Korean researchers develop ultrahigh-precision navigation system

A new automobile navigation system that guides motorists in ultrahigh procession with an error margin of 1 meter or less has been developed by Korean researchers for the first time in the world. The technology is about 30 times as precise as the global positioning system, which is currently used in automobile navigations.

The Korea Aerospace Research Institute and the Land, Infrastructure, and Transportation Ministry held an event to demonstrate the "high-precision satellite navigation technology for next-generation road transportation" with an error margin of 1 meter or less (0.2 meter to 0.9 meters) in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province on Tuesday.

The current automobile navigation system offers an error marine of about 15 – 30 meters. As a result, your automobile often has not arrived at your destination even after your navigation system says ‘You have reached your designation’ or deviates from the path. Due to lack of accuracy, the current system cannot be used in self-driving cars that must discern lanes to pass other vehicles or change lanes. To address this problem, Google uses a high-precision navigation device for geological survey, but it is difficult to commercialize it because the device cost tens of thousands of dollars per unit.

The newly-developed technology reduces error margins by adding GPS carrier waves (offer high precision due to short frequency cycles) to the GPS code to reduce error margins significantly, and allows pinpointing of exact locations in real time while on the move. Since the technology can be used by only adding a GPS chip (receiver) that costs around 10 dollars, it can be used in self-driving cars, a next-generation intelligence traffic system (Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems or C-ITS) that requires precision positioning, or commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (drones). “We will transfer the technology to the private sector, and start pilot service in the greater Seoul region from next year,” a ministry source said.

김재영기자 redfoot@donga.com