Cellphone users can now be pinpointed with accuracy of a few metres. All
networks can locate a handset to within a few hundred metres by seeing which
base station it is using, and some cellphones have GPS signals that allow them
to be located far more precisely. Now Qualcomm of San Diego has developed a
system that doesn’t need GPS. All phones emit a timing signal, which nearby base
stations retransmit. By measuring the time lag between signals, any GSM
cellphone can work out its position by triangulation and send this information
back to the base station.
To continue reading, today with our introductory offers
Advertisement
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles
1
Woman with Alzheimer's starts conversing again after taking psilocybin
2
Where, when and how to watch the 2026 solar eclipse
3
If you aren't terrified by this heatwave, you should be
4
How menopause radically changes the brain 鈥 and what happens after
5
The race to understand how and when Thwaites glacier will collapse
6
Lost books by ancient philosophers recovered from 'unreadable' scrolls
7
Europe鈥檚 heatwave is the hottest and most humid ever
8
Our verdict on The Selfish Gene: An unpopular piece of popular science
9
We鈥檝e uncovered a master gene that switches on human development
10
Faecal transplant makes the brains of old mice act young again
