The GAMMS consortium field-tests mapping robots

The EUSPA-funded research project GAMMS for the automated geodata collection and production of HD maps completes its 2nd test field campaign.

Graz, 9 May 2025. From the 5. to the 9. of May, a European consortium led by the Spanish geomatics and navigation technology company GEONUMERICS has been field-testing the integration of several technologies –autonomous vehicles, mobile mapping systems, satellite navigation and artificial intelligence– for the automated production of accurate high-definition maps (HD Maps). The tests have been conducted at the testing facilities of the Austrian research centre Virtual Vehicle (ViF), in Graz, Austria.  For this purpose, the French mapping company GEOSAT has installed its mobile mapping system in the driverless car prototype of ViF, DEIMOS Engenharia its Galileo/GPS receiver and GEONUMERICS its multi-sensor navigation software.

GAMMS stands for “Galileo/GNSS-based autonomous mobile mapping system.” Its goal is the fast, sustainable production of trustworthy maps for the driverless cars, the HD maps. To achieve the goal, GAMMS brings together a wide spectrum of knowledge and experts: map making and machine learning (GEOSAT), multi-sensor fusion and accurate navigation (GEONUMERICS), robotics and autonomous driving (ViF), GNSS and Galileo receiver development (DEIMOS Engenharia), sensor and vehicle dynamic modelling (EPFL) and multispectral laser scanning (Solid Potato). The consortium also includes regulatory (PILDO Labs) and communication (ENIDE) specialists. Galileo will be the main enabler of GAMMS given its precise, multi-path resistant measurements and its upcoming high-accuracy service (HAS).

Current cars –originally known as horseless carriages– are evolving into driverless cars that require HD maps, up-to-date and accurate to the dm-level. “The production of such HD maps constitutes an enormous technical, organisational and business challenge. “To the surprise of GNSS pundits, current autonomous terrestrial vehicle navigation make a rather limited use of GNSS usually limited to the determination of ‘position priors.’ Among other, in GAMMS, the Galileo’s High-Accuracy Service (HAS) and the E5 AltBOC low-noise and multi-path robust signal is used,” says Dr. Ismael Colomina, GEONUMERICS’ CEO and GAMMS coordinator. He further said that “the GAMMS consortium is also promoting a more intense use of the Galileo system for autonomous vehicle navigation.” Dr. Marta Blázquez, GEONUMERICS’ CTO said that “The second test-field campaign will demonstrate the real-time performance of the multi-sensor GAMMS system and will collect the data from all available sensors (from MMS, from the AV and integrated GNSS receivers) to compute a more robust mapping vehicle trajectory online and offline.”

In GAMMS, the main task of GeoNumerics is the computation of the mapping vehicle trajectory (a time series of position, velocity and attitude coordinates) by integrating the manifold of sensors available in a mapping vehicle. Measurements of inertial units and atomic clocks will be fused with measurements of all available navigation satellites (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BDS), odometers, cameras and laser scanners among others. Vehicle dynamic models will contribute additional trajectory constraints for robustness. For this purpose, the GEONUMERICS' NEXA systems will be further developed to include new sensor mathematical models and to improve its robust estimation methods.

Dr. Selim Solmaz, Head of Control Systems Group and GAMMS Project manager at ViF, said that “Hosting the GAMMS partners at ViF for the second test campaign was a great experience. It allowed us to validate the integration of cutting-edge mapping and navigation technologies in a collaborative, hands-on environment—and to showcase ViF’s strengths in automated vehicle development and testing.”
 
ViF played a central role in the second field campaign of the GAMMS project by hosting all partners at its testing facilities in Graz, Austria, and integrating the GEOSAT mobile mapping system into its autonomous vehicle prototype. Drawing on its expertise in robotics and automated driving, ViF enabled comprehensive field testing of the combined sensor and navigation technologies in real-world scenarios. The campaign benefited from the high-precision Galileo/GPS receiver provided by DEIMOS, and the advanced multi-sensor fusion software from GEONUMERICS, forming the basis for high-definition map generation. The joint effort demonstrated the effectiveness of close interdisciplinary collaboration across European partners in advancing automated mobility solutions.

The European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) (Prague, Czech Republic) is a European Union (EU) agency that promotes the use, adoption, application and market development of European GNSS (EGNOS and Galileo) and Copernicus. The EUSPA builds on the legacy of the former European GNSS Agency (GSA) with an amplified scope.

GeoNumerics (Castelldefels, Spain) is a research and development (R&D) intensive small-and-medium-enterprise (SME) company specialised in geomatics and accurate navigation.

GEOSAT (Canejan, France) is a map service provider specialised in 3D measurements and 3D big data processing applied to mapping for autonomous driving and smart cities.

DEIMOS Engenharia (Lisboa, Portugal) is a European technology group that provides advanced technologies in Space, Defense, Transports, Aeronautics, Maritime, Telecommunications and Digital Intelligence.  In 2024, Deimos has been acquired by INDRA.

VIRTUAL VEHICLE Foundation (Graz, Austria) is the Europe’s largest center for virtual vehicle development. Its research focuses on integrating numerical simulations and virtual validation in the automotive and railway industries.

SOLID POTATO ( Espoo, Finland) is a Centre of Excellence in Laser Scanning Research-borne spin off. Its research includes laser scanning, mobile mapping, remote sensing, UAV laser scanning, photogrammetry, geodesy, geomatics, 3D modelling of objects and precision forestry.

École Polytecnhique Fédérale de Lausanne (Laussane, Switzerland) is one of Europe’s leading science and technology universities. It is known for cutting-edge research, innovation and a strong international outlook. EPFL specializes in engineering, natural sciences, and computer science with strong collaborations with industry and other top research institutions worldwide.

PILDO Labs (Barcelona, Spain) is an engineering company specializing in delivering cutting edge technology and services within the aeronautics and aerospace sectors.

ENIDE (Barcelona, Spain) is a company specialized in providing services to research and innovation centers, universities and big corporates to support their R&D departments. The tailored solutions and guidance aim to drive innovation, optimize research outcomes and shape the future of the field.

PROJECT DETAILS
Acronym: GAMMS
Title: Galileo/GNSS-based Autonomous Mobile Mapping System
Period: 2021-07-01 to 2025-07-31
Funding: European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), European Commission (EC) grant 101004255, Horizon 2020 (H2020), SU-SPACE-EGNSS-3-2019-2020.
Coordinator: GEONUMERICS (ES)
Other participants: DEIMOS Engenharia (PT), ENIDE (ES), EPFL (CH), GEOSAT (FR), PILDO Labs (ES), Solid Potato (FI), Virtual Vehicle Foundation (AT).
H2020 web page: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101004255

GAMMS is funded by the European Community's Horizon 2020 Programme under Grant Agreement 101004255.