New tracking technology

GPS is what most people in these times of technology use for tracking their way through the city or anywhere not so familiar with them.GPS has however found a challenger who seems to offer what GPS is unable to offer, Locata.

While GPS uses satellite signals to locate, the new positioning technology by Locata uses ground-based radio transmitters to send radio signals over a certain area. This signal is reportedly a million times stronger than a GPS signal.

While GPS mainly gives outdoor locations, Locata's ground tech is tackling indoor locations,locata’s receivers can be small enough to fit inside a cell phone, so if for example shoppers are lost in a large mall, they can use Locata on their smartphone to find a certain area.

Locata's technology could bring the resolution as far down as 5 centimeters in the future, making location pinpoints even more precise.Its signal is much stronger because solid objects like GPS signals don’t block it as easily. However, Locata could still use some help in urban settings with many buildings packed so closely together.

Locata's transmitters broadcast signals over the 2.4GHz radio channel, an openly available frequency used by Wi-Fi, baby monitors, and other technology. A surveyor must precisely locate each transmitter, but once that's done, the transmitter broadcasts its location information so a device can use it for locating itself.

However,Locata's technology is designed to supplement GPS, not replace it. If a device already knows its location but GPS stops working, Locata can take over in an instant.