Global Positioning Systems and Applications


(from wikipedia) The primary military purpose is to allow improved command and control of forces through an enhanced ability to accurately specify target locations for cruise missiles or troops. The satellites also carry nuclear detonation detectors, which form a major portion of the United States Nuclear Detonation Detection System.

The system is used by countless civilians as well, who can use the GPS's Standard Positioning Service worldwide free of charge. Low cost GPS receivers (price $100 to $200) are widely available, combined in a bundle with a PDA or car computer.The system is used as a navigation aid in aeroplanes, ships and cars. The system can be used by computer controlled harvesters, mine trucks and other vehicles. Hand held devices are used by mountain climbers and hikers. Glider pilots use the logged signal to verify their arrival at turnpoints in competitions.

On May 1, 2000, US President Bill Clinton announced that this "Selective Availability" would be turned off. However, for military purposes, "Selective Deniability" may still be used to, in effect, jam civilian GPS units in a war zone or global alert while still allowing military units to have full functionality. European concern about this and commercial issues has resulted in the planned GALILEO positioning system. Russia already operates an independent system called GLONASS (global navigation system), although with only 12 active satellites as of 2004 the system is of limited usefulness.

Military (and selected civilian) users still enjoy some technical advantages which can give quicker satellite lock and increased accuracy. The increased accuracy comes mostly from being able to use both the L1 and L2 frequencies and thus better compensate for the varying signal delay in the ionosphere (see above). Commercial GPS receivers are also required to have limits on the velocities and altitudes at which they will report fix coordinates; this is to prevent them from being used to create improvised cruise or ballistic missiles.

Many synchronization systems use GPS as a source of accurate time, hence one of the commonest applications of this use is that of GPS as a reference clock for time code generators or NTP clocks. For instance, when deploying sensors (for seismology or other monitoring application), GPS may be used to provide each recording apparatus with some precise time source, so that the time of events may be recorded accurately.


 

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GPS Navigation Systems and Data Problems

by admin
25 Apr 2007 at 2:14am
This article goes over some of the problems that are inherent in GPS navigation systems in cities with fast growth...



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The NCC to Demo New Goodyear-Branded GPS Navigation Systems at CES 2009 (PRWe...

6 Jan 2009 at 4:00am
The NCC, a leading manufacturer of consumer electrical devices, plans to demonstrate their new line of officially-licensed Goodyear-branded GPS navigation units at the upcoming CES convention in La...

Inside assisted GPS: helping GPS help you (Ars Technica)

7 Jan 2009 at 12:44am
Ever wonder how your mobile phone can find your location quickly, even on a cloudy day where a satellite signal is hard to come by? The answer is that many of these devices use assisted GPS (AGPS)....

Pharos Traveler 137 Navigation Smartphone Will Sport WVGA Touchscreen (Bright...

6 Jan 2009 at 11:17am
Pharos has taken the wraps off the Traveler 137, a Windows Mobile smartphone with a WVGA touchscreen, 3G, and a focus on navigation.

Pharos Announces New Unlocked GPS Smartphone (PC Magazine via Yahoo! News)

6 Jan 2009 at 12:50am
Traveler 137 Works With T-Mobile, AT&T 3G.