How Your GPS Works
The story behind global positioning systems
The Global Positioning System is made up of satellite based signals turned into locational information by a receiver. GPS is a world wide navigation system made up of twenty four satellites orbiting the earth. Your location on Earth is measured by your distance from the satellites (similar to triangulation) and can be mapped based on that information.
Inspiration
Ground based radio navigation systems have been in use since shortly before World War II. After the military further developed the technology, planes and ships started using it for navigation and mapping. The problem with radio navigation systems is that they were limited in distance and accuracy.
Space research in the 1950s changed the way people used radio signals. The satellite global positioning system was first discovered in reverse when it was found that the satellite could be tracked by its radio signal. Engineers concluded that the satellite signal could also reference the ground point of the receiver. In the 1970s satellite GPS was developed into a resource for accurate tracking and navigation in military departments.
In 1993 GPS became widely available to consumers. As consumer use of global positioning systems caught on, government departments scrambled satellite signals to protect the military use of the systems. This was called Selective Availability and resulted in a less accurate public global positioning system. Selective Availability was turned off in the early 2000s and consumer systems are now often accurate in their location by mere feet.
The GPS market
The development of global positioning systems into a consumer market has changed the ways in which the technology is utilized. The global positioning system is still important to government departments of military and defense. Some satellite signals are scrambled for commercial aviation use.
The convenience of accurate mapping , navigation and tracking has opened up a new world of possibilities for consumers, though. There are now innumerable consumer products that take advantage of global positioning system technology and new products and software are being created every day.
GPS today is much more than a navigation system. Used as a personal, automotive, marine, aviation and business tool, GPS helps people organize their lives and their travels around accurate and up to date information. This data can include anything from street and topographical maps to weather and traffic updates.
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