DARPA is Developing a Real-Time Positioning Technology That Will Replace GPS

The Global Positioning System (GPS) technology has been in use from many years now. Different sections of the society like military, civil, and commercial sector make use of GPS to track down accurate location and time information. However, the satellite navigation system has its own limitations and gets obstructed by weak signals. To rise above the vicious circle, DARPA, the agency of U.S. Department of Defense, is working on an alternative of GPS.

The advanced research wing of US Military is building up a cutting edge location technology that will offer real-time navigation-tracking inspite of blind spots and jammers. This will lend a hand for the U.S. Defense department to get instant information about the location of their soldiers and tanks and also the rivals. The research wing of U.S. Department of Defense said in a statement :

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.

This technology won’t just benefit the military; a range of new self-contained instruments are under development that will give real-time details about time, location, and motion to civil and commercial users. The organization is working on self-calibrating gyroscopes, accelerometers, high-precision clocks and navigation instruments that work without wireless signals or other external sources.

The agency is reportedly eyeing on new technological sensors that could pick up “signals of opportunity” such as television, radio, cell towers, satellites, and even lightning, and assist the receiver in navigation and real-time positioning. Termed as ASPN (All Source Positioning and Navigation), the innovation will help soldiers in harsh conditions such as in dense jungle, underwater or underground, deep foliage, etc. In short, it will reach all the places where GPS access gets obstructed.

Also it is learnt that the upcoming device will be compact in a way that it can be carried by the soldiers or can be installed on tanks to know about their positioning. The sensors will be cut down in size to reduce power consumption.

All this sounds good, but don’t expect it to come to your hands anytime soon. This GPS alternative is presently under development and it will take a few years to come to the market.