You may have bought, or rented, a car with a GPS system to help you navigate your way in strange locations; if not, you have almost certainly seen commercials advertising vehicular onboard systems which can help pinpoint your position in case of an emergency. You may even have GPS technology in a PDA or on your cell phone; GPS systems are gradually becoming commonplace. But you may not know exactly how GPS systems work.

GPS, or Global Positioning Systems technology, was first developed in the 1970s for the US Department of Defense, as a way to accurately track the locations of its targets no matter where they were on the globe. The GPS systems, according to the DoD, did not achieve full operational capacity until 1995. Today the GPS systems consist of a group of twenty four satellites which communicate with GPS-enabled devices on Earth.

Each GPS systems device can send a signal to the network of twenty four GPS satellites in orbit around the Earth. When the satellites receive the signal, they can determine the exact position from which it was sent, and transmit the information back to a receiver in the same GPS systems device.

How GPS Sysems Work

The device is capable of accepting transmissions from up to four of the satellites at the same time. With information from three of the satellites, the receiver will report its latitude and longitude; with information from four, it can determine its altitude as well. And if it's in motion, it can use the information from the satellites to calculate its rate of speed.

GPS systems have proved invaluable to scientists; first responders; seamen; and, of course, the military. They allow geologists to quickly and accurately map terrain; they let first responders find people who are trapped in GPS systems-equipped vehicles or who are lost but have GPS systems-equipped cell phones; and they help those experiencing bad weather at sea, when traditional navigation is impossible, to get accurate readings of their locations.

GPS Systems Features

Some GPS systems devices have mapping software which allows their users to have a visual reading of their location at all times; this is ideal for those who are driving or hiking in unfamiliar areas. Some of this software is capable not only of showing a location, but of auto-mapping the shortest route from one point to another, and of listing the names of the businesses which the driver may be passing.

Some vehicular GPS systems devices are equipped with Bluetooth technology, so that they can provide voice information and spare the drivers from taking their eyes from the road. GPS systems are a parent's dream come true; a military breakthrough that will save thousands of lives; and a backpacker's best friend. GPS systems have simply made the world safer for millions of people!