On Tuesday 14 December 2010 03:05 PM, Kenneth Gonsalves wrote:
On Tue, 2010-12-14 at 12:31 +0530, Rony Bill wrote:
A mobile phone's AGPS is too off mark in giving locations.
agps does not mean gps using cell phone towers. It uses cellphone towers to speed up fixing the location. You can switch off this feature.
My mistake. I was referring to mobile phone gps. It is not very accurate. In google maps on my phone, my location is off by about 200 to 300 meters. Not good for giving directions as I am not present on that spot. A left or right turn based on this perceived location can be disastrous.
Sine we are on this topic, I could not help think aloud. A good option in cities would be to have cheap low power RFID type directional transmitters on every electric pole along the road or additional stumps where pole are absent, and only someone in close proximity will receive the signals. Cannot go off-track here. It could also be used for future driverless automobiles. The vehicle moves from pole to pole. Roads that turn or curve can have guide rails at the curve that have a series of such transmitters to guide vehicles on the turn. To center the vehicle, such transmitters can be embedded inside the road dividers to keep vehicles from straying in the opposite lane. The transmitters could be sealed disposable units for easier maintainance. The vehicle measures the signals from both sides and makes its calculations. Proximity sensors along the vehicle sides keep it safe from collisions through speed control and auto steering and braking. This system can work even in tunnels and underground roads.