There is still a long way to go, but the technology that could be the successor or, at least, complement in the best way the classic GPS that we all use at some point is getting closer. Today, the positioning system has an accuracy of a few meters, being more or less depending on the system. However, with this SuperGPS we will have an accuracy of centimeters.
This particular new system, which is still being tested as there is only one prototype, will be able to take traditional GPS to a higher level. This is just what they have been trying to develop, based on updates, for years. Therefore, thanks to this technology, the precision can be improved in such a way that it can reach an accuracy of centimeters.
An accuracy of 10 centimeters
Researchers from the Delft University of Technology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and VSL have been in charge of developing an alternative positioning system to GPS, but which, in their idea, is a complement capable of improving the traditional system, especially in urban environments.
In any case, the prototype they developed, and with which they continue to carry out different tests in order to reach the final phase of the project, demonstrated that this new technology is capable of achieving up to a precision of 10 centimeters when it comes to achieving positioning.
And it could not only be to make the current GPS give its best, but also, in the event of a blackout, this new system, which is still in the testing phase, could be the perfect backup for current technology. Especially since much of the world’s infrastructure today is based on global satellite navigation systems, such as GPS or Galileo , depending on satellites that have a series of limitations or also vulnerability.
The goal of SuperGPS
This alternative system to the traditional GPS sets aside the satellites to make use of the mobile telecommunications network with the aim of being more precise than the current system. For this reason, SuperGPS is a hybrid system that combines both wireless connections, that is, WiFi connections, and the mobile networks that we usually use.
First of all, we are dealing with a system that follows the principle of satellite GPS , that is, the satellites carry an atomic clock that, thanks to a receiver, can communicate with several satellites at the same time in order to calculate their position, there is also It must be said that the terrestrial stations are also equipped with atomic clocks. However, when using it, there are different interferences that cause the accuracy to be meters and not centimeters, like buildings.
For this very reason, the ideal of SuperGPS is to connect mobile networks to a single atomic clock through fiber optic cables so that the position can be transmitted correctly and as synchronized as possible at all times. And it is that, by managing to use a ‘virtual’ bandwidth, which is made up of different sections that have a lower bandwidth, the researchers have been able to determine that signals similar to those commonly used by smartphones are produced. .
Therefore, it makes it possible to avoid to a greater extent the interference that can occur due to objects, buildings, etc., that we mentioned, since the buildings would not continue to reflect the radio signals in the same way, and this would help the navigation devices manage to count with the smallest possible precision error .
