gps-details

Apple Watches

Apple Watch Ultra #4

This session is from an Apple Watch Ultra, recorded whilst Wingfoiling.

Calculated Speed vs Doppler Speed

This graph illustrates the difference between speeds calculated by software using latitude + longitude (shown in blue), versus speeds calculated by the GNSS receiver itself (almost certainly) using the Doppler observables (shown in orange). Large spikes are clearly evident in speeds calculated from latitude and longitude (shown in blue), especially after a crash / fall.

Note: The units used for speeds are m/s but you can estimate the speed in knots by doubling the m/s.

Ignoring occasions when the Doppler-derived speed is < 5 m/s (approximately 10 knots) one of the larger spikes in speed calculated from latitude and longitude disappears, likely due to submersions of the GNSS receiver. However, when those spikes are removed it is still clear that speeds calculated from latitude and longitude are often higher than the Doppler-derived speeds.

Doppler Speed

The Doppler speeds are quite plausible for this particular session, peaking at around 10 m/s (approximately 20 knots). Without having a trusted device as a benchmark, little can be said about the actual accuracy and thus the simple statement “plausible”.

During this session it is almost certain that the fastest speed was actually a spike.

Doppler Speeds vs Accuracy Estimates

It has already been observed that crashes / falls will often cause spikes when speeds are calculated by software using latitudes and longitudes. It should be noted that Doppler speeds are generally far more robust than the speeds calculated from latitudes and longitudes, but they can (and will) be prone to inaccuracies when the tracking of GNSS signals is impaired.

The most common causes of accuracy issues affecting the Doppler-derived speeds will usually be the result of a submersion. This can be observed in the graph below, showing that speed (in)accuracy estimates are most affected during a fall / crash. These are almost certainly being caused by submersions, when the GNSS signal tracking is severely impaired (or lost entirely).

The highest speed of the session was around 10 m/s (approximately 20 knots) and was recorded at around point 3866. This was almost certainly a “spike” due to the speed accuracy estimate (orange) exceeding 2 m/s. This serves as a simple illustration of where the speed accuracy estimate can be useful in identifying spikes.

Doppler Speed Accuracy during Crashes

To see how the speed (in)accuracy estimates can be affected during crashes / falls take a look at the graph below, which compares the speed accuracy estimate at all times, versus when the speed is over 5 m/s (approximately 10 knots).

The chart shows how the speed accuracy estimate is relatively stable under normal circumstances, such as when on the rider is travelling at a speed in excess of 5 m/s (approximately 10 knots).

The worst speed accuracy estimate was almost 4 m/s (around 8 knots) but perhaps more significant is point 3866 where the speed accuracy estimate exceeded 2 m/s (4 knots). This coincided with the apparent maximum speed, but likely a spike.

Note: The use of 5 m/s is somewhat arbitrary but works well for the purposes of this illustration.

Typical Doppler Speed Accuracy

It is possible to determine “typical” speed (in)accuracy estimates for this GNSS receiver when the rider is exceeding 5 m/s (approximately 10 knots). During this session the median speed accuracy estimate is 1.08, mean is 1.13 and σ is 0.30.

As mentioned earlier, the most significant speed accuracy estimate exceeded 2 m/s (4 knots) and was around point 3866. This coincided with the apparent maximum speed, but was most likely a spike.

Likely Spike

The maximum speed reported during this session was close to 10 m/s (approximately 20 knots, shown in blue) but this coincided with a poor speed accuracy estimate, exceeding 2 m/s (shown in orange).

It would seem highly likely that this was actually a spike due to a crash / fall, especially when the rider was stationary and likely to be in the water shortly afterwards.

This particular spike can easily be removed with a simple filter such as when the speed accuracy estimate exceeds 1.5 m/s.

Summary

This is a very brief piece of analysis for a single session which serves to illustrate some key points. It is by no means a comprehensive analysis and it does not compare this specific device against a known / reliable benchmark device.

However, simple takeaways are as follows:

• Speeds calculated in software from longitude and latitude can be extremely unreliable.
• Speeds calculated by the device itself (almost certainly using the Doppler observables) are far more robust.
• Typical speed accuracy estimates can easily be determined for this specific GNSS receiver.
• General interpretation of speed accuracy estimates is a complex topic and has not been discussed in detail.