Japan-Gazer Comment: A GPS system which can geo-locate things to within “several centimeters” … are you kidding me? I will let you all speculate on how such a system might be used for various business & defense purposes. My Japanese flip-phone (yes I still have one) is called: “GARA-KEH” ( ガラケ ) ….. (GARA comes from Galapagos and KEH comes from KEI-TAI DENWA, cell phone) …. Japan has a way of evolving/developing things which only exist & work within the Japanese IT eco-system, so that is how the Galapagos name came to be used …. So, now we will have a Galapagos GPS system … why am I not surprised …. and so it goes (as Kurt Vonnegut would say).

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== Make effective use of Michibiki satellites for Japan’s version of GPS

(October 13, 2017; Yomiuri Shimbun)

Both the private and public sectors should exert ingenuity so that accurate positioning information can be utilized in a variety of services.

The Michibiki No. 4, a quasi-zenith satellite, has been launched as part of a government project to establish a Japanese version of the Global Positioning System.

With the Nos. 1 to 3 satellites already in orbit, round-the-clock operations of the four satellites will begin next spring.

Positioning information provided by the United States’ GPS, which was developed for military purposes, has been rapidly penetrating people’s daily lives. There are many people who use the information every day in vehicle navigation or smartphone location services.

The challenges have been that it occasionally takes time to pinpoint a location and that errors of several tens of meters can occur. In urban areas with many buildings, reception difficulties can easily take place.

The Michibiki satellites address this weakness. Three of the Michibiki satellites move in a figure-eight path, and one of them will be positioned almost directly above Japan at any given time. Together with the fourth satellite, which is in a geostationary orbit above the equator, these satellites will transmit signals similar to the GPS.

By combining Michibiki and GPS signals, the margin of error will only be about 10 meters. Users of smartphones, which have been designed for this system, have already received the benefits of Michibiki satellites, even under the system’s three-satellite composition up to now.

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If a ground-based technique for correcting GPS errors and then transmitting that data via Michibiki is used, it will become possible to reliably obtain information accurate to within one meter. Guidance information such as car navigation will be more accurate in the future.

With the use of a special receiver, it will even become possible to make high-accuracy measurements with a margin of error of about 6 centimeters. The envisaged system is expected to make a significant contribution in times of disaster. Understanding the extent of damage quickly and in detail could lead to efficient rescue operations.

The system also has the potential to be used for home delivery services by drones or self-operating agricultural machinery that can move through fields without harming crops. In increasingly depopulated mountain areas and elsewhere, the system will likely be helpful to a great extent.

Such entities as public research institutions, universities and companies have been conducting a variety of practical experiments. It is hoped that new projects will be cultivated by integrating the system with such technologies as artificial intelligence and high-speed communications, which are marked by remarkable progress.

Also, in other areas over which Michibiki satellites will pass, such as Southeast Asia and Australia, there are business opportunities. To expand markets, it is essential to mass-produce inexpensive devices that use the system.

The government aims to put seven Michibiki satellites into operation by fiscal 2023. It will enable position measurement without relying on GPS. Having the nation’s own position measurement system will also be useful from a security perspective.

About ¥90 billion has been spent on the Nos. 2 to 4 Michibiki satellites, which were launched this year. It is indispensable to use them in a way that justifies the cost.

Link: http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0004000243

Copyright 2017 Yomiuri Shimbun and Japan-Gazer
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