The technology will allow the vendor to locate these devices with a greater degree of accuracy than using only individual global navigation satellite systems (GNSS).
Vehicles, scooters and robot lawn mowers can be securely monitored in real-time to within a few centimetres when connected to Vodafone’s global IoT network and using technology from Topcon which corrects inaccuracies from navigation satellite signals.
Location accuracy is improved from a few metres to just centimetres using Topcon’s dense European network of thousands of GNSS reference stations.
Justin Shields, director of Vodafone business platforms and solutions, said: “As new technologies like autonomous cars and connected machinery continue to evolve, Vodafone is providing the critical connections to support these new services with greater precision, more safety and at scale.
“Our customers want to be able to better locate their devices, and the collaboration with Topcon complements our existing asset tracking and fleet telematics solutions.”
Vodafone and Topcon have agreed to advance customer trials and Vodafone is now inviting select customers to join pilot activities in Germany, Spain and the UK, starting this month.
The company aims to test this service, which will be called Vodafone GNSS Corrections, using a wide variety of devices connected to Vodafone’s global IoT network – one of the largest with more than 150 million connections and its pan-European network which covers 12 countries.
