• lka1988@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        3 days ago

        Pretty much every GPS-capable device made in the last decade uses all systems available: GPS (USA), GLONASS (Russia), and Galileo (EU).

      • mox@lemmy.sdf.org
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        3 days ago

        For those who are unfamiliar with it:

        GLONASS (ГЛОНАСС, IPA: [ɡɫɐˈnas]; Russian: Глобальная навигационная спутниковая система, romanized: Global’naya Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema, lit. ‘Global Navigation Satellite System’) is a Russian satellite navigation system operating as part of a radionavigation-satellite service.

  • Xanza@lemm.ee
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    3 days ago

    We’re too dependent on a technology that we spent tens of billions of dollars researching and perfecting over decades of research!

    Possibly the dumbest statement I’ve heard this week.

    • Zonetrooper@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      It’s not as dumb as you make it out. The issue isn’t that GPS is really, really good at what it does; it’s that it’s also incredibly vulnerable to disruption and spoofing. And due to the particulars of how GPS works, we can’t entirely fix that. We can do some things to ameliorate it, but a lot of those aren’t suitable for smaller things that use GPS today.

      The other thing is that GPS largely replaced a tremendous number of other navigation aides and techniques, including other radio-navigation systems like LORAN-C.

      • T156@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        It’s also just a generally bad idea to be too dependent on a single system. If GPS reception fails for one reason or another, it would be good idea to have a backup.

    • JasonDJ@lemmy.zip
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      3 days ago

      Nah the idea is sound. As someone else said, GPS is incredibly fragile. Also very terrestrial…it doesn’t work once you leave the atmosphere.

      This will probably be another SpaceX grift, but there are alternative technologies that are more resilient to attack. From military/defense perspective (the original reason for GPS), that’s pretty important.

      • Xanza@lemm.ee
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        3 days ago

        GPS is incredibly fragile.

        No, not really. The GPS signal isn’t designed to penetrate concrete, no. But that doesn’t make it fragile.

        Also very terrestrial…it doesn’t work once you leave the atmosphere.

        Considering it was never meant to…that’s really not that goddamn weird. It’s a global positioning satellite system. So clearly for it to work you have to be on the fuckin’ globe…

        • JasonDJ@lemmy.zip
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          3 days ago

          Having functional GPS in a tunnel would be very nice…as someone who drives through Boston and fucking hates tunnels.

          But that’s not what I meant by fragile. I meant it can be disrupted/jammed fairly trivially.

          • Xanza@lemm.ee
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            3 days ago

            Having functional GPS in a tunnel would be very nice

            In a tunnel

            a tunnel

            tunnel

            I fear for the world. You afraid that you’re gonna make a wrong turn? Inside of a tunnel? A fuckin’ tunnel my guy?

            • wjs018@piefed.social
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              3 days ago

              You have clearly never driven on 93 through Boston where the person you replied to said they are from (aka the Big Dig). It is basically an entire highway that is underneath the city. There are many on and off ramps, lanes suddenly become exit only, complex multi-lane exits that branch…it’s intimidating. As somebody that has lived in the Boston area for 15 years now, I still mess things up.

          • lengau@midwest.social
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            3 days ago

            There’s no reason why some sort of augmentation system couldn’t improve the navigation situation with the big dig. Stick some low power beacons that provide GPS-like signal in the tunnel based on their predetermined location and we’ll have GPS accounting for special relativity, general relativity and continental drift.

      • GamingChairModel@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        it doesn’t work once you leave the atmosphere.

        Fun fact: just this past week an experiment on a lunar lander confirmed that GPS signals can be detected from the surface of the moon. I don’t know if those signals can give any kind of location precision, but it is an interesting finding.

  • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
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    2 days ago

    They’re already are multiple alternatives to GPS. GPS is the American navigation system, but there’s also GNSS which is mostly used in Europe and Scandinavia. There are other systems for other parts of the world, even the North and South pole now.

    Everyone just uses GPS universally though.

    • Patch@feddit.uk
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      2 days ago

      there’s also GNSS which is mostly used in Europe and Scandinavia

      GNSS is the generic term that covers all satellite navigation systems (GPS included).

      Galileo is the EU/ESA system you’re thinking of.

      GLONASS (Russian) and BeiDou (Chinese) are the other two major constellations with global coverage. The only other full system I know of is NavIC, which is Indian and has only regional coverage.

      Most devices actually connect to all of them. I’ve just checked my phone, and it’s connected to all of GPS, Galileo, GLONASS and BeiDou. People just say “GPS” because it’s catchier than “GNSS”.

  • GodlessCommie@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    In comes starlink to the rescue. But in typical Musk fashion it won’t doesn’t do what’s advertised and cost a shit ton more

    • Xanza@lemm.ee
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      3 days ago

      It’s literally him convincing someone to sell their house that they own outright to rent from him because it’s somehow much better (for him of course). It’s so fucking stupid.

    • Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      Remember that time he claimed Teslas windows were shatterproof and indestructable. Then he throws a baseball and the window instantly shatters?

        • halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world
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          3 days ago

          And was the second time that window had the ball bearing thrown at it. They’d tested it backstage but didn’t replace that window for the on stage demo, so it was already weakened.

          • Saik0@lemmy.saik0.com
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            3 days ago

            Yeah I’m gunna be frank on this one… it’s GOOD that it broke. If you’re in a car fire (which these seem to do often), you want to be able to break out a fucking window to get out.

            Any civilian that wants a window that strong is too stupid to properly risk evaluate the features of a car.

            • T156@lemmy.world
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              3 days ago

              Its like the video showing firefighters struggling a lot to break the window of the Tesla pickup. That’s not a praiseworthy thing. You want the windows to break easily enough you can get out in an emergency, or someone can break in to get you out.

  • 800XL@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    How do we call these assholes and tell them to get their heads out of Muskovitch’s ass?

  • vaprz@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    What if we built a system of beacon transmitters that sent out pulses and then used recievers that would compare arrival times of those pulses to make a measurement, thus establishing positional location?

    We could call it the Long Range something or other. I’m open to suggestions. Need a catchy name!

  • TimeSquirrel@kbin.melroy.org
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    3 days ago

    Too often, the vertical location (Z-axis) information that 911 call centers receive is not easily usable

    So…use the barometer in tandem with GPS? This is shit I can easily track from my personal Homassistant server.

    Also, you know how to make GPS more reliable, secure, and redundant? You launch more GPS satellites.

    • Telorand@reddthat.com
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      3 days ago

      Also, you know how to make GPS more reliable, secure, and redundant? You launch more GPS satellites.

      But where will we find room for more Starlink satellites if we do that? Elon said he needs another contract, and when the boss says jump…!

      /s

      • bluGill@fedia.io
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        3 days ago

        I live in an area with a lot of iron. I cannot trust a compass to always point north. Generally I’ve had no problems in the woods: follow the trails that are on the maps, or at least stay close enough that you can always find them again and you are fine. (until of course you are not)

      • spongebue@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        Triangulation of what, exactly? GPS already triangulates your position based on what it receives from multiple satellites, yeah?

      • lka1988@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        3 days ago

        Phones already do that with cell towers. It’s called A-GPS (augmented GPS). Cell towers, wifi, and even bluetooth, are used in addition to GPS/GLONASS/Galileo signals.

        • Saik0@lemmy.saik0.com
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          3 days ago

          No, you need 4 minimum.

          Two satellites intersection places you on a circle. (all points possible)

          Three satellites intersection places you on two possible points.

          The last satellite give you the exact location.

          However, the 4th can be omitted if one of the 2 points is not in a sane location. (eg well below the crust). And it’s trilateration not triangulation.

          The reality is that your phone/device will use like a dozen satellites.

          • Ulrich@feddit.org
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            3 days ago

            Uhhh nope, that’s incorrect.

            The way triangulation works is by essentially measuring distance.

            So 1 satellite distance puts you anywhere in a radius (circle) of that satellite.

            2 Satellites puts you at 1 of 2 locations where those radiuses intersect.

            3 satellites gives you a single location.

            That’s why it’s called triangulation. Tri = 3