New Partnership: Helix Geospace and Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation
Oxfordshire, UK— Helix Geospace is pleased to announce its selection for the Zenzic CAM Scale-Up Programme Exploitation Phase, a pivotal initiative dedicated to advancing connected and automated mobility (CAM) technologies in the UK. In collaboration with Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation (Sony), Helix Geospace will develop an Advanced Adaptive Antenna that overcomes GNSS resilience challenges in urban environments.
While standard GNSS solutions, such as GPS, typically offer positional accuracy of 5–10 meters, this innovative technology delivers resilient, centimetre-level precision, representing a significant leap forward for micromobility and CAM systems operating in dense urban landscapes.
Addressing a Critical Urban Challenge
Urban environments present significant obstacles for reliable GNSS navigation due to limited satellite visibility and signal interference caused by tall buildings, infrastructure, and high device density. These challenges lead to:
- Multipath Errors and Atmospheric Interference
GNSS signals reflecting off buildings create multiple paths before reaching the receiver, while atmospheric conditions exacerbate errors. - Limited Satellite Visibility
Obstructions reduce the number of satellites a receiver can access, hindering precise position calculations. - Signal Crowding
A high density of devices competing for satellite connections leads to signal congestion. - Design Constraints
Tight device enclosures and surrounding metal components impact antenna performance.
Collectively, these challenges underscore the urgent need for energy-efficient and robust GNSS solutions in congested urban spaces.
Innovative Integrated Solution
Our advanced adaptive GNSS antenna system integrates innovative technologies to combat urban GNSS challenges. By combining cost-effectiveness with energy efficiency, it ensures reliable positioning in dense, signal-restricted environments.
The system is built on Dielectrix Technology, a dielectric-loaded, multi-filar antenna design that minimises intra-element coupling. Enhancing the antenna’s capabilities, Sony’s CXD5610 chipset adds multi-constellation GNSS support (L1 and L5 bands) for improved accuracy and operates with ultra-low power consumption at just 5.6 mW in low-power mode. Its compact 3.2 x 3.7 mm XFGBA footprint makes it ideal for space-constrained applications. The inclusion of a disciplined Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) further increases accuracy by utilising sophisticated algorithms to maintain reliable navigation even when GNSS signals are weak or unavailable.
By combining multi-band capabilities, advanced algorithms, and energy efficiency, the system enhances battery performance and reduces costs, making it an excellent choice for mass-market IoT and mobility applications.
Advancing Connected and Automated Mobility
This Advanced Adaptive Antenna is poised to support the evolution of connected and automated mobility by ensuring consistent and accurate positioning in densely populated urban areas. Its low-power, highly resilient design is essential for the safe and efficient operation of autonomous and connected vehicles.
Key Benefits for CAM Applications:
- Enhanced Safety & Compliance
Precise position and geofencing ensures regulatory compliance and reduces unauthorised travel. - Improved Autonomous Navigation
Reliable GNSS positioning for safe operation in complex urban environments. - Energy Efficiency
Low-power tech extends battery life for sustainable e-vehicles and micromobility. - Reliable Micromobility Performance
Accurate tracking supports navigation, crash detection, and usage monitoring. - Actionable Data Insights
High-quality positioning data enables route optimization, predictive maintenance, and fleet efficiency.
A Step Forward for the UK’s CAM Industry
Through participation in the Zenzic Partnership Phase 3, Helix Geospace is collaborating with industry leaders, government bodies, and academic institutions to propel the UK’s position in the global CAM sector. This partnership enables us to contribute significantly to the development of safer, more efficient, and sustainable mobility solutions.
About Helix Geospace:
Helix Geospace is a UK-based, privately funded company located at the Abingdon Science Park near Oxford, renowned for its cluster of high-tech businesses. We specialise in developing advanced antenna technologies for high-accuracy GNSS location and high-bandwidth data communications, along with the precision manufacturing processes necessary for their production.
About the technology:
Helix focuses on high performance antenna technology for satellite communications and resilient PNT (Position, Navigation and Timing). With variants for GPS, Galileo GNSS constellations and the Iridium LEO satcomms constellation, Helix antennas are multifrequency resonant devices with tightly targeted frequency discrimination. They utilise multiple helical conductor filaments on a high dielectric constant ceramic core. The selective nature of the design assures integrity of data delivered to the receiver enabling positional accuracy to 10cm to be computed, and high levels of resilience against environmental and deliberate disruption. The helical antenna resonance means that troublesome reflected signals, typical of modern cities’ ‘urban canyons’ are ignored, while the on-frequency accuracy makes the system resilient to ‘noisy neighbour’ spectrum interference and deliberate jamming. All this comes in a compact and robust form factor light enough for drones and small enough for vehicle aesthetics. Using this best-in-class antenna technology enables the CRPx anti-jamming/spoofing systems deliver the optimum defence against malicious attempts to undermine satellite navigation and communications with the best SWaP-C.
About Sony Semiconductor Solutions’ GNSS technology
GNSS receivers from Sony Semiconductor Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation which operates in the semiconductor business, use high-frequency analog circuits and digital signal processing circuits, with proprietary designs, to deliver accurate positioning with the lowest power consumption in the industry. This low power consumption performance helps extend the operating time of the IoT, telematics and wearable products that use GPS/GNSS
