Hitachi Zosen Corporation, Development Bank of Japan, DENSO Corporation, Japan Radio Co., Ltd., and Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd. today announced that they established a new company named Global Positioning Augmentation Service Corporation (GPAS) on June 15 in the form of a joint investment.
Recently, high-precision positioning information is increasingly used in fields such as agriculture, construction, and disaster prevention. Demand for such information is expanding worldwide for both land-based and maritime applications. In Japan, Michibiki No.2 (Quasi-Zenith Satellite) was successfully launched on June 1, and is expected to generate diverse services using high-precision positioning information.
Within a few years, GPAS aims to commercialize a service for centimetre-level precision global satellite positioning through verification testing utilizing a high-precision orbit and clock analysis tool. Seeking the cooperation of relevant authorities and businesses, the five companies will work to establish a fundamental technology that supports the global deployment of autonomous vehicles and agricultural/construction machinery, in addition to maritime and meteorological observation applications.
As the nature of this project contributes to strengthening corporate competitiveness through cross-industry collaboration, Development Bank of Japan is investing in GPAS under a special financing program for supporting the competitiveness of growing companies and industries.
Overview of GPAS
| Company name | Global Positioning Augmentation Service Corporation |
| Established | June 15, 2017 |
| Headquarters | 8-17-5, Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo |
| Business | Verification for commercialization of centimetre-level high-precision satellite positioning service, etc. |
| Investors | Hitachi Zosen Corporation, Development Bank of Japan, DENSO Corporation, Japan Radio Co., Ltd., and Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd. |
| Representative | Hideshi Kozawa |
