REACH: INTEL EDISON BASED DEVICE IS MAKING HIGHLY PRECISE GPS AFFORDABLE FOR EVERYONESvetlana E. (Intel), 11 de maio de 2016 TraduzirChines simplificadoChines tradicionalInglesFrancesAlemaoItalianoPortuguesRussoEspanholTurcoTraduzirCompartilhar Tweet CompartilharWere used to having GPS receivers integrated in consumer devices all around us, but highly accurate GPS has, until now, been out of the reach of most people. For in-car navigation systems or smartphone applications, accuracy of 10 to 15 meters is good enough to enable people to find their way around. Highly accurate GPS receivers, with tolerances measured in centimeters, have been restricted to professional applications including surveying, construction, precision agriculture and drones because the systems cost tens of thousands of dollars.Now, thats changing, thanks to Emlid, the company behind Reach, a high-precision GPS receiver available for $235, based on the Intel Edison microcomputer platform. The device weighs just 12g, so it can be easily mounted on a drone, and measures 26mm x 45mm.Reach makes high-precision GPS available in a small form factor suitable for drones and other applicationsFor drone hobbyists, Reach enables repeatable precision landings, said Igor Vereninov, co-founder atEmlid. We can georeference the images taken from drones really well, which is important for building precise 3D models of terrain. Reach is being used in the Alps to monitor glacier movement in real time, theres a project thats tracking race horses, and another that is mapping the sea floor to help with applications such as flood modelling.He adds: We are working in partnership with Sigro Pilot to deliver a solution for machinery guidance. Sigro is working on the navigation software that installs on an Android tablet and uses precise coordinates from RTK GPS like Reach to help the driver follow the path. If farmers can reduce the overlap between runs when seeding or fertilizing a field, they can save up to 10% of their resources by only sowing and fertilizing where they need to.The machinery guidance solution on an Android tabletWith surveying equipment often being prohibitively expensive for the developing world, Reach also makes professional measurement affordable for construction and surveying applications there.One Reach user compared the accuracy of Reach with that of professional surveying equipment by placing 20 control markers over a site that was 2km by 5km and surveying the points using both devices. He found the coordinates varied by just 5cm, while Reach costs a fraction of the price of the professional device.All about that baseLike existing professional devices, Reach uses Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) algorithms and differential global positioning system (DGPS) technology to increase the precision of the measured position. The method uses the phase of the satellite signals carrier wave, rather than the information in the signal, because the carrier measurements have a lower margin of error. However, the challenge is to correctly align the signals, and ensure that calculations are not off by one wave, or more waves, introducing inaccuracies in the calculated positions. RTK uses a base station at a known coordinate. The base station broadcasts its known location together with the code and carrier measurements for all the satellites in view, so the mobile clients can align the carrier