Performance assessment of positioning by satellites for road transport (SaPPART)

Initial situation
Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) have great potential in the development of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) and mobility services. They are expected to help improve safety, increase capacity and reduce congestion. The road sector is estimated to account for more than 50% of the GNSS market and 75% when mobility services on smartphones are considered. However, the current lack of a pan-European certification process supported by agreed standards prevents the realisation of the expected benefits. The main reason for this is the complexity of defining and assessing the performance of GNSS, which is strongly influenced by the environment and the operational scenario. Activities regarding standardisation in Europe have been initiated. However, many scientific issues are still open on this topic and need a common agreement.

Results
SaPPART, an action under the European Cooperation in Science and Technology Programme, has brought together experts in GNSS, ITS and mobility to discuss the open questions. SaPPART has defined the framework for assessing the performance of GNSS-based terminals for positioning;

• The white paper "Better use of GNSS for safer and greener transport" explains the basics of positioning systems. The focus is on GNSS-based positioning and its application in intelligent transport systems.
• The manual defines framework conditions for the performance management of GNSS-based intelligent transport systems.
• The guidelines provide guidance and recommendations on the issues related to GNSS-based positioning terminals and their performance tests (with field tests and simulations).
• Gap analysis regarding GNSS-based positioning in ITS standards and regulations.
• The last conference was organised jointly with ERTICO. It was called "High Quality Positioning: a Key to Success for Autonomous Driving" and was used to disseminate the results of SaPPART. The concepts of SaPPART have been integrated into current and leading European research projects.

One of our staff members was appointed member of the Swiss Management Committee and leader of the working group on standardisation and certification. Furthermore, he was co-author of the main results of SaPPART.

> PDF | SaPPART report: White Paper

> PDF | SaPPART report: Status of Standardisation and Regulation

> PDF | SaPPART report: Handbook

> PDF | SaPPART report: Guidelines