Industry Expert Blogs
Dude, where's my cow? Introducing Ensigma's game-changing location GNSS IP for the IoT-November 2, 2018 |
The internet of things (IoT) holds much promise for making our world smarter, more connected, and efficient. However, if it’s going to fulfil this promise then the technology behind it needs to exhibit similar characteristics. Location-awareness is key to the success of the IoT and to that end Imagination is announcing Ensigma™ Location, a family of high-performance and low-power IP solutions for Global Satellite Navigation Systems (GNSS).
GPS vs GNSS
While many people will not have heard of GNSS they will be familiar with GPS, typically through a navigation software, using either a receiver in a smartphone, a dedicated stand-alone device or built into their car. If you’re wondering what the difference is between GNSS and GPS, the answer is none. Global Satellite Navigation Systems is a standard term that encapsulates the various flavours of satellite navigations systems from around the world, and GPS is simply the best known – the ‘Hoover’ of the GNSS world, as it were.
GNSS comes in various flavours known as ‘constellations’: the US Global Positioning System (GPS), the Russian GLONASS system, the European have Galileo and the Chinese BeiDou. It also includes several Satellite-Based Augmentation Systems (SBAS) including WAAS and EGNOS.