Lay of the Land
GPS receivers have been evolving steadily ever since the very first one was made by RockwellCollins in 1977, which was six feet tall and had two seats. What have been the most significant innovations in the past three years and what might they be in the next three? Top receiver manufacturers discuss these questions, with special focus on four areas: jamming and spoofing; integration with inertial measurement units(IMUs) and other sensors; surveying; and consumer devices. A wide range of approaches emerged, as well as a few trends.
With regard to jamming and spoofing, the preferred approach is a combination of monitoring, detection, and filtering. However, shielding, the use of IMUs and other third-party sensors, and advances in processing algorithms also help mitigate interference. In a few years, hopefully, encrypted or “watermarked” signals will substantially reduce this problem.