Swiss developer of positioning and wireless communication technologies for the automotive and other markets, u-Blox has announced that Siemens has integrated its ZED‑F9K high-precision dead reckoning module into its Toyota Prius vehicle‑to‑everything (V2X) test fleet.
As the only available source of absolute position, satellite‑based positioning plays a crucial role in advanced driver automation systems and driverless vehicles. The same is true in V2X communications, in which vehicles continuously share their location and other information with other traffic participants, such as cars and pedestrians, as well as the surrounding infrastructure, in order to improve road safety and reduce traffic congestion. V2X test vehicles typically determine their position using high‑end, expensive GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) receivers. While these provide highly accurate position information, they fail to realistically represent the hardware that will be deployed in vehicles produced for the mass market.
Using a low-latency position update rate of up to 30Hz, u-Blox’s ZED‑F9K turnkey module minimizes the effort required to achieve decimeter‑level positioning accuracy in automotive applications. By opting to use the ZED‑F9K turnkey solution for high precision dead reckoning, Siemens was able to align the performance of its V2X test fleet with real-world conditions while also reducing the cost and the engineering effort required to develop their vehicles. Siemens has recently carried out live demonstrations of the technology at the ITS European Congress 2019 in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
“We’ve had a very positive experience with u-Blox’s ZED‑F9K high precision dead reckoning solution. The product delivered strongly from the initial design‑in to the data and performance in our first tests,” said Igor Passchier, engineering fellow for connected and automated driving at Siemens PLM Software. “It underscores the reputation of u-Blox as a trusted innovator in GNSS technology.”
Alex Ngi, head of product strategy for dead reckoning and product center positioning at u-Blox, commented, “Our collaboration with Siemens shows the extent to which the ZED‑F9K turnkey solution saves OEMs time, cost, and engineering effort while providing decimeter‑level positioning performance. For us, it has also been a welcome opportunity to contribute to solving the challenges in the autonomous driving ecosystem.”
