GMV takes another step in the provision of positioning technology for automated driving

This new contract cements GMV’s position as an automotive supplier of safe, reliable, and precise positioning solutions based on global navigation satellite systems.

GMV’s safe and precise positioning solution will meet the extended performance and safety requirements for the next generation of automated vehicles and the developed software will abide by the highest quality levels and the most demanding automotive standards.

The technology multinational GMV has been chosen again by the premium car manufacturer BMW Group for the supply of the next generation of safe and precise positioning technology for automated driving.

Following an ambitious roadmap, GMV’s positioning solution comprised by two components -an onboard Positioning Engine software (PE) and a GNSS Corrections Service (CS) providing the vehicles with corrections to the Broadcast GNSS Ephemeris, augmentation data and safety-related information for computing an accurate and reliable user position- will be enhanced by incorporating new features which will lead to even better performance than the one already in place.

Both CS and PE have been developed, validated, and evolved over the last years in order to be able to cope with the requirements laid down by the different GNSS-based high‑accuracy positioning markets, including the automotive market, for which ISO 26262 and ISO 21448 (SOTIF) (among others), the strictest automotive standards, plus the highly demanding quality practices for critical software have been adopted.

This milestone will allow to capitalize on all the work carried out so far and bring to market an enhanced product, evolved according to the most demanding needs of automated driving where new features targeting the increase of the Operational Design Domain of the localization function in highways, the improvement of performance in urban environments or the incorporation of further constellations to the ones currently used will be included.

This new contract cements GMV’s position as an automotive supplier of safe, reliable, and precise positioning solutions based on global navigation satellite systems and consolidates the Spanish multinational as one of the main worldwide providers of GNSS based safe positioning solutions.

In the words of GMV’s General Manager of Intelligent Transportation Systems, Miguel Ángel Martínez Olagüe: “GMV has been investing for many years in the key GNSS technologies that the most demanding OEMs will require for its automated driving systems. For our company, this new contract with the BMW Group represents a unique opportunity to consolidate as leaders in the supply of reliable positioning information, providing a product with outstanding performances for the automotive industry”.

A wealth of experience and proven expertise

GMV has more than 30 years’ experience in the GNSS domain and has been targeting safe and accurate positioning systems for more than 20 years. The company has also more than 18 years’ experience in the supply of software for the automotive sector, working with both automotive OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers.

The GNSS safe and precise positioning solution, GMV GSharp, for Automotive provides high-accuracy, safe and reliable positioning information (position, velocity, and heading), which is later combined with automated driving functions. The safe positioning solution is based on satellite navigation (GNSS) technologies, hybridized with other sensors in the vehicle, such as Inertial Measurement Units, Wheel Speed sensors or Odometers. GMV has developed a Positioning Engine software, which works embedded in the vehicle, and supplies the Correction Service, which is a server-based element broadcasting augmentation data to the Positioning Engine through the Internet.

Both Correction Service and Positioning Engine are developed following the ISO 26262 and ISO 21448 standards to ensure compliance with safety requirements. The solution also complies with the concept of security-from-design as per ISO 21434, including the necessary counter-measures in the SW and system and in the GNSS‑related attack detection (anti-spoofing and anti-jamming schemes). The most demanding automotive project management practices and the strict industry standards for software engineering (A-SPICE CL3) have been applied during its development.