Since Man first fashioned tools to help him hunt, he has always tried to improve the technology that assists him in living on this sometimes unforgiving planet. Over the centuries these tools have developed and become more efficient and effective and progressively have become more and more high tech. GPS, or Global Positioning System, is one of these advances in technology.
It seems every other person has a GPS device of some sort. And why not? GPS tracking devices allow people to keep track of their loved ones and their vehicles and allow them to keep from getting lost on their out of town trips. While it is nice to admire GPS for the technological marvel it is, one should be informed of what GPS is and how it works.
Satellites that are orbiting the Earth are the key to making GPS work. They communicate with the GPS devices on the surface of the Earth. The signals from the satellites are relayed to the units on land. The signal is decoded and interpreted by the unit and data is graphically displayed on the screen. This data can show up as longitude and latitude or could be as simple as displaying what exit off the highway the driver should take next.
While the original GPS system of satellites was only used by the United States military in the 1970s and 1980s, the technology has been made available to everyday people since the 1990s. The limited release in the early years meant that the price of GPS units was very high. Now that GPS has become more widespread, you can get a good unit for less than $200.
Cheap GPS units mean only one thing - the adoption of their use by a large swath of the population. These inexpensive units mean that pretty much every car on the road has them on the dashboard so that the driver doesn't get lose or waste money on gasoline spent going the wrong way.
You can purchase a GPS unit in one of two ways. You can buy a unit for your dashboard and remove it each time you leave the vehicle alone. Or you can get the GPS unit installed into your dashboard as an option when you purchase the vehicle.
In a few short decades, GPS has gone from military hardware, to a tool used by only the well off, to a ubiquitous item in many households all around the world.
It seems every other person has a GPS device of some sort. And why not? GPS tracking devices allow people to keep track of their loved ones and their vehicles and allow them to keep from getting lost on their out of town trips. While it is nice to admire GPS for the technological marvel it is, one should be informed of what GPS is and how it works.
Satellites that are orbiting the Earth are the key to making GPS work. They communicate with the GPS devices on the surface of the Earth. The signals from the satellites are relayed to the units on land. The signal is decoded and interpreted by the unit and data is graphically displayed on the screen. This data can show up as longitude and latitude or could be as simple as displaying what exit off the highway the driver should take next.
While the original GPS system of satellites was only used by the United States military in the 1970s and 1980s, the technology has been made available to everyday people since the 1990s. The limited release in the early years meant that the price of GPS units was very high. Now that GPS has become more widespread, you can get a good unit for less than $200.
Cheap GPS units mean only one thing - the adoption of their use by a large swath of the population. These inexpensive units mean that pretty much every car on the road has them on the dashboard so that the driver doesn't get lose or waste money on gasoline spent going the wrong way.
You can purchase a GPS unit in one of two ways. You can buy a unit for your dashboard and remove it each time you leave the vehicle alone. Or you can get the GPS unit installed into your dashboard as an option when you purchase the vehicle.
In a few short decades, GPS has gone from military hardware, to a tool used by only the well off, to a ubiquitous item in many households all around the world.
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Matt loves helping people learn about gps for kids and accessories for gps for kids
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