Speaking at a session completely dedicated to autonomous vehicles, GSA Head of Market Development Gian-Gherardo Calini said that accurate and reliable positioning information is a clear enabler for autonomous vehicles. “With its dual frequencies, better reliability and ability to cope with multi-path characteristics in urban environments, Galileo could be a big differentiator in this potentially huge market,” he said.

However, implementing the technologies is challenging. For example, according to Centro Ricerche Fiat Programme Manager Luisa Andreone, the higher you moved up the automation levels in vehicles, the more accurate the positioning requirements are. Other key elements are signal availability, integrity, affordability and regulations. Furthermore, complementary techniques for positioning are also important. According to the ISMB Head of Research Area, Multi-Layer Wireless Solutions, Dr Riccardo Scopigno, more precise, absolute and authenticated position data is needed at higher levels of automation. He is confident, however, that this can be obtained using Galileo signals in an intelligent data fusion with information from other sensor systems.

BASELABS GmbH project specialist and GNSS researcher Marcus Obst agreed, saying that integration of data reduced ambiguities and allowed the definition of robust and safe autonomous processes. Magneti Marelli S.p.A. professional expert Evaldo Bruci added that precise positioning must work hand-in-hand with image processing and also with accurate maps. He estimated that to achieve reliable and safe autonomous driving, a minimum of 20-centimetre position accuracy was needed. In addition, technical solutions for mass-market implementation must not significantly add to the current cost of a vehicle.