This case study looks at how Point One Navigation GPS location services are enhancing the capabilities of autonomous delivery vehicles from Faction Technology Inc. The result is enhanced and reliable localization for Faction’s fleet.
Problem: Making autonomy affordable
Driverless delivery vehicles won’t go mainstream until they are safe, reliable, inexpensive, and, most importantly, profitable. Faction develops driverless vehicle systems for vehicle manufacturers that combine computer-controlled autonomy with remote human (TeleAssist) operators to create driverless last-mile curbside delivery and logistics fleets.
The South San Francisco-based company works directly with OEM manufacturers to incorporate its autonomous systems into vehicles. Faction is currently testing its systems on small electric vehicles for last-mile deliveries within busy city centers and suburbs.
Today, most vehicle manufacturers who are converting their fleets to autonomous vehicles use complex perception solutions with lidar, radar, computer vision, and GPS to help their vehicles avoid obstacles and navigate safely on public roads. Unfortunately, these systems are often expensive and difficult to train.
One of the biggest challenges for Faction, however, was finding pinpoint GPS systems that are affordable and scalable.
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Solution: Point One Atlas
Faction is working with Point One Navigation to develop the technology that will make autonomous last-mile fleets meet those demands. Factions’ model combines computer vision with accurate GPS positioning and teleoperators. Vehicles using Faction technology “see” using standard video cameras and navigate using precise real-time GPS data.
Teleoperators use this information to monitor delivery vehicle performance and progress and to keep the vehicle within safe operating limits.
“Some GPS systems can cost tens of thousands of dollars,” said Faction CEO Ain McKendrick. “They deliver the accuracy we need, but at that price point, we can’t integrate them into affordable driverless delivery vehicles. We needed something accurate but affordable to deploy on a large scale. Point One is very comparable to some of the more expensive systems out there but at a better price point with excellent accuracy and reliability.”
Faction started working to incorporate Point One Atlas into its driverless delivery system. Faction-equipped vehicles rely on Point One hardware and the Point One Real Time Kinematics (RTK) network. Faction cars and trucks communicate with fixed Point One RTK base stations to help remove common location errors.
With Point One, Faction-equipped vehicles continuously receive precise location data to help them navigate. And because Point One uses inexpensive hardware and an easily expandable network, Faction can easily afford to deploy it in its systems.
Results: Faction builds turnkey autonomous delivery vehicle
“Point One is very comparable to some of the more expensive systems out there, but at a better price point with excellent accuracy and reliability,” said McKendrick. “That makes it a great solution for us because we’re committed to creating a turnkey product that’s appealing to manufacturers.”
