GPS - Sensor Aiding

[handsomeprince#AC]

Hi folks; should i check the box beside enable sensor aiding under gps settings? What are the pros/cons and what is it exactly??

 

[handsomeprince#AC]

Well...anyone please?!

 

[rlanza1054]

Well take this with a grain of salt done I'm a newbie to Android.

I think it means it will also use the cellular towers to triangulate position along with the GPS signal.

Hence it can find position fast er with the extra data and as it states saves battery power in the process.

Rob

Now let's see if someone can confirm my explanation or provide a different explanation.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

 

[michaeljc70]

Sensor aiding is different than using networks (cellular or wireless) to find your position (that is the top option in settings).

As I understand it, Sensor aiding uses the gyroscope type sensors to help determine your positions. This is useful if you go underground or in a building where it cannot get a gps signal. For example, it will use the GPS chip until you get into a underground garage. Then the sensor will try to figure out where you are from that point.

I guess it can also save battery life as it uses less juice than the GPS chip. It does state that it works best when the phone is pointing forward.

Personally, I have it off. If I need GPS in a place with a poor or no gps singal, then I would just turn it before entering that situation.

 

[jacief]

I think it also uses the compass to help guess where you are. If it knows where you were recently, can use the compass to judge direction which direction you've been going and the gyroscope to measure how far, then it'll have a good guess as to where you've gotten to, even when you've lost sight of GPS satellites. Since these sensors are typically running anyway, it probably doesn't cost much battery power to do the simple computations of expected trajectory on the basis of them. The phone claims that using sensors actually *saves* battery power, but I'm not sure how that would happen, unless using sensors allows it to use the power-hungry GPS radio a bit less which does seem possible.

Anyway, my inclination would be to set this option to on, unless I know I'll be holding my phone at weird angles or near magnetic fields (both of which will mess up its trajectory calculations). I don't think it'll hurt anything, and it will potentially help it to better locate you and/or to save battery power.

I had a lot more misgivings about using wifi networks to aid GPS, as I'm not sure how I feel about Google maintaining a database of where all people's WiFi networks are, nor about contributing to this database by having my phone tell Google what wifi networks it can see everywhere I go. Tis tempting to click this one too, as more accurate GPS can be useful, but I also feel like doing so would empower Big Brother a bit more...

 

[michaeljc70]

1) I don't know who would care that google has their network SSID and location. What good is that? Also, almost any router allows you to not broadcast the SSID. Issue solved.

2) You generally only use wifi networks if you don't have a GPS signal or cell tower. Wifi networks aren't that reliable because of their range and the speed you might be moving and how scattered they can be.

I think it also uses the compass to help guess where you are. If it knows where you were recently, can use the compass to judge direction which direction you've been going and the gyroscope to measure how far, then it'll have a good guess as to where you've gotten to, even when you've lost sight of GPS satellites. Since these sensors are typically running anyway, it probably doesn't cost much battery power to do the simple computations of expected trajectory on the basis of them. The phone claims that using sensors actually *saves* battery power, but I'm not sure how that would happen, unless using sensors allows it to use the power-hungry GPS radio a bit less which does seem possible.

Anyway, my inclination would be to set this option to on, unless I know I'll be holding my phone at weird angles or near magnetic fields (both of which will mess up its trajectory calculations). I don't think it'll hurt anything, and it will potentially help it to better locate you and/or to save battery power.

I had a lot more misgivings about using wifi networks to aid GPS, as I'm not sure how I feel about Google maintaining a database of where all people's WiFi networks are, nor about contributing to this database by having my phone tell Google what wifi networks it can see everywhere I go. Tis tempting to click this one too, as more accurate GPS can be useful, but I also feel like doing so would empower Big Brother a bit more...

 

[handsomeprince#AC]

I appreciate the responses; as I'm sure...and hope...that anyone that benefited from the question and responses do as well.

I just keep it on when GPS is on; I've gauged the battery life with the setting on while GPS is on...and haven't noticed anything negatively glaring on battery life.

I have ONE MORE question that is totally UNRELATED to this thread's topic...but I asked in another thread and no reply was given to it. When I'm on a webpage (let's say the very bottom of it)...is there a quick scroll up way to get back to the top w/o having to constantly scroll and flick up???

 

[handsomeprince#AC]

I appreciate the responses; as I'm sure...and hope...that anyone that benefited from the question and responses do as well.

I just keep it on when GPS is on; I've gauged the battery life with the setting on while GPS is on...and haven't noticed anything negatively glaring on battery life.

I have ONE MORE question that is totally UNRELATED to this thread's topic...but I asked in another thread and no reply was given to it. When I'm on a webpage (let's say the very bottom of it)...is there a quick scroll up way to get back to the top w/o having to constantly scroll and flick up???

Well anyone??

 

[soapy123]

Re: GPS - Sensor Aiding - The Additional Unrelated Question

You can quickly get to the top of any web page by pressing the Ctrl and Home key on a PC (don't know about an Apple)

Ctrl Page Up takes you up a short distance each time you press the two keys

 

[ryanh1986]

Use your motion option that allows you to double tap the top of the phone for lists. I don't know if that works for webpages.

 

[pranidhee]

Thanks all for the responses on sensors.
For the top of browser page you can try gesture settings on dolphin browser.