GPS Article

How Does GPS Work - A Guide To GPS Navigation

Orbiting the Earth there are over 24 Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites. They were placed there by the United States Department of Defense. In 1983, then President Ronald Reagan, allowed public access to the entire GPS satellite network. Since then numerous uses have been found for GPS. One of the most recent innovations is in the use of GPS navigation systems.

The basic idea is quite simple: a GPS enabled receiver sends out a signal which is picked up by four, or more, satellites. Using the information received the GPS device can then accurately determine your location.

Obviously this is very useful, especially if you are exploring areas where maps are outdated or there aren't too many distinguishable landmarks. However, in cities the usefulness is limited. Most cites have plenty of signs and street names - you can easily tell where you are!

To make the GPS receiver more useful it can be combined with detailed maps. These maps are really just co-ordinates that are associated with places. So, when a GPS Navigation system determines the co-ordinates of your current location, it can actually tell, or show, you where you are in relation to your surroundings. Very useful if your are in a new part of town, a new city, or even another country.

Taking it one step further: if you need to travel to a specific destination, select the place on the GPS Navigation system and you can be guided directly there! No more thumbing through pages of maps and an end to getting lost.

There are many GPS Navigation (sometimes known as Sat Nav) systems. The basic operation and service on all of them is similar. There are some advanced uses for a GPS Navigation system: they can have a regularly updated database of speed cameras, or they can monitor traffic information so that trouble spots can be avoided. You can even get systems that can monitor your daily run, showing you the route and time taken; upload the data to a computer and you can have an instant chart of your progress.

There are many new innovations in GPS technology. However, the way GPS works will fundamentally be the same for many years to come.