GPS pt2

Left at the big tree, right at the second red barn, then go bit and swing another right... con't

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, listeners. I cannot thank you enough for joining us
for another episode of the What They Did Before podcast.
It's so easy to take for granted all this stuff
that we rely on from day to day and what
we would do if we didn't have it, all of
a sudden. Funny enough, though, most of us somehow lived
before it, and that's the baffling part. You should be

(00:23):
aware that to day's episode is a continuation of last
week's episode. We got into a topic too big for
a single episode. We started talking about what in the
world we did before the g p s. Most of
us carry round one in our pocket almost all the time.

(00:47):
On last week's episode, we talked about celestial navigation. That
one's tried and true, so is dead reckoning. We talked
about charts and early maps. We talked about wind and
ocean currents. We talked about what commercial industries in the

(01:07):
military do for navigation. They had fancy toys long before
the public, and we even talked about radar and sonar.
Then we got into some civilian and private uses before GPS,
which leads us to today's topic, where we're going to
dive into some traditional and cultural methods of getting around

(01:30):
before GPS best but least reliable, oil traditions and memory roots.
The Aboriginals had song lines. These were songs that encoded

(01:53):
landmarks and directions across the Australian out Back into its
head pathways. These elders passed down roots across ice and
snow through generations. The African culture had grow out maps,
which were oral historians that remembered vast geographies through stories.

(02:19):
In memory palaces were pneumonic systems for remembering paths and terrain.
Some early navigational instruments include the kamal and ancient Indian
ocean tool. It was a simple rectangle on a string
that was used for latitude. You could have a chiplug.

(02:42):
This was a knotted rope thrown overboard knots passed through
hands over time to estimate your speed. A backstaff was
used to measure the sun's altitude with the user's back
to the sun. Timekeepers and be nocturnal, as most time

(03:03):
was measured at night by the position of the stars.
Well beaten trails usually had trail markers and other visual
signs like carns are stacked stones that marked paths and
mountains of deserts. Inuksuit are Inuit stone figures that were

(03:24):
used as guideposts. Blazes are tree markings that are cut
or painted onto the side of a tree that are
used on hiking trails. Native Americans used trail trees. These
were bent or carved trees which indicated direction. Next, let's

(03:47):
dive into the future of navigation after GPS, starting off
with some post GPS systems and augmented positioning, the multi
constellation g NSS or Global Navigation Satellite Systems OUR GPS

(04:08):
system now works alongside the Galileo system of the EU,
the Gluonos system of Russia, and the Bowdo system of China.
Devices are increasingly using all constellations together for ultra precise,
redundant positioning. We're likely to see satellite based augmentation systems.

(04:29):
Systems like WAHS and IGNOS and QZSS provide corrections to
the GNSS signals. This enables acury improvements from meters to centimeters,
especially for aviation, farming, and surveying. We will likely see
more AI powered predicted navigation with real time context awareness.

(04:52):
Navigation systems will learn user preferences scenic or fast roots,
and AI will adapt roots based on whether traffic events
and your behavior. We will surely see navigation without maps altogether.
AI will recognize patterns and context clues from camera feeds,

(05:15):
crowdsourced data, and sensor fusion. We will no longer have
a need for static maps. Crowd sourced living maps will
become more prevalent and more detailed. While more users continually
update from their vehicles, drones, and smartphones. Map updates will

(05:36):
be real time, featuring road closures, even potholes, and construction. Slowly,
but surely, human augmented in brain based navigation is becoming
reality with neural navigation devices. Early brain computer interfaces b

(05:57):
c i's could enhance spatial awareness or trigger reminders for
directional cues. And someday we may even see implants or
wearables that augment internal GPS like functions. Cognitive mapping tech
will use machine learning to enhance human spatial memory. For example,

(06:23):
AR glasses could project visual breadcrumbs on your walking route.
We will see more autonomous and seamless navigation. Please give
us reliable driverless vehicles so we don't have to have
all those drivers out there. Autonomous cars, trucks, ships and

(06:47):
drones that will rely on LIGHTAR and visual SLAM simultaneous
localization and mapping, as well as ultrasonic and radar systems.
These will interact with smart infrastructure such as traffic lights,

(07:08):
roads and signs that will talk to your vehicle. Car
will know where you're going and the streets will tell
it how to get there. We will see micromobility integration
as well. Scooters, e bikes and even smart skateboards will

(07:30):
sync with wearable navtach in urban infrastructure, we will see
advancements in indoor and urban canyon navigation as well with
indoor positioning systems that use Bluetooth beacons, Wi Fi, rt

(07:52):
T and Ultra wideband that enable precise indoor location. This
could be beneficial for hospitals, malls, airports, VR arcades, and warehouses.
We will see alternatives two GPS to night areas such

(08:13):
as vision based SLAM that is used by robots or drones,
and quantum gyroscopes and accelerometers that don't drift. And we
will see advanced navigation through signals of opportunity using existing
signals like TV towers or mobile networks. We will see

(08:36):
advancements in quantum and deep space navigation. Quantum navigation will
use atomic interferometers. That can detect position using quantum mechanics,
no need for satellites. These will be ideal for submarines
and spacecraft as well as military use. Deep space autonomous

(09:01):
navigation will be pulsar based that uses X ray pulses
from distant neutron stars like cosmic lighthouses. These are required
for future missions to Mars, Moons and beyond. We might
even see memory guided augmented reality systems that replicate ancient

(09:28):
oral wayfinding, rebuilding entire terrains with haptic and visual cues.
This might involve neuromodulated recall or familiar spaces like dream
guided paths. Time based navigation will offer predictive routing based

(09:50):
on not just location, but when you're traveling. Systems might
eventually track not just space but time path optimizations for
multi stage journeys. The Earth is a computer. We will
see planet scale intelligence networks where roads, cities, and buildings

(10:15):
and themselves function as nodes in a decentralized positioning system.
It's possible through ambient computing in cinser webs plus a I. Unfortunately,
that's all the time that we've got for today's episode
of what they did before. I hope you've enjoyed this episode,
and I cannot thank you enough for listening Until next time.