Such fine control would be employed in certain experimental set-ups in space where precise positioning of a craft was essential.

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Aircraft equipped with ADS-B are able to automatically send highly precise data, such as aircraft positioning and speed, to air traffic controllers every second.

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In 2003, Skyhook pioneered the development of the Wi-Fi Positioning System to provide precise and reliable location results in urban areas.

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But chip makers are having trouble making more precise beams, and the Global Positioning System, which allows people to locate themselves to within a few metres on the surface of the earth, is limited by the performance of its atomic clocks.

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For example, researchers in Arizona are using real-time kinematic global positioning systems, an ultra-precise version of GPS that can measure positions with sub-inch accuracy levels, to control weeds in cotton fields with steel cultivators.

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While the Danish keeper's positioning could have been better in both cases, Japan's strikes were precise and superbly-executed, making a mockery of the difficulty players have been having with the much-maligned Jabulani ball.

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