BENGALURU: The US manufacturer of navigation devices, Garmin, has developed and launched handheld devices that can deliver services of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) space-based global positioning services to the user on the ground to help in terrestrial, marine and flight navigation.
The services are through ISRO-launched global position tracking constellation of satellites, the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), operationally named Navigation with Indian Constellation, or NavIC. Garmin has developed two handheld devices for NavIC services in India, GPSMAP 66sr and GPSMAP 65s.
The group of six NavIC satellites are so positioned in space that they provide accurate real-time positioning and timing services to a traveller or motorist on the ground to the accuracy of less than 20 metres diameter — which means, if one is holding the handheld device harnessed to the NavIC satellites, the blip on the screen of the device will have an error of less than 20 metres from the real point of location of the user holding the device.
While the current global positioning system services that one gets on smartphones while navigating to a particular destination are those from the US constellation of GPS satellites, the NavIC constellation is said to be more accurate.
The NavIC system can offer location and navigational services that can be of crucial help in vehicle tracking, fleet management, disaster management, besides navigation aid for hikers and travellers. The service offers visual and vocal navigation for users.
The operational range of the satellite constellation under the NavIC system covers entire India and extends about 1,500 km beyond the borders. It can be further extended with more satellites added to the constellation in the future, ISRO said.
NavIC’s services are divided into two: The standard positioning service, for civilian use, and restricted service which is encrypted for authorised users which includes the Defence services.
“NavIC enhances the accuracy and availability of signals in the hilly terrain as well as urban canyon. The NavIC-enabled handheld devices can harness this benefit,” ISRO said.
ISRO acknowledged Garmin’s initiative to incorporate NavIC in these handheld devices, and has urged Garmin to make NavIC an integral part of all their upcoming satellite navigation-based devices launched in India.