global positioning system

Global Positioning System or GPS is the common name for the Navigation System for Timing and Ranging (NAVSTAR), and it represents a global navigation system which uses a network of satellites in order to determine the location of a given person or object, regardless of atmospheric conditions, and anywhere on the surface of the Earth or in its close vicinity. The requirement for the system to work is that the object in question should have a direct line of sight to at least four satellites in the network, in which case the data regarding location and time can be accessed through the use of any electronic device that acts as a GPS receiver unit.

The Global Positioning System has been developed by the Department of Defense of the USA for military purposes and originally operated using a network of 24 satellites. Due to its obvious benefits to the civilian sector as well, a decision to allow general access was taken in 1983, which transformed the GPS into a dual-use technology, freely available for use with some restrictions to its capabilities. The removal of the selective availability clause in 2000 has led to further improvement of the accuracy for the civilian sector. While with the selective availability feature in place, receiver units had an accuracy of approximately 100 meters, nowadays a Garmin navigation unit uses a receiver that has an average accuracy of 15 meters.

The GPS has various civilian applications and has become a valuable tool in areas ranging from scientific research to personal day to day activities. Clock synchronization, surveying, map making, aircraft operations or mobile telephony make use of this technology. Applications that facilitate navigation to a specific destination or fleet vehicle tracking have grown to be more common and especially useful in the commercial sector, where the routes or up to date location of a specific asset can now be easily plotted and visualized in combination with a map.

Aside the advantages brought on by the implementation of GPS capabilities, the advance in technology behind the receiver has also contributed to the current level of usage. While some of the initial civil GPS receivers had a weight over 25 kilograms, today GPS functions can be accessed through mobile phones or even wrist watches. The reliability of the receivers has also improved. Users can now benefit from designs which allow for a faster connection to the satellites and a stronger lock on them even in areas with dense vegetation or tall buildings. The present electronic devices with GPS features will also allow for easy access to the data, even remotely, through an internet connection or through messages sent to another electronic device.

You'll find bloggers talking about global positioning systems at sites like cimss.ssec.wisc.edu and e360.yale.edu.

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Latest blogosphere posts tagged “global positioning system”

 

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