Precise Location: Myth or Reality

Brought to you by The Location Group

When presented with location technologies or applications, most users’ first question is commonly “How accurate is it?”. Is this a meaningful question, can it be answered in the absolute and if so, what does it mean when we describe a positioning system as "accurate"?

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About the event

When presented with location technologies or applications, most users’ first question is commonly “How accurate is it?”. Is this a meaningful question, can it be answered in the absolute and if so, what does it mean when we describe a positioning system as "accurate"? Plus importantly, does this mean the same thing as "precise"? These terms will be explored in terms of their meaning and implications, or lack of, on end user applications.

Kindly sponsored by CSR and taking place at their offices in Cambridge, this half-day event will seek to address the pertinent issues: How accuracy/precision requirements can be formulated, are these terms universal and how do they contribute to the value chain within which the application is participating?

The event will open with a review of the ever-increasing different satellite positioning systems and scrutinise their respective effective performances both outdoors and indoors. This will be followed by a survey of other techniques covering indoors context, where satellite positioning either works poorly or not at all, leading us towards the notion of fusing of different positioning techniques with the objective of position high availability.

From this point we will naturally address the important issues of selection of the methods and combination of the results, considering success criteria. Returning to the point of view of the applications, we will question the value or necessity to provide the nature of the selected solution and attempt to expose means of expressing confidence in the results.

Following this we'll consider what the terms accuracy and precision mean; how to interpret them and how to use them in applications. Latency will also be covered as accuracy and precision can probably be improved over a period of time. The usefulness of these techniques will have to be reviewed.

We will conclude by asking how accuracy/precision requirements can be formulated, are these terms universal and how do they contribute to the value chain within which the application is participating?

Speaking at this event:

The Location-based Systems/Services SIG is championed by David Bartlett of Omnisense, Nicolas Graube of CSR and Andrew Matthews of Nokia Research Centre. We are also extremely grateful to our sponsor and host for this event, CSR.

To follow this SIG on Twitter, @CambWireless, please use #CWLBSS

This event is FREE to members of Cambridge Wireless. Tickets for non-members are £180 plus VAT. To join Cambridge Wireless as a member and attend future events for free, please visit: www.cambridgewireless.co.uk/sign-up

Limited FREE places for non-members: We are keen to engage with, and foster the next generation of technologists so we have limited FREE delegate places at our events for non-members who are under 30. If you would like to register for one of these places, please register as a non-member and under job title please list your date of birth. We will then confirm if you have received a place within one week of the event.

*Please note that there is no parking available at CSR - alternative parking details will be provided.

The Location-based Systems/Services SIG is championed by David Bartlett of Omnisense, Nicolas Graube of CSR and Andrew Matthews of Nokia Research Centre. We are also extremely grateful to our sponsor and host for this event, CSR.To follow this SIG on Twitter, @CambWireless, please use #CWLBSS

Sponsored by Qualcomm Technologies International

Qualcomm Technologies Inc is the world leader in next-generation mobile technologies.

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Agenda

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The information supplied below may be subject to change before the event.

12:00

Registration & Networking over Lunch

13:00

Introduction to the Cambridge Wireless Location-based Systems & Services SIG from Andy Matthews of Nokia Research Center

13:10

Welcome from our sponsor and host, Nicolas Graube of CSR

13:20

Explosion in Satellite Navigation; Dr Tony Pratt, Independent Consultant, Orbstar Consultants

There has been rapid growth in the number of providers of satellite navigation signals during the past 7 years or so. The providers now are the USA (GPS), Russian Federation (Glonass), European Union (Galileo), China (Beidou), Japan (QZSS), India (IRNSS, GINS). In addition to these primary navigation signals, there are also available a (growing) number of Space-based Augmentation Systems (SBAS) including WAAS, EGNOS, SDCM, MSAS and others. The presentation provides insight into the reasons for this growth, the satellite orbits chosen and the signals available from each. Innovation in the signal structure has encouraged considerations of greater accuracy, partly from the satellite position and clock accuracy, partly from orbit description and modelling and partly from the signal processing techniques in use. Which signals should be used and why? Perhaps, all should be used but this implies increase in receiver complexity. Is it worth it? The presentation will touch upon these critical questions for both the user and receiver designer.

13:40

Q&A

13:45

Behind the little blue dot; Dr Ramsey Faragher, Senior Research Associate, University of Cambridge

We have all become accustomed to the reliability of the little blue dot on our smartphone maps, and the fusion of satellite, cellular and Wi-Fi positioning systems mean that it is rare to find ourselves stuck without a position fix. But what started life as a casual navigation tool for vehicular navigation (benefiting from the assumption that snap-to-the-road algorithms correct the positioning errors) is now being squeezed for more and more performance. Your smartphone will soon confirm which supermarket aisle you are in, and will take you right to your seat at football matches and concerts. That level of accuracy requires a very careful appreciation of what is really going on behind the little blue dot, and mere assumptions have to be left at the door. In this talk we will look at the importance of confidence estimation in the design, implementation and delivery of indoor location systems and its role in providing improved performance, not just better error estimates, for the user. We will look at how system modelling and computational grunt can provide higher positioning performance than measurements alone can, and why app developers can only take their tools so far – the true capabilities lie with the chipset providers.

14:05

Q&A

14:10

Precise Indoor Location; Myth or Reality; James Brice, Consultant, PA Consulting Group

James will be talking about what is meant by the term “precise”, presenting a summary of the techniques currently used to provide “precise” indoor location along with a description of their efficacy.

14:30

Q&A

14:35

Refreshment Break

15:10

Mission of Indoor Location Alliance (ILA); Kanji Kerai, Technologist, Nokia Corporation

Kanji will be speaking on behalf of the Indoor Location Alliance (ILA). Many members have joined the ILA to come up with an indoor system solution with interoperable modules as well as share results from pilot studies.

15:30

Q&A

15:35

Industrial Indoor Location; Andy Ward, CTO and VP Engineering, Ubisense

Much of the recent interest in precision in-building location has focused on consumer-centric applications, but there are many uses for similar technologies in the industrial domain. In this presentation I’ll look at why the characteristics of indoor location systems for industrial applications often differ from those targeted at consumer applications, and why precise location is so valuable to industry.

15:55

Q&A

16:00

Panel Session with all speakers chaired by David Bartlett of Omnisense

16:45

Event Close Please Fill in Evaluation Forms

Speakers

David Bartlett - Head of Technology Positioning, u-blox UK

David Bartlett works in the positioning technology (R&D) group at u-blox with a focus on hybrid positioning: bringing together GNSS with terrestrial systems such as UWB and V2X, primarily in support of future autonomous vehicle, driverless car and robotics applications but also for IoT and indoor positioning. Prior to this he was CTO and co-founder of Omnisense delivering high precision indoor IoT tracking solutions. He also worked at Cambridge Positioning systems with a focus on cellular positioning and network aided GNSS techniques.

Ramsey Faragher - Founder, President, and CTO, FocalPoint

Dr Ramsey Faragher is the Founder, President and CTO of Focal Point Positioning, a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation, and a Fellow of Queens' College, at the University of Cambridge. He is the inventor of the Supercorrelation digital signal processing technique, which has redefined the state of the art in GPS positioning. He is the author of dozens of patents, and has been the recipient of numerous awards within the positioning and navigation ecosystem. His company is pioneering improvements to smartphone and automotive navigation systems, and in the past during his time in the Defence sector he has developed technologies that have been to the bottom of the ocean and all the way to Mars. He also helped to improve the bluetooth tracking capabilities of various globally-deployed contact tracing technologies during the Covid pandemic. He regularly contributes to technology podcasts, writes for Forbes, and has provided science advice for two television production companies. Ramsey lives with his family in Cambridge and is currently navigating the challenging landscape of having three small and adventurous children.

Nicolas Graube - Technical Authority LBS, Qualcomm Technologies International

Tony Pratt - Professor, Orbstar Consultants

Andy Ward - Chief Technology Officer, Ubisense

Dr Andy Ward has designed, built and worked with in-building location systems for over twenty-five years. He studied at Cambridge University, receiving a MA in Computer Science and a PhD in 'Sensor-driven Computing', and led research into location technology at AT&T Laboratories Cambridge from 1998 to 2002. In 2002, he co-founded Ubisense Limited, one of the first companies to commercialize UWB in-building tracking products, and as CTO he now leads technology planning and development for Ubisense. He also sits on the advisory board of CENSIS, a Scottish innovation centre for sensing, imaging and IoT. Andy is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and a Chartered Engineer and was awarded the Royal Academy of Engineering’s 2015 Silver Medal for his contributions to this field.

SIG Champions

David Bartlett - Head of Technology Positioning, u-blox UK

David Bartlett works in the positioning technology (R&D) group at u-blox with a focus on hybrid positioning: bringing together GNSS with terrestrial systems such as UWB and V2X, primarily in support of future autonomous vehicle, driverless car and robotics applications but also for IoT and indoor positioning. Prior to this he was CTO and co-founder of Omnisense delivering high precision indoor IoT tracking solutions. He also worked at Cambridge Positioning systems with a focus on cellular positioning and network aided GNSS techniques.

Bob Cockshott - Knowledge Transfer Manager, Positioning, Navigation, Timing and Quantum, KTN

After 25 years in the space industry working mainly on electro-optical payloads, Bob has spent the last 13 years in the government-funded Knowledge Transfer Network, supporting business in position, navigation and timing, and more recently also quantum technology. Bob has taken a special interest in GNSS vulnerability, and has organised international conferences on vulnerability and its mitigation. Bob is a member of the Cabinet Office PNT Technical Group and chairs the Royal Institute of Navigation’s Technical Committee. Bob is a member of the International Time and Sync Forum Steering Group and is also a Cambridge Wireless Location Based Services SIG Champion.

Ramsey Faragher - Founder, President, and CTO, FocalPoint

Dr Ramsey Faragher is the Founder, President and CTO of Focal Point Positioning, a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation, and a Fellow of Queens' College, at the University of Cambridge. He is the inventor of the Supercorrelation digital signal processing technique, which has redefined the state of the art in GPS positioning. He is the author of dozens of patents, and has been the recipient of numerous awards within the positioning and navigation ecosystem. His company is pioneering improvements to smartphone and automotive navigation systems, and in the past during his time in the Defence sector he has developed technologies that have been to the bottom of the ocean and all the way to Mars. He also helped to improve the bluetooth tracking capabilities of various globally-deployed contact tracing technologies during the Covid pandemic. He regularly contributes to technology podcasts, writes for Forbes, and has provided science advice for two television production companies. Ramsey lives with his family in Cambridge and is currently navigating the challenging landscape of having three small and adventurous children.

Ben Tarlow - Senior Staff Engineer, Qualcomm Technologies International

Ben has worked in positioning for 15 years, developing algorithms for satellite, cellular and other terrestrial RF technologies. At Qualcomm, Ben works in the Advanced Algorithms group, where current research areas in location are data fusion, use of sensor data for positioning and fitness applications; one day, he hopes to be given the remit to explore the area of olfactory positioning. Ben has a background in Pure Mathematics and a PhD in Combinatorics. He has over 20 different patents filed or granted, mostly on subjects relating to positioning.

Event Location

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Location info

CSR, Churchill House, Cambridge Business Park Cowley Road, Cambridge CB4 0WZ - Please note, there is NO PARKING available at CSR

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