zprávy

The IMPACT Accelerator is offering up to €2.1 million plus acceleration services to the best companies and start-ups in the connected vehicle industry in the second and final open call of its IMPACT Connected Car programme.

IMPACT Connected Car was designed by the INNOSUP Initiative under the Horizon 2020 Programme to give a boost to all parts of the connected car value chain, including industry start-ups. With this aim in mind, it is offering start-ups a six-month acceleration programme and will distribute up to €2.1 million equity free, with selected start-ups receiving up to €60,000.

Top start-ups will also have the opportunity to receive private funding of up to €200,000 from participating venture capital funds. What’s more, all participants will be offered a special place in the Connected Car Open Space, a new platform that brings together the connected car community.

Projects selected for the programme will have the opportunity to “smartize” their start-ups while learning from experts in the areas of business, technology, and funding. They will also be able to learn from four pioneer SMEs that are already disrupting the automotive industry and have been integrated into the consortium to inspire other potential disruptors.

GSA as Ambassador

In combination with other automotive sensors and technologies, GNSS has an important role to play in the €141-billion connected car industry. In recognition of this, the GSA is supporting the initiative as an “Ambassador”, fostering communication with start-ups, entrepreneurs and young experts working in the field of satellite navigation. The aim is to attract them to the potential market opportunities offered by connected vehicles and other automotive applications.

The Challenges

IMPACT Connected Car is looking for SMEs and start-ups working on applications that address one or more of the following main challenges:

• SAFETY & SECURITY - functions that warn drivers of external hazards, and vehicle responses to hazards;
• DRIVER ASSISTANCE - functions involving partially or fully automatic driving;
• WELLBEING - functions involving driver comfort and ability and fitness to drive;
• MOBILITY MANAGEMENT - functions that allow the driver to reach a destination quickly, safely and in a cost-efficient manner;
• VEHICLE MANAGEMENT - functions that help the driver/car owner reduce operating costs and improve ease of use;
• INFOTAINMENT - functions involving entertainment of driver and passengers.

However, the scope is not restricted to these six topics. Solutions for other mobility modes/topics are also welcome, so long as they are applicable or transferable to car systems.

More than 500 start-ups applied during the first open call and the programme is now accepting applications for its second and final open call. The deadline for applications is 17:00 CET on 18 October. For more information and to apply, click here.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).

The ARGONAUT project is making low-cost, high-precision GNSS receivers a viable option for all drone operators.

Perhaps nobody understands the need for post-process geolocation accuracy better than drone operators. But being able to satisfy this need is a different story. This is because most of the accurate systems currently on the market capable of offering results within decimetres – such as GNSS receivers – cost thousands of dollars. As this figure is often well-beyond what many drone operators can afford, most have had to settle for less accuracy.

Luckily, things are beginning to change. “We are witnessing exciting times, as low-cost, high-precision GNSS receivers are coming onto the market and challenging the dominance of the older, expensive and overly complex models,” says Xavier Banqué-Casanovas, CEO of Rokubun, the company behind the development of the ARGONAUT project.

ARGONAUT is a fully integrated GNSS receiver designed to meet the need for high-precision geo-location data. It achieves better than 30 cm horizontal accuracy when post-processing is done using JASON Positioning as a Service (PaaS), an adaptable cloud post-processing service developed and regularly updated by Rokubun’s GNSS team.

For high-precision solutions

According to Xavier, the development of ARGONAUT was driven by the need for affordable high-precision geo-location solutions. The result is an innovative combination of GNSS receivers and PaaS perfectly suited to meet the UAV community’s needs with the market’s best cost-accuracy ratio. “Regardless of the task being performed, an accurate GNSS receiver is a must for all UAV models,” says Xavier. “An unmanned system without a proper geolocation solution simply cannot be employed for drone applications for which the final outcome needs to be precisely orthorectified.”

ARGONAUT is equipped to track all global navigation systems, including Galileo, along with such regional systems as EGNOS. According to Xavier, ARGONAUT’s multi-constellation capability increases exposure to more satellites in view, thus greatly enhancing its robustness in reduced sky visibility conditions, such as urban canyons. “For us, the use of Galileo basically translates into being able to provide a better service in harsh environments” he explains.

Using the system

To use the system, all one has to do is mount the ARGONAUT multi-constellation receiver onto the drone. Since it is light and small, it works on all UAV models and serves both as the main GNSS receiver and the synchronising GNSS payload. During flight, the receiver tracks its position, logging it onto the embedded SD card. When you’ve gathered enough data, simply land the drone, remove the SD card from the receiver and upload its data to your computer.

Before post-processing, the measured position typically differs from the actual one, with an error of around two meters. Although this level of accuracy is suitable for navigation, it isn’t enough for high-precision tasks. So, to enhance the geo-location, simply go to the Rokubun JASON cloud service and drag and drop the raw data file to process it. From here, the PaaS uses advanced processing techniques to bring down the level of error to less than half a meter. You then receive instant, ready-to-use accurate positioning and geo-tagged events (such as camera shots). 

Most recently, the company has updated the device’s firmware so it is plug-and-play compatible with Pixhawk2, the most popular professional drone controller. But perhaps the best news is that this level of accuracy is now available for just $350.00 – up to 10 times cheaper than other professional navigation systems. “Used alone or together with our Positioning-as-a-service, ARGONAUT stands out from the competition for combining accuracy and affordability into one state-of-the-art, easy to use solution,” concludes Xavier.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).

The GSA-sponsored ARGONAUT project is making low-cost, high-precision GNSS receivers a viable option for all drone operators.

Perhaps nobody understands the need for post-process geolocation accuracy better than drone operators. But being able to satisfy this need is a different story. This is because most of the accurate systems currently on the market capable of offering results within decimetres – such as GNSS receivers – cost thousands of dollars. As this figure is often well-beyond what many drone operators can afford, most have had to settle for less accuracy.

Luckily, things are beginning to change. “We are witnessing exciting times, as low-cost, high-precision GNSS receivers are coming onto the market and challenging the dominance of the older, expensive and overly complex models,” says Xavier Banqué-Casanovas, CEO of Rokubun, the company behind the development of the GSA-sponsored ARGONAUT project.

ARGONAUT is a fully integrated GNSS receiver designed to meet the need for high-precision geo-location data. It achieves better than 30 cm horizontal accuracy when post-processing is done using JASON Positioning as a Service (PaaS), an adaptable cloud post-processing service developed and regularly updated by Rokubun’s GNSS team.

For high-precision solutions

According to Xavier, the development of ARGONAUT was driven by the need for affordable high-precision geo-location solutions. The result is an innovative combination of GNSS receivers and PaaS perfectly suited to meet the UAV community’s needs with the market’s best cost-accuracy ratio. “Regardless of the task being performed, an accurate GNSS receiver is a must for all UAV models,” says Xavier. “An unmanned system without a proper geolocation solution simply cannot be employed for drone applications for which the final outcome needs to be precisely orthorectified.”

ARGONAUT is equipped to track all global navigation systems, including Galileo, along with such regional systems as EGNOS. According to Xavier, ARGONAUT’s multi-constellation capability increases exposure to more satellites in view, thus greatly enhancing its robustness in reduced sky visibility conditions, such as urban canyons. “For us, the use of Galileo basically translates into being able to provide a better service in harsh environments” he explains.

Using the system

To use the system, all one has to do is mount the ARGONAUT multi-constellation receiver onto the drone. Since it is light and small, it works on all UAV models and serves both as the main GNSS receiver and the synchronising GNSS payload. During flight, the receiver tracks its position, logging it onto the embedded SD card. When you’ve gathered enough data, simply land the drone, remove the SD card from the receiver and upload its data to your computer.

Before post-processing, the measured position typically differs from the actual one, with an error of around two meters. Although this level of accuracy is suitable for navigation, it isn’t enough for high-precision tasks. So, to enhance the geo-location, simply go to the Rokubun JASON cloud service and drag and drop the raw data file to process it. From here, the PaaS uses advanced processing techniques to bring down the level of error to less than half a meter. You then receive instant, ready-to-use accurate positioning and geo-tagged events (such as camera shots). 

Most recently, the company has updated the device’s firmware so it is plug-and-play compatible with Pixhawk2, the most popular professional drone controller. But perhaps the best news is that this level of accuracy is now available for just $350.00 – up to 10 times cheaper than other professional navigation systems. “Used alone or together with our Positioning-as-a-service, ARGONAUT stands out from the competition for combining accuracy and affordability into one state-of-the-art, easy to use solution,” concludes Xavier.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).