We’re thrilled to announce that we made the shortlist for the AutoTech Awards – Automotive Product of the Year. A big congratulations to the FocalPoint team, and to the winners of the category – Eyeris.

Whilst we did not win this title it is a huge privilege to have achieved shortlist status based on the potential global societal impact of our product. Since launching our solution into the market last November at Reuters Automotive, we’ve been on an incredible journey, helping the industry overcome the barriers to accurate positioning whilst extending the capabilities of ADAS and future autonomous vehicles.

In this blog post, we take the opportunity to reflect on our success and provide a summary of the proposition behind S-GNSS® Auto.

Next generation GNSS technology

With S-GNSS® Auto, we’ve been helping to overcome barriers to accurate positioning, alleviating the pressure on other vehicle sensors and enhancing overall system performance. Delivering up to 10x better GNSS accuracy for ADAS, our software enhances the accuracy of a GNSS receiver, providing a positioning solution that unlocks new capabilities and driver benefits.

Powered by our patented SupercorrelationTM technology, S-GNSS® Auto is capable of determining absolute location in chaotic environments, where signal reflection has previously made it impossible – improving the accuracy, reliability and security of vehicle GNSS.

How it works

S-GNSS® Auto uses software to create a directional antenna that can be pointed in any direction. Targeting the satellite directly means any signal arriving from any other angle is effectively ignored. This enables the following technical capabilities:

• Line-of-sight signal boost: The actual signal you want is boosted in signal strength. This means the receiver can track the satellite even through layers of brick.

• Non-line of sight signal rejection: Any undesirable signals (e.g., reflections from buildings) that would corrupt the position calculation are automatically excluded.

• Interference reduction: Noise that could cause traditional GPS receivers to fail is attenuated, allowing for the satellite to be measured clearly.

Line-of-sight signal boost: The actual signal you want is boosted in signal strength. This means the receiver can track the satellite even through layers of brick.

Non-line of sight signal rejection: Any undesirable signals (e.g., reflections from buildings) that would corrupt the position calculation are automatically excluded.

Interference reduction: Noise that could cause traditional GPS receivers to fail is attenuated, allowing for the satellite to be measured clearly.

Diagram of an S-GNSS® receiver

oExisting software available aims to achieve this, but they are typically based on statistical methods that can be unreliable and end up including ‘bad’ data and excluding the ‘good’. Hardware options, such as high-cost antenna options can similarly fail to include/exclude the correct signals and are often unsuitable for mass adoption due to cost pressures on system designers.

Benefits of S-GNSS® Auto

The core customer benefits of S-GNSS® Auto include:

1. Positioning upgrade
   Trials have demonstrated vast accuracy, sensitivity and reliability improvements of GNSS measurements for use in vehicle systems by rejecting urban multipath interference. By measuring only the line of site signals, S-GNSS® Auto helps to maximise ADAS uptime in previously difficult environments. By improving the overall quality of GNSS measurements, the positioning subsystem can support safe decision-making and help OEMs, including GM, meet their engineering challenges and desire for consistent accuracy.

2. Cost-effective scalability
   Setting a new standard for GNSS performance and cyber-security, S-GNSS® Auto provides an innovative cost-effective software solution, typically previously associated only with expensive hardware or infrastructure. The software can run either on the GNSS chip or downstream, providing automakers with a flexible and scalable upgrade to their ADAS and autonomous driving systems.

3. Spoofer mitigation
   With the growing importance of cyber security within a software-defined vehicle, the inbuilt spoofing mitigation functionality within S-GNSS® Auto aligns with the future cyber-security supply chain framework. By excluding fake signals, the software prevents them from disrupting receiver operation, with the option to also detect the spoofer’s location. Learn more about GNSS spoofing.

Positioning upgrade
Trials have demonstrated vast accuracy, sensitivity and reliability improvements of GNSS measurements for use in vehicle systems by rejecting urban multipath interference. By measuring only the line of site signals, S-GNSS® Auto helps to maximise ADAS uptime in previously difficult environments. By improving the overall quality of GNSS measurements, the positioning subsystem can support safe decision-making and help OEMs, including GM, meet their engineering challenges and desire for consistent accuracy.

Cost-effective scalability
Setting a new standard for GNSS performance and cyber-security, S-GNSS® Auto provides an innovative cost-effective software solution, typically previously associated only with expensive hardware or infrastructure. The software can run either on the GNSS chip or downstream, providing automakers with a flexible and scalable upgrade to their ADAS and autonomous driving systems.

Spoofer mitigation
With the growing importance of cyber security within a software-defined vehicle, the inbuilt spoofing mitigation functionality within S-GNSS® Auto aligns with the future cyber-security supply chain framework. By excluding fake signals, the software prevents them from disrupting receiver operation, with the option to also detect the spoofer’s location. Learn more about GNSS spoofing.

Industry recognition

Our Supercorrelation™ technology powering S-GNSS® Auto has received multiple accolades from the prestigious UK Royal Institute of Navigation and the US Institute of Navigation. In 2023, the judges of the National Technology awards deemed FocalPoint’s technology a “very exciting SpaceTech innovation with huge growth potential”, resulting in a win in the Security Innovation of the Year category, in addition to being awarded the Institute of Physics (IOP) Business Innovation Award.

Interested to find out more? Our whitepaper explores real-life use cases of how S-GNSS Auto® is bridging the gap to full autonomy and has a major role to play in improving safety and efficiency on our roads. Download it here.