The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is bringing to the public “NavIC”, a new technologythat could replace the well-known GPS. ISRO has partnered with Qualcomm (one of the largest chipset companies) to integrate NavIC technology into new processors intended for affordable, mid-range smartphones. Xiaomi and Realme have already stated that they plan to release smartphones with NavIC-enabled processors.
What is NavIC technology?
The word “NavIC” originally came from “ Navigation with Indian Constellation ”. It is essentially the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), a collection of satellites that provide location information to Indian users . The service is very similar to the GPS (Global Position System). Currently, NavIC consists of seven satellites.
The story behind the new technology
In 1999, India had requested GPS data from the US to track and monitor Pakistani troops in Kargil. The US, however, did not provide this information. Since then, India had started working on creating its own satellite system for location services. Now, two decades later, the NavIC system is ready to be released to the public.
The system will provide two types of services. One, “Standard Position Services” (SPS), will be available to all citizens, while the second, “Restricted Services” (RS), will be available to authorized users, such as defense and intelligence services.
Additionally, NavIC places India among the nations that have their own satellite location services. Until now, the US had GPS , Russia had Glonass , China had BeiDou and Europe had Galileo .
Is it better than GPS?
Reports say that India's NavIC is much better than the US's GPS. NavIC is said to be much more accurate in locating locations and much more efficient than GPS.
Applications of NavIC
According to ISRO, the new technology is primarily aimed at users in India but also covers the area extending up to 1.500km from its borders.
Many users will have NavIC on their future phones . ISRO claims that the satellite system will help many drivers and users in general, offering an amazing experience in visual and voice navigation.
According to the organization, this technology can be used to help with disaster management, provide navigation services to hikers and travelers, and track vehicles. It also enables aerial and underwater navigation.
