The Core Value of High-Precision Multi-Sensor Fusion Navigation in Modern Autonomous Driving
Modern autonomous vehicles have been widely used in key scenarios such as urban commuting, highway transportation, and logistics delivery. Their operating environments cover complex road conditions including urban canyons, tunnels, underground garages, and dense forests, facing three severe challenges: GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) signal loss, complex environmental interference, and high-precision positioning requirements. Traditional single GNSS navigation solutions are prone to positioning interruptions and reduced accuracy in signal-shielded areas, failing to meet the core demand for continuous, reliable, and high-precision positioning in autonomous driving. However, the AsteRx-i3 S Pro+ , relying on high-precision GNSS/INS technology and a multi-sensor fusion navigation system composed of lidar and cameras, becomes the key to solving this dilemma, endowing autonomous vehicles with a “stable and reliable navigation brain”.
Why Autonomous Driving Must Rely on Advanced Multi-Sensor Fusion Solutions
During autonomous driving, vehicles often encounter GNSS signal loss or severe interference in scenarios such as tunnels and underground garages. Single-sensor solutions have inherent limitations: pure inertial navigation is prone to error accumulation over time, lidar is susceptible to environmental factors like rain and fog, and camera-based positioning is restricted by lighting conditions. Only a multi-sensor fusion solution integrating GNSS/INS, lidar, and cameras can achieve complementary advantages — GNSS/INS provides a foundation for continuous positioning, lidar offers high-precision environmental perception, and cameras assist in scene recognition and positioning correction, achieving the navigation effect of “seamless switching, continuous stability, and high-precision positioning” and avoiding operational risks, route deviations, and even safety accidents caused by positioning interruptions.
Core Advantages of the Septentrio AsteRx-i3 S Pro+ GNSS/INS Board
As a professional-grade GNSS/INS solution designed for complex dynamic scenarios, the AsteRx-i3 S Pro+ focuses on “high-precision fusion, continuous reliability, and flexible compatibility”, perfectly matching the special needs of autonomous driving with prominent core advantages:
Full-Constellation, High-Channel Signal Reception Capability
Equipped with 544 hardware channels, it supports simultaneous tracking of full-constellation GNSS signals (GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, QZSS, SBAS). Even in complex urban electromagnetic environments or under signal interference, it can quickly capture stable signals, complete position calibration and data updates, laying a solid foundation for multi-sensor fusion.
Advanced GNSS+ Technology Suite for Stable Signals
Relying on Septentrio’s proprietary GNSS+ technology suite, it provides full-process protection for autonomous driving navigation:
AIM+ Advanced Anti-Interference and Anti-Spoofing Technology: Resists electromagnetic interference from on-board electronic equipment and external malicious signal spoofing, ensuring pure GNSS signals during normal driving;
APME+ Multipath Suppression Technology: Eliminates signal errors caused by reflections from buildings, roads, etc., improving positioning accuracy in urban canyons and complex road conditions;
LOCK+ Stable Tracking Technology: Maintains uninterrupted signal tracking under vehicle vibration, high-speed driving, strong wind disturbance, etc., ensuring reliable transmission of positioning data;
FUSE+ Sensor Fusion Technology: Deeply integrates GNSS positioning and IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) data, providing long-time high-precision dead reckoning for signal loss phases.
High-Precision Positioning and Attitude Perception: Precise Control of Driving Trajectory
It features centimeter-level RTK-INS positioning accuracy (horizontal: 0.6 cm + 0.5 ppm; vertical: 1 cm + 1 ppm). In dual-antenna RTK mode, the heading accuracy reaches 0.15° and the pitch/roll accuracy is 0.02°; even a single antenna can output complete attitude data, perfectly adapting to the compact layout of autonomous vehicles. The speed accuracy of 0.02 m/s in RTK mode can accurately capture trajectory deviations caused by vehicle movement and road conditions, ensuring the driving path does not deviate from the preset route.
In-Depth Integration Application with Autonomous Driving Multi-Sensor Systems
The AsteRx-i3 S Pro+ can be integrated into the autonomous driving multi-sensor navigation system without complex modifications, transforming technical advantages into actual driving safety and efficiency:
Seamless Switching Navigation Guarantee in Signal Loss Scenarios
The FUSE+ sensor fusion technology supports long-time high-precision dead reckoning. When GNSS signals are lost (such as in tunnels and underground garages), it can independently maintain high-precision positioning output, greatly reducing reliance on GNSS signals, extending the continuous positioning time in signal-shielded areas, and ensuring the smooth progress of autonomous driving tasks.
Rugged Design for Extreme Environments
Adopting military-grade rugged standards, the operating temperature ranges from -40°C to +85°C, capable of withstanding temperature fluctuations caused by extreme weather and heat dissipation of on-board electronic equipment; it complies with MIL-STD-810G vibration standards to resist vehicle chassis vibration and road impact; 5% – 95% (non-condensing) humidity adaptability and RoHS environmental certification adapt to the long-term stable operation of the closed space of the on-board electronic control cabin.
Lightweight and Low-Power Adaptation
The board weighs only 30 grams and has a volume of 47.5×70×10.5mm, which can be flexibly installed in the limited space of the on-board electronic control unit; the ultra-low power consumption of 1.0W-1.2W will not additionally increase the vehicle’s energy burden, ensuring the endurance of autonomous vehicles and avoiding task interruptions due to insufficient power.
Multi-Device Collaborative Compatibility
It supports standard data formats such as SBF, NMEA 0183, and RTCM, and can seamlessly collaborate with on-board devices of autonomous vehicles such as lidar, cameras, and vehicle control systems, synchronously outputting raw GNSS/IMU data to provide complete support for multi-sensor fusion analysis, driving data traceback, and trajectory optimization; the intuitive Web interface and SDK tools simplify the system integration and parameter debugging process, reducing the difficulty of multi-sensor collaborative development.
AsteRx-i3 S Pro+: The Reliable Core of Autonomous Driving Navigation
This board endows autonomous vehicles with the dual guarantee of “high-precision positioning + continuous stability”, becoming an indispensable core equipment for autonomous driving:
Improve Driving Safety and Operational Efficiency
High-precision positioning and attitude data ensure the accuracy of vehicle trajectory control, obstacle avoidance decisions, and route planning, providing high-credibility data support for safe driving and efficient transportation, and avoiding safety risks and efficiency losses caused by positioning errors.
Adapt to Diverse Autonomous Driving Application Scenarios
From urban road autonomous commuting, highway high-speed driving, to complex area logistics delivery and closed-scenario unmanned transportation, it can adapt to various autonomous vehicle platforms and meet the navigation needs of different driving scenarios.
Support the Upgrade and Iteration of Autonomous Driving Technology
Full-constellation compatibility and advanced sensor fusion technology can meet the intelligent upgrade needs of future autonomous vehicles, providing a stable navigation foundation for equipping more advanced perception sensors and intelligent decision-making systems, and helping autonomous driving develop towards higher safety, higher efficiency, and full-scenario adaptation.
Significant Investment Value for the Future
Choosing the AsteRx-i3 S Pro+ is a great guarantee for autonomous vehicles, equipping research teams with cutting-edge GNSS/INS technology and safety assurance technology for users.
Summary:
Modern autonomous vehicles face challenges such as GNSS signal loss, urban interference, and the need for continuous centimeter-level positioning. Traditional single-sensor solutions cannot guarantee stable navigation. The Septentrio AsteRx-i3 S Pro+ GNSS/INS board solves this by combining multi-constellation GNSS, high-precision inertial navigation, and multi-sensor fusion with lidar and cameras. With 544 channels, RTK-INS accuracy, advanced GNSS+ technologies (AIM+, APME+, LOCK+, FUSE+), and highly reliable dead reckoning, it provides seamless positioning during tunnels, urban canyons, and garages. Its rugged, lightweight, low-power design and compatibility with standard data formats enable easy integration with autonomous driving systems. Overall, the AsteRx-i3 S Pro+ delivers stable, continuous, and precise navigation—enhancing safety, efficiency, and supporting future autonomous vehicle advancements.
