Nowhere to Go But Up for Global Positioning Satellite Devices

The count and the amount are in, and by 2013, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) end-user devices and systems will generate yearly revenues of $240 billion. This is the result of a report conducted by ABI Research, a market research firm specific to the impact of emerging technologies on global consumer and business markets. GPS satellite technology is becoming increasingly important as it is being embedded in an ever-wider range of mobile consumer devices to enable navigation and Location Based Services. While GPS handsets, and in-vehicle navigation systems, will remain the most lucrative markets, industrial applications such as network timing, land surveying, and machine control are quickly gaining momentum. The technology certainly won’t come without its own peculiar challenges. Especially when it comes to implemented GPS technology in mobile consumer devices such as handsets and digital cameras, and its indoor use. This is because GPS technology was originally designed for outdoor use as well as specific military applications. The weak signals and long fix times cause difficulties for indoor environments. In addition, further challenges involve mobile devices such as digital cameras, with their low power consumption and always-on requirements.

However, help is on the way via development of innovative workaround solutions based on the post-processing of the GPS signal. As is the use of assisted-GPS technology to provide location and satellite data to connected devices for faster fixes and better coverage. For deep indoor environments GPS will have to be complemented with alternative positioning technologies such as Wi-Fi, motion sensors or even TV broadcast signals. At the same time satellite positioning technology is improving with the upgrade of the existing GPS system, and new GNSS systems. The GPS modernization project is ramped up with three Block IIR-M satellites launched in the last six months, and the contract for GPS Block III satellites to be awarded soon. Funding for the EU’s Galileo constellation was finally approved, and the second GIOVE-B test satellite was launched on April 27. The Russian GLONASS system has 16 satellites in orbit and should become operational by the end of 2008. These projects will result in more and stronger satellite signals, and a higher number of visible satellites being available, which will improve coverage, accuracy, and reliability—London, England