Funded under the European Space Agency’s NAVISP program, the Nav4FutureMobility (N4FM) project has demonstrated a prototype technical supervision service for Level 4 automated driving.
Germany’s new Act on Autonomous Driving requires real-time remote supervision of Level 4 vehicles. This creates demand for monitoring services that can corroborate navigation, detect anomalies, and provide resilience against spoofing or jamming.
Conventional GNSS signals are prone to interference, multipath errors, and outages, especially in cities. N4FM addressed these vulnerabilities by combining GNSS with simulated low earth orbit positioning, navigation, and timing (LEO-PNT) data. Its new, proof-of-concept system, the Mobility Data Center, ensures safer and more reliable navigation for autonomous vehicles.
N4FM was led by DiMOS Operations GmbH, a German Aerospace Center (DLR) spin-off, with key contributions from project partners ANavS GmbH and OTH Regensburg. At a recent ESA-hosted event, project results were presented by Christian Arbinger and Maximilian Möbes of DiMOS, Philipp Bolig of ANavS, and Mathias Gerstner of OTH Regensburg.
Fit for purpose
The Mobility Data Center provides real-time monitoring, anomaly detection, and supervisory tools. To test the system, an advanced simulator generated realistic GNSS and LEO-PNT streams for rigorous, repeatable testing under normal and degraded conditions. A vehicle simulator with hardware and software further validated system performance under realistic, dynamic scenarios.
The consortium compared GNSS-only with hybrid GNSS–LEO-PNT navigation. Results consistently showed improved accuracy, availability, and robustness with LEO-PNT. Test cases included simulated jamming, hardware-in-the-loop evaluations, and hybrid real/simulated scenarios, all confirming the feasibility of remote technical supervision for automated vehicles.
A key finding was the value of LEO satellites in enhancing navigation resilience. Their lower orbit provides stronger signals, fewer multipath errors, and faster updates, making them well-suited to safety-critical mobility such as automated transport and logistics.
These results, partners said, mark a crucial step toward the industrialization of LEO-PNT solutions and the broader adoption of autonomous mobility across Europe. N4FM demonstrates how Europe can leverage emerging LEO-PNT infrastructure to meet legal requirements while positioning itself as a leader in autonomous driving.
A follow-on German initiative, SoLPOINT, also led by DiMOS, will further investigate safety-of-life navigation for automated trucks.
N4FM was funded under ESA’s NAVISP Element 2 program, aimed at building European competitiveness in positioning, navigation, and timing.
