Colorado-based startup Zephr has claimed to have solved smartphone GPS positioning problems with a networked approach that achieves sub-60cm accuracy.
Zephr’s software development kit (SDK) can be integrated into apps to turn smartphones into a network of GPS base stations. Base stations are high-accuracy, stationary GPS receivers used to broadcast location correction to roving GPS units.
When smartphones running Zephr’s code are within 10 kilometers of each other, they can exchange error data and use it to all get pinpoint accuracy for their locations.
In real-world testing, Zephr said it was able to achieve accuracy within a 1-meter buffer, and often within 50cm. The company said it needs around 10 to 15 devices sharing data within 10 kilometers of each other to get a marked improvement in GPS accuracy.
Zephr’s cofounder and CEO, Sean Gorman, said the company’s technology could be used for a variety of applications, including augmented reality, autonomous vehicles, delivery and ride-sharing services, search and rescue, and other location-centric uses.
Zephr plans to make its SDK available in the first half of next year.
The sources for this piece include an article in TheRegister.