ATENEA+ - Advanced Techniques for Navigation Receivers and Applications

ATENEA+ is foreseen as a continuation of the ATENEA project (funded under the European Commission 7th Framework Programme). The ATENEA+ project seeks to develop an advanced technology concept for seamless navigation at the cm-level regardless of the environment. It integrates the complementary capabilities of GNSS, inertial navigation and object feature-based navigation from imaging sensors, providing a sophisticated navigation solution in urban environments for a wide range of surveying applications.

The advantages of this sensor integration are maximised adding Galileo constellation and signal capabilities. Within ATENEA, the capabilities of the advanced GNSS/INS/LIDAR integrated system was demonstrated using a realistic simulation platform incorporating real measurements from field-test campaigns.

This project is the natural evolution of ATENEA, integrating the advanced technology concepts derived in the project towards the implementation in a prototype. The innovative multi-sensor real-time receiver will process GPS/Galileo signals, INS measurements, LIDAR features, optical camera images, and odometer observables. The key innovation aspects include:

• Implementation of the first ultra-tightly coupled multi-GNSS/INS/Odometer/LIDAR/RGB receiver prototype.
• Integration of core technologies developed in ATENEA for MBOC/AltBOC tracking, using LiDAR as navigation sensor.
• Real-time processing of all the sensors observables.
• Extensive field-test validation campaign in real urban environments.