Skip to content

GrabMaps in Singapore tests high-accuracy GPS system

Photo: Singapore skyline, NeoPhoto/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images
Photo: Singapore skyline, NeoPhoto/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images

No audio available for this content.

Grab Singapore has launched a pilot program that uses high-accuracy lane-level GPS positioning to enhance the navigation experience for its driver and delivery partners in Singapore.

The pilot — rolled out in collaboration with Oppo, Qualcomm Technologies and Swift Navigation — also marks the first deployment of high-accuracy GPS positioning on mobile phones and app integration in Southeast Asia, delivering unprecedented outdoor location accuracy for Grab’s partners.

Grab is a leading app in Southeast Asia, operating across the deliveries, mobility and digital financial services sectors. It enables location-based services in more than 800 cities in eight Southeast Asian countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

As part of its ongoing efforts to enhance the GrabMaps navigation experience, Grab continually explores new technologies to help improve accuracy and reliability for its driver and delivery partners. In dense urban environments such as Singapore’s high-rise buildings, multi-level roads, and underground networks can degrade standard GPS accuracy above 20 m, complicating navigation between pick-ups and drop-offs, and reducing ETA accuracy.

By bringing together leading technology partners to create an advanced navigation system, Grab’s driver- and delivery-partners can now pinpoint their location with higher accuracy, improving navigation efficiency in GPS-challenging environments, while enabling smoother pick-ups and reduced cancellations.

The pilot taps on the individual expertise of the following partners:

  • OPPO, which provides its Find N5 foldable phone with dual-frequency GNSS capable of supporting the latest positioning technology.
  • Qualcomm Technologies, which activates the Meter-Level Positioning for Mobile featured in the Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform that powers the OPPO Find N5, enabling real-time GPS correction signals.
  • Swift Navigation, which provides its cloud-based Skylark Precise Positioning Service that uses advanced atmospheric modeling to correct GPS signal errors and deliver 10x greater positioning accuracy. Skylark is built on top of a network of ground reference stations operated in partnership with network operators around the world, including Singapore Land Authority (SLA). SLA operates the Singapore Satellite Positioning Reference Network (SiReNT) which provides Skylark with accurate GNSS data to enable precise positioning for last mile ride hailing and logistics in Singapore.

Together, these technologies power the pilot, with OPPO’s Find N5 foldable phone, Qualcomm Technologies’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform, and Swift Navigation’s Skylark working in concert to deliver precision navigation experiences.

With results of the pilot, Grab plans to extend the enhanced positioning capability to its proprietary Karta devices in the near future — broadening access to precise navigation technology and ensuring more driver and delivery partners can benefit from it over time.

If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to GPS World to receive more articles just like it.