Nowadays GPS (Global Positioning System) is a well known reality that has already become a standard of life for many people. The aim of this arrangement is the defining of the velocity and situation of the objects. It can define the object at any place on Earth, even in polar territories and in space to 100 kilometers above Earth in any weather conditions. The United States Department of Defense has worked out and accomplished NAVSTAR GPS.
The situation is identified by the principle of measuring the distance from the spot with the fixed coordinates to an object. The sending satellite spreads the signal to a GPS antenna and the delay time is calculated to define the distance between the receiver and transmitter. You can see that GPS receiver has to know the distance to 3 satellites and the time of the GPS system to identify 3-dimensional coordinates. And to define a receiver's coordinates and altitude it has to use minimum 4 transmitters' signals. The direction of the satellites from Earth is realized in the control station that is situated in Schriever base, Colorado.
GPS receivers are frequently used today by average people, sailors, rescuers and the police for position and speed detection of different objects. If you need handheld GPS systems you can buy it almost anywhere nowadays. It is also built in the most personal computers, cellular phones and onboarders. With a GPS receiver a user can indicate his geographical coordinates at the definite period of time. The maximum accuracy is from 3 to 5 meters and with the correction signal from Earth it is to 1 millimeter.
GPS tracking software is also offered to customers. Such equipment gives you a possibility to define your geographical location on the electronic navigation map.
GPS maps are separated into 2 types. The first kind of raster electronic maps is the most open and the simplest kind. It is the image of an area where the coordinates of a receiver are used. The scale of this kind of map depends on the primary version of it. It may be both a photo from satellite and scanned geographical map.
Vector maps, instead, are the maps with their own data system within. There are all information about surrounding objects, the place you are located in and other useful information for a traveler. For example the area information includes the streams, lakes, hills and other objects that are located in this area. The likeness of these two types of maps is in the data about all the hotels, cafes and filling stations. They have all the info about the places you will need to relax in. Portable automotive GPS is you advantage over average navigation maps.
And of course as everything that is made by human Global Positioning System has its own shortcomings. The main disadvantage is that Global Positioning System is radio-navigation arrangement and owing to it radio signal would not be received in some circumstances. A consumer will be practically imperceptible for GPS signal in reinforced concrete constructions. But anyway it is the greatest way of defining your geographical coordinates for today.
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