“You may not instantly see why I bring the subject up, but that is because my mind works so phenomenally fast, and I am at a rough estimate thirty billion times more intelligent than you. Let me give you an example. Think of a number, any number.”
“Er, five,” said the mattress.
“Wrong,” said Marvin. “You see?”
― Douglas Adams, Life, the Universe and Everything
Ah, they are talking about an inertial measuring unit. Basically, by measuring all acceleration you’ve experienced you can calculate your change in position. They can’t determine absolute position though, only relative, so this doesn’t so much replace GPS as assist it.