GNSS Highly Accurate GPS for Tablet PC

GPS has become a common feature in many Android and Windows smart phones and tablets in recent years. The range of uses are vast from apps in social media, confirming delivery locations and as a navigation aid to drivers and walkers.  Generally these devices use commercial off the shelf technology grade GPS receivers accurate to around 5 to 15m.

More professional grade receivers for the handheld and rugged tablet market are a more recent innovation. By its nature the non consumer market focuses largely on geographic information system GIS mapping requirements such as land surveying and construction. In these areas the requirement can often be to achieve a fix accuracy from 1m down to 1cm.

The term GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) is often used in this area to describe receivers using the GPS, and/or GLONASS satellite arrays.

It is estimated that the market GPS/GNSS Tracking Device Market on course to break the $2.89 Billion by 2023 with a growing proportion of that accounted for by larger format devices.

Vast Range of Applications

The free availability and accuracy of GNSS signals for location and timing, combined with reducing cost of the hardware has made GNSS the chosen solution for a very wide and growing range of applications many of which are ideal for use with a tablet PC. These include transport rail, road, aviation, marine, cycling, walking, agriculture, fisheries, law enforcement, highways management, services for vulnerable people, energy production and management, surveying, dredging, health services, financial services, information services, cartography, safety monitoring, scientific and environmental studies, search and rescue, telecommunications, tracking vehicles and valuable or hazardous cargoes.

Which System Best Fits Your Application?

Portable GNSS handheld or tablet pc markets can be split into 4 distinct groups based upon accuracy requirements:

1. Consumer Grade Systems offering limited accuracy (2-15m), e.g. personal navigation and car satnav systems. Basic GPS offers typically 5 to 15m accuracy, and this is sufficiently accurate for basic navigation, and for low order mapping. Receivers of this class are now low cost and widespread in phones and handheld devices from all major manufacturers.
2. Professional Grade Systems offering sub-metre level fix accuracy, 0.5m to 1m, are required for supporting the basic fix accuracy requirements of GIS systems and asset mapping, used increasingly by local authorities, utility companies, housing associations and many other user groups.
3. Professional Grade Systems offering sub-halfmetre fix accuracy, 0.3 to 0.5m, are required for supporting the higher quality fix accuracy requirements of higher level GIS applications and asset mapping, used by local authorities, utility companies, housing associations and many other user groups. These systems again, just use just the L1 frequency output from GNSS satellites.
4. Professional Grade Systems offering very high fix accuracy (typically 1cm to 2cm). GNSS is used extensively nowadays by construction companies and survey companies worldwide, where positional accuracies of 1cm are often required. This accuracy is also necessary for precision machine guidance systems for the control of major earthmoving equipment for the automated shaping of ground profiles, and agricultural equipment.

Selecting the correct GPS technology depends on the application of use. When required to pinpoint GPS to 1-2cm fixes a professional GNSS solution is likely to be the best option.

Our Geopod USB Module plugs into a free USB port on your laptop or any of our rugged Tablet PC range such as the T8650 and T1600 providing you with a complete rugged GNSS surveying platform.