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What It Is and How It Works – For the uninitiated, GPS stands for Global Positioning System. It’s a way of locating a receiver in three dimensional space anywhere on the Earth, and even in orbit about it, and it’s arguably one of the most important inventions of our time. GPS has so many different applications that many technologies and ways of working are continually being improved in order to make the most of it. Now why is GPS so important and useful? First, we have to understand how it works. In order for GPS to work, a network of satellites was placed into orbit around planet Earth. These satellites each broadcast a specific signal, which is received by inexpensive aerials and passed on to GPS devices where it is then decoded and used by dedicated software. The information garnered from these signals allows the GPS software to identify the satellite, its specific location, and even calculate the exact time it took for the signal to travel from the satellite to the receiver. Using different signals from different satellites, the GPS software is able to calculate the position of the receiver. Mapping It Out – Knowing where the device is in space is one thing, but it is fairly useless information without something to compare it with. This is where the mapping comes in handy; thru this, GPS can analyze our location and maps out possible routes. In fact, it is often the mapping data which elevates the price of the GPS solution. This should be updated regularly and frequently in order to be accurate. There are several kinds of maps, and each is intended for different users with different needs. Road users need maps containing accurate data about the road systems in their particular region, but they won’t need data about the lay of the land. On the other hand, hiking GPS users might wish to have a detailed map of the terrain, rivers, hills and so forth, and perhaps tracks and trails, but not roads. Marine users need very specific information relating to the sea bed, navigable channels, and other pieces of maritime data that enables them to navigate safely. And what about fishermen? They also use marine GPS to keep track of the movements of fish in real time and to predict where they’ll be the next day. In fact, cooperative fishing has become much easier with GPS, allowing boats to relay locations to each other while looking for the best fishing spots. There are also GPS devices called “fish finders”, which combines GPS and sonar functions to track and store detailed fishing and maritime information. Get Started with GPS – Consumers can avail of several GPS devices that are specifically designed for a variety of uses and functions. In-car systems have advanced features like voice guidance, dynamic route calculations, and even upgrading your maps from a CD-ROM. Then there are handheld GPS devices, such as those from Magellan and Garmin, which store a map inside, and are usually designed for outdoor use. They generally do not have any road information, and leave the users to find their own way from A to B. A more recent solution has appeared on the market which uses the power of a PDA to run the actual GPS software. A GPS receiver can be easily attached to these devices, which makes them possibly the cheapest and easiest GPS receivers to use in the market today. Bluetooth technology has also started to make use of GPS, by having several receivers with Bluetooth capabilities, and a single PDA.
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Chiun Masters is a researcher and writer working for www.audioavi.com, where you can get quality GPS and audio equipment. Visit us for all your audio equipment needs.
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