triangulation
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BAE Systems' NAVSOP does positioning without GPS, makes sure the only jammin' going on is yours
Just in case GPS and GLONASS didn't make for enough of an acronym soup, BAE Systems wants to add one more to the navigation broth. NAVSOP (Navigation via Signals of Opportunity) uses some of the basic concepts we know from cell tower triangulation and WiFi location-finding to lock down a position, but goes much further to geolocate from nearly anything that pushes out a signal, such as nearby radios and TVs. It doesn't even need to know what kind of signal it's looking at, and it can get its position in places there's no GPS to work from, whether it's in an urban canyon or the natural kind. BAE is most excited about the prospects of ending GPS jamming against soldiers and UAVs, once and for all: not only is the new technology mostly impervious to attempts to block its signal, it can use the jamming attempt itself to get the position fix. Thankfully, the company's roots in defense aren't precluding use for civilians, so there's a chance that future smartphones might never have to use guesswork to get their bearings -- provided that governments around the world sign off on the idea, that is.
Google files for a patent on peer-to-peer location finding, says cell tower triangulation is for chumps
Crowdsourcing map data itself isn't a surprise; it's been the cornerstone of OpenStreetMap and is about to get a big boost through iOS 6. Crowdsourcing actual positions is still a relatively untapped resource, however, and Google thinks that it might just be the ticket to getting a device's location when GPS alone doesn't cut it. Much as your current phone uses triangulation between cell sites to help speed up a position lock, a technique in a new Google patent application uses the physical distances between nearby devices to get a complete picture, even if GPS is completely on the fritz. The peer-to-peer technique still needs an internet connection to reach the central service piecing information together -- there isn't much help if you're in areas where reliable internet access isn't always guaranteed. Likewise, there's no certainty that Google will use the patent in a future build of Android or Chrome OS. If it does, though, at least some of us may say goodbye to the days of our map positioning going haywire the moment we drive through a tunnel or step into an office without WiFi.
iOS 4.3.3 to fix location tracking issue, due soon
A rumor out of BGR suggests iOS 4.3.3 will land in the upcoming weeks. As expected, the update will fix the location tracking issue that blew up last week. In this public debacle, Apple confirmed cell tower and Wi-Fi hotspot information was being stored on the iPhone and 3G iPad to improve location fix acquisition. Apple promised to address these issues, and according to BGR, the changelog for 4.3.3 will include the following improvements: iTunes will no longer backup the location database to your desktop the location database will be smaller, reducing the amount of data stored on the handset the handset will delete the database when the Location Service option is turned off Besides the location information, the update will also improve battery life and fix some unidentified bugs with the iPod.
iPhone Personal Hotspot transmitting GPS information to tethered iPads? (Update: no)
You may not have known this, but besides missing a 3G radio, the WiFi-only iPad also lacks the A-GPS chip that enables exact GPS positioning versus less-accurate WiFi triangulation. Well, according to Tablet Monsters, if you've got an iPhone with iOS 4.3 and are subscribed to Personal Hotspot, your shiny slate should be able to tap into the GPS chip of it's smaller-screened family member. Reports in the MacRumors forums confirm that people are indeed seeing this added functionality on both iPad 2 and the original. Though the native Maps app is reportedly working perfectly there's talk of unfriendliness in turn-by-turn GPS apps -- though this could have to do with the refresh rate of the transmission. If you're already shelling out for the Personal Hotspot plan this is a nice added bonus, and makes the choice between the 3G iPad and the WiFi one just a little bit easier -- assuming you've got an iPhone of course. Still skeptical? Check out a video of it in action after the break. Update: Alas, JohnMarshall4 has done some myth busting, and it seems that this magical exchange of information is nothing more than a glorious miscommunication. So much for trying to save a quick buck.
RIM finally catches up to the competition with non-GPS-based BlackBerry 'Locate Service'
It's hardly the first company to implement the technology in a smartphone, but it looks like RIM finally has an answer for folks not satisfied with the GPS capabilities of their BlackBerry. It's now announced the simply-named 'Locate Service' for developers, which relies on cell tower triangulation to either augment the phone's built-in GPS, or completely replace it when a GPS signal isn't available. According to RIM, the service also includes a set of components that "integrate seamlessly" with the BlackBerry Maps and Contacts applications and, of course, the GPS capabilities of the device. There's still no word on any apps that actually take advantage of the new service though, but it is now at the disposal of developers, so we're guessing we'll see some soon enough.
Study secretly tracked 100,000 cellphone users' locations
Ask yourself this: Are you a statistic or a specific example? That's the question being raised in the aftermath of a study in which researchers secretly tracked the locations of 100,000 people to determine their movement patterns. Such studies are considered invasions of privacy -- and illegal -- in the United States, but this one was done in an undisclosed industrialized nation. The subjects were chosen at random out of a pool of 6 million from a mystery wireless provider and tracked based on cell tower triangulation and other "tracking devices." Study co-author Cesar Hidalgo at Northeastern University promises that researchers didn't know the individuals' phone numbers or identities, and offers that the results are a major advance for science. The study found that people are homebodies -- most stay within 20 miles of their home and are rather habitual. Scientists say the findings -- to be published in Nature on Thursday -- can help improve public transit systems and even fight contagious diseases.[Thanks, Doug][Via MSNBC]
Office of Naval Research patents "underwater GPS"
Being decidely land-dwelling creatures -- our only real underwater experiences were some nasty childhood dunking incidents at the local pool -- we've got no real use for determining our location beneath the waves, but apparently the folks who drive around all day in submarines do, so the US Office of Naval Research has whipped up a relatively simple method for "geophysical positioning" when satellite GPS data is inaccessible. You'll recall that we recently saw another patent which claimed to offer the same functionality for above ground, indoor locations, but that involved using surface-level receivers and ceiling-mounted repeaters -- a setup not possible when satellite signals can't penetrate deep underwater. The ONR's solution is to anchor an undetermined number of transceivers -- whose exact spatial location is already known -- to the ocean floor, and then by comparing the angle and distance of broadband acoustic signals sent back and forth to moving craft, using some basic geometry (sounds like our man Pythagoras comes into play here) to determine where in the world that sub happens to be. Seems pretty obvious when you think about it, but maybe that's we're covering this tech secondhand instead of trying to hack it as naval engineers, marine cartographers, or whoever the heck it is that comes up with this stuff.[Via New Scientist]
