GPS as we know it could be replaced in the future by a new system that will be of great help especially to airplanes. Thus, GPS could be replaced by a three-dimensional mapping system, writes Defense One.
Classic GPS systems could be replaced by 3D/PHOTO mapping systems: Archive
Maxar’s Pinpoint tool, still in its early stages, will use drones to scan their surroundings in 3D, then match them to maps produced by Precision 3D Registration (P3DR), says Peter Wilczynski, product director.
While most mapping technology “focuses on flat representations of the world”Pinpoint will answer the question “how you can use this three-dimensional representation to help drones navigate, to help airplanes navigate, to understand when you get a video signal from a drone or an airplane, what position it’s actually looking at in the world” , says Wilczynski.
It can also be an alternative to GPS, which can be more vulnerable to enemy interference, such as “of all the jamming problems I’ve seen in Ukraine”recalls the director.
“I think what we’re going to see in the next few years is kind of a return from this absolute navigation system of GPS to a much more referential navigation system, more like what was happening when you were on a ship and you were looking at stars.”he added.
The plan for Pinpoint is to complete several pilot programs with drone manufacturers at home and abroad by the summer of next year, and then make the technology widely available.
“This market is growing really fast now as people realize in the defense community that GPS, which we’ve relied on for so long, may not be available in the next conflict.”Wilczynski said.
