(http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/04/darpa-chip-04-12-13-01.jpg) (http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/12/tiny-darpa-chip-has-six-axis-inertial-guidance/)
Before satellites (http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/14/next-generation-gps-satellite-inches-closer-to-space-countdown/), getting from A to B without radio signals involved cumbersome inertial systems (http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/25/mit-realtime-indoor-mapping-kinect/) found only on advanced civilian and military aircraft. Those are still the best backup for GPS, and working with the University of Michigan, DARPA has found a way to reduce the once fridge-sized units to half the width of your fingernail. The chips contain everything needed for precise navigation including an accurate master clock, a three-axis gyroscope (http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/30/ifixit-and-chipworks-teardown-the-iphone-4s-gyroscope/) and three accelerometers, all contained in three hair-width layers. If it gets out of the lab, it would give soldiers another option in the event of an enemy GPS attack or when they're in a tunnel, and might even guide you to that Macy's restroom (http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/08/google-maps-indoor-navigation-las-vegas-ces-2012/) if it ever hits civilian form.
Filed under: GPS (http://www.engadget.com/category/gps/), Science (http://www.engadget.com/category/science/)
Comments (http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/12/tiny-darpa-chip-has-six-axis-inertial-guidance/#comments)
Via: Gizmag (http://www.gizmag.com/darpa-timu-gps/27039/)
Source: DARPA (http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2013/04/10.aspx)
Via: Engadget