Editor’s note: In addition to following tech developments, our author is a musical composer (Juilliard-trained). He has provided a musical composition for you to listen to while reading this column. This piece is called “Which way do I go?”
Most of us tend to think about transportation as involving automobiles, but there are many situations where our own muscles are our means of transportation. For example, did you know that Great Barrington, Massachusetts, is one of the select few towns chosen by The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) to be honored as an Appalachian Trail Community? That’s because, every summer, if you go to Berkshire South Community Center, you will encounter a large population of people traversing well over a thousand miles without a car. And these people have managed to navigate themselves on—and off—the trail.
Whether you are in a lake, a field, broken down in the middle of nowhere, or exploring a big city, there’s always the possibility of getting lost. You may sort-of know where you are, but not precisely enough to feel good about it. What if it is getting dark or a storm is brewing and you need to get to shelter but do not know how long it will take, or which way to go, or how rough the path ahead will be?
Preparation is key to ensuring a safe and successful trip. Packing essential gear like food, water, and shelter may be standard, but many of us may overlook the value of technology—particularly smartwatches and smartphones.
I venture to say that most of us have experienced some or all these situations before we had smartwatches or smartphones. (After all, most of us predate these devices.) Well, these devices are early examples of artificial intelligence. You did not think these were naturally intelligent, did you? So, they must be artificially intelligent, even though they often do not seem particularly bright.
These devices are far more than just tools for urban living. Equipped with the right apps and accessories, they also become invaluable survival aids when you’re far from civilization, or even when you’re just lost or disoriented in an unfamiliar place. These tools, e.g. GPS, accelerometer, gyroscope, barometer, and fusion algorithms, can combine information from multiple sensors.
Did you realize that all these systems are present in most smartphones and even many smartwatches? They all have a bunch of chips inside to help you know where you are and which way you are facing. A word of warning: don’t hold your breath expecting cheap knockoff versions to do a great job of it, although they, too, are getting better. They are also becoming increasingly integrated and, yes, more artificially intelligent.
For a bit of a deeper dive, let’s begin with the Global Positioning System (GPS). GPS determines your location on Earth by using satellite signals to triangulate your position. It provides precise latitude, longitude, and altitude data, making it accurate to within a few meters when used outdoors. This is fairly amazing and very powerful, even in the middle of the ocean, not to mention a lake.
The next most powerful chip as it relates to navigation is the magnetometer, also known as a digital compass, which detects the Earth’s magnetic field to determine which direction is magnetic north. This allows the device to know which way it’s pointing, providing essential directional information. The energy consumption of the magnetometer is minimal compared to other components like the display or the GPS. So, you don’t need to worry about it significantly draining your battery.
With just these two chips you can almost never be lost. This is quite miraculous. We can go much more deeply into the other systems in another column, but these are the two big ones, and they do not need a network or cell tower. I just thought you might want to know this.
The one huge takeaway, in case you have not noticed, is that even if you cannot make or receive a call, you can still very often find out where you are, and this may be much more important.
These devices, especially GPS, consume considerable amounts of power. If you are truly away from electricity, be mindful of how much you use them. Better yet, carry a spare battery. And even in a big lit-up city with a lot of watts flowing all around you, you can find yourself without a charger, a place to plug in, or the correct adapter. When I used to be a road warrior, I always had a spare battery or even a spare phone.
