Europe To Develop Its Own Gps

[+BigWhiteTruck]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4555276.stm

[+Greymane]

This is not really new. This has been in the works for about 10 years. The system will work in conjunction with the US satellites (so won't be totally independent). The standard signals will be a free service, but the intent is to have the high precision signals be a paid service (subsciber-type) eventually. I wonder what it will cost?

[adampierson]

The article is a good read for who haven't heard of Galileo. Accuracy down to a meter would be nice, however this still depends on how well the signal will penetrate the covered area. Even more important is caches already in service marked with the older GSP models... eventually they probably will die out and hopefully cache maintainers will update their coordinates. Realistically the improvements will be better, but not as much as the hype is telling us all. So don't delete those lifeline buddies off your cellphone!

 

If this "superduperaccurate" service is gonna be subscription based, I'm certainly not willing to pay for it.

[+AuntieWeasel]

I wouldn't get too excited by anything Europe "is going to do by 2010". Betting the farm, getting your heart set...even bothering to read another article about it right through to the end may be a touch optimistic.

[+Sputnik 57]

With the search function down, multiple threads may be just fine, but this is already being discussed in the Units and Software forum.

[+Indotguy]

The Trimble company markets the GeoXH™ handheld which is advertised as sub foot (30 cm) GPS accuracy. You can buy one right now if you have a few thousand dollars to spend.

[+Katoomer]

Remember, We are all potiential terrerists now so even though that type of accuracy will be avalable. We won't be trusted to use it. Exceptions of course for surveyors and business use and the like. I understand that is the way it is now with the current system. I've been told both the militarys equipment and certain proffesional users are allowed to have the most accurate recievers for the current system now.

[+dkwolf]

Yeah, read through that article, and found myself thinking, "So?" The current system ALREADY is capable of sub-centimeter accuracy using ground-based corrections. Sounds like all they're going to do is toss a couple more birds in the air and build a copy of our differential GPS (DGPS) (which is the current sub-meter system) to the tune of a few billion dollars....I'd go into why, but that gets political.....

[+AuntieWeasel]

Remember, We are all potiential terrerists now so even though that type of accuracy will be avalable. We won't be trusted to use it. 

Oh, I don't know. Go download the Google Earth dingus and have a look at the last cache you did. The level of detail and accuracy in that application are getting to be amazing. I did a cache recently that I could certainly have found more easily if I'd had a look at Google before I went out rather than depending on the GPS at the scene.

 

My point being, startlingly accurate ways of pinpointing locations are already a big consumer item, not even getting into GPS. They're going to have a hard time putting that genie back in the bottle -- and, so far, they're not even trying.

[+Alan2]

Competition is good. Let the Europeans spend their money!

[+hbear & jroo]

What do you think of Europe's new satellite network? How will it affect GPS? How will it affect the US? How will it affect Geocaching?

 

Here is an article from a UK publisher... Europe's Space Race with the US Begins

 

In my best Linda Richman, "Talk amongst yourselves."

[+Airmapper]

Depends if they charge for it or not. US GPS technology is free to us, but the European system might want money, like Sirius radio.

 

If the only way to get the better accuracy is to pay, I probably won't be real interested. But if it works with the US system, it might be the best thing since sliced bread.

 

I assume new receiving units will be in order eventually, but that's probably a given with new technology.

[+hbear & jroo]

If it was free, and geocachers bought new receivers, do you think geocaching would be less fun? They are talking a much better accuracy, one metre (a.k.a. meter) according to the European Union website.

 

European Union Galileo Information

[+Alan2]

The hider could report on the cache page coordinates deliberately offset by the actual position by 3/1000's of a minute (about 18 feet) so that people looking would still be faced with having to search around an area the same size as today.

[nobby.nobbs]

that's going to be the accuracy in the open. you'll be hard pressed to get that on a rainy cloudy day in the middle of the woods! that's asssuming that the given accuracy ever is achieved.

scientists being optimistic with their expectations! as if.

[Keystone]

I merged together two active threads about Galileo, and edited the title a little bit.

[flir67]

here's a good article I just noticed on macrumors about how a company making cheap satellites is using the parts from cellphones,dvd players,etc to make the alternate gps satellite system galileo

 

interesting article

 

gps article

[Keystone]

I merged the above post into the existing discussion of Galileo.

[TCE]

If it were a subscription deal...uh...how soon would a Trimble GPSr eventually pay for itself? And, good point on the tree cover!..and rain, and clouds, and mountians/hills and uh...other stuff that can get in the way of good GPS signals.