Researchers demonstrate centimetre-level positioning using smartwatches (www.otago.ac.nz)

Researchers at the University of Otago, led by Associate Professor Robert Odolinski in collaboration with Google’s Android Context group and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, have for the first time demonstrated centimetre-level positioning using a consumer smartwatch. Using Google’s GnssLogger app to capture raw GNSS measurements, the team combined precise carrier-phase signals from multiple global navigation satellite systems and processed them with novel algorithms to achieve centimetre accuracy in a stationary four‑hour test; results are published in GPS Solutions. This is significant because centimetre-level GNSS has historically required specialised antennas and costly receivers used in surveying, construction and engineering. By accessing carrier‑phase raw data on modern wearables and applying multi‑constellation processing, the work shows high‑precision positioning can move onto mainstream devices. Practical implications include lower‑cost access to fine-grained positioning for mapping, asset tracking and AR, though the demonstration was stationary and over an extended period—mobile, real‑time robustness, power consumption and antenna constraints remain to be addressed. Still, the study opens the door to bringing RTK/PPP‑class performance into everyday wearable hardware through software and GNSS access improvements.