Positioning

Nancy Sinatra once mused that her boots were made for walking. In these days of global positioning, going walkabout is not as random an event as it might once have been, but there are still occasions when the all-seeing GPS device can't pick up a satellite. In such cases, having a back-up could mean the difference between getting out of the deep, dark underground cave in one piece or being lost in its tunnels forever. Researchers from North Carolina State University and Carnegie Mellon University have combined technology that is used to measure speed and distance with portable radar equipment to help keep track of a user's location. Read More

Contrary to the expectations of the creators of The Jetsons, the robotic vacuums of today generally resemble a floor-crawling disc rather than humanoid Rosie the Robot. The latest device to join the ranks of circular-shaped household helpers alongside the Electrolux Trilobyte, iRobot Roomba and LG Roboking is the Neato XV-11 from Neato Robotics. Boasting Neato's RPS (that’s Room Positioning System) technology the XV-11 uses path-planning algorithms to outline the area to clean, which it then carries out in a systematic back-and-forth pattern. Read More

The European Commission has announced the official start of operations of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), a satellite based augmentation system (SBAS) that improves the accuracy of the current US Global Positioning System (GPS) and Russian GLONASS system signals from about ten meters to two meters. Like the U.S. GPS, the EGNOS Open Service is accessible free of charge to any user equipped with a GPS/SBAS compatible receiver within the EGNOS coverage area, which includes most European states and has the built-in capability to be extended to other regions, such as North Africa and EU neighboring countries. Most receivers sold today in Europe meet that requirement. Read More

TomTom recently unveiled its latest GO 950 LIVE navigation device as part of the new GO x50 LIVE series, which offers a highly improved user interface and an expanded services offering, along with detailed and constantly updated data feeds. Read More

Student designer Roy Hareguina's "Squad" is a compact indoor positioning system that enables fire fighters, even in dense smoke, to know their exact location and that of their colleagues at all times. Using a dual-mapping system, the tough polyetheretherketone (PEEK) units reduce the danger of separation and disorientation in high-rise buildings, and increase a fire fighter’s ability to save lives. Read More