GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM

ABSTRACT:

Uncertainties in position and time have been vexing problems for the mankind for centuries. “Where am I, where are you, how do I get there and how long will it take” – these questions are to be answered in navigation and synchronization, and any mistake in answering these often have fatal consequences. Navigation and positioning are crucial to so many activities and yet the process has always been quite cumbersome. Over the years all kinds of technologies have tried to simplify the task but every one has had some disadvantage. The search for a better and an accurate option resulted in the GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS), a system that’s changed navigation forever. The global positioning system (GPS) technology which emerged in the US and the former USSR answers all the aforesaid questions accurately. The GPS is a worldwide radio-navigation system formed from a constellation of 24 satellites and their ground stations. Nowadays GPS receivers have been miniaturized to just a few integrated circuits and so are becoming very economical and that makes the technology accessible to virtually everyone. GPS is now mapping the whole world. Soon GPS will become almost as basic as the telephone and it may also become a universal utility. This paper explains the basic concepts of GPS and its applications.