GPS may not work inside, but a British firm has found a way to offer accurate location and navigation services for mobiles even if there’s a roof over your head.
Cambridge Silicon Research (CSR) has unveiled the SirFstarV chip architecture, which combines Wi-Fi and handset features with GPS to offer location-based services with accuracy to 10m inside a building or out.
It uses existing GPS standards along with Wi-Fi positioning and handset features such as accelerometers, gyros and compasses.
This information is then “combined with a huge range of information held in the cloud” to fine-tune locations. Dave Huntingford, director of product management at CSR, said the platform "is able to receive anonymous and voluntary location information wirelessly from users’ devices, even indoors, to improve the database”.
"Whenever people use their smartphones to search for something, or check in on Facebook, location is pivotal," product manager Blake Bullock said. "But GPS doesn't work indoors and Wi-Fi positioning is spotty and inaccurate, which means people often get frustrated. This will bring all those experiences indoor."
Unlike existing GPS chips that rely primarily upon the United States' array of GPS satellites, SirFstarV gathers positioning information from the EU’s Galileo, Russia’s GLOSNASS and China’s COMPASS rivals.
The first generation of the chips are scheduled for release next year, the company said. However, it could be some time after that until they arrive in GPS units, mobile devices or cars.
The company released a video demonstrating the technology, which you can view below:
This article originally appeared at pcpro.co.uk
