WyzGuys Tech Talk

Almost everyone is familiar with the Global Positioning System, or GPS.  We have GPS services available to us in are smartphone, and in many cases, in that computer on wheels, our automobile.  GPS allows us to navigate, to travel from one point to another without the need for paper maps.

GPS was originally developed for the US military, and for quite a while after its introduction to public users in the 1990’s civil location finding was made to be intentionally off by as much as a hundred feet.  This gave the US military an advantage over other countries.  I remember the bombing of Baghdad in the first Gulf war, and how satellite guided munitions were able to take out military targets without all the collateral damage of carpet bombing.  As other countries brought their own military GPS systems online, the value of the intentional location offset was lost.  Modern GPS gives us very accurate location information.

GPS works this way.  A GPS enabled device will locate several GPS satellites, and send them each a signal.  The time differential between satellite responses allows the GPS device to pinpoint its location.  Ideally, there may be as many as five satellites in view.  For accurate results, your GPS device needs at least three satellites, or two satellites and a ground station.  The ground station is often a cellphone tower, or other antenna tower.  GPS systems can provide location in three dimensions, latitude, longitude, and altitude.

In addition to helping us travel, and providing Google with location information it can sell to marketers, what else does GPS do for us?

• Agriculture – Farmers use GPS to help with more accurate planning, and combined with other data can help farmers know where to fertilize and irrigate more precisely, saving money, fuel, and time.
• Land surveying – Also most all land surveying is done with GPS.  This information ties into GIS (Geographic Information Systems) to provide accurate property records.  This also helps with mapping.
• Airplanes – Of course airlines use GPS to guide their airplanes safely from one location to another.
• Fleet tracking – GPS keeps accurate location records that are combined with other data to determine how long a driver has been on the road, fuel consumption, and service intervals.
• Theft recovery – from cars to artwork, GPS systems can help in tracking stolen valuables.
• Recreation – GPS is often used by hunters, fishers, backpackers and other sportsmen.
• Location of family – GPS can be used to keep track of elderly family members, children, and pets.
• Science – GPS is being used for measuring earthquakes, monitor volcanoes, calculate snow depth, sense when land is rising or sinking, and even analyze the atmosphere.

More information:

• Smithsonian
• Trackimo