DS Geographic Information System
Hands-on Review
The DS Geographic Information System, better known as DSGIS or Ranger DS, is a joint effort between a small development crew and the M3 Team. The idea of the unit is to allow users to find where they are using Satellite positioned GPS navigation instead of local hotspot WIFI.
When the M3 Team got on board they immediately focused on the hardware development. Right out of the box the unit promises seamless cohesion of the M3 Flash Linkers, all involved software, and the RangerDS unit. Currently the AK2, EZ5, SCDS1, and R4 kits are also supported.
The BETA software, known as Caelitis 0.99 RC-1, is a pretty piece of well polished homebrew. The application has a commercial feel and supports my Acekard 2.1, however, there are SDHC issues yet to be ironed out.
The current kit configuration relies on a Slot-2 enabled NDS. The RangerDS is plugged into the Slot-2 and a small GPS tracker is tethered to the unit. The GPS tracker has a nice resting spot on the Slot-2 unit, ensuring that nothing gets misplaced. The review kit came packaged with a 10 foot GPS tracker extension cable as well. This allows you to position the unit for better use, as the human body may absorb the signal and corrupt the end result. DSI users don’t worry; the development team has released images of a Slot-1 only internal antenna version running on the DSI.
The unit does not currently feature an easy to use point-to-point navigation as one would expect of a navigation based GPS system. While BETA software has been developed it consists of graphics built around nodes and straight lines. The development team has commented that the cost behind custom maps would be too great and out weigh the production value of the unit itself. Instead, the unit will be marketed towards pinpointing a user’s location on a Google rendered map.
The unit features u-Blox support through a tiny USB plug. This will essentially allow any laptop computer running the u-Blox software to function as a GPS navigation system. The unit also supports AssistNow Online and AssistNow Offline A-GPS services, and SBAS (WASS, EGNOS, MSAS, GAGAN) as well.
The kit itself is well constructed and feels very solid. The plug for the GPS tracker fits firmly and “snaps” into place. The kit slides smoothly into the NDS but does take up a bit of room when everything is hooked together. It makes setting the unit on a car dashboard rather cumbersome. This can be slightly alleviated by using the extension cable, however, I found that having wires hanging around my vehicle was a tad annoying and obstructed the view and/or seating arrangement of the passenger.
While the software is easy to navigate, and is professionally made, it fails in one regard: The software is designed for Google rendered maps. The development team has gone as far as to rely on a PSP homebrew project known as the Global Map Download Tool. GMDL grabs Google maps and stores them in a way that the Caelitis software can access and then display on the NDS. The problem with this whole setup is that Google maps are by nature not accurate. This is a security feature, as explained to me by the Caelitis developer, which they do not have a work-around for. Asked if the software would allow the user to manually set a “starting” location received no response. As it stands the unit will show you where you are, but up to 1+ miles off. The user is essentially left to use a common paper map while drawing from the semi-accurate GPS coordinates. This is a serious issue which needs to be addressed before the kit is released to the public.
About the only thing the review kit does accurately, at this point, is to calculate the speed of movement. However, the unit fails to make these calculations at slower speeds. I was unable to get a reading when walking or running. I did not get a reading on a bicycle until my bike computer said I was traveling at 15+ MPH.
The current software is in no way a replacement for a store bought GPS navigation unit or a basic cell phone GPS navigation system. Although I hope to see this change when the unit nears release, of which no official date has been made nor has a cost point been settled upon.
I will of course dive fully into this kit once the software is completed and beyond the BETA phase. I hope that a point-to-point destination based map system is included, that accurate GPS (not 1+ miles off) is also included by allowing the user to set or “mark” their starting position manually. By the time the unit drops it would also be nice to see support for all current Slot-1 Flash Linkers as well as SDHC support. A tool for building maps, which is not based on another project, would be a welcomed edition. If GMDL support is dropped this kit may have problems if Google updates the way their maps are created. Finally it would be nice to see the speed read-out in MPH as KPH has little meaning to those in the United States.
Please post your questions and comments in this thread. I will do my best to get you the answers you need!
