The European Space Agency (ESA) is investigating whether an array antenna approach borrowed from satellite design might deliver enhanced positioning for future smartphones, drones and other mass-market devices. "Satnav is only one of many different functions around which our smartphones are designed, so that their typical localization error is quite high," said Victoria Iza, an antenna engineer overseeing the project for ESA. "In practice, it depends on your surroundings, with worst performance in built-up areas and urban canyons where part of the sky is obscured. The localization error can climb up to 10 m or even higher - still enough to put you in the right street, but only just. That's because, if you take a smartphone apart, you find its satnav function relies on a single antenna smaller than a mini-SIM card."
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