What Makes Global Positioning Systems TickA number of satellite based navigation systems are being worked upon but the only thing that is fully operational as of now is the NAVSTAR GPS system. Colloquially known as the Global Positioning System or simply the GPS system, this system started as a project of the United States Department of Defense. This was initially a military only project but in the time of President Reagen, steps were taken to make it open for civilian usage. To some people this might seem like rocket science but in reality the working of GPS systems is very simple and easy to understand. A number of satellites are in orbit around the earth which form the mainstay of the GPS. A person who wants to use a GPS system has to get a GPS receiver module. The GPS receiver module can interact with these satellites. The receiver sends a signal to satellite. The satellites communicate with each other and triangulate the position from which the signals came. They send the positional information collected by triangulation back to the receiver. The GPS receiver is also equipped with maps of various parts of the world. Based on the positional data acquired by the receiver from satellites, it can pin point where on the map a person is present. Naturally the better a tracking system is, the more chances are there of accurate triangulation and overall positioning. The more detailed a map is the better. An example is some of the Asian equipment capabilities like the new Provia A1 navigator from Korea’s HTMS. This new GPS device is loaded with more features than your car’s dashboard and navigation is accomplished using amazingly detailed, razor-sharp 3D maps, complete with models of buildings and other landmarks. GPS is being used for a number of non military purposes. These are taking advantage of any or all of the three important pieces of information that GPS provides. The three pieces of information are time transfer, absolute location and relative movement. As mentioned earlier the GPS is primarily used for navigation. This is done using the absolute location related piece of information. They are being used by people who are walking on the road using a GPS module built in to their cellphone to huge ships in high seas all over the Globe. As compared to military systems, the civilian systems are not as accurate. Moreover the government of United States also makes sure that they can not be used for military purposes by other countries. This is generally done by forcing US makers of GPS units to restrict the capability to operate under certain conditions like when moving at speeds higher than 1000 knots and at an altitude of 18km. Today standalone GPS units are being installed in cars gps auto systems and other vehicles. Many people are using GPS tracker modules embedded in their cellphones. Other common uses are GPS air tracking systems and fleet tracking systems. As the size of GPS receiver module is very small and growing smaller, work is also going on to embed civilian modules in still smaller devices like wrist watches. You can already add it to your PDA gps pda system. The entire field of marine navigation has been revolutionized by GPS marine navigation systems. Want to know how far it is to that Par 5 hole form the bunker you're in? Try a gps golf system Major players in the world of GPS include the Garmin GPS system, Magellan GPS system Tom Tom GPS system |