In today’s day and age, GPS is something we can’t function without. The GPS or Global Positioning System has found its uses in multiple applications ranging from Google Maps to military applications and mining too!
GPS devices and technology was, up until now, built and manufactured in America, now, India is coming up with its very own locating system, which will be called NavIC.
India is looking to be independent of others when it comes to GPS, which is the primary reason behind the development of NavIC, and now, it will be incorporated in every smartphone as well.
Will NavIC be replacing the GPS system in smartphones? Read on to know all about it!
ISRO’s Plans to Commercialise NavIC
The GPS that we use presently is owned by the American Government, and is not the only locating system in the global market. Its Russian counterpart is GLONASS, the Chinese system is the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, and Europe’s locating system is called the Galileo.
Indian Space Research Organisation or ISRO launched India’s own navigation system back in 2016. This was a need that arose due to an incident in the Kargil war of 1999, when the US Government refused to provide GPS information about the Pakistani army to India.
ISRO is now planning to commercialize the homegrown version of GPS, NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation), and implement the system in smartphones as well. This is a definite boost for the Make in India movement.
It has been confirmed that ISRO is currently in the process of discussing this with chipmakers such as Qualcomm and Broadcom as well.
NavIC Enabled Smartphones: Will This Replace GPS Totally?
To employ the NavIC system in smartphones of today, a brand new chip needs to be developed that will support the NavIC. As per ISRO, the accuracy of the NavIC system is more than that of GPS, as the former works on dual frequency bands (S and L), whereas, GPS works only on the L band.
If such a technology is employed in the smartphones that will be sold in India, it will definitely be a game-changer. It can also give directions in a visual turn by turn manner for drivers when used in maps.
India is looking at a future where the usage of GPS will be almost zero. The Government of India has also asked for all commercial vehicles registered after April 1 this year to be installed with the NavIC trackers.
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