Summary
Fixposition is on a mission to simplify autonomous navigation by increasing reliability and availability of precise positioning. The company develops deep sensor fusion of RTK-GNSS, IMU, and computer vision to ensure high-reliability of centimeter-accurate positioning in all types of environments, even where other systems fail. This technology enables new players to participate in the autonomous robot market and expands the operational opportunities of autonomous robots. Fixposition aims to make an impact and drive the democratization of autonomous solutions.
Problem
Analysts predict the autonomous vehicle market will grow at 60% CAGR over the next decade. The operation of these vehicles, from cars and trucks to completely new types of vehicles, will soon support both human-augmented and fully autonomous modes. These operations require precise data on the location of the vehicle. In autonomous passenger-vehicle solutions, companies have used Lidar to understand the environment around a vehicle and maintain the vehicle's course. Early unicorn-level startups in this space include Ouster, Aeye, and Velodyne Lidar. The cost of Lidar, however, is prohibitive for most smaller autonomous vehicles. These vehicles, such as delivery robots and autonomous lawn mowers have not been able to pass market accuracy requirements due to low precision navigation.
Solution
Fixposition makes a positioning system that delivered high-precision positioning even in locations where satellite positioning is degraded or not available. They achieve this by combining global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and real-time kinematic positioning (RTK) correction with computer vision, inertial sensing, and other inputs. Their solution is 1/10th of the price of competing high-precision GNSS solutions, such as those from Trimble and NovAtel, and can achieve superior performance.
