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Want to Build Your Own Super Accurate GPS?

Paul Lilly — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:30:34 -0600

If you've ever lost a night's sleep because you couldn't wrap your head around how to build a Real Time Kinematic (RTK) GPS receiver without breaking the bank, then prepare to sleep like a baby. Why? Because researchers Tomoji Takasu and Akio Yasuda of Tokyo University have you covered.

The researchers developed an inexpensive, open source RTK GPS that runs on a beagle board, and better yet, they've posted instructions so you can do the same. And unlike traditional GPS, RTK units measures the shorter wavelengths in the satellite's carrier signal, which ultimately means greater accuracy.

Getting it work right, however, isn't an easy task. That's why Takasu and Yasuda deserve major kudos for printing the detailed instructions, which you can access here.

Anyone plan on tackling this project?

Image Credit: gpspp.sakura.ne.jp

Google Latitude Adds Location History and Location Alerts

Ryan Whitwam — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:01:31 -0600

Google Latitude just got a little bit more useful, and creepy. Latitude now has support for Location History and Location Alerts. Locations History allows you (and only you) to view a log of your various Latitude check-ins. These can be overlaid on Google Maps or Google Earth.

If you have Location History enabled, there’s another feature available to you. Location Alerts is a service (still in beta, for whatever that’s worth at Google) that will notify you if you are near one of your Latitude friends. You can choose enable SMS and/or email notifications. The system automatically filters out places you go often. So if the next door neighbor is on your Google Latitude friend list, you won’t be notified every time you go home.

If these new features sound intriguing to you, head on over to the Latitude apps page to enable.

Microsoft Finally Laying MSN Direct to Bed in 2012

Ryan Whitwam — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:44:31 -0500

Microsoft is always trying to work its way into new businesses. With that sort of approach, there are times that even Microsoft must admit defeat. One of those times is now. Microsoft has announced that the MSN Direct GPS service will be discontinued as of January 1st 2012.

MSN Direct is a service integrated into some GPS devices that uses FM signals to deliver traffic data, weather, stocks, movie times, and various other bits of info. The service was initially offered in 2004 when there may actually have been a need. Now, with the proliferation of cellular data connections and other digital networks, the MSN Direct service makes less sense.

The ample warning will give users just over 2 years of service to work out a substitute. Users with MSN Direct devices can still enroll in the service right up to the end date. Any subscribers wanting to cancel their accounts will be issued a prorated refund. Be honest, had you even heard of this service before now?

AT&T to Debut Garmin GPS Phone on October 4th

Ryan Whitwam — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:07:07 -0500

AT&T announced today that the long awaited Garmin Nüvifone G60 would be coming to the carrier on October 4th. The touchscreen phone will be equipped with a full-fledged Garmin GPS interface and receiver. The handset will come preloaded with maps and points of interest for North America.

It’s not all good news, though. AT&T is asking $299 after a $100 mail in rebate, and 2 year service agreement. Optional Nüvifone Premium service will show the user traffic updates, white pages, weather, movies, local events, and fuel prices. However, it will run you an extra $5.99 per month after an initial 30 day trial.

The G60 is basically a high end Garmin GPS, with phone functionality thrown in. It is said to have a full HTML browser with data access through both HSDPA and WiFi. A 3.5 inch touchscreen and 3 megapixel autofocus camera round out the specs. Just for fun, all pics taken with the camera will automatically be geotagged. Given the price, are you considering dropping some cash on one?

GPS Systems With Real-time Traffic Can Save Drivers up to Four Days per Year

Justin Kerr — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 21:21:16 -0500

Any old GPS will save you time, but if you’re like me and are still clinging to an older model that doesn’t have real-time traffic data, you could be missing out. According to a new study conducted by NuStats, drivers who use real-time traffic enabled GPS’s save approximately four days per year in travel time vs. those who use nothing at all. The savings work out to an average of 18 percent per trip, and also yielded a CO2 savings of nearly 21 percent.

Participants in the study were broken down into three categories, drivers with no electronic navigation assistance, drivers with a GPS, and drivers who were using real-time traffic enabled devices. The survey participants made more than 2,100 individual trips, across approximately 20,000 kilometers of road.

These results sound great on paper, but it’s worth noting that even though the study itself was conducted by NuStats, the project was funded by NAVTEQ, a leading provider of real-time traffic data for GPS manufacturers such as Garmin. Does this shoot holes in the credibility of the study? Let us know what you think.

Google's Traffic Maps Get More Detailed with Smaller Road Support

Paul Lilly — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 10:21:54 -0500

Nothing blows more than sitting in a traffic jam for two hours as you inch your way to your destination 25 miles down the road. Should you get off at the next exit and try your luck on the surface roads instead?

Looking to take the guesswork out of those kinds of scenarios, Google announced that its Google Maps will now show you live traffic conditions on arterial roads in selected cities. All you have to do is select the city you're stuck in and click the "Traffic" button in the upper-right corner of the map.

"As you zoom in closer to an area of interest, we'll color the arterial roads, in addition to the highways, to show current traffic conditions," Google wrote in a blog entry. "Just as with the highways, the colors correspond to the speed of traffic (relative to the speed limit of the road): green is free sailing, yellow is medium congestion, red is heavy congestion, and red/black is stop-and-go traffic."

And it works for Google Maps for Mobile, too.

Image Credit: Google

Tom Tom Navigation App for iPhone Released

Paul Lilly — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 19:54:28 -0500

Apple iPhone users living in the U.S. and Canada now have another navigation application to choose from. The app was first demonstrated at WWDC in June and is now available for download.

The $100 app uses iPhone's built-in GPS chip to give users turn-by-turn directions and is compatible with both the iPhone 3G and 3GS running the iPhone 3.0 OS or later.

"With Tom Tom for iPhone, millions of iPhone users can now benefit from the same easy-to-use and intuitive interface, turn-by-turn spoken navigation, and unique routing technology that our 30 million portable navigation devices users rely on every day," said Corinee Vigreux, Managing Director of Tom Tom.

Other features include IQ Routes, which the company claims helps drivers reach their destinations up to 35 percent faster, landscape and portrait navigation views, night and day color mode, multitouch gestures, and navigation to contacts in your address book.

A version compatible with the iPod and other iPhone models is said to also be in the works.

Browse Your Surroundings with Augmented Reality Browser

Pulkit Chandna — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:05:30 -0500

Scandinavian developer SPRX mobile has developed Layar, an augmented reality browser for 3G phones, which it claims is unprecedented. Despite the company’s we-have-the-first-AR-browser rant, Layar is in fact the world’s second AR browser. The first being Wikitude AR, which provides users with location-based Wikipedia and Qype content using the phone’s GPS, camera and compass. But Wikitude AR is certainly short on features when compared with Layar.

Layar lets users browse their milieu using their 3G handset’s GPS, compass and camera. It furnishes realtime information about the user’s surrounding, which is presented as screen overlays and can be used to find hotels, bars, ATMs, properties for sale, jobs and a lot more. The idea is that all that meets your phone’s camera has a story of its own. It is only available for Android devices in the Netherlands.