How GPS Works

If you look around, you will notice the increasing popularity of the Global Positioning Systems. You can find these devices on cell phones, vehicles and video games. You might find it hard to understand how GPS works. But in reality, these systems are not that complicated. Basically, GPS works by employing several satellites that orbit around the planet. These satellites transmit radio signals to GPS receivers. The accurateness of GPS relies heavily on the preciseness of time reference. Because of this, it is not surprising that GPS satellites are equipped with specially-designed atomic clocks. All of these clocks are synchronized with one another as well as with the GPS devices on the ground. A GPS receiver usually requires input from four satellites in order for information to be accurate. Using the spherical system, each satellite will work to give the receiver the precise location of a particular person or location. Basically, the larger the sphere, the farther the satellite is to your... [Read the full story]

History of GPS

Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are modern navigation devices that employ satellite technology. You will find that these navigation devices are usually installed in vehicles. Because of its increasing popularity, the latest car models come equip with these mapping systems as a basic feature. Before these GPS devices became a must for every traveler, you should know that they were one of the most revolutionary equipments that the US government has ever designed. Looking back, the concept of GPS was first introduced during the launch of Russia’s Sputnik in 1957. As the national government observed the spacecraft’s movement towards space, it was realized that there were radio signals being emitted by the said craft. This fact actually became the basis for research in the field of GPS. By the mid 1960s, the US Navy launched a satellite system, called Transit System. These satellites circled the planet and guided Navy submarines. After, the US Department of Defense decided to create the... [Read the full story]

What is GPS ?

Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are actually composed of several orbiting satellites. The United States currently has 24 of these GPS satellites circling the planet and has an average distance of 12,000 miles from the Earth’s surface. Every satellite transmits radio signals that are gathered by GPS receivers located on the ground. They orbit the planet at least twice each day. The position of the satellites and reference time are among the information transmitted to the GPS receivers. The process of pinpointing the exact location of a particular receiver is called GPS tracking. Although the cost of using GPS technology has first been quite high, nowadays it has become much more affordable. In fact, many companies have already embarked on numerous researched in order to add to the growing number of GPS applications. Users of GPS devices will be able to monitor the locations they have been to using GPS tracking. When combined with broadcast technologies such as radio or wristwatch, these... [Read the full story]

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