Thursday, April 11, 2013

When GPS Fails: DARPA Navigation Chip

From DARPA, A Navigational Device That Fits On A Penny And Works When GPS Doesn't

DARPA's new on-the-go navigation chip can measure orientation, acceleration, and time.

TIMU
TIMU DARPA

GPS is great, but it isn't always reliable. The signal can be interrupted by, say, a tunnel, or something else smothering the relay between here and space. So DARPA wants to navigate GPS blackout areas with a chip that does everything you need when GPS stops working, and to make that tech smaller than a penny.

The chip is called a timing and inertial measurement unit (TIMU), and it's actually a pretty simple little tool. Stuffed inside the 10 cubic millimeters are three gyroscopes, three accelerometers, and a master clock, all engineered by DARPA to take up as little space as possible.

More - Link >>> http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2013-04/replacement-gps-fits-penny

Sources: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), PopSci.com .

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