  • [ELFW-451] - Add support for Air Data aiding in the INS navigation filter  
  • [ELFW-475] - Add support of 3D generic velocity aiding
  • [ELFW-513] - Add support of 3D generic position aiding
  • [ELFW-579] - Add an option to manually input a coarse initial attitude
  • [ELFW-453] - Add an optional heading offset on the NMEA HDT output
  • [ELFW-477] - Add support for new OSNMA log and configuration
  • [ELFW-490] - Add jamming/spoofing flags output in sbgECan protocol
  • [ELFW-493] - Add new true heading fields to CAN output message
  • [ELFW-496] - Add GSA, ZDA, GST frames from direct GNSS mode
  • [ELFW-497] - Add new GSA NMEA frame (from INS)
  • [ELFW-608] - Implement PTNL AVR NMEA 
  • [ELFW-510] - Add new North, East, Down wind speed and wind speed standard deviation output
  • [ELFW-511] - Add new EKF status flags to support Air Data aiding
  • [ELFW-527] - Add new motion profile "Fixed wing UAV"
  • [ELFW-562] - Support Nortek Nucleus DVL

Improvements

  • [ELFW-499] - Increase maximum attitude, velocity and position validity thresholds
  • [ELFW-534] - Add UBX message UBX-SEC-SIG to the raw GNSS output for U-Blox GNSS receiver
  • [ELFW-559] - Refactor INS alignment flag for better behavior without RTK
  • [ELFW-572] - Odometer: remove deprecated SBG_ECOM_ODO_TIME_SYNC status flag
  • [ELFW-578] - Update OSNMA public key

Bug Fixes

  • [ELFW-454] - Fix CAN air data category that was using magnetometer
  • [ELFW-504] - Fix Sync Out signal that is missing for the first 1s
  • [ELFW-517] - Fix generation of AT_ITINS messages
  • [ELFW-523] - gnssHDT is enabled instead of gnssVTG
  • [ELFW-525] - Output monitoring point not taken into account in SBG_ECOM_LOG_EKF_ROT_ACCEL_BODY
  • [ELFW-547] - CAN: Fix differential age field of SBG_ECAN_MSG_GPSX_POS_ALT
  • [ELFW-619] - Remove WASSP message from land/air versions