History of technical advances is always enchanting and the history of GPS is no wonder not an exception. Beginning with the satellite and radio navigation techniques, the GPS units have taken navigation to a next level of advancement. Want to know more? Read…

Introduction

GPS - How it works

GPS is an acronym that stands for ‘Global Positioning System’. The system was devised by the US Department of Defense and is open for use to anyone who wishes to use it. Basically, it uses satellites that were sent into space, determining their current location based on the signals the satellites continually send to the GPS device. At the moment, there are over 30 GPS satellites in service; however, to determine the location of any one GPS device, taking into account the signals of four of those satellites is enough. There is no point in explaining how exactly the device calculates your location; if you’re interested, buy a book about it, and make sure to tell me when you eventually get it. But really, unless you’re a mathematics or a physics freak, just be happy someone a lot smarter than you and I came up with such a system, get a GPS device that works, and don’t worry about the details too much.

A History

The idea of having a satellite navigation system dates back to 1960 already. This was when the first such system, Transit, which was used by the US Navy, was tested successfully. At the time, it used only five satellites. Approximately once an hour, it would tell you where you were thanks to those five satellites. Approximately ten years later, in the 1970s, the first worldwide radio navigation system was developed: OMEGA Navigation system was ground-based, worked for aircrafts and used ground-based transmitters that sent signals so that any OMEGA device could calculate its own location based on those signals. This kind of system is what GPS was inspired from. However, what really started the idea was the fact that the USSR sent the first man-made satellite, Sputnik, into space in 1957. A couple of American scientists started monitoring the satellite and discovered that they could determine the satellite’s location along its orbit using their own location and a physical concept called the Doppler Effect. In 1983, it was decided that GPS should be available for any civilian by President Reagan, and the satellites were launched between 1989 and 1993. Initially, civilians only had access to a less precise system, but this was changed in 2000 when civilians gained access to a system just as precise as that of the US military.

Today

Nowadays, it is nothing special anymore for a mobile phone to have a GPS function and most cars have it integrated in their system as well. The GPS system is becoming increasingly sophisticated, as well as increasingly affordable for the average civilian. This is very useful, especially if someone gets lost or doesn’t know where they’re going. Another useful feature is that the American police can locate any caller who calls them from a cell phone with a GPS feature, so if you’re not sure where you are but you need help and you’re lucky enough to have a cell phone with GPS, not to worry. Thanks to modern technology, it is possible to find you. The most recent GPS satellite was launched on the 15th of March 2008. The system is constantly being modernized and its uses are various. In fact, did you know that for example, some tourist tours work with GPS? Say you’re driving around a town in a bus that has built-in GPS and a screen that provides information. When you reach monument X, the GPS in the bus will know and send the information about your location to the screen, which will then take this as a cue to display everything it knows about monument X. Quite practical, isn’t it? The US government, however, still controls the exchange of the most powerful GPS devices around. There is now also GPS software which can be used to track the position of the person or object the GPS is linked to in regular intervals. True, GPS is very useful, but doesn’t that sound a little creepy? It is, of course, perfect for worried mothers who always want to be able to check where their teenage kid is. They can just buy them a mobile with GPS. However, it does seem a little scary that anyone with a GPS device can be tracked, anywhere in the world.