Oxfordshire's Helix Geospace to address satellite navigation challenges in urban areas

Oxfordshire-based Helix Geospace revealed it had been selected for a key project aimed at addressing the challenges of satellite navigation in the UK's urban areas.

The initiative, in which the Abingdon-based tech group will collaborate with Sony, represents a step forward for the UK's connected and automated mobility (CAM) sector on the global stage.

READ MORE: Harwell's Helix Geospace secures space on Future Flights challenge project

Its participation in the Zenzic CAM scale-up programme exploitation phase, will see the group develop an Advanced Adaptive Antenna that overcomes global navigation satellite system (GNSS) resilience challenges in urban environments.

Helix specialises in building precision GPS antennas which allow designers to create the smallest, most accurate positioning, navigation and time synchronisation products.

Urban environments, such as cities, represent a number of challenges for reliable satellite navigation, not least caused by signal interference from tall buildings and infrastucture.

This leads to problems such as design constraints as well as obstructions reducing the number of satellites a receiver can access. A high density of devices also leads to so-called signal crowding.

But the company's advanced adaptive GNSS antenna system can combat these urban challenges, it said,

While standard GNSS solutions, such as GPS, typically offer positional accuracy of 5 to ten meters, the firm's technology delivers resilient, centimetre-level precision.

The system is based on Dielectrix technology, with a design that minimises intra-element coupling.

Sony’s CXD5610 chipset add multi-constellation GNSS support (L1 and L5 bands) for improved accuracy and it operates with ultra-low power consumption at just 5.6 mW in low-power mode. In addition, its compact footprint makes it ideal for space-constrained applications.

Helix Geospace said that by combining multi-band capabilities, advanced algorithms, and energy efficiency, the system enhances battery performance and reduces costs, making it an excellent choice for mass-market IoT and mobility applications.