GPS Roadmap in India

An eye in the sky to keep track of every asset on earth including people and things: GPS enables safe driving, locating places of interest and tracking goods. All major mobile phone manufacturers highlight the GPS capabilities of their smartphones describing it as a must- have feature in mobile device. This technology is used for various purposes from keeping an eye on a school kid to tracking an international consignment of goods.

Understanding GPS

GPS or Global Positioning System is a technology which provides accurate location details regarding the exact position of the user such as the latitude and longitude. A GPS receiver communicates with satellites to provide the necessary information and can be used by anyone who has a receiver. GPS receivers work anywhere on earth as long as these devices can receive signals from the satellite. This necessitates a clear view of the sky, GPS will not work inside buildings, underground or in a thickly foliated forest.

The United States Department of Defense owns and operates the Global Positioning System but it can be used freely by anyone in the world. The European Union has also developed a similar satellite navigation system called Galileo and Russia has developed a system called GLONASS for the same purpose. Receivers are being designed to pick signals from all these systems also.

GPS receivers using C/A code are used for civilian purposes with an accuracy of about 8-15 m. However the P code used by the US military is much more accurate. High-end civilian receivers known as dual-frequency receivers use parts of the P code and not the full signal. These are found to be more accurate than single frequency receivers.

Civilians also do not incur any fees for using GPS except that the receiver has to be purchased. If there is need for additional services like differential correction for more accuracy then a subscription fee maybe charged. The accuracy of positioning depends on the GPS device used although an accuracy of within 15 m can be easily expected. Devices armed with Differential GPS or D-GPS can ensure more accuracy of less than 3 m also. Satellite augmentation, carrier-phase GPS are technologies which give very high accuracy of few centimeters and are used in surveys.

The Wide Area Augmentation System or WAAS enabled receivers are US specific and GPS receivers in India with WAAS will not be able to leverage the advantages of WAAS presently. But the Indian government is implementing GAGAN which is a WAAS-compatible augmentation system. This will enable WAAS receivers to work in India.

GPS in India

The proliferation of GPS survey providers in India and rest of Asia clearly indicates that GPS and its uses are well known in the region and are of great demand. GPS systems are used in car navigation, fleet monitoring and also in ensuring the safety of school going children in the region.

India-GPS.com launched its Dash Car Navigation and Entertainment system which features a 7 inch screen, DVD player, rear camera and navigator. The company’s GPS Eye 410 comes with Bluetooth capabilities and is also suitable for vehicles. Iwave Systems Technologies also announced its iw-GPS receiver module based on SiRF III which is a low power, miniature module used in personal navigation, fleet management, asset tracking, surveying, security and other navigation devices.

It can track weak satellite signals from anywhere including urban settings according to the company sources. The 20 channel GPS receiver accommodates various RF interference scenarios. Maptell Zorba and several similar companies are ready to offer tracking and positioning services using GPS receivers to track the fleet of transport companies. Such announcements are indicative of the growing demand for GPS solutions in various sectors in the country.

GPS Mapping of the Diamond City, Surat

Recent announcements proclaim Surat in India as the first city to be mapped fully using GPS. The technology will be used to collect and locate physical assets including underground assets. The city advisory committee on climate change under Rockfeller Foundation’s Asian Climate Change Resilience Network or ACCCRN initiative will take up the GPS mapping of the city. ACCCRN will be supported by Google, according to reports.

The Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry or SGCCI said that GPS mapping of Surat will provide positioning, navigation and timing services continuously in all weather conditions. All areas, properties and roads will have their own GPS numbers, which will help outsiders to navigate the city.

“We are in constant touch with the Google authorities in order to develop the GPS mapping software for the city. We intend to map each and every physical asset located in over 350 sq km area coming under Surat Municipal Corporation,” said Kamlesh Yagnik, member of the city advisory committee on climate change when talking about the GPS mapping initiative in Surat city at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bangkok, Thailand.

It is expected that GPS mapping will help deal with the aftermath of natural calamities for sending instant aid to the affected regions. Experience has shown authorities that in the absence of proper GPS mapping of the city rescue aircrafts will find it difficult to reach disaster areas as it happened during the 2006 floods. Also the GPS mapping will help the city authorities fight challenges posed by climate change.

Surat is one of the 10 Asian and 3 Indian cities to be selected for such a unique and ambitious project. Surat will be followed by Indore and Jabalpur in India, the two other cities selected for GPS mapping. SGCCI office-bearers are members of the city advisory committee which will supervise the GPS mapping project.

GPS to Track School Buses

Global Positioning Systems offer several applications for the government, military and industry besides helping schools track their buses also. Delhi Public School, Ruby Park in Kolkata has provided GPS-enabled smart cards to kids traveling by school buses. Kids have to swipe their smart cards when entering and leaving the bus. This will record the exact time of each entry and exit. The students’ particulars are recorded by the computerized system which will help school authorities track the kids.

Even parents need not worry about their wards traveling in the school buses as the global positioning software device installed in the school system gives text messages or SMS to a parent’s mobile phone when the bus reaches one-stop before their own. Information regarding the distance and the time remaining to reach the designated stop are given in the message. Parents and guardians also get to know if there is any delay due to traffic or technical problems in the vehicle.

Max Mobility Private Limited provided this system to Delhi Public School, Kolkata. The tracking device provided in the school buses is similar to the devices provided in buses in Delhi and other countries.

“The advantages of the smart card are many,” said Amit Lakhmani, CEO of Max Mobility Private Limited in a statement to the press. “It has been adopted keeping the children’s safety in mind. The card will register the name and time of the student leaving the bus.”

“We have prepared a route map database. With the help of the global positioning system navigation device we can track the buses, their speed or whether these vehicles are overtaking others. Thus, we can get to know if the bus drivers are careful enough or not,” said retired brigadier Niladri Shankar Mukherjee, administrator of the school.

Other Applications for GPS

GPS applications in India do not end here. There are several companies promoting the use of GPS like Aadhithya Systems which sells fishing vessel tracking systems. The company’s Fishing Vessels Monitoring Systems are used in Marine tracking applications. Another company Aayur Technology Solutions has developed a product which is useful in fleet management, offering real time tracking for transport providers and consignment transporters. This is used in tracking of employees and optimization of transportation for Business Process Outsourcing or BPO companies.

Adhyan Techno Solutions’ GPS handset offers a fleet monitoring solution, which helps drivers and dispatchers work together to improve customer response and optimise fleet resources. Another Bangalore-based company offers GPS devices for myriad applications including LAN, WAN or NTP client synchronization using GPS based Network Time server.

The company’s Milgrade GPS receiver is useful in Defense and Avionics applications, and it also offers GPS receivers for Ionospheric study, and Integrated GPS receivers for Embedded and Telecom applications. GPS receivers find applications in Time and Frequency synchronization and Navigation Applications too.

Callcomm, a company based in Hyderabad, India specializes in the provision of location-based solutions and services which track or monitor moving objects like trucks, luxury buses, containers, ambulances and fire brigade trucks. GPS enabled systems can be put to any number of uses.

What Next?

The Indian government is developing the GPS and Geo Augmented Navigation system or GAGAN. GAGAN also means Sky in Hindi and Sanskrit.

It is a regional satellite based augmentation system which is expected to improve the accuracy of a GNSS receiver by providing reference signals. The project comprising of three phases is being implemented by the Airport Authority of India along with the Indian Space Research Organisation’s technology and space support.

The navigation system will assist all phases of flight over the Indian airspace to help in safety-to-life operations. The operational phase of GAGAN is expected to be completed by May 2011.

The project will encompass reference stations in Delhi, Guwahati, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Jammu, Port Blair and Thiruvananthapuram with a master control center at Bangalore. GAGAN is compatible with the WAAS system of the US, the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service or EGNOS and the Multi-functional Satellite Augmentation System or MAAS. The system will provide seamless air navigation service across regional boundaries.

GPS enables a plethora of applications from keeping track of school kids to highly sophisticated applications like in air navigation. To meet the growing demands of users, companies from start-ups to major industry leaders are vying for a piece in the great Indian GPS market pie.

All tags:

None

Login or register to tag items