Japan is bringing GPS satellite accuracy to the next level

Many of us would be quite literally lost without GPS, but the almighty blue dot isn’t always – pardon the pun – spot on. According to the most recent data from GPS.gov, modern GPS satellites are accurate to within 3.5 meters, depending on external factors such as signal strength and weather. That’s a wide enough margin of error to send you to the building next door to your desired location, especially in a crowded urban environment. In practice, the blue dot has been known to appear further than a few meters away – and somehow always when there’s a hot date or job interview waiting at the destination. Mitsubishi Electric’s new satellite array may become the best defense against wandering blue dot disorder. The “Quasi-Zenith Satellite system” (QZSS), showed off last week at Japan’s annual CEATEC convention, promises to be accurate down to centimeters – strong enough to pinpoint a dollhouse. In the picture below, blue + symbols indicate the possible location of the blue dot using standard GPS if the user is standing in the center. The pink + symbols indicate possible blue dot locations using the QZSS. A Mitsubishi Electric spokesperson says that the number of pink + marks concentrated on the middle is the same as the stray blue + marks covering the mat.