GLOBAL CHALLENGES

Shoe-Implanted Radar May Improve GPS Devices

Despite their ubiquity in everything from cars to cell phones, GPS devices are not perfectly accurate. Now a radar tool, implanted into a user's shoe, might improve GPS technologies, even when outside satellite range.

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Shoe-Implanted Radar May Improve GPS Devices
Our reliance on Global Positioning System (GPS) devices becomes dangerous when these devices fail. Hikers end up lost in the woods; drivers take wrong turns. Now a group of researchers from North Carolina State University and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) has developed a way to improve GPS devices�a radar system that can be implanted into users' shoes.

"There are situations where GPS is unavailable, such as when you're in a building, underground, or in places where a satellite connection can be blocked by tall buildings or other objects," says Dr. Dan Stancil, head of NC State's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and co-author of a paper describing the team's research. "So what do you do without satellites?"

The secret to improved GPS technology might be on your feet.

The best way to assist GPS devices outside of satellite range is with inertial measurement units (IMUs). IMUs measure a person's or vehicle's acceleration and orientation to determine distances moved. Working in conjunction with GPS, an IMU can track movement that occurs after satellite signal is lost. "For example, if you entered a cave and lost your GPS signal," a statement from the researchers explains, "you could use the IMU to retrace your steps to the last known GPS location and find your way back out."

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