A simple Guide to how GPS works - Part 2 some techie stuff!

Whilst GPS is everywhere and is literally rocket science what are the nuts and bolts of how it works. Mike Forbes at Electric Compass explains more...

In standard GPS navigation, each GPS receiver produces “replicas” of the code transmitted by the various satellites. These replicas represent the code the receiver expects to receive from any given satellite. A satellite is located and verified when a replica of the code matches up with the code received(a process known as code phase tracking). At the beginning of each individual signal is a sort of time stamp.

When the two signals are examined by the receiver (called “correlation”), the time stamps of the two signals are compared and a time difference is ascertained. Given this time difference and the rate of propagation of the signal, the GPS receiver uses the simple formula of Rate times Time equals Distance (R*T=D) to compute the distance to each satellite. Due to the uncertainties introduced by the many variables this distance to each satellite is only an estimate, and is known as the pseudo-range.

Pseudo-Range Navigation
The pseudo-range from each satellite can be seen as a radius of a large sphere, and the location of the GPS receiver is one point on that sphere. When several pseudo-ranges from several satellites are used in conjunction, the position of the receiver is simply the intersection of these spheres at a given time. The position is first determined in what is known as the Earth-Centered, Earth-Fixed (ECEF) coordinate system, which describes the receiver’s position relative to the center of the earth. From this ECEF location the receiver then easily deduces the latitude, longitude, and altitude, which of course describes the receiver’s position on the surface of the earth.In solving for the ECEF position the receiver needs to examine four variables (three dimensions and time), and a minimum of four satellites is required. In the event that only three satellites are available, a two-dimensional fix can be calculated by assuming a certain altitude. The greater the number of satellites visible to the receiver the greater the level of GPS accuracy, as five or more satellites can provide position, time and redundancy.

Types of GPS Errors
GPS accuracy is diluted by errors that can be introduced by a number of sources. GPS errors can be any combination of noise, bias, and blunders.Noise errors combine the electronic noise from the space segment and the noise generated by the user’s device.Bias errors were historically a result of the intentional degradation of GPS accuracy by the DOD known as Selective Availability, but this source of bias error is no longer active.

There are many means of improving the accuracy and precision of Global Positioning System data. The most common method of improving position information is known as Differential GPS, or DGPS. DGPS is predicated on the concept that for two receivers positioned reasonably close to each other, several of the errors will be common to both devices, and can therefore be subtracted from the navigation solution. Errors common to both receivers are known as common mode errors, and do not include multipath errors or errors due to noise in the user segment. Specifically,DGPS requires that one receiver is stationary at a known location, and that it sends corrected signals to a roving station; the roving station then incorporates the new information into the range corrections for each satellite.The best DGPS corrections for the roving station occur when the common-mode errors are most similar, or when the receivers are 100 km or closer to each other.

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5 more things to think about when planning an enterprise mobility deployment

Is your organisation investigating ways to eliminate collecting data on paper for your mobile workforce?

This week we are exploring the top 10 important questions you should ask vendors you are evaluating before you make this decision.

5 More things to think about....

6. Can my customers have automatic reports emailed to them when the mobile worker completes the job at the customer location? Can the management team also receive automatic email reports so they can manage the activity in the field?
Data collected in the field can be automatically embedded in a PDF report, attached to an email and sent immediately, all with no intervention from the Administrator. The PDF can embed signatures, photos or sketches that were collected in the application as well. The business rules can be configured so that the report is automatically emailed out to customers, division managers or anyone who needs to review the data. This feature means that your customers could have an email in their inbox before the mobile worker leaves the site.

7. Do I have the option to lock down the device so my mobile workers can’t inadvertently download viruses, games, etc?
Administrators can completely customize what features the users have access to on their devices. For example, devices can be locked down in Kiosk Mode to prevent users from installing games or applications that IT would then be forced to support. Administrators can also control the menu access, thereby giving access to only those menu items they deem appropriate. Because the platform is integrated with LDAP and Active Directory, these options can be set individually, for groups or for all mobile workers globally.

8. What features are built into the solution for me to remotely manage my mobile workforce?
The Desktop allows Administrators to send alerts and messages to mobile workers in the field. When the mobile worker reads the message an acknowledgement is immediately sent to the Administrator for tracking purposes. Administrators can also monitor the device battery life, memory, device ID and version of software deployed. Built in Google Map tracking also allows managers to report activity monitor and coach users.

9. Do I have to manually upgrade each device if the vendor issues a new release of their software or can this be managed remotely?
The platform has built in remote software updates, which means that customers do not have to purchase a 3rd party application to manage software releases. The platform allows remote software updating for not only our own applications, but any third party applications. Instead of calling the devices in from the field to manually upgrade them, Administrators simply import the new release files into the Desktop. During the next synchronization the updates will be sent to the device, activated, and applied. This means your IT department is free from the countless hours of labor typically required to keep your devices on the latest version of software. And, your mobile workforce avoids downtime while waiting for the updates to be applied. This feature eliminates the administrative costs typically required in a mobile project.

10. What happens if I start synching data and my connection gets dropped? Is there any synchronization management built into the solution?
If the mobile worker’s connectivity is lost in the middle of synchronizing data, the system tracks where it left off and will begin syncing again from the exact same place when connectivity becomes available again. This feature greatly minimizes transmission costs and optimizes user productivity.
Customers can prioritize their sync networks as well as set their sync preferences so the system will begin synching at their preferred times or based on an event within the data collection process. If no network is available at the defined times, the system will keep trying to sync until successful. This process is autonomous with the mobile worker taking no action. And, if the mobile worker is in the middle of collecting data at the time of the scheduled sync, the sync engine runs in the background and does not take over the screen or slow performance.

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NetMotion Enterprise Mobility ROI Calculator for Mobile VPN

The NetMotion Wireless ROI Calculator is designed to help you quantify the benefits of deploying Mobility XE in your organization. You will be asked to answer a few simple questions about your mobile users and IT support infrastructure. The ROI Calculator will automatically estimate the number of labour hours and hard savings you will realize in one year using Mobility XE, the leading enterprise grade mobility VPN.

Learn more

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Thoughts on Parkex 2010 Top 3 mobility themes

We spent most of the week at Parkex 2010. Europe's largest show dedicated the parking industry.

Had the opportunity to speak to many people about creating mobile applications and providing solutions in the parking compliance and management industry

Major themes:

1. Making workers become more efficient.
2. Use technology to generate efficiency gains rather than adding headcount.
3. Reduce back office paperwork by making in field data capture more efficient in the first place.

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How to build a windows mobile pda or Intel Atom based tablet app for your business that doesn't suck !

Historically or in some cases hysterically enterprise grade mobile apps have often proven very difficult for organisations to design plan and implement. Traditionally apps been built in one of the following ways;

• Buy an off the shelf solution
  Traditional square peg round hole approach
  Expensive, inflexible
  Technically, can become outdated quickly
  
• Get someone to do a bespoke application development
  Tough to justify in house as skills in mobility not common
  Costly, complex, and time consuming
  Difficult to change repeat maintain upgrade
  
• Use your back end or legacy system mobility module
  Geared to extend ERP SCM, and CRM functions to small screens
  Not designed from the ground up for mobile workers
  Not good at accessing multi-application back end environments
  Often excludes functionality mobile workers need

Find out the real difference in how we can build an application 'with' you or select one from our app store and use it as is or modify it to meet your needs.

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Logistics Enterprise Grade Mobile Apps at the MobileWorxs App Store

Large companies have been using POD systems for many years to increase productivity improve customer service and reduce billing cycles. Integrated or stand alone jobs can be sent to remote workers to pickup and/or deliver items. Managers can book in and manage at a desktop. Look up past jobs captured signatures drop and SKU details as well as photos can all be archived.
Watch the video.

Google Maps based tracking can be added as a separate module.

More enterprise grade apps at the MobileWorxs App Store

Don't see an app for you? let us know what you are looking for and we will build a prototype in 72 hours...mobile your way

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Enterprise Grade Mobile Apps at the MobileWorxs App Store - Highways Maintenance

Our Highways Maintenance App has built in user login, capture defect location using GPS and/or address with date and time stamp. Record defect types such as potholes or street lamp, scale of the problem with any additional notes urgency level photos and signatures.
These details can then be updated into your backend system and/or configured to send out a maintenance job to field workers. The application could easily be updated to capture Points of Interest along a route.
Google Maps based tracking can be added as a separate module


More enterprise grade apps at the MobileWorxs App Store
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Enterprise Grade Mobile Apps at the MobileWorxs App Store - Field Engineer

Our Field Engineer App provides instant visibility into back office service data and information for managing your service organization across the entire field service chain - from dispatch and work order decision making to parts used and labour costs. Deliver information to your field technicians when they need it most, on-site with the customer. Guide field service technicians through best practices so they can focus on customer satisfaction rather than paperwork. Google Maps based tracking can be added as a separate module

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Motorola MC9000

Enterprise Grade Mobile Apps at the MobileWorxs App Store - Merchandising

Perform perpetual store based stock check, use built in scanners to build re-order lists from on board product catalogues. Wi-Fi or wide area communications allow real time update of back of office systems. Add planograms to optimise display layouts.

More enterprise grade apps at the MobileWorxs App Store

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T7000 Tablet Computer