Fulcrum receives the location information from the device. The location information provided by the device can come from either an internal GPS chip or an external GPS receiver that has been paired with the device. Devices that do not have a dedicated GPS chip, like the Wifi-only iPads, will need to be connected to a network or an external GPS receiver to obtain their location.

Typical GPS chips that are found in modern mobile devices will offer a 3 meter accuracy. Most of these devices will have what is called A-GPS or Assisted-GPS. Without going into great detail about how this works, what this means is that the device will be able to acquire it’s location faster when it is connected to a cellular network.

When you are using Fulcrum offline, in a disconnected environment, your device will still be able to acquire its location, but it will take some time before it is able to figure out where it is.

External GPS devices that can be paired with a mobile device should work in Fulcrum. These devices can have a wide range of accuracy. Some of these devices will have the same claimed accuracy as the internal GPS chip, but offer a little more reliable location information, while others will have much greater accuracy. At the bottom of this page, you will find links to some blog articles on the subject.

One thing to note is that Fulcrum does not directly integrate with any external GPS device; instead, the external GPS device provides its location information to the mobile device and the mobile device provides Fulcrum with the location information. Depending on the device, you may find that some of the Raw GPS data that the device creates does not make it’s way into the Raw GPS data that Fulcrum captures.

Lastly, some GPS devices will only provide claimed accuracy if they are paired with a device and used with their app on the mobile device. It would be best to verify with the manufacturer that their device can be used with third party apps.

Note for Android Users: In order to use an external GPS device with Fulcrum you will need to follow certain steps to enable ‘mock GPS location.’ More information can be found on this on the external GPS device page.

Blogs of Interest -