Successful development of a method to validate GNSS receivers for Autonomous Driving: Final Presentation of NAVISP Project EL2-065 now available

Last Updated: 25/01/2022 07:33     Created at: 25/01/2022 07:33

On Tuesday, January 18, 2022, NavCert, together with the Earth Observation Center of the German Space Agency (DLR) presented the results of the NAVISP project “Validate GNSS receiver for Autonomous Driving” (VaGAD). About 80 people from industry and research followed the interesting presentation and the subsequent interactive Q&A session.

NavCert is a German small/medium sized service company that offers worldwide verification, validation and certification services in the field of positioning and navigation. NavCert as accredited laboratory in the field of GNSS, it supports a large number of customers in their developments by providing independent assessments of GNSS products and solutions. 

A major focus of the automotive industry is currently on the development of safety-critical functions based on absolute positioning via GNSS. The biggest challenge in this context is to determine the integrity, availability and level of protection for dynamic accuracy in critical scenarios. At the same time however, the various stakeholders do not yet have sufficient experience in the validation of GNSS-based absolute positioning information.

Within the scope of NAVISP Element 2, which aims to maintain and improve the capabilities and competitiveness of the participating States' industry in the global market for satellite navigation and, more broadly, PNT technologies and services, NavCert’s main objective was to develop a novel method for the calibration and validation of GNSS receivers for autonomous driving at Level 3 and 4. In particular, the project focused on the validation of GNSS receivers in environments where GNSS data are not sufficiently available, and on the definition of the associated tests and certification procedures. High-resolution aerial images taken simultaneously from a helicopter and precisely georeferenced with ground control points form the basis of the method. These images depict the roof of a vehicle equipped with the signalized GNSS receiver antenna. In combination with a precise elevation model of the road surface, the absolute position of the GNSS receiver can be derived in coordinates from the respective position in the image. As a result, the developed product thus enables a calibration service for GNSS receivers for autonomous driving in real-world conditions (rural, highway, urban environment) by providing high-accuracy, high-integrity reference trajectories to facilitate the validation of safety-critical motion and positioning systems. A key value of the method is that it is independent from GNSS and therefore it is not affected by the same sources of error that the GNSS equipment under test. This has a tremendous value in the certification of the GNSS receivers.

NavCert, together with DLR and with the support of NAVISP, has thus developed a promising and mature method that meets the current needs of the PNT market and is ready to be commercialized. Results of the project will be presented at the International Technical Meeting of the Institute of Navigation later this month in Long Beach, California.

More detailed information can be found in the slides of the Final Presentation.