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Indoor GPS Coming Soon to Cell Phones

18.05.12

Most of today's smartphones offer GPS navigation, as well as a smattering of location-based apps that could be more useful—if only the GPS radio didn't drain the battery so quickly. That's to say nothing of using your phone indoors, where you're lucky if a GPS satellite can get a fix on your location at all.

In an effort to improve this situation, CSR has announced its next-generation GPS offerings for cell phones, portable navigation devices, and automotive systems. The company announced three main technologies: SiRFstar V, the fifth generation of its trademark GPS radio chipset for mobile devices; SiRFusion, a self-learning, end-to-end location platform that fuses multiple location sources and transitions between indoor and outdoor environments; and SiRFprimaII, an automotive infotainment platform that handles streaming video, cellular connectivity, and accurate navigation even in underground tunnels and so-called "urban canyons."

GPS navigation is rapidly becoming commonplace—and not just in the car, Kanwar Chadha, CSR's chief marketing officer and founder of SiRF, said in an interview with PCMag. (CSR acquired SiRF in 2009.) Chadha said that many services now assume location awareness, with the Apple iPhone 4S and its Siri assistant only the latest popular example. This is only going to become more prevalent over time. Moreover, as Chadha points out, it's no longer only an outdoor phenomenon. Many location-aware apps are often used indoors, whether to ask Siri a question, run Yelp, or snap a photo.

Source: PC Magazine