New centimeter-accurate GPS system

[rhhmadry]

New centimeter-accurate GPS system could transform virtual reality and mobile devices
Posted: 05 May 2015 05:30 AM PDT
Scientists have built a low-cost centimeter-accurate GPS system that reduces location errors from the size of a large car to the size of a nickel -- a more than 100 times increase in accuracy. The breakthrough is a powerful and sensitive software-defined GPS receiver that can extract centimeter accuracies from the inexpensive antennas found in mobile devices.

[Wotname]

Now if they could only give us centimetre accurate charts...

[SURV69]

If that accuracy is autonomous ... that's amazing.

But, if it's with access to base stations, CORS, VRS or needing the internet, it's nothing new, unless it's really super cheap.

[denverd0n]

From the article...

"Imagine games where, rather than sit in front of a monitor and play, you are in your backyard actually running around with other players."

Uhh. Hate to burst your bubble, guys, but I was doing that all the time, pretty much every day, 50 years ago, when I was a kid! We didn't call it "virtual reality," though. We just called it "playing outdoors."

[mrm]

Originally Posted by SURV69

If that accuracy is autonomous ... that's amazing.

But, if it's with access to base stations, CORS, VRS or needing the internet, it's nothing new, unless it's really super cheap.

From the news entry:

[...]Humphreys and his team have spent six years building a specialized receiver, called GRID, to extract so-called carrier phase measurements from low-cost antennas.
[...]
Centimeter-accurate positioning systems are already used in geology, surveying and mapping, but the survey-grade antennas these systems employ are too large and costly for use in mobile devices. The breakthrough by Humphreys and his team is a powerful and sensitive software-defined GPS receiver that can extract centimeter accuracies from the inexpensive antennas found in mobile devices -- such precise measurements were not previously possible.[...]

It appears to be autonomous. Quite an achievement.

[SURV69]

Guess what?

Survey-grade GPS is also not cm-level accuracy without a base station, CORS, VRS or the internet.

And the antennas for survey-grade antennas only cost a lot when one buys a new antenna made specifically for his/her GPS unit.

And, none of this magic works without the second frequency ... for now.

I'd wonder if this accuracy claim is for an autonomous reading?

[dazbys]

There's an article on wikipedia about GPS enhancement. It talks about carrier phase measurement in a few places, as does the articule. It seems that if you are able to measure the phase of the carrier accurately, very high precision is available. For standard GPS, accuracy is down to a distance that is represented by 1% accuracy in measurement of the timing of the information payload. The carrier of the data is many times the frequency of the data signal, and that same 1% is many times more accurate. Its not without issues, but is subject to new and novel approaches, which these guys may have discovered.

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[SURV69]

There was talk years ago about something like Chaotic Differential regarding new equations for GPS and more accurate autonomous locations.

I had always wondered why I never heard anymore about it ... maybe this is the same group.

[AlwaysFORSAIL]

Accuracy to a few feet seems to be working pretty good for me now. Should I need to shoot a guided rocket out to hit a nickel maybe I will upgrade.

[meirriba]

And why would anyone need a cm precise GPS at sea?
I am more than happy with current precision.
And, as said above, the current charts are not accurate.
The precise GPS will be better used for new charting surveys that on board of a vessel.

[skipmac]

I'm with Wotname on this. What's the point of cm accurate GPS without charts to match?

Even with super accurate charts, my boats draws about 165 cm, beam about 400 cm, length 1300 cm. So do I need a GPS accurate enough to show me which side of the cockpit I'm sitting on?

[Adelie]

Centimeter scale GPS does nothing for the cruising community but the folks using googles directions off their phones to drive around are going to like it as will surveyors.

Once autonomous vehicles become more common place count on little boats and cars to drive around mapping bays and shorelines giving you centimeter accurate maps/charts.

[GrahamHO]

My iPhone already tells me which side of my house I'm sitting on. As if I didn't know. Fortunately I'm not expecting a rocket attack.

[roland stockham]

Definitely not relevant to sailing but I can see this being the basis for autopilots in cars' could save many lives but the civil rights implications could be interesting - traffic managers knowing exactly where your car is?

[Catalysis]

This technology could be used for position keeping devices that adjust throttle and thrusters while waiting at bridges etc.


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