GPS

The Many Uses for GPS
By Jimmy MacLeod

In the last few years, the general public and consumers have started to hear about GPS systems. However, the network of “Global Positioning Satellites” was actually first developed in the 1970’s, by the US government.

At least twenty-four satellites orbiting the earth make up the GPS network. The GPS receivers, here on earth collect information from several satellites at a time. With this information, the receivers can, by a process similar to triangulation, tell the user his or her exact location in latitude, longitude, and sometimes altitude too.

For the Military

It is clear how useful this technology would be for the Armed Forces. Before small GPS receivers were available, troops in the field depended on the same technology for generations: the compass, sextant, maps and hand calculations. Radios and reconnaissance aircraft were great leaps, but a GPS calculates position in real time, down to three foot accuracy!

For Civilians

The US Government owns the satellites of the GPS network, but leaves the broadcasts unencrypted. So, anyone with a receiver can use the data for free. Both companies and hobbyists have started to use receivers in many different applications.

Track Anything

Parents always worry about their teenage kids, especially after they start driving. Auto shops have started offering instillation of small, hidden GPS receivers in kids’ cars. Parents can then use simple computer software and have their kids’ movements plotted on a map. Many parents don’t even tell the kids about this ‘little extra’.

Some containers of cargo are more valuable than others. Shipping a load of, say, televisions, from East Asia to North America is a long way, on ships, trains, and trucks. Now, it is possible for shippers to tuck a small GPS receiver into their cargo and know exactly where it is, how far it is from the destination, and where to find it if it is stolen.

GPS Hobbies

People have always liked searching for hidden things or participating in scavenger hunts. With GPS, comes the new twist: geocaching.

Geocachers hide a little treasure in a box public place, for example, a shoe box with a used book inside, taped under the seat of a bus stop. They then go to geocaching websites and post simple latitude and longitude, to as much accuracy as they like. Then other geocachers search for these boxes with their GPS data. The fun is looking for a strange box in what could be an area with a 25-foot radius. When the successful geocacher finds the box, he or she keeps the little treasure and replaces it with another, for the next searcher.

Author Details:
Jimmy MacLeod, copywriter for various web sites writing articles about mobile phones and other electrical gadgets.

Article Source: Simply Top Articles

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