Researchers increase GPS precision to centimeter-accurate

Thanks to researchers in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, unmanned aerial vehicles can soon deliver packages to a specific spot on a customer’s back porch.

According to Phys.org, the new centimeter-accurate GPS system “could transform virtual reality and mobile devices.”

Though centimeter-accurate positioning systems are already used in fields such as geology, surveying, and mapping, the devices have always been too large and costly. Now, this precision can soon be found with the help of the average mobile phone.

Todd Humphreys, Assistant Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, worked with a student to establish a startup, Radiosense, to further develop the technology.

Phys.org reports that Humphreys and his team are “working with Samsung to develop a snap-on accessory that will tell smartphones, tablets, and virtual reality headsets their precise position and orientation.”

Two innovations—program manager Gafcon’s SharePoint360 project management platform and a new BIM “wall creator” add-on developed by ClarkDietrich Building Systems for use with the Revit BIM platform and construction consultant—show how fabricators and owner’s reps are stepping in to fill the gaps between construction and design that can typically be exposed by working with a 3D model.