General Motors’ is using Trimble RTX (Real-Time eXtended) technology as the GNSS/GPS correction source to deliver absolute positioning to vehicles equipped with GM’s Super Cruise hands-free highway driving system, now available on the 2018 Cadillac CT6.
Super Cruise featuring Trimble RTX technology plays an important role in maintaining lane position for hands-free driving on divided highways.
Trimble has a long history of pioneering automation and vehicle autonomy to improve productivity—from providing positioning solutions for some of the earliest robotic applications in the 1990s to delivering automated steering for farm tractors, automated blade control for earthmoving equipment and providing advanced positioning technology for fully autonomous trucks.
Trimble is now enabling semi-autonomous operations for passenger vehicles with Trimble RTX technology, delivering high-accuracy GNSS corrections via a global network to support absolute vehicle positioning in combination with other sensors and inertial dead-reckoning.
“Through our collaboration, the combined technologies of GM and Trimble will transform the way the world drives,” said Patricia Boothe, vice president of Trimble’s Advanced Positioning Division.
“Trimble RTX is now influencing how we interact with our vehicles and the environment around them—helping to minimize driver fatigue and improve the assisted driving experience.”
Trimble RTX technology provides real-time, multi-constellation GNSS positioning capable of achieving better than 1.5 inches accuracy, claims the company, whereas standard GPS signals can drift up to 25 feet, which could cause incorrect lane identification.
Lane-level accuracy is a critical enabler in advanced driver assistance systems increasingly being used on highways. When used in conjunction with high-definition maps, cameras, radar and inertial sensors, the technology improves lane-level positioning performance for semi-autonomous and autonomous vehicles.
RTX technology uses signals captured by more than 100 Trimble GNSS reference stations around the globe. It corrects the signals for atmospheric conditions, satellite orbit and time synchronization errors and then sends those signals to GM vehicles with Super Cruise via OnStar 4G LTE cellular.
The Trimble network is supported by redundant servers that are monitored 24/7 by a team of network engineers and IT specialists ensuring optimal signal performance and reliability for drivers who will depend on it.
