In recent years it has become totally normal for a mobile phone to have GPS, something that years ago was exclusive to the dedicated devices that we carried in our cars. Now this technology has evolved, with dual-band GPS that not all mobiles have integrated, and which is a great leap in quality compared to what the traditional system offers us in our mobiles.
When all mobile phones have this GPS technology , it is difficult to innovate in this field, but it is something that has been possible, thanks to a new technology that greatly improves this functionality in the mobile phones that launch it.
How is the current GPS connectivity of our mobiles?
From the cheapest mobiles, of just 100 euros, the GPS is present in the technical sheet of practically all the terminals for sale. This technology has become an essential feature in phones of all ranges, since its use is almost essential in many cases. To better understand what dual-band GPS is , it is best to better understand how standard connectivity works on traditional mobiles.
This connectivity depends on a network of 27 satellites orbiting the earth. 24 of these satellites operate continuously to provide exact positioning to the devices that connect to them. Our telephones must be connected to at least three of these satellites, so that our exact position can be triangulated with respect to them, and in turn our position on the map. In this way, finding out where we are with respect to these three satellites, it is possible to know our exact position on the globe.
In addition to this traditional GPS positioning system, our phones can also have A-GPS , which is a technology that, in addition to triangulating GPS satellites, uses triangulation of mobile phone towers to make our position more precise in the map. As you know, GPS positioning systems consume a lot of battery, hence this type of hybrid positioning, which requires less energy consumption to function.
This is something that we can appreciate when Google Maps positions us on the map, since the larger blue circle that little by little is reducing its size, represents the positioning that the A-GPS makes of us. And here comes one of the key data that differentiates this technology from the new dual band, precision, since in this mode our position is determined with a maximum margin of error of 50 meters.
What is dual or dual frequency GPS?
Well, that is the answer we want to get now, and it has a fairly simple explanation of why this technology is much more precise than the usual one in our mobiles. As we said, precision is the key, and that is precisely what this technology offers us, greater precision compared to other systems. In this case, the main difference that influences the precision of the signal is precisely this, the type of signal that is used to communicate with our telephone.
While traditional systems use the L1 signal , which easily bounces off buildings, and therefore reaches our telephones later, the L5 signal is able to better overcome obstacles, reaching our terminal earlier. So the name of dual GPS comes precisely from the fact that these two signals are used to position ourselves. While a basic mobile would use the L1 signal to position itself, one with dual GPS will use both L1 and L5 . In the first place, it will connect to L1 to have a first location in less time, while moments later, with the help of the connection to the L5 signal, it will make our positioning on the map more precise.
The red dot is the actual positioning indoors, more accurate with Dual GPS at the first capture
What advantages does it offer?
Well, there are many, and it is something that we are going to notice from the beginning. Since with a dual GPS in our phone we will be able to have a position accuracy of more or less 10 centimeters of error , much less than those 50 meters that we were talking about with respect to traditional GPS. In addition, it will take much less time to connect with the satellites, so you will get the location almost instantly. In addition, being more precise, in apps like Google Maps, our position will appear in the exact lane we are traveling through, so the instructions will always be much more precise when moving from one lane to another to prepare to leave. the road or enter another.
Another of the great advantages has to do precisely with one of the great disadvantages of the traditional GPS system in our mobiles. And it is that surely you have realized over the years that the use of GPS inside a building is almost residual. Something that is explained by the inconsistency of the L1 signal with respect to obstacles, which cause bounces in the signal. This practically does not happen with the L5 signal, and therefore one of the great advantages of this technology is that we can use it inside buildings without problems .
Therefore, you can use GPS inside an airport, or a shopping center , and easily find the exact location of a boarding gate or a store, since despite the walls, the dual-band GPS will be able to communicate without problem. with satellites and obtain a much more precise positioning in less time. So as you see the advantages of using a GPS of this type are many, and also, they consume less energy than traditional systems, so if we use it daily, we will notice a better autonomy. So if you are one of those who use GPS on a daily basis, it is a feature that should not be missing in your next mobile phone, so it should be something basic to review in its technical sheet before getting it.
