HIGHTS · Project

Centimeter-Accurate Vehicle Positioning Where GPS Fails — For Safer Roads and Autonomous Driving

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You know how your phone GPS gets confused between tall buildings or loses signal in a tunnel? Now imagine that happening to a self-driving car — scary, right? HIGHTS figured out how to combine satellite signals with everyday wireless tech like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and ultra-wideband to pinpoint a vehicle's exact position even in tricky spots like city centers. Think of it as giving cars a much sharper sense of "where am I?" so they can drive safely next to cyclists, stay in formation on highways, and navigate without a human second-guessing the map.

By the numbers

EUR 5,999,616

EU funding for development

consortium partners

countries involved

industry partners in consortium

SMEs in consortium

64%

industry ratio in consortium

total deliverables produced

The business problem

What needed solving

GPS and satellite navigation fail exactly where you need them most — in city centers between tall buildings, inside tunnels, and near overpasses. For connected and autonomous vehicles, a positioning error of even a few meters can mean the difference between safe operation and a collision. Companies building self-driving vehicles, managing truck platoons, or deploying smart city traffic systems cannot rely on satellites alone.

The solution

What was built

The project built a proof-of-concept positioning platform that fuses satellite signals with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, UWB, ITS-G5, ZigBee, and LTE to achieve high-accuracy vehicle positioning. It was integrated into a test vehicle, evaluated at TASS' test site in Helmond under real conditions, and documented across 21 deliverables including a final software package.

Audience

Who needs this

Autonomous vehicle OEMs struggling with positioning in urban environmentsTruck platooning and logistics companies needing lane-level accuracySmart city departments deploying connected intersection safety systemsADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) tier-1 suppliersRoad infrastructure operators managing connected corridors

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Autonomous Vehicle Development

enterprise

Target: Companies building self-driving cars, trucks, or shuttle systems

If you are an autonomous vehicle developer dealing with positioning blind spots in urban canyons and tunnels — this project developed a multi-sensor positioning platform combining satellite, Wi-Fi, UWB, Bluetooth, and ITS-G5 that was tested on real vehicles at TASS' test site in Helmond. With 14 partners and 7 SMEs involved, the solution integrates directly into the ETSI C-ITS architecture your vehicles already use.

Fleet Management & Logistics

mid-size

Target: Trucking and logistics companies operating platooning or last-mile delivery fleets

If you are a logistics operator struggling with imprecise GPS in warehouses, loading docks, or dense city routes — HIGHTS built proof-of-concept systems that combine infrastructure devices and vehicle-to-vehicle communication for high-precision positioning. The platform was designed for platooning use cases and evaluated under real driving conditions with 9 industry partners contributing.

Smart City Infrastructure

enterprise

Target: Municipalities and road operators deploying connected traffic systems

If you are a city traffic authority trying to protect vulnerable road users like pedestrians and cyclists at intersections — this project developed an enhanced European-wide positioning service platform built on open standards and Local Dynamic Maps. The system uses roadside infrastructure and wireless communication to track all road users, and the 21 deliverables include open-source code available to adopt.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to implement this positioning technology?

The project received EUR 5,999,616 in EU funding across 14 partners over 3 years. Individual implementation costs depend on the mix of sensors (UWB, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth) and infrastructure needed. Based on available project data, the proof-of-concept combined infrastructure devices, reference vehicles, and communication equipment — suggesting a modular setup where you can start small.

Can this scale beyond a test track to real roads?

The proof-of-concept was evaluated under real conditions at TASS' test site in Helmond, Netherlands. The architecture was designed to integrate into the ETSI C-ITS facilities layer, which is the European standard for cooperative transport systems — meaning it was built for continent-wide deployment, not just lab demos.

What about intellectual property and licensing?

The project explicitly committed to making codes and prototypes fully open-source and available to both the research community and the automotive industry. Technical publications were published open-access. This suggests low IP barriers to adoption, though specific licensing terms should be confirmed with the consortium.

Does this work with existing vehicle systems?

Yes — the results were designed to integrate into the ETSI C-ITS architecture facilities layer, which is the standard European connected vehicle framework. The system uses common wireless technologies (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, LTE, ITS-G5) that are already present in modern vehicles and roadside units.

What standards and regulations does this align with?

HIGHTS specifically targeted ETSI C-ITS standardization and built on open European standards. The project aimed to bring developed solutions directly to standardization bodies. This means adoption would align with, not fight against, the regulatory direction for connected and autonomous vehicles in Europe.

How long would it take to integrate this into our systems?

The project ran from 2015 to 2018 and produced 21 deliverables including a final platform description, implementation documentation, and a delivered software package. Based on available project data, the integration into a test vehicle was demonstrated, suggesting the technology is past basic research but would still need engineering work for production deployment.

Consortium

Who built it

This is a strongly industry-driven consortium with 9 out of 14 partners coming from industry and a 64% industry ratio — well above average for EU research projects. The 7 SMEs suggest the technology was developed with commercialization in mind, not just academic publication. The consortium spans 5 countries (DE, FR, LU, NL, SE), covering key European automotive markets. The coordinator is Constructor University Bremen (Germany), a private university with strong industry ties. The mix of 3 universities and 2 research organizations provided the scientific backbone, while the industry majority ensured the solutions stayed practical. Testing at TASS in Helmond (Netherlands) — a recognized automotive testing facility — adds credibility to the real-world evaluation claims.

CONSTRUCTOR UNIVERSITY BREMEN GGMBHCoordinator · DE
ZIGPOS GMBHparticipant · DE
PAULSCONSULTANCY BVparticipant · NL
ROBERT BOSCH GMBHparticipant · DE
COMMISSARIAT A L ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVESparticipant · FR
DEUTSCHES ZENTRUM FUR LUFT - UND RAUMFAHRT EVparticipant · DE
INNOTEC21 GMBHparticipant · DE
TASS INTERNATIONALparticipant · NL
IBEO AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS GMBHparticipant · DE
EURECOM GIEparticipant · FR
CHALMERS TEKNISKA HOGSKOLA ABparticipant · SE

How to reach the team

Constructor University Bremen (Germany) — coordinator. SciTransfer can facilitate an introduction to the research team.

Order a report on this consortium See CONSTRUCTOR UNIVERSITY BREMEN GGMBH profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore how HIGHTS positioning technology could solve your vehicle location challenges? SciTransfer can connect you directly with the project team and help assess fit for your specific use case.

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