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Researchers at the University of Warwick will investigate the concept, which involves “fusing” internet signals with information from Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), such as GPS.
Reliable safety is critical for widespread adoption of autonomous vehicles, said lead researcher Dr Matthew Higgins, but reliance on a single location service can cause issues. Many cars depend on GPS signals, which are prone to interference from buildings and other features in urban environments.
This is where the highest level of accuracy is needed, the team said, because of increasing populations and traffic levels. To counter the issue, they hope to harness cities’ ubiquitous WiFi signals to improve cars’ location accuracy and avoid preventable accidents.
Funded by Innovate UK and led by Spirent Communications, the team behind the £694,000 project hope to fuse WiFi and GNSS signals in a “cost-effective, repeatable and safe environment,” contributing to driverless car development.
“In the autonomous vehicle sector, location accuracy can vary by up to 5m, which is unacceptable from a safety perspective,” said Mark Holbrow, director of engineering at Spirent. “Bringing that accuracy down to 30cm through sensor fusion will have substantial implications for autonomous navigation.”
Currently simulations fusing the two signals can only be done in an “ad hoc” way, Holbrow said, not allowing for moving vehicles, repeatable testing and other parameters.
Over 18 months, the researchers will take WiFi and GNSS signal measurements from around their university campus and local urban roads. Spirent will then develop a model using the measurements, so manufacturers can test its performance.
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