What is “GPS”?
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system made up of a network of 24 satellites placed into orbit by the U.S. Department of Defense. GPS was originally intended for military applications, but in the 1980s, the government made the system available for civilian use. GPS works in any weather conditions, anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day. There are no subscription fees or setup charges to use GPS. How it works GPS satellites circle the earth twice a day in a very precise orbit and transmit signal information to earth. GPS receivers take this information and use triangulation to calculate the user’s exact location. Essentially, the GPS receiver compares the time a signal was transmitted by a satellite with the time it was received. The time difference tells the GPS receiver how far away the satellite is. Now, with distance measurements from a few more satellites, the receiver can determine the user’s position and display it on the unit’s electronic map.
A – The Global Positioning System (GPS) is an array of twenty-four satellites which orbit around the earth. Launched and maintained by the US Department of Defense, these satellites send a continuous stream of signals to the earth’s surface enabling a GPS receiver to determine a vehicle’s position. This is how our vehicle tracking systems can pinpoint the position of every vehicle you own, no matter how large or small your fleet.
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a location system based on a constellation of about 24 satellites orbiting the earth at altitudes of approximately 11,000 miles. GPS was developed by the United States Department of Defense (DOD), for its tremendous application as a military locating utility. The DOD’s investment in GPS is immense. Billions and billions of dollars have been invested in creating this technology for military uses. However, over the past several years, GPS has proven to be a useful tool in non-military mapping applications as well. GPS satellites are orbited high enough to avoid the problems associated with land based systems, yet can provide accurate positioning 24 hours a day, anywhere in the world. Uncorrected positions determined from GPS satellite signals produce accuracies in the range of 50 to 100 meters. When using a technique called differential correction, users can get positions accurate to within 5 meters or less. Today, many industries are leveraging off
