Bosch, Geo Plus Plus, Mitsubishi Electric, and Sapkoda Co., Ltd. established

u-blox announced that it is establishing Sapcorda Services GmbH through a joint venture with Bosch, Geo++, and Mitsubishi Electric to supply high-precision latitude navigation system positioning services for mass market applications.

The four companies participating in the joint venture recognized that existing GNSS positioning service solutions do not address the actual needs arising in the newly emerging high-precision GNSS market and proceeded to establish this joint venture.

These four companies have agreed to develop a globally affordable solution that offers high availability for system integrators, OEMs, and receiver manufacturers, and will incorporate each company's unique expertise into Sapcorda Services.

Sapcorda plans to introduce a GNSS positioning service available worldwide via the Internet and satellite communication, and will achieve centimeter-level accuracy. The service is designed for large-scale automotive, industrial, and consumer markets, and the real-time calibration data service will be provided openly and developed in a format that is not tied to receiver hardware or systems. Specific information regarding this is scheduled to be released at the end of this year.

Jumana Al-Sibai, Head of Chassis Systems Control at Bosch, expressed his aspirations, stating, "Through this joint venture, we plan to develop a GNSS positioning service that will perfectly address all requirements regarding positioning sensors in the automotive sector. Autonomous driving can only be realized with built-in safety features and the highest level of precision."

"Gerhard Wübbena, Founder and Chairman of Geo++, said, 'Geo++, together with Bosch, Mitsubishi Electric, and u-blox, will redefine the future of high-precision positioning services. We believe that the combination of our partners' long-standing leadership in automotive and mass-market solutions and Sapcorda's commitment to format openness will mark the beginning of a new history for next-generation GNSS applications.'"

Masamitsu Okamura, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Electronic Systems Business Unit at Mitsubishi Electric, stated, "Mitsubishi Electric is utilizing 'centimeter-level positioning enhancement' using augmentation data distributed by Sapcorda and the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) promoted by the Japanese government."
“We aim to contribute to the creation of a global market for high-precision positioning systems by utilizing the ‘Centimeter Level Augmentation Service (CLAS).’ These efforts will lead to support for autonomous driving and safe driving,” he said.