KT develops high-precision location information system for autonomous driving

By Lim Chang-won Posted : September 10, 2019, 13:45 Updated : September 10, 2019, 13:45

[Courtesy of KT]

SEOUL -- KT, a top telecom company in South Korea, has developed a high-precision location information system called Vision GPS, based on LiDAR sensors, that could be used for autonomous driving in crowded urban areas.

LiDAR is a remote sensing technology that measures the distance to a target by illuminating the target with laser light and measuring the reflected light with a sensor. KT said Tuesday that it has used LiDAR sensors to maintain the accuracy of location in downtown areas where GPS performance slows down.

Vision GPS requires no separate 3D image databases by recognizing changes in feature points extracted from LiDAR images and calculating their distance and location, KT said, adding that unlike cameras, stable measurements can be made without being affected by weather or lighting.

If the performance of GPS is suddenly reduced, it is difficult to maintain the lane due to the difficulty of stable operation. Vision GPS ensurs safely driving without being affected by the performance degradation of GPS.

Through the combination of Vision GPS and GPS-RTK (real-time kinematic), a real-time location information system for mobile observation, KT plans to complete verification by the end of the year before applying it to autonomous driving in urban areas. Low-cost GPS-RTK receivers will be provided first to rental cars for demonstration on the southern resort island of Jeju

Many autonomous vehicles rely on sensory units such as radar, LiDAR and special cameras. However, problematic situations could take place when an autonomous vehicle's sensory unit fails or its visual detecting range is limited due to harsh environments.

Technologies such as V2I (vehicle to infrastructure) and V2V (vehicle to vehicle) are based on the new-generation mobile network infrastructure. An autonomous vehicle uses V2I technology to directly communicate with objects such as traffic lights and traffic cameras and V2V to directly communicate with other nearby vehicles.
기사 이미지 확대 보기
닫기