editor's blog
Subscribe Now

Indoor “GPS”

Location-based services have become popular as smartphones are able to listen to the faint GPS (or GLONASS) signals and figure out where you are in relation to other things. But roofs and walls can block out those satellite signals, leaving you on your own once you enter a building.

Now, many mapping applications are intended to get you to a building, so, once you’re there, well, you’re there – mission accomplished. But, as any of you that go to conventions will know, even within the building, it can still take a map to navigate the exhibition floor.

Rohm, in cooperation with iSiD, has announced the Guidepost Cell to address such indoor navigation challenges. The cells make up the nodes of a network that can detect the presence of a smartphone with WiFi turned on and then figure out which is the closest cell. Because it passively looks for telltale WiFi signals, it doesn’t have to emit a constant beacon, reducing power consumption considerably.

Because of this miserly behavior, they can operate without external power – by harvesting the indoor light. They do this using dye-sensitized cells, something we’ll cover in more detail in the future. They’re essentially “indoor” solar cells.

This means that a network can be established more or less by distributing these Guidepost Cells and turning them on. An application on the phone can then detect the network and, coupled with an indoor map, show you where you are or where you want to go or send you a message.

You can find more detail in their release.

Leave a Reply

featured blogs
Mar 24, 2023
With CadenceCONNECT CFD less than a month away, now is the time to make your travel plans to join us at the Santa Clara Convention Center on 19 April for our biggest CFD event of the year. As a bonus, CadenceCONNECT CFD is co-located with the first day of CadenceLIVE Silicon ...
Mar 23, 2023
Explore AI chip architecture and learn how AI's requirements and applications shape AI optimized hardware design across processors, memory chips, and more. The post Why AI Requires a New Chip Architecture appeared first on New Horizons for Chip Design....
Mar 10, 2023
A proven guide to enable project managers to successfully take over ongoing projects and get the work done!...

featured video

First CXL 2.0 IP Interoperability Demo with Compliance Tests

Sponsored by Synopsys

In this video, Sr. R&D Engineer Rehan Iqbal, will guide you through Synopsys CXL IP passing compliance tests and demonstrating our seamless interoperability with Teladyne LeCroy Z516 Exerciser. This first-of-its-kind interoperability demo is a testament to Synopsys' commitment to delivering reliable IP solutions.

Learn more about Synopsys CXL here

featured chalk talk

Inductive Position Sensors for Motors and Actuators
Sponsored by Mouser Electronics and Microchip
Hall effect sensors have been quite popular for a variety of applications for many years but inductive positions sensors can provide better accuracy, better noise immunity, can cost less,  and can reject stray magnetic fields. In this episode of Chalk Talk, Amelia Dalton chats with Mark Smith from Microchip about the multitude of benefits that inductive position sensors can bring to automotive, robotic and industrial applications. They also check out the easy to use kits that can help you get started using them for your next design.
Dec 19, 2022
13,106 views