In this post you can see the Positioning subject presentation. Positioning is the determination of mobile or stationary objects in space. We can say that positioning is the location of an object in a specified coordinate system.

Positioning mechanisms:

There are different mechanisms for positioning, but the most interesting ones for our purposes are:

• GNSS
• Mobile phone tracking
  • Multilaterationof radio signals between cell towers and the phone.
• WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network)
  • Locating mobile network devices.
• UWB Ultra Wide Band
  • Radio technology that can use a very low energy level for short-range, high-bandwidth communications over a large portion of the radio spectrum.
• WIFI
  • Measuring the intensity of the received signal.
  • WPS (Wi-fi Positioning System). Software contining Wi-fi positions.
• Submarine quantum positioning
  • Accelerometers based on super-cooled atoms could keep track of position with stunning precision.

Positioning and GNSS

In our daily life, many of our basic tools are users of GNSS in positioning or time: Smartphones, watches, tablets, browsers cars, or more precisely for air navigation land, sea, precision agriculture, mining, surveying, geodesy, and even stock markets use GPS time.

GNSS is present in our lives. Nearly everybody has a GNSS receiver in its mobile phone, watch, tablet or portable PC.

As far as GNSS is concerned, many methodologies can be used depending on the needed precision. From an accuracy of a few millimetres, reachable with the static method; to the accuracy of between two and five meters obtained by absolute positioning. Passing through an accuracy of some centimeters using RTK technologies.

GNSS precisions depending on the methodology 

A growing number of economic sectors such as transport, communications, precise farming or emergency services, require these geolocation and positioning services. GNSS market prospects are extraordinary. More than 95% of the market is focused on location-based services (LBS, integrated mobile) and automobile transport services. Other important sectors are agriculture, marine, rail transport, aviation, energy and scientific applications.