nancylebov | Optimism about food production, and info-geeking

The article is about improved farming techniques, but what caught my eye is:

Using a signal-processing scheme known as real-time kinematics*, or RTK, they can boost the accuracy of a GPS reading from about 3 meters to within just a few centimeters.

As I recall, the public GPS signal is deliberately obfuscated by the US government so that the military can have more accuracy than anyone else. Update-- it turns out I was right, but it's old news: signal degradation was turned off May 1, 2000.

That was one of the reasons there's a European satellite system in progress.

I hadn't heard that there are also planned Chinese, and Indian GPSs, and a Russian system-- GLONASS-- in operation. Correction about GLONASS thanks to

ckd.

I don't have a feeling for how many GPSs would be needed in some theoretical sense to get enough redundancy, but one seems kind of skimpy.

Anyway, at least I was right about one thing-- we're getting more and more information from less data, this is a very cool trend, and I'm still not seeing science fiction about it. Or have I missed some?

*link added

First link thanks to

andrewducker.