Unmanned Systems Technology 009 | Ocean Aero Submaran S10 | Simulation and testing | Farnborough report | 3W-110xi b2 TS HFE FI | USVs | Data storage | Eurosatory/UGS 2016 report

16 I n 2014, a small group of engineers started looking at how to provide highly accurate positioning data for the emerging markets of unmanned systems. They recognised that providing that position information down to 5 cm or even 1 cm accuracy would be key to enabling driverless cars as well as autonomous craft in mining and agriculture. Tackling that challenge would need fundamental changes to the way positioning systems are defined, designed and delivered, says the engineer who set up the safety-critical systems group, Jonathan Auld. His company, NovAtel, produces high- accuracy GNSS satellite positioning systems that are used for testing purposes, but there emerged a growing demand from systems designers for that level of accuracy. “The new engineering team was created in December 2015 but we had a group of people exploring this area a year before,” Auld says. “The original trigger was a few things. We’ve been involved with a lot of automotive companies over the past ten years but never in the sense of building something for the production equipment – it would be a reference system on a test track. “That started to change with ADAS [automated driver assistance systems] and autonomous driving, where we saw we needed the level of performance we got from the reference system, but in the car. So the conversations started on how to get this level of accurate positioning into the automotive world,” he says. “There are also major business opportunities in the UAV market, as well as mining and agriculture, as they move towards the need for a navigation system that is both safe and precise. We have the precision but you need to do things differently to deliver a safe solution. That combination of safety and precision The director of safety-critical systems at GNSS chip supplier NovAtel talks to Nick Flaherty about solving one of the big issues with autonomous vehicles Safe bet Providing accurate and reliable position data is an essential part of the design of driverless vehicles. Technology being developed by NovAtel and partners can provide the position of a vehicle down to 5 cm with known accuracy using signals from satellite systems August/September 2016 | Unmanned Systems Technology