Erase “Lost” From Your Vocabulary, Get GPS
There are two main benefits of installing a GPS tracking system in your car. One, you can always find yourself just in case you go and get lost. Two, you can find your car in case your car gets lost or is stolen. Today, more and more car manufacturers are including this system as standard equipment in the cars they sell. It’s the new-age device that helps you, like some omnipresent being, know where you or your vehicle are every minute of the day and night. There might be times when this might seem like a “big brother watching” feeling but more often than not, it provides a sort of security that someone is watching over your car.
If the GPS tracking system comes with your car, well and good, but if it does not, where do you get it? There are a number of retail outlets that stock them or you could find them on the Internet. You will find you have quite a choice of the latest devices. Many electronic shops not only sell you the devices but also install them for you. You’ll also find them in car specialty stores or shops that stock car accessories. On the Internet of course, no matter where in the world you are, you will find that you can order the tracking system of your choice and it will be mailed to you.
The extra cost involved in paying for a GPS tracking system might well be worth it if you consider your insurance payments. Many insurance companies have substantially reduced insurance premiums for car owners who either buy a new vehicle with a tracking device already installed or those who fit one after they have bought a vehicle. From a long-term point of view, you might just save a lot as far as your insurance payments go. Add to this the fact that the possibility of your car being stolen and not recovered is pretty slim and you’ll see it makes a lot of money sense to go the GPS tracking device route.
Very often, in a new car, the cost of the tracking device is not an extra and comes pre-installed as part of the car and its many features on offer. Even if you do not get it as part of the standard equipment, you would do well to consider paying for one and fit it in after you have got your vehicle. Not only do you have the security of knowing that it is a deterrent to vehicle theft, you also know that if your car did get stolen, chances are that you will find it with the help of the police tracking the emitting signal from your stolen car.
Besides that, if you have a teenager in the family and you want to know he is safe and where he is, a tracking device ensures a certain degree of peace of mind. It’s a great device to have in your car if you are lost, too. You can pinpoint exactly where you are and, even better, you can map your way to wherever it is you want to go from the spot you are in. In fact, you can chart out a whole course for your travel by road to any part of the country.
For more information about the benefits of GPS tracking technology visit
http://www.vehicletrackingtech.com
GPS and Other Emergency Contact Devices
What is the best kind of GPS system for you? This depends on what you intend to use it for.
Garmin 12 GPS is very good. There are various models of the 12, 12XL etc. They can be found for under $150. The altimeter is usually off but once you find your position, most of the time the map tells me what my altitude is. They have a pretty decent battery life since you rarely ever use your GPS for 12 hours straight.
The vendors selling GPS units are Garmin and Magellan, those are good brands and can meet your requirements quite well. There is a third player, Brunton (compass makers gone hi-tech). They make very reasonably priced GPS units with lots of bells and whistles. Garmin GPS records the distance travelled, speed, average speed, etc. Make sure you get good battery life and enough memory to be useful.
Mitac Mio 168 comes out well for my requirements but is more expensive, especially if you go for the tom tom mapping software too (voice directions when I’m out on my motorbike!)
Most of the functions on GPS of this sort you can get from a map. Maps on pure GPS are not as good as on a GPS/PDA but good maps for these are usually expensive. Some mountain rescue team members use PDAs with 1:25000 OS mapping data for recording search patterns etc.
You really need to look at your own plans - for instance, most backpackers use GPS to “confirm” their position, and they don’t use it to set waypoints, determine compass direction, navigate, etc. Many backpackers use it as an emergency navigation tool in Utah’s deep, narrow canyons, where a map and compass can be almost useless.
One word of warning, take very seriously the statement on the front of all GPS units “Do not rely on this unit as the primary source of your navigation.” It’s always a good idea to have a map and compass with you when engaging in wilderness travel and use them right along with the GPS. It can actually be kind of fun to see how accurate you are with a compass and compare map routes with GPS routes to see why you ended up going the way you did.
What are the numbers on a compass for and how do you use a compass? The numbers on the compass are for degrees or headings. They will tell you what direction to proceed on. The first thing you need to do is figure out what kind of compass you have, a floating dial or a floating needle.
As to emergency contact, you could buy an expensive Iridium/satellite phone - they can get a signal just like a GPS does. They run over $1,000. It may also be possible to rent one. For real emergencies, not simply a vehicle breakdown, there is a GPS signaling device, much like ONStar (GM trademark), that can send an emergency signal. The final thing to do is to check in at the local ranger station, BLM office, forest service visitor center, etc., and see about leaving your itinerary with them, as well as a promise to check-out with them when leaving. If you don’t check in, they would send someone out to check on you.
Victor Epand is an expert consultant for http://www.CombatCloth.info/ . CombatCloth.info carries the best selection of combat clothing, gear, and accessories on the market: http://www.CombatCloth.info/categories/adventure-clothing-foot-head-handwear-rain-gear-logo-apparel.html
GPS Tracking System - Safety for Your Kids and Peace of Mind for You
Has your kid recently obtained a driving license? Now you are probably constantly worried if she or he is driving safely. And you also wonder where they go. There is a little piece of modern technology that can help parents who are worried about whereabouts of their children - it is called GPS tracking system.
With GPS tracking you can reasonably accurately know where your son’s or daughter’s car is at any given time.
GPS tracking system benefits for you:
Knowing the location of your children
Monitoring your kids driving skills and habits
Easy to find a car if it has been stolen
Safety of your teenage kids
GPS tracking system is important for your kid’s safety
We all know that young drivers are often at risk. They are less experienced and more arrogant than those who have been driving for many years. Teenagers are more likely to take unnecessary risks and drive at high speed. But luckily for you, you can monitor their speed too. GPS tracking systems offer speed monitoring. So you will always know if your kids don’t obey the road rules.
Also if their car breaks down or there is an accident, GPS system will tell you straight away. Even if your child has no idea where he or she is, GPS tracking will give you an accurate location. You receive the data from the tracking system to your home computer or even mobile phone in real time.
Knowing where your kids are
And of course, the main function of GPS tracking system is to tell you the exact location of your child’s car. So if, for example, you don’t want them to drive certain busy and dangerous roads or go to certain places, you will know if they go there or not. This way he or she can’t say that they go to the city library to study, but go to a party instead.
GPS tracking installation
Most systems are small and easy to install. They are only about a size of your TV remote control and are usually powered by batteries that need to be changed about once a month. The technology itself is free and is controlled by US government, so there will be no monthly fees. You only pay for the hardware and the software once. Tracking devices are not cheap - a good one will cost you 400-500 dollars. However, when you think that you are really investing in the safety of your family, it is a small price to pay.
Should you tell your kids that there is a tracking device in their car or not? Tracking other people cars without the knowledge of the owner is illegal, but that doesn’t apply to parents tracking their kids. So it is really up to you. However, it might be a good idea to tell your teens that you are installing a tracking device for their safety. If you install it secretly and than your son or daughter finds out that he or she has been tracked, they will never believe it is for their own good.
Visit http://www.gpssystemcentral.com/ to find information and buying advice about different types of GPS systems including GPS tracking system
Implementing Telemetry Solutions
The dictionary defines telemetry as highly automated communications process by which measurements are made and other data collected at remote, inaccessible or dangerous places and transmitted to receiving equipment for display, monitoring, and recording. The original telemetry systems were termed “supervisory” because they were used to monitor electric power distribution. Telemetry solutions were first implemented in Chicago in 1912, in which telephone lines were used for data transmission on the operation of a number of electric-power stations to a central monitoring command center.
With advancements in technology, telemetry has spread its wings to other fields, each making improvements and modifications to suit the desired purpose. Originally, the data was relayed over wires, but modern telemetry more commonly uses radio transmission and GSM (Global System for Mobile communication) technology for information transmission. One of the limitations of the earlier telemetry systems was the restriction of the subject to the confines of telephone lines. Wireless networking without the encumbrance and restriction of wires connecting the transmitter and receiver has catapulted the potential applications of telemetry solutions.
The list of applications of telemetry is practically endless. Implementing telemetry solutions enables automatic monitoring of large, complex systems such as satellites, chemical plants, oilrigs, and electric power plants, thus eliminating the need for a person to read monitor each location manually. Other areas where telemetry solutions are put into practice include gathering meteorological data, remote meter reading, logistics management, tracking endangered land and marine species, and monitoring manned and unmanned space flights.
Biomedical telemetry or biotelemetry is another telemetry application, which provides a means for transmitting physiological or biological information from one site to another for data collection. Technically, it refers to systems, which require no mechanical connection. Biotelemetry studies in the last three decades have permitted many areas of physiological and behavioral monitoring in diverse conditions. Since the 1970s, telemetry solutions have been utilized for real time physiological monitoring state of patients, who are at risk of abnormal heart activity. These patients are outfitted with specialized telemetry devices, which wirelessly transmit alert messages or distress signals via the standard SMS (short messaging system) protocol to the central database, immediately summoning health care professionals, if the patient suffers from a critical condition.
Science has really come a long way in many areas with the use of telemetry equipment. Even many of the small towns use telemetry to read the electric meter from the truck as it drives by your house. It has become more cost effective to use telemetry in reading the electric meter as opposed to having a person walk from house to house recording the readings in a hand held device.
Keith Londrie II is a well known author. See the site at http://www.telemetry-info.info/ for a wealth of information. You may also want to visit keith’s own web site at http://keithlondrie.com/
What Are GPS Devices
In 1978, the Department of Defense launched its first satellite that was to be the beginning of the Global Positioning System, or GPS. The military called it NavStar. The program called for the launching of 24 satellites to be positioned roughly equidistant from each other, so that they would uniformly cover the surface of the earth. Three extra satellites were to be launched as backups, in case any of the others failed.
Device Works By Triangularization
The purpose of these satellites was to be able to allow the US military to determine its exact position through a system of triangularization (actually called trilateration). A hand-held, or vehicle mounted device, would receive signals from at least three satellites. The GPS unit would then process that information to inform the user exactly where they were located. By receiving signals from at least four satellites, the device could give not only the latitude and longitude, but also the altitude.
Satellite System Completed
The GPS system of having 24 satellites in position was accomplished in 1994. Each of the satellites, weighing more than 3,000 pounds each, and designed to last for ten years, orbits the earth twice a day at an altitude of about 12,000 miles. Years before this system was completed, the military permitted civilians to begin using it.
Deliberately Inaccurate Signals
When civilians began to use the system, the GPS satellites deliberately transmitted a degraded signal. This deliberately inaccurate signal was designed to prevent an enemy from using our own signals against us, and it was called Selective Availability (SA). While using the SA, the signals generated a rather generally accurate location to within about 100 meters. This system of generalized readings was turned off by the military in May 2000.
Current Accuracy of GPS Devices
Today, however, the GPS system works very accurately - but it does depend on where you are in relation to the satellites. If they are either more or less lined up, or bunched together, then the reading won’t be all that accurate. Other factors can cause an increased inaccuracy such as being near tall buildings, dense foliage, atmospheric disturbances, etc. On the other hand, since satellites are continually moving (about 7,000 mph), if you allow the GPS device to get a couple of readings from the satellites, then your position will be more accurately determined. The accuracy today, depending on how new your device is, and the features it has, could be accurate to with a 5 to 10 meters. The enhanced features of some particular brands can bring this down to within 3 meters, while the military devices can put them within a millimeter, or two.
Satellites Transmit Three Pieces of Information
Your device receives three different pieces of information from each satellite that it picks up communication from - a pseudorandom code, ephemeris data and almanac data. This data deals with the number of the satellite, the position of the satellite, and the status of it, which concerns whether or not it is working properly. This last one includes the transmission of the time that the signal was sent, and then your GPS device measures how long it took to receive it. By this means, then, along with signals from other satellites, it will calculate your position.
Hunter Crowell is a researcher, marketer, and a geocacher. He is also the creator of GPS Navigation Systems, a web site setup to help people find useful and accurate information related to global positioning systems. Visit his site at http://www.GPS-explained.info
GPS In The Public Interest
We’ve all heard the commercials where GPS technology is used to help stranded motorists in difficult situations from a heart attack to locking the keys in the car. Just hearing the term GPS may cause rejoicing or confusion depending on your familiarity with the device.
The applications for GPS units run from simple personal use to complex wartime data. These devices may seem intimidating, but they are opening a whole new world that is being explored in many new and awesome ways. The good news is this portable technology is routinely used to save lives, time and money.
Imagine a woman has been critically injured in a remote location a dozen miles from the nearest town. Park Rangers find her, but they’re going to need some help. They call for an air ambulance; however they bypass the need to give detailed instructions on how to find them. Instead, they simply provide GPS coordinates and the helicopter arrives in time to save the life of the injured woman.
A bus operator takes a nasty spill and will not be able to drive for awhile. This might present a problem if someone else does not know the route. However, route training time could be eliminated in public transit with the use of GPS technology. Policies could be adopted that would map each route using a GPS. While the bus driver would be missed, the route would not suffer a delay in service.
We’ve all had moments when we sat with a stubborn vehicle on the side of the road. If you own a GPS unit it can be used to pinpoint your location for a tow truck.
Imagine a time when missed directions in critical situations become a thing of the past. Many police and ambulance personnel are now dispatched using GPS technology. Lives may be saved, hostile incidents curtailed and even pizza may have a better on time delivery record.
Firefighters are now using GPS units to help guide helicopters providing support to multiple water drop points. By using these small handheld devices, fire crews can maximize the effectiveness of fire control efforts that can save both lives and personal property.
Wilderness excursions can be less problematic when a GPS unit is linked to compatible walkie talkies. This technology will allow people to keep in contact and help them find each other if you get separated.
Should rescue workers be required to find a location in the dark it is good to know that GPS units have no problem pinpointing a location - even on a moonless night.
Outdoor enthusiasts use GPS units to assist them in keeping track of how far they have gone and can help track a route to either avoid or try again.
Admittedly, sophisticated GPS devices have been used by governments during wartime and peace, but savvy consumers have found many ways to utilize this technology to help provide peace of mind in uncertain circumstances.
More uses for GPS technology will be discovered in the days to come and the implementation of that technology will assist the public in ways they may never realize. Then again, when something is this good, bragging isn’t required.
Hunter Crowell is a researcher, marketer, and a geocacher. He is also the creator of GPS Navigation Systems, a web site setup to help people find useful and accurate information related to global positioning systems. Visit his site at http://www.GPS-explained.info
GPS How It All Started
Twelve billion US dollars.
That was the amount spent by the American government for its global position system or GPS for short. Satellites are expensive, but when you seriously think about what a GPS can accomplish, it may well be worth every single cent.
The United States Department of Defense no doubt had the proper rationale for inventing the GPS. In fact, in light of recent events that have developed as a result of 9/11, military and defense strategists are probably heaping praise on the DOD for its GPS efforts. GPS has turned out to be a very useful tool in their strategies to protect the country and its allies from potential disaster.
They also have Ivan Getting to thank.
GPS: how it started
Funny how Ivan Getting’s name almost fits in with the primary function of GPS - “getting location.” GPS is a tracking tool, if you will, and for it to remain in optimal working order, a budget of $400 million a year is required to monitor the satellites so they don’t fall out of orbit, so to speak. The budget is also allocated to replace aging satellites.
Ivan Getting was born in New York City in 1912. He enrolled in the Massachusetts Institute Technology with an Edison scholarship and received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1933. After MIT, he went on to pursue his Master’s Degree as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University.
Dr. Getting obtained his Doctorate in Astrophysics in 1935 - a rare accomplishment in those days.
Less than 20 years later, Dr. Getting joined Raytheon Corporation as Vice President for Engineering and Research. When the Air Force announced a need for a guidance system to be used in conjunction with an ICBM that would achieve mobility by traveling for railroad use, Raytheon came up with a three-dimensional, time-difference-of-arrival position-finding system, the first of its kind at the time. It is a technique that represented one of the most sophisticated technologies in the world, since the concepts that were integrated into its design served as the stepping stones for the development of the global position system - GPS.
Dr. Getting directed aerospace engineers and scientists to evaluate satellite use - the core for a navigational system for rapidly-moving vehicles based on three dimensions. This eventually led to the concept utilized for the design of GPS.
In 1993, the military declared that GPS was now a fully operational world utility - an essential component for modern navigation on land, water and air. Its use extended to map making and land surveying. Today’s uses for GPS, however, go beyond these preliminary applications.
As to be expected with technologies of this magnitude, GPS underwent major improvement in the year 2000, when the Wide-Area Augmentation System (WAAS) was employed to increase the accuracy of signals emanating from GPS. This accuracy is made possible by one of many techniques known as the differential GPS, or DGPS.
When the United States Department of Defense developed the system, it was called NAVSTAR GPS - the acronym for Navigation Signal Timing and Ranging Global Positioning System.
But it wasn’t just Ivan Getting
Let’s give credit where it’s due. Ivan Getting’s impressive role in the establishment of GPS - now a public good - cannot be denied. However, for several decades, people have been trying to figure out the means to pinpoint their exact location on earth. People no longer follow stars to find their way as they did in biblical times; these days, satellites can do that much more effectively.
GPS has come a long way. From the original designers of the think tank group within the United States Navy, GPS has now “arrived” with its 24 satellites.
Remember the Sputnik program back in the 1960’s?
When Sputnik was launched, the United States Navy had actually run two programs that were said to be GPS’s predecessors. Transit was the name given to the first functional satellite-based navigation system, developed by Richard Kirschner in 1964. Those programs had seven satellites, and it relied on radio signals.
In 1967, the second satellite navigation system, Timation was born. It was an improvement over Transit; one innovation was an atomic clock integrated into its design.
In 1973, the US Navy and US Air Force eventually combined efforts to form the Navigation Technology Program, which became Navigation System and Ranging or NAVSTAR. The first four satellites were launched five years after that joint effort.
Based on its history, therefore, the raison-d’
What A GPS Can Do For You
A Global Positioning System or GPS is one of the most fun technical gadgets available on the market today. They are now available to anyone who has the means to buy them. Some may ask why they would need a GPS. The fact is, your GPS can help you in more ways that you realize and it’s quite amazing what this device can actually do for you.
Have you ever been driving around, knowing your in the right vicinity, but you can not, no matter how hard you try, find the street address of where you needed to be five minutes ago? Or taken a wrong turn somewhere and not know how to get back to where you started from? This little gadget can change all that for you and make your driving days easier. From satellites, the GPS can hone in on your location and tell you exactly where you are and how to get to a certain location. This is especially great for anyone who works out of their vehicle, such as a salesman or real estate agent.
There are many things a sportsman could use the GPS for, as well. Not only finding the location of the deer he thinks he may have shot, but also to find his favorite fishing hole he has trouble locating each year. A hunter or fisherman will never have to worry about getting lost in the woods or on the water again, as long as they carry a GPS with them.
A GPS is also wonderful for a landscape photographer. The GPS will be able to help them to return to a scene in case that first shot didn’t come out the best. The GPS will also allow them to work in a timely and efficient manner, by planning out their trek each day in advance. Keeping track of their mileage is also an added benefit.
The health enthusiast may use the GPS to trek their daily route and check how far they have walked or run, as well as how fast. Not only will it keep track of all this for them, they will not have to worry about excising too much or too little by guessing how far they’ve gone. This works great for the cyclist, as well. The GPS will help them not only to keep track of where they are going, but how far they have left to get to the top of a steep hill and if they have a guidebook or map with them, the GPS will let them know exactly where they are on the route and let them know if the map is correct.
The GPS is a great tool for anyone, including the teacher who is working to teach their class geography, maps, and navigation. There are several ways the GPS can be used in the class room. Set up a treasure hunt to find items listed only by the digital location or play hide-and-seek, only having the location of the hidden known by the student with the GPS. The GPS will not only teach a child about maps and navigation, but it will allow them to learn while having fun.
Of course, while most of these uses are from the average person, the fact is that GPS has become a very necessary part of our lives. The system is used by many to not only save lives, but to safeguard others, as well. The GPS in your vehicle or cell phone can help someone to find you if you’re missing. Ambulance crews and fire departments use the GPS to make sure they get to the location of an emergency. Construction crews use the GPS to navigate equipment, even if visibility is low and the military uses for the GPS are endless. The GPS has added a way for everyone, the average person to the military fighter pilot to navigate the world in which they live in.
Hunter Crowell is a researcher, marketer, and a geocacher. He is also the creator of GPS Navigation, a web site setup to help people find useful and accurate information related to global positioning systems. Visit his site at http://www.GPS-explained.info
Parents Using GPS To Keep Tabs On Teens
The arrival of GPS, or, Global Positioning System, is a satellite -linked, navigational system that has been a welcome enhancement to our everyday working and personal lives. GPS has a number of useful applications for use in cars, planes, trains, water vessels, cell phones, hand-held devices, and in computers. The Global Positioning System technology continues to steadily expand in its capabilities and the ways in which we use GPS in our daily lives grows day by day.
GPS technology is useful for pinpointing an exact location of a person, or residence for example. Having this information readily available is essential in emergency situations. 911 centers use Global positioning systems to direct police/fire/rescue personnel to those in need of emergency assistance. Most planes today are also equipped with GPS systems that will emit a signal that can be used to locate a plane that has lost radio-contact with air traffic controller’s or that has crashed in a remote area. GPS not only produces radio-frequency signals that can be used for tracking, they can also provide detailed maps and directions to guide someone from one place to another. Such technology is especially helpful for traveler’s who can access real-time maps, including important exits, city streets, etc.
Parents of teenagers have found that the “tracking” capabilities of the Global Positioning System, or GPS is a valuable ‘tool’ for them to use in order to keep tabs on the activities of their teens. GPS technology can track and record the movements of a vehicle that has GPS equipment installed, and also through cell phones and hand-held devices that are carried by teenagers. Children are involved in so many extra-curricular activities these days. They have soccer, football, and basketball practices, club meetings, and rehearsals for the school play to name just a few. Keeping up with a child’s schedule, all the while hiving to meet work and other family obligations is a full-time job in itself.
And when teenagers get their driver’s licenses and become mobile, they are even harder to keep up with. Teenager’s are constantly on the move, they are: hanging out at the mall with friends, at the skating rink, taking in a movie, grabbing some fries at the drive- thru, “cruising” and so on. GPS can be installed in vehicles to track its movements, and can also be found in cell phones, hand-held devices, and computers. This allows parents to keep tabs on their ever-increasingly, mobile teens. Parents can view exactly where there teenager is through hand-held receivers or even with a home computer via the internet. Parents can then be assured that their adolescents are where they are supposed to be.
Parents shouldn’t think that by using the technology of GPS to “track” the activities of their teens as an invasion of privacy. It is a parent’s responsibility to do all that they can do to safeguard their child, and this is just one more tool to aid parents in keeping their kids safe. Let’s face it: there is a lot out there for teens to deal with: peer pressure, alcohol, drugs, sex, gangs, and violence. Sometimes just knowing that a parent is keeping track of their whereabouts can help a young person to make the right choice for themselves.
Teens too, shouldn’t feel like this GPS technology is just another way for their parents to be “over-protective’ and not trusting of them. GPS technology can be a lifesaver in many ways for the teen on the go. If your car should get stolen, the police can use the GPS installed in your car to track and recover your vehicle, and maybe even apprehend the offender(S). Driving can be dangerous for anyone, flat tires, accidents, and mechanical issues can arise any time that you’re out on the road. GPS technology provides added security for the teenager who is out and about. If the car breaks down, or has a flat, a GPS device can be used to contact someone for help. GPS is critically important should the car break down in an “unfamiliar” or “unsafe” area because GPS will pinpoint the exact location of the disabled vehicle so that teens don’t have to become stranded in these situations. With the valuable tool of GPS technology onboard, parents and teen’s can be assured that assistance will be sent where, and when it is.
Hunter Crowell is a researcher, marketer, and a geocacher. He is also the creator of GPS Systems, a web site setup to help people find useful and accurate information related to global positioning systems. Visit his site at http://www.GPS-explained.info
GPS Applications Explained
Talk about a more exciting and more challenging Easter egg hunt - or a variation of it!
Wouldn’t it be a rip-snorting exercise to engage some people’s geographical and navigation skills so they can find a cache or two? We’re talking about one GPS application - a recreational one - that has quite a large following of Internet fans.
Geo-caching is only one of the leisurely applications of the global positioning system which can be added to the list of GPS uses. And the list keeps getting longer.
With the GPS capabilities for air, land, and sea navigation, inventive GPS techno-buffs are churning out ways to turn GPS fans into obsessive treasure hunters.
Geo-caching involves a hand-held GPS device that owners can use to travel to a specific longitude and latitude to find objects (treasures) deliberately hidden there by geo-cachers.
Don’t start thinking of geo-caching in terms of the California gold rush. Given its recreational nature, these cache objects are truly valueless - they may contain inexpensive trinkets, two-dollar bills, coins, memento or “antique” jewelry that doesn’t work. Sorry, folks, no economic opportunities to be harnessed here. It’s all for the sake of sheer, wholesome fun. As one poet so very well articulated, it isn’t the destination that counts, it’s the journey!
That is the geo-caching principle. People go into the Internet and get these treasures’ coordinates and set out to find them. Then they go back to their computers and relate their experiences. One variation of geo-caching is actually not to lay claim to the object, but to leave something else or move it to another location, so that there is “fodder” for the next hunter.
That’s the light side of GPS. Moving now into a more serious discussion, these applications can be classified into four or five categories:
-Military
-General aviation and commercial aircraft
-General navigation
-Precision-time reference
-Visually impaired individuals
With respect to the military application, this was the original intention of the $12 billion investment of the United States government. The military objectives relating to cruise missiles and smart bombs were at the core of GPS technology (if you want to sound even smarter than a smart bomb, you can say “precision-guided munitions” to impress your listeners). Military strategists also rely on it for monitoring the U.S. Nuclear Detonation Detection System.
Precision-time reference applications refer to the use of a GPS reference clock for time-sensitive generators or network time protocol (NTP) clock. An example would be the seismologic endeavors of both the public and private sectors. GPS can also be used for the synchronization of clocks in computer systems.
As for general navigation applications, GPS is used by people here and abroad as an aid in cars, airplanes, and ships.
The application for visually impaired individuals is an interesting field of study because people have recognized the capabilities of GPS to help the blind. Collective efforts to devise tools for the visually impaired are continuing, and GPS technology will fuel those efforts further.
One little detail that we want to mention is “tracking logs.” Hypothetically, if we had a compulsive and obsessive adventurer who likes to wander off to remote islands, thickly wooded forests and unheard of safari jungles in places whose names you can’t even pronounce, that adventurer would never have to panic if he felt disoriented or lost. Before setting out into uncharted territories, he simply has to activate his GPS tracking log capability, and it will record every detail of a turn, a detour, or a reverse motion. This information is stored in his GPS computer, and if he wants to take the same route on the return voyage, the data will be there for him.
Hunter Crowell is a researcher, marketer, and a geocacher. He is also the creator of GPS Systems, a web site setup to help people find useful and accurate information related to global positioning systems. Visit his site at http://www.GPS-explained.info
