Goodbye GPS? DARPA Prepares New Tracking Technology

by Agam Shah,   IDG News Service

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is developing new, self-contained instruments with the goal of delivering more advanced position- and navigation-tracking technology.

The All Source Positioning and Navigation system would be more reliable and accurate than global-positioning systems (GPS), which can be jammed by opponents and is inaccessible in some parts of the world.  The effort, called ASPN (All Source Positioning and Navigation) alleviates issues related to fixing locations in buildings, deep foliage, underwater or underground, where GPS access can be limited. “The need to be able to operate effectively in areas where GPS is inaccessible, unreliable, or potentially denied by adversaries has created a demand for alternative precision timing and navigation capabilities,” DARPA says.

Algorithms would enable the new tracking technology to be more flexible and customizable. The new instruments, which could better track position, time, and direction of motion, will include high-precision clocks, self-calibrating gyroscopes and accelerometers, and high-precision instruments that can track position for long periods without relying on external sources.

DARPA also is developing sensors that use signals of opportunity such as TV, radio, cell towers, satellites, and even lighting for real-time tracking. Compact navigation systems could be given to soldiers, put on tanks, or implemented in guidance systems.

But the advances don’t mean GPS will go away anytime soon. DARPA’s research typically takes years or even decades to turn into actual products, and the U.S. military will likely have first dibs on the GPS alternative before the technology reaches everyday users. Read the article.