Smartwatches achieve centimeter-level location accuracy with new tracking algorithms

University of Otago researchers have developed algorithms that improve the precision of location tracking in smartwatches, a world-first development.

Led by Associate Professor Robert Odolinski, a Visiting Researcher with Google from Otago’s School of Surveying, in collaboration with Google’s Android Context group and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the research team demonstrated that a smartwatch determined its location with centimeter-level precision over four hours with a stationary setup.

This was achieved by using the Google GnssLogger app and combining precise signals from several global navigation satellite systems. The results have just been published in the journal GPS Solutions.

Associate Professor Odolinski says that for decades, achieving centimeter-level positioning has required industries such as surveying, construction, and engineering to invest in expensive GPS equipment.

“While the use of the so-called carrier-phase signals has long been known to improve the positioning performance, the specialized antenna and receivers needed for this have traditionally come at a cost far beyond the reach of many who would benefit from the technology.”

GPS was introduced in a wearable watch in 1999, but hardware and power consumption limitations prevented it from tracking the carrier-phase signals needed for high-precision results. Recent advances in smartwatches now make this possible.

“This is just the beginning of what wearable high-precision positioning can potentially achieve,” says Odolinski.