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About LPS / Indoor LBS
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Outside the remit
of GPS and cellular networks exist other families of positioning technologies that are often referred to as “local positioning systems (LPS)” and "real-time location systems (RTLS),"
which make use of short-, medium- and wide-range networks such as 802.11 (Wi-Fi), Bluetooth, RFID, ultrasound, UWB, or TV
radio signals. The following quotes demonstrate the limitations of GPS and the need for LPS. Optical and motion sensors
also fall under LPS.
Location-Based Services: "They [device manufacturers and operators]
also say that 70 per cent of location-based services are being initiated indoors and yet this is precisely the environment
where GPS fails to deliver an acceptable end-user performance." Read more here.
"FCC NRIC’s recommendations includes the indoor versus
outdoor location testing recommendation...all parties agree to 5% of test calls must be conducted from indoor locations for
compliance and maintenance testing..."
Consider how much time people spend indoor and outdoors. Consider, how many cell phone calls originate from inside
of buildings. How many of those calls are emergency calls (i.e., E911/E112) ? In 2005, Ian Smith, a senior researcher from
Intel Labs, said "GPS is at odds with human civilization," Smith said, "because humans spend most of their
time inside or in dense environments." To help prove the point, he wore a backpack for 3.5 months with a monitor. It
found that, on average, he spent only 4.5 per cent of each day outdoors. There are about 200 million US wireless
subscribers (Jupiter Research, 2005 projection); and, more than 30% of 911 calls in the US originate from mobile phones--a
number expected to soon outpace 911 wire-line calls, according to NENA. Further, 62% of all calls in the US are made from
cell phones (CTIA) and it’s obvious that most people spend most of their time indoors. Unfortunately,
GPS fails because it does not work where people are: indoors and in cities. GPS is great, but not for many applications that
require higher accuracy, precision, coverage, and reliability. Conventional GPS receivers do not work inside buildings
due to the absence of line of sight to satellites, while cellular positioning methods generally fail to provide a satisfactory
degree of accuracy... Read more. Tracking
criminals / sex offenders: "Current GPS-based systems have significant limitations when it comes to continuously
monitoring offenders. The most obvious limitation is that these systems cannot track offenders when they move indoors, underground
or anywhere else the satellite system can’t ‘see’ them. By some estimates, offenders, like most people,
spend 85 to 90 percent of their time indoors, so there is a considerable gap here.” Joe Russo,
Program Manager – Corrections, National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center. "Satellite
technology is not that effective in indoor places like a large mall, building or stadium, or outdoors in a canyonlike environment,
like Manhattan." Read more here. |
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