Innnovative Cooperative clOud Navigation (ICON)
Last Updated: 22/07/2024 08:02 Created at: 22/07/2024 08:02
Final Presentation of NAVISP Project EL1-007 now available:
On Thursday July 18th, 2024, GMV NSL Ltd presented the results of the NAVISP EL1-007 project “Cooperative navigation and cloud processing”.
The Internet of Things (IoT) and Smart Cities have experienced significant growth in recent years, coinciding with the expansion of cloud platforms that offer on-demand data storage and processing capabilities. This technological convergence has given rise to new applications and services in the positioning domain, particularly relevant for specific use cases. The cloud processing of GNSS signal snapshots has emerged as a promising approach, offering potential benefits in power consumption and computational efficiency by offloading processing tasks from local devices. Additionally, cloud processing enables the implementation of complex positioning solutions that require substantial computational resources or rely on extensive assistance information, such as detailed 3D-maps or fingerprinting data. Furthermore, the crowd-sourcing and cooperative processing of GNSS signal snapshots and sensor data from Internet-connected devices open up possibilities for novel positioning and navigation applications and techniques.
In this context, the ICON project aimed to develop a Concept Demonstrator to explore innovative navigation techniques that leverage various positioning technologies and sensors, enabled by high-speed, low-latency wireless communication networks and cloud-based data/signal processing. The project focused on studying cooperative processing and data crowd-sourcing methods facilitated by cloud processing of measurements from multiple peer users. Key design factors include the use of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products and wireless communication platforms, avoiding reliance on infrastructure or location-specific information. The project targeted different use cases, such as IoT and Location-Based Services (LBS), with an emphasis on solutions suitable for cloud processing and representative of state-of-the-art technologies.
Heart of the project was the development of a sophisticated Cloud Cooperative Processing Module (CCPM) as its core system. This module integrates various positioning algorithms, including snapshot GNSS processing, SoOp fingerprinting, pedestrian dead reckoning (PDR), and peer-to-peer ranging, along with sensor fusion for comprehensive PVT solutions. Deployed on AWS, the system utilizes advanced cloud services for efficient data processing and storage. A key innovation of ICON is its 2D peer position solution, which employs collaborative positioning techniques to enhance accuracy in GNSS-challenged environments. This approach uses peer-to-peer measurements and known positions to iteratively refine device locations within a network, demonstrating improved tolerance to errors compared to traditional methods. During extended validation trials, the ICON CCPM showed robust performance, advancing critical technologies in PDR, peer-to-peer positioning, and multi-sensor fusion. While Wi-Fi RTT didn't meet expectations for peer-to-peer measurements, UWB technology emerged as a promising alternative for future developments which is encouraging considering the progress of the deployment of UWB in commercial devices.
The project has established a strong foundation for further research, identifying potential advancements in next-generation GNSS signal processing, low-power operation, and enhanced sensitivity. Future work will likely focus on exploring emerging wireless technologies and refining sensor fusion algorithms to improve accuracy and reliability across diverse environments.
In conclusion, ICON has successfully demonstrated the viability of cloud-based cooperative positioning for IoT and Smart City applications. Its modular architecture and innovative algorithms provide a solid framework for future advancements, paving the way for more efficient, accurate, and adaptable positioning solutions in modern urban and IoT landscapes.
The project was carried out in the scope of NAVISP Element 1, which is dedicated to technology innovation of the European industry in the wide PNT sector.
More detailed information can be found in the slides of the Final Presentation.