There are many useful gadgets that started life with a military mind set. Perhaps none so ubiquitous as the GPS.
DARPA, inventors of much James Bond style tech played a major part in the invention and development of The Global Positioning System.
Like all things tech, GPS was once housed in massive boxes that needed a truck to carry it, GPS enablement is now imbedded not just in military equipment but miniaturised in phones, watches and cameras.
Well that very ubiquity from a military perspective is now being seen in certain quarters as a major threat. As the reliance on GPS is significant, from a military perspective, it becomes a strategic vulnerability. GPS being scrambled by an enemy.
So it’s no surprise to learn that much work has been going on to develop a new generation of positioning technology that will work without satellites with the added advantage of working in areas without satellite coverage.
The Director of the Pentagons research agency has spoken about the Boffins at DARPA and the University of Michigan creating a new technology that works out position, time and direction – all contained in an eight-cubic – millimeter chip…which is remarkable when you consider that it contains an atomic clock, three accelerometers, and three gyroscopes. Without the need for a single satellite.
I wonder how long it will be until that will be a feature on the smart watch.