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Daily GPS News

Additional Measuring Instrumentation Improves GPS Function

May 5th, 2013

Many users of smartphones may be able to identify with the inconvenience of Wifi’s and GPS navigation’s quick drain on their device’s battery. Technology companies are working on that in the form of two new positioning chip prototypes (one that includes flash) that will require surprisingly low amounts of power (as little as 10 mW total).

GPS in Positioning Chips Receives a Little Extra Help

The difference is in the prototypes’ access to different measuring instrumentation to help calculate more accurate coordinates. Current rival chips still rely primarily only on GPS, as well as other similar systems like Russia’s GLONASS, to triangulate position. The prototype positioning chips incorporate the new-ish trend of “consulting” a magnetometer, accelerometer and gyroscope by comparing the appropriate measurement device with current GPS data and correcting for errors.

Tweaking GPS Accuracy

The internal comparison method has been since used in aiding technology companies developing GPS navigation for cars to gain the most accurate speed, location, and route anticipation possible. The supplemental information to GPS provided by magnetometers, accelerometers, and gyroscopes has provided navigation systems with an even greater boost in precision than using previous methods (which act much as a normal mobile device or smartphone would in calculating an approximate location when fresh data is lacking).

The allowance for alternative calculation (other than GPS) answered the problem designers of internal car navigation systems were faced with when their GPS devices lost or distorted the signal from satellites or cell phone towers because of tall buildings or large formations obstructing communication. The navigation system would then have to assume the next current location without being updated; researchers had put the amount of distance off by 49 feet. But with accelerometers and gyroscopes measuring velocity changes and feeding those updates to GPS, that margin of accuracy has narrowed to an impressive 3-7 feet.

Improving on Last Year’s Model

The use of additional measurement instrumentation seems guaranteed to bring the functionality of GPS positioning chips and GPS navigation to an all time record high. Battery life in smartphones, mobile devices, or tablets will be significantly boosted, and the technology will be instrumental in the further development of smart or unmanned vehicles.

A Smarter GPS Device

May 4th, 2013

Have you ever had your GPS device get confused about your location? A new, smarter GPS system could make that frustration a thing of the past. Researchers in Spain have developed a new, lower cost system that can pinpoint its position better than traditional GPS devices.

Traditional GPS

A conventional GPS unit can pinpoint a vehicle’s location within about 15 meters, provided the vehicle is in an open area with nothing to obstruct satellite visibility. If, on the other hand, a GPS-equipped vehicle ventures into the cluttered city streets, its position can only be determined within about 50 meters of accuracy. Often, tall buildings or tunnels cause the unit to lose satellite communication altogether, forcing the GPS device to estimate the vehicle’s location based on its database of maps. This inaccuracy, although frustrating, is tolerable for simple direction finding, but it will not work for use in the more complex GPS operations anticipated in the future. Scientists hope to eventually use GPS technology to control distance between vehicles, trigger avoidance of obstacles, and other automatic maneuvers, but an accuracy of 50 meters is not sufficient for these applications.

New Technology

The new device developed by researchers at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid adds an Inertial Measurement Unit to the GPS device. The unit, abbreviated IMU, includes three gyroscopes and three accelerometers. These additional sensors measure the vehicle’s speed and direction changes. All the information gathered is merged in a computer application that then determines the vehicle’s location. With the additional data, this device can pinpoint the position of a vehicle within one to two meters, even in a crowded city.

Its Usefulness

At present, this device is still only a prototype, although it has been successfully installed in a car that is used for research and experimentation at the University. Researchers hope to take the things they have learned and develop a system that can be built into smartphones. Such a system would take advantage of the additional sensors that are already included in smartphones and thus produce the same accurate location result at an even lower cost.

As technology continues to develop, it is exciting to see the potential that exists to take things to the next stage. This device definitely sounds like a step in the right direction and will hopefully result in a more accurate, and thus more useful, GPS device in the future.

GPS Navigation Systems Upgraded For Commercial Trucks To Prevent Low-Overpass Strikes

April 25th, 2013

Freight trucks and larger vehicles have a tougher time on the road than your average driver. They are restricted from entering certain roads due to noise complaints in the neighborhood and aren’t allowed on the fast lanes of freeways. Truck drivers have to be extra careful because of their size, especially when it comes to tunnels and bridges. All across the U.S., these massive trucks crash into low bridge underpasses and tunnels. However, there is a particular problem in Long Island, New York. According to a report from the New York State Department of Transportation, there have been a whopping 341 accidents involving tall trucks and low overpasses in Long Island between 1993 and 2011. These accidents cause damage to the structure of the bridge or tunnel, to the vehicle, endangers the driver and nearby traffic and also can cause massive traffic headaches.

In recent years, efforts have been made to avoid such accidents. For example, many of these lower overpasses and tunnels now have warning signs and height limits posted for truckers. Unfortunately, these signs are often only seen once the driver is already on the road and approaching the overpass or tunnel. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has decided to approach the problem from a different angle: setting new guidelines for commercial truck GPS navigation systems. The reasoning is that the new GPS navigation guidelines could help commercial truckers find routes without low overpasses.

The new GPS systems guidelines recommend that all navigation systems for commercial trucks take into consideration the height and weight of the truck. These new navigation systems will be able to set a route that avoids any roads that freight trucks are banned, or where there might be a low overpass or tunnel. The new guidelines also suggest training the truck drivers on the new GPS system with brochures and a certification program. Hopefully with these guidelines, there will be much fewer instances of low-bridge strikes.

Rolls-Royce Wraith: Shifts Gears With GPS

April 23rd, 2013

The future of cars is coming. No, maybe not the George Jetson-style hovercrafts, but today, cars are doing things no one would have imagined possible. Rolls-Royce revealed the 2013 Wraith at the recent Geneva Motor Show, and it comes with quite the unique feature: a GPS device that can anticipate the upcoming stretches of road and adjust gears accordingly.

Yes, you read that right: an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission that shifts itself depending on the road ahead. But how does this work? The transmission, called Satellite Aided Transmission (SAT), relies on a GPS device to figure out which road you are driving, and the driving conditions, based on your GPS location data. So if you are cruising a winding, mountain road and approaching a turn, it knows not to upshift.

The car features a massively powerful direct-injected, twin-turbocharged V-12 engine, giving 624 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. This allows the 5,203 pound, rear-wheel drive coupe to go from zero – 60mph in a mere 4.4 seconds. So this car that drives like a dream now shifts like a dream thanks to GPS technology, making the ride smoother and more enjoyable than ever before.

Any other interesting bells and whistles? Of course, it’s a Rolls-Royce! The four-seater features a headliner filled with 1,340 fiber optic lights, simulating the night sky, a 10-inch “infotainment” touch screen system, and one-touch valet button for hands-free functions.

Besides aiding in shifting the vehicle, the GPS navigation technology in the Wraith takes real-time traffic data anonymously from cellphones in taxis and commercial vehicles and compiles it every three minutes and updates route information accordingly.

What do you think about this new technology? Are you a die hard manual transmission fan who can’t imagine using anything else?

Protecting GPS Receivers from Jamming

April 12th, 2013

With the high prevalence of GPS devices, it is a priority to determine ways of protecting GPS receivers from jamming. As individuals and governments come to depend more and more on this technology, interfering with the reception of GPS signals could become a very effective warfare tactic. To combat this possibility, the French government has commissioned the development of a new antenna that has the potential to protect against such jamming.

The Antenna

The most effective way yet developed to guard against interference is the controlled radiation pattern antenna. This technique utilizes an antenna and processor that recognizes and eliminates incoming interference signals. The French government granted a company called SATIMO a contract to develop such an array. This corporation developed a new CRPA antenna composed of seven elementary patch antennas. These patches cover a number of frequency bandwidths including E5a, E5ab, L2, E6, and L1. The device also includes a low-noise amplifier and two filters for out-of-band rejection.

Evaluating the Device

As might be imagined, testing this kind of device can be quite challenging. Yet it cannot simply be assumed that this equipment can perform the important task of protecting GPS receivers from jamming. The classic method of testing these devices has been anechoic chamber test facilities. Unfortunately, in this style of testing it is difficult to compensate for the movement of the antenna and numerous calculations must be performed to allow for this. The method of scanning the antenna is also extremely slow.

SATIMO has developed an arch test range that is much superior to the anechoic chamber method. This range is able to quickly scan the antenna and maintain its position in relation to the antenna. These abilities allow for fast and accurate evaluation without the need for complex computations.

Functional Testing of the Device

Besides these evaluations, the antenna must undergo functional testing. Outdoor testing is one way of accomplishing this. For these tests, the antenna is placed on the roof of a vehicle, and then connected to a processing unit and a receiver. The device is then presented with GPS signals and interfering signals. The drawback to this method is that its results are not reproducible, and the test is very complex to set up.

Functional tests in anechoic chambers are another option, but transmitting GPS signals inside is a difficulty, and it is impossible to perform dynamic trajectories.

In answer to these difficulties, the French government has acquired the technology to evaluate the antenna in a test bed. For this testing, the data obtained from the arch test range is fed into are input into heavy-duty computers which then simulate the antenna, the GPS signals, and the interference. While this test bed, known as BACARA, is only able to cover the L1 and L2 bandwidths, its ability to simulate dynamic trajectories and multiple forms of jammers make it a valuable method to evaluate a CRPA.

Currently, the CRPA developed by SATIMO has passed its evaluation tests and is undergoing functional tests using the methods described above. It will be interesting to see how this device performs in the battle of protecting GPS receivers from jamming.

New Handheld GPS Device

April 11th, 2013

At the recent Outdoor Retailer show, Rand McNally announced the release of a new handheld GPS device, known as the Foris 850. This product is designed to appeal specifically to the outdoor market, which includes such individuals as hikers, bikers, geocachers, and other open-air enthusiasts.

The Basics

In order to produce this device, Rand McNally partnered with Falk Outdoor Navigation. This company is experienced in the field and is a leading competitor in the European outdoor market. For this partnership, Rand McNally provided the content while Falk Outdoor furnished the hardware. The device has a 3” touch screen and 8 gigabytes of internal memory, allowing for the storage of 7,000 waypoints. It ships with a bike mount, batteries, and an anti-glare screen protector. Preloaded on the GPS navigation device are contour maps with over 5 million miles of US trails and roadways. The device is also capable of providing turn-by-turn voice navigation on both trails and roads, and it allows users to compare three alternate routes with their elevation profiles.

The Special Features

As if these basic qualities were not sufficient to gender consumers’ interest, the Foris 850 has a number of special capabilities. The TrackNav feature enables users to create “breadcrumb” trails in order to find their way back to a starting point. A capability called Loop Me! allows individuals to enter their preferred time or distance and create a looped trail that meets their specifications. This feature even includes an option to select a flat or hilly route. A built-in barometric altimeter displays accurate elevation and allows the user to determine the amount of elevation change necessary to reach a location. The device’s included maps are drawn from multiple databases including the U.S. National Park Service, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, National Forestry, U.S. National Wildlife Refuge, national hydrographic dataset, and State Parks. The included data also specifies millions of points of interest such as campgrounds, attractions, and recreation areas. For those searching for geocaches, the device is integrated with geocaching.com and so contains all of the website’s hints, descriptions, and logs to aid in their search.

With all of these capabilities, the suggested retail price of $399 seems quite reasonable. The Foris 850 is expected to start shipping to stores in April and will likely quickly move to the forefront of the handheld GPS device market.

How GPS Could Save U.S. Farmers

April 10th, 2013

People have always shared a somewhat dangerous relationship with nature. Our hunter/gatherer ancestors relied on nature to produce food in large enough quantities to sustain themselves. As farming spread throughout the world, certain elements of food production came under human control, but the vast majority of responsibility was still with nature to provide correct weather at the right time to sustain life. Even today, with impressive irrigations systems criss-crossing Southern California, massive machinery helping to turn the midwest into a seemingly endless supply of corn, and graders carving farmland out of previously unusable areas, farmers still face an uphill struggle in their battle to control as many aspects of farming as they can. With financial ruin only one bad season or new law away for so many farmers, GPS technology may provide them with help they need to achieve a more secure financial state.

GPS navigation allows farmers to plot their fields more accurately and specialize treatment for exact areas within each field. In recent years, farming has become as much about science as it has traditionally been about back breaking labor. Farmers take soil samples to determine what crops will best grow where, and what fields need to be fertilized when. GPS helps farmers track this information more accurately than before, allowing them a more detailed knowledge of their fields, and providing them with the information needed to care specifically for trouble areas. In this way GPS also saves farmers money, as there is a lower risk of fertilizing or spraying too broad a section because the farmer didn’t know exactly how large of an area needed treatment.

In addition to helping farmers treat fields in preparation for a crop, GPS can help farmers determine how successful the harvest was in different fields. With this information, farmers can spend the rest of the year cultivating fields that are in need of extra work, and maintaining the fields that did well through field specific preparation. By enabling farmers to have greater knowledge of their fields, GPS systems are helping to reduce the cost of farming, and encourage field specific preparation techniques, which will result in greater crop yields. While farmers will continue to contend with nature, GPS is helping to eliminate problems that have plagued them for just as long.

GPS for the Visually Impaired

April 4th, 2013

Recently, a man by the name of Mike Hanson proved the value of GPS for the visually impaired. Using only trekking poles and a smartphone, he successfully hiked the length of the Appalachian Trail. Hanson accomplished this feat motivated by his desire to prove to the world that visually impaired individuals can use modern technology to achieve an incredible degree of independence.

How Did He Do It?

Contrary to what people might think, Hanson did not utilize expensive equipment to perform this exercise. He used his Nokia N82 cell phone and Loadstone, a free open source system of GPS for the visually impaired. Loadstone allows users to locate points of interest that have been previously stored by the owner or other users and then provides voiced directions to enable the visually impaired person to navigate to the location. For this trek, Hanson obtained data from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy to program his phone with points that included trailheads, campsites, and sources of water. Using software available on the Loadstone website, he was able to add voice instructions for these locations as well as establish a route and checkpoints. Once on the trail, Hanson used his trekking poles for fine navigation and to avoid obstacles, but used the phone’s GPS system, fortified with a thirty-two hour battery, to verify his overall location. At each checkpoint, he would play the next set of instructions to determine the approximate distance and direction to the following checkpoint. Using these methods, Hanson was able to complete the entire length of the trail from Georgia to Maine in a seven-month period.

What Are the Ramifications?

Of course, Mike Hanson was not only trying to prove that a visually impaired individual could successfully navigate the Appalachian Trail. He was trying to convince both the seeing and non-seeing world that technology could be used to allow those with sight impairments to live normal lives. Unfortunately, many people are unaware of the software and equipment that are available and of their relative inexpensiveness. As a result, employers are hesitant to hire the visually impaired, and the individuals themselves are afraid to step out on their own. Hanson is trying to change these realities through writing a book about his experiences and by developing new GPS technology. His company, Wayfinder Angels Corporation, is working to raise awareness of the technological aids available and also to improve the current products.

If Hanson has his way, technology will enable people like himself to perform the normal and extraordinary tasks they need and long to do. GPS for the visually impaired will be but one of many assistive programs available to help these individuals lead full, independent lives.

GPS for Wi-Fi iOS Devices

April 4th, 2013

GPS for Wi-Fi iOS devices is a feature that has been sought by many consumers. After purchasing an iPod Touch or a Wi-Fi only iPad, users are often disappointed to learn that they cannot use their new devices for navigation. Their Apple or Google Maps apps work only while they are connected to a Wi-Fi network, thus rendering them virtually useless when driving down the road. A recent development by Bad Elf and CoPilot Live may provide the answer consumers have been seeking.

The Receiver

Upon purchasing this system, the customer receives what appears to be a typical data connector cable. One end of the cable is a USB connector that can be connected to a computer or car power source, allowing the device to charge and sync. The other end of the cable contains the connector for the device, but it also holds the Bad Elf GPS receiver. The receiver draws its power from the iOS device itself or from the power source to which it is connected.

The Software

The Bad Elf GPS for Wi-Fi iOS devices is being marketed as a package with CoPilot software. It is also possible to purchase the GPS separately, although the savings are minimal. At any rate, the GPS receiver can be used with any iOS app that uses self-contained maps. This includes such applications as Magellan Roadmate, Navigon, TomTom, and Garmin, as well as the CoPilot Live app. Programs like Google Maps do not work with the device since they require a data connection to obtain the map information.

Advantages and Disadvantages

The obvious advantage of this technology is that it enables users to perform GPS navigation without paying for costly cell data plans. The large screen of the iPad makes viewing the maps and directions quite enjoyable. It does seem that the external Bad Elf GPS receiver is somewhat slower than its built-in counterpart on the iPhone. In addition, it may sometimes be more difficult to acquire and keep a GPS signal. The company advises using an extender cable in order to place the receiver closer to the window of the vehicle.

Due to its cost ($99) and its occasional drawbacks, this new product may not be the answer to everyone’s prayers. But for those looking for a way to utilize GPS for Wi-Fi iOS devices, it is certainly an option worth considering and may be the harbinger of other products of this nature.

GPS Navigation by Vibration

April 4th, 2013

Bicyclists are part of a growing group of users of GPS navigation systems. However, a new device developed by the University of Amsterdam may change the way in which cyclists utilize this technology.

The Problem

Using a GPS to navigate unfamiliar territory on a bicycle is typically a somewhat complicated process. First, the cyclist must input his destination into his smartphone, then he must attach the device to the handlebar of his bicycle. As he sets out on his ride, he must refer often to the screen of his smartphone to learn the direction he should take. This frequent checking distracts the cyclist from his primary focus on the road, which can result in accidents or near misses. In addition, the glare of outside light obscures the screen of the smartphone, and traffic noise makes hearing the voice of the GPS system nearly impossible.

A Potential Solution

Recognizing these problems, Dutch researchers at the University of Amsterdam set out to develop a device that would enable cyclists to keep their focus on the road ahead and on the environment around them. This device, called a vibrobelt, is designed to be worn around the rider’s waist. Once the cyclist selects his destination using the GPS navigation system of his smartphone, he does not need to refer to the screen again. Instead, the vibrobelt at his waist guides him along his route by providing directional nudges just prior to each necessary turn. This guidance enables the rider to keep his head up and aware of his surroundings and eliminates the frequent checks of his smartphone.

The Test

To try out their idea, researchers had twenty volunteers navigate unfamiliar routes using both methods — the vibrobelt and a standard GPS display on a smartphone mounted on the handlebars. Both approaches enabled the cyclists to successfully reach their destinations, but there was one major difference. After their ride, the volunteers were asked questions about the landmarks they had passed along their route. Those who used the vibrobelt had observed significantly more of their surroundings than those who referred to their smartphone display. This difference seems to indicate that the vibrobelt achieved its goal of keeping cyclists focused on their environment rather than on their handlebars, thus improving their safety. This new technology may be an important advance in the field of GPS navigation.