Global Positioning System

Just recently I was entertained by a fellow passenger while flying home from San Francisco. During our flight, he pulled out a GPS cellular phone device and connected it to his laptop computer. With the phone resting on the window's edge and Microsoft's Streets 2000 program running on his computer, we were able to see our plane zigzagging across California. I was really quite amused.

His phone utilized the Global Positioning System (GPS). GPS was orginally developed by the Department of Defense to provide navigation capabilities for the military. The whole idea behind GPS is to use satellites in space as reference points for locations here on earth.

The receiver used on the plane was not only able to place us on a map, but was able to trace our path as we moved. We were able to communicate with the satellites that make up the Global Positioning System. This system is a collection of 24 earth-orbiting satellites that allow us to track variables such as speed, direction, latitude, nd longitude.

Although I found it entertaining during my flight, it's practical implications on society are fascinating. For example, during construction of the tunnel under the English Channel, British and French crews started digging from opposite ends. They relied on GPS receivers outside the tunnel to check their positions along the way and to make sure they met exactly in the middle.

Emergency service units are beginning to use GPS to determine the vehicle nearest to an emergency, enabling the quickest possible response in life-or-death situations. Stanford University is experimenting with receivers that will accurately guide a farm tractor, with and without a driver. The testing has proven exceptionally accurate. We are even monitoring the holes in the ozone layer through GPS-equipped balloons and tracking major oil spills through buoys that transmit data using GPS.

On a consumer level, its most common usage is as an instant roadmap. The system is most typically seen on your car's dashboard. It can show where you are, how long you've travelled and where you've been. Most systems include software of local attractions, hotels, etc. It's also being used by boaters in unfamiliar waters and by hikers on remote trails.

Small GPS chips are also being implanted in computers to locate them in the case of theft. Through a phone call, the exact location of a stolen computer can be isolated. Companies are experimenting with the same concept for identification bracelets for individuals. Our children may wear GPS units that advise parents where they are.

New ways to use its capabilities are continually being found. In the not too distant future GPS will be in most vehicles telling us where to go and telling where we are in an emergency. How about a home GPS system to track your keys and glasses?

GPS is finding its way into just above everything - cars, boats, planes, equipment, machinery… So move over computer, there's a new toy in town!