{"id":503,"date":"2024-07-30T20:42:54","date_gmt":"2024-07-31T00:42:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/?post_type=article&#038;p=503"},"modified":"2024-07-30T20:42:55","modified_gmt":"2024-07-31T00:42:55","slug":"gps-in-smartphones","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/article\/gps-in-smartphones\/","title":{"rendered":"Lassonde research boosts accuracy of GPS in smartphones"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Using precise satellite tracking data currently unavailable to smartphone processors, the Lassonde School of Engineering research team reduced tracking errors by upwards of 64 per cent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A considerable feat, given the fact that satellites transmit signals from more than 20,000 kilometres away in space and smartphone reception can be quite weak (a phone\u2019s antenna costs less than a dollar to manufacture).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBecause these satellites are so high in orbit and a consumer product like a smartphone uses low-grade and low-cost hardware, the great engineering challenge is to find ways to make everyday technology more precise,\u201d explains&nbsp;<strong>Sunil Bisnath<\/strong>, a professor of geomatics engineering, whose research team also includes PhD students&nbsp;<strong>Yi Ding<\/strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>Jiahuan Hu<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-style-default\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"424\" src=\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/689\/2024\/07\/Bisnath-1.jpg\" alt=\"Sunil Bisnath, Professor, Department of Earth and Space Science, Lassonde School of Engineering\" class=\"wp-image-512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/689\/2024\/07\/Bisnath-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/689\/2024\/07\/Bisnath-1-400x166.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Sunil Bisnath, Professor, Department of Earth and Space Science, Lassonde School of Engineering<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>For the trio, that meant \u201csqueezing\u201d as much information from the satellite data as possible, and as much as a smartphone\u2019s computing processor could handle. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cProfessional-grade GPS equipment that can measure millimetre distances costs tens of thousands of dollars. Smartphones are not designed to function at such a high level,\u201d said Bisnath. \u201cOur positioning technique to fill in missing data gaps was able to significantly improve the accuracy and quality of the measurements.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Their findings, published this year in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s10291-023-01596-1\"><em>GPS Solutions<\/em><\/a>, detail their method, which involved manipulating specific types of satellite data called pseudorange and carrier-phase measurements, multiplying the speed of light by the time these signals have taken to travel from the satellites to the smartphone receiver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The researchers used York\u2019s Keele Campus as a living lab to test their work, mounting a GPS-enabled smartphone on a car dashboard and driving on various roads at and around the University and on 400-series highways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Currently, Bisnath and his team continue to refine their technique, working to enhance its precision even further, while exploring potential partnership interest from industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This latest innovation builds on more than 30 years of research by Bisnath, who began studying GPS in the early 1990s upon the suggestion of one of his professors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cI didn\u2019t know what GPS was at the time, but now it\u2019s become so pervasive in our daily lives,\u201d said Bisnath. \u201cFrom getting your dinner delivered on an app to following package deliveries online to conducting transactions with your bank card, GPS plays an integral role in how modern society works.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSo what I thought was a one-time project turned out to be an entire career.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[38],"class_list":["post-503","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry","category-cutting-edge-research","tag-lassonde-school-of-engineering"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Lassonde research boosts accuracy of GPS in smartphones - Ascend Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Geomatics engineer, Dr. Sunil Bisnath, at the Lassonde School of Engineering at 快播视频, has developed an innovative positioning technique.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/article\/gps-in-smartphones\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lassonde research boosts accuracy of GPS in smartphones - Ascend Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Geomatics engineer, Dr. Sunil Bisnath, at the Lassonde School of Engineering at 快播视频, has developed an innovative positioning technique.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/article\/gps-in-smartphones\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ascend Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-07-31T00:42:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/689\/2024\/07\/Bisnath-1.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.yorku.ca\\\/ascend\\\/article\\\/gps-in-smartphones\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.yorku.ca\\\/ascend\\\/article\\\/gps-in-smartphones\\\/\",\"name\":\"Lassonde research boosts accuracy of GPS in smartphones - Ascend Magazine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.yorku.ca\\\/ascend\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.yorku.ca\\\/ascend\\\/article\\\/gps-in-smartphones\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.yorku.ca\\\/ascend\\\/article\\\/gps-in-smartphones\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.yorku.ca\\\/ascend\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/689\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/Bisnath-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-31T00:42:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-07-31T00:42:55+00:00\",\"description\":\"Geomatics engineer, Dr. Sunil Bisnath, at the Lassonde School of Engineering at 快播视频, has developed an innovative positioning technique.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.yorku.ca\\\/ascend\\\/article\\\/gps-in-smartphones\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.yorku.ca\\\/ascend\\\/article\\\/gps-in-smartphones\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.yorku.ca\\\/ascend\\\/article\\\/gps-in-smartphones\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.yorku.ca\\\/ascend\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/689\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/Bisnath-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.yorku.ca\\\/ascend\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/689\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/Bisnath-1.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":424,\"caption\":\"Man smiling.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.yorku.ca\\\/ascend\\\/article\\\/gps-in-smartphones\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.yorku.ca\\\/ascend\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Articles\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.yorku.ca\\\/ascend\\\/article\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Lassonde research boosts accuracy of GPS in smartphones\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.yorku.ca\\\/ascend\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.yorku.ca\\\/ascend\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ascend Magazine\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.yorku.ca\\\/ascend\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Lassonde research boosts accuracy of GPS in smartphones - Ascend Magazine","description":"Geomatics engineer, Dr. Sunil Bisnath, at the Lassonde School of Engineering at 快播视频, has developed an innovative positioning technique.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/article\/gps-in-smartphones\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Lassonde research boosts accuracy of GPS in smartphones - Ascend Magazine","og_description":"Geomatics engineer, Dr. Sunil Bisnath, at the Lassonde School of Engineering at 快播视频, has developed an innovative positioning technique.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/article\/gps-in-smartphones\/","og_site_name":"Ascend Magazine","article_modified_time":"2024-07-31T00:42:55+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/689\/2024\/07\/Bisnath-1.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/article\/gps-in-smartphones\/","url":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/article\/gps-in-smartphones\/","name":"Lassonde research boosts accuracy of GPS in smartphones - Ascend Magazine","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/article\/gps-in-smartphones\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/article\/gps-in-smartphones\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/689\/2024\/07\/Bisnath-1.jpg","datePublished":"2024-07-31T00:42:54+00:00","dateModified":"2024-07-31T00:42:55+00:00","description":"Geomatics engineer, Dr. Sunil Bisnath, at the Lassonde School of Engineering at 快播视频, has developed an innovative positioning technique.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/article\/gps-in-smartphones\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/article\/gps-in-smartphones\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/article\/gps-in-smartphones\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/689\/2024\/07\/Bisnath-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/689\/2024\/07\/Bisnath-1.jpg","width":1024,"height":424,"caption":"Man smiling."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/article\/gps-in-smartphones\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Articles","item":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/article\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Lassonde research boosts accuracy of GPS in smartphones"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/","name":"Ascend Magazine","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-CA"}]}},"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":60,"label":"Cutting-edge research"}],"post_tag":[{"value":38,"label":"Lassonde School of Engineering"}]},"featured_image_src_large":[],"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/ascend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}