SnapTrack Awarded Additional Patents for Enhanced GPS System
SnapTrack's client/server enhanced GPS technology, Wireless Assisted GPS, uses the U.S. government's GPS satellites to locate wireless phones and other wireless devices both for emergency purposes and for commercial location-based services.
The new patents cover inventions that will enhance the coverage and integrity of SnapTrack-enabled devices, allowing accurate position determination in a wider range of difficult calling environments. They will also permit manufacturers to simplify device design by tightly integrating GPS and wireless phone functions within the phone's microprocessor.
Patent Details
The new hybrid patent issued to SnapTrack, No. 5,999,124, covers inventions for the combination of GPS and wireless network time measurements when performing position location calculations. Augmenting GPS signals with information from a wireless network, such as cellular ranging and timing signals, enhances SnapTrack's system availability and integrity in challenging call environments. The patent covers position determination calculations at both the handset and the server.
SnapTrack has also been issued patent No. 6,002,363, concerning the ability to tightly integrate both GPS signal and cellular signal processing tasks within a common microprocessing unit aboard a wireless device. By sharing the same microprocessor for both tasks, wireless devices may be developed that need not rely upon redundant electronics, simplifying the device and leading to potential cost-savings.
Current Adopters
SnapTrack now holds 14 patents, with nearly three dozen additional patents pending, that are critical to the efficient, cost-effective deployment of the location service. The location company's system has been commercially adopted by NTT DoCoMo and will shortly be on the market in Japan. The company also recently completed end-to-end wireless location services applications trials in Madrid and concluded more than 18 months of testing on commercial CDMA networks. The company expects SnapTrack-enabled handsets and two-way pagers to appear on store shelves next year.