The fact that modern GPS satellites are accurate to within about 11-12 feet is already really impressive, but that margin of error is still wide enough to occasionally cause problems in dense urban areas, which is why Mitsubishi Electric wants to take satellite accuracy to the next level. The Tokyo-based company is working on something called the Quasi-Zenith Satellite system (QZSS), which it claims will be able to bring that margin of error from a few feet, to a few centimeters.
Many of us would be quite literally lost without GPS, but the almighty blue dot isn’t always – pardon the pun – spot on. According to the most recent data from GPS.gov, modern GPS satellites are accurate to within 3.5 meters, depending on external factors such as signal strength and weather. That’s a wide enough margin of error to send you to the building next door to your desired location, especially in a crowded urban environment. In practice, the blue dot has been known to appear further than a few meters away – and somehow always when there’s a hot date or job interview waiting at the destination. Mitsubishi Electric’s new satellite array may become the best defense against wandering blue dot disorder. The “Quasi-Zenith Satellite system” (QZSS), showed off last week at Japan’s annual CEATEC convention, promises to be accurate down to centimeters – strong enough to pinpoint a dollhouse. In the picture below, blue + symbols indicate the possible location of the blue dot using standard GPS if the user is standing in the center. The pink + symbols indicate possible blue dot locations using the QZSS. A Mitsubishi Electric spokesperson says that the number of pink + marks concentrated on the middle is the same as the stray blue + marks covering the mat.