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The Importance of Understanding Precision
GPS devices are designed to send any positional data they calculate, regardless of its accuracy. Indeed, the latitude, longitude and altitude reported by GPS devices -- even with corrective technologies such as WAAS or EGNOS -- are frequently inaccurate by three <i>hundred</i> meters. This inaccuracy can lead to poor business intelligence, or, worse still, get an end-user into a precarious situation.
Developers who wish to write location-based services must get smart about GPS precision. Fortunately, GPS devices provide information which can be used to make 300m inaccuracies a thing of the past. This information is known as "Dilution of Precision," and is the key to writing commercial GPS applications.
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The Importance of Understanding Precision
The Importance of Understanding Precision
The NMEA data protocol is considered to be very easy to work with since it involves basic string parsing. A developer with code for serial port programming, an NMEA interpreter (available in the CodePedia here), and several GPS devices can develop a framework for building GPS applications. Unfortunately, developers typically have no instruction manual or list of guidelines to follow when developing GPS applications. This often results in the development of GPS applications subject to gross inaccuracy.GPS devices are designed to send any positional data they calculate, regardless of its accuracy. Indeed, the latitude, longitude and altitude reported by GPS devices -- even with corrective technologies such as WAAS or EGNOS -- are frequently inaccurate by three <i>hundred</i> meters. This inaccuracy can lead to poor business intelligence, or, worse still, get an end-user into a precarious situation.
Developers who wish to write location-based services must get smart about GPS precision. Fortunately, GPS devices provide information which can be used to make 300m inaccuracies a thing of the past. This information is known as "Dilution of Precision," and is the key to writing commercial GPS applications.
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