Precise Location – Myth or Reality?
What started life as a casual navigation tool, is now being squeezed for more and more performance, according to speakers at the Cambridge Wireless (CW) conference on 5th June hosted by CSR. Wireless industry experts focused in on the issues of location accuracy, looked at the formulation of accuracy, the current methods that are being used, and whether these can be improved and integrated.
Recent studies in both the UK and the United states have shown that while the majority of calls to emergency services are being made from smartphones, as opposed to landlines, the main challenge is the ability to locate the caller. The moment a call is made, GPS navigation is switched off to save battery life, while at the same time, social media, location based apps and texting claim to provide high levels of location accuracy.
Hamid Ahmadi, VP/Chief Innovation Officer, CSR said, “Central to the Position Eco-system is accuracy. This Cambridge Wireless event has allowed us to consider its relevance to various use cases, the importance and difficulties in assessing it. The various presentations covered GNSS and in-doors positioning, in both general and technical manners, overall providing very insightful information.”
Dr Ramsey Faragher, Senior Research Associate, University of Cambridge, speaking at the event explored what happens ‘Behind the Little Blue Dot’. “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, is now being squeezed for more and more performance.” Ramsey pointed to possibility that smartphone technology will soon have the accuracy to direct you to your seat at the football. “That level of accuracy requires an appreciation of what happens behind the little blue dot.”
Tony Pratt, Independent Consultant, UK Government, Defence Equipment Managers and US Government, on Galileo System development, examined the growth of satellite positioning systems and scrutinized their performance in both the indoor and outdoor context. Other speakers included Kanji Kerai, Technologist at Nokia Corporation and Andy Ward, CTO of Ubisense, who discussed indoor systems with interoperable modules and the characteristics of indoor systems for industrial applications respectively. James Brice of PA Consulting Group talked about the techniques currently being used to provide precise indoor location and their efficacy.
Thought leadership cluster, CW, successfully gathered industry experts who penetrated the real issues around location systems. Dr Soraya Jones, CEO of CW commented, “With our Location-based Systems/Services SIG we wanted to draw out the meaning of accuracy, what the industry really wants from it, and how valuable it really is in the chain of system application. We are pleased to have recruited speakers who took such an in depth look into the topic.”
To view the presentations please visit the CW resource page at www.cambridgewireless.co.uk/resources