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http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-36912700
Global satellite-based navigation systems no longer line up with Australia's measurements of latitude. They differ by almost 1.5 meters.
This is because Australia's tectonic plate is drifting northward at a rate of 7 centimeters per year.
(I had to double-check that rate because that is huge for a continental plate. The Indian subcontinent, which is sometimes described as a high-speed car smashing into Asia and throwing up the Himalayas, is moving at 5 centimeters per year.
And Australia is going almost 50% faster!)
At any rate, the last time the measurements were updated was in 1994.
Precision in measurement is vital for the development of self-driving cars, so the system of measuring needs to be changed.
On January 1st, 2017, all latitude measurements in Australia will be adjusted northwards 1.8 meters. This is slightly more than is necessary, but means that the system will be perfectly aligned in 2020 -- when a new system that dynamically takes into account tectonic plate movements should be ready to be implemented.
Global satellite-based navigation systems no longer line up with Australia's measurements of latitude. They differ by almost 1.5 meters.
This is because Australia's tectonic plate is drifting northward at a rate of 7 centimeters per year.
(I had to double-check that rate because that is huge for a continental plate. The Indian subcontinent, which is sometimes described as a high-speed car smashing into Asia and throwing up the Himalayas, is moving at 5 centimeters per year.
And Australia is going almost 50% faster!)
At any rate, the last time the measurements were updated was in 1994.
Precision in measurement is vital for the development of self-driving cars, so the system of measuring needs to be changed.
On January 1st, 2017, all latitude measurements in Australia will be adjusted northwards 1.8 meters. This is slightly more than is necessary, but means that the system will be perfectly aligned in 2020 -- when a new system that dynamically takes into account tectonic plate movements should be ready to be implemented.
