Why does Aorkuler sometimes jump in direction and distance?

Some users have mentioned that Aorkuler is a great tracker, but sometimes you will find that the distance and direction of Aorkuler jumps around. This phenomenon is called GPS drift, and it can occur with almost any civilian GPS device. (No military GPS systems have been used, so it is not clear if military systems also drift.) Today we will briefly introduce the causes and solutions of GPS drift.

GPS stands for Global Positioning System, and it is a network of satellites that orbit the Earth and broadcast signals with their time and position. GPS receivers, such as the ones in your mobile device(smart phone), pet GPS tracker or car navigation system, use these signals to calculate their own location and speed.

From Garmin's website, you can see that “GPS drift is the difference between your actual location and the location recorded by a GPS receiver. All GPS systems have some amount of drift, which can affect the accuracy of your location data. GPS drift is a function of time and can vary depending on ground speed and time between passes.”

This may not be easy to understand, we need to understand a little bit about the principle of GPS positioning.

To measure your location using GPS, you need at least four satellites in view of your receiver. The receiver compares the time signals it receives from the satellites with its internal clock, and uses the difference to calculate how far away each satellite is. Then, it uses a mathematical technique called trilateration to find the point where the distances from the four satellites intersect. This point is your location on Earth.

You can do this at home by opening a mapping program on your smartphone, such as google maps.
When the positioning is successful, wait a few seconds and you will notice that the position of the blue dot marking your location is not very stable. This is the phenomenon of GPS drift.

The direction of Aorkuler is also calculated accurately based on the GPS location data, but the drift of the GPS data itself will cause Aorkuler to get confusing direction and distance based on the wrong data provided by GPS. This is more obvious when the controller and the tracker are not very far apart, because the error from the same drift has a more pronounced effect on closer and smaller errors.

1.GPS drift can occur due to several factors, such as:

Satellite geometry

The position and number of satellites that are visible to your GPS receiver can affect the accuracy of your location. Ideally, you want to have at least four satellites in different directions and angles to get a good fix. If the satellites are too close together or too far away, the accuracy can degrade.

Signal interference

The GPS signals can be blocked or distorted by natural or man-made obstacles, such as buildings, trees, mountains, clouds, or radio waves. This can cause errors in the distance and time measurements that are used to calculate your location.

Atmospheric conditions

The GPS signals travel through different layers of the atmosphere, which can change their speed and direction. This can introduce errors in the timing and positioning of the signals, especially when the weather is bad or the ionosphere is disturbed.

Receiver quality

The quality and sensitivity of your GPS receiver can also affect the accuracy of your location. Some receivers have better antennas, processors, and algorithms than others, which can reduce the noise and errors in the signal data. Consumer grade GPS receivers are not 100% accurate and may have more drift than professional grade ones.

2.Some simple solutions to fix or reduce GPS drift are:

Choose a good location

Try to avoid places where the GPS signals can be blocked or interfered with, such as indoors, under bridges, near tall buildings, or near power lines. Find an open area with a clear view of the sky and wait for a few minutes for your GPS receiver to acquire enough satellites.

Update your ephemeris

There are some devices that support advance GPS satellite ephemeris updates. You can also download the latest satellite data (ephemeris) from the Internet or other sources, which can help your receiver find satellites faster and more accurately.

Keep moving

When you hold a handheld device while keeping it moving, the floating situation is usually improved.