GPS System - How GPS Improved Over the Years

Man has yearned to explore the world since time immemorial. Since the early days of human civilization, mankind has been able to derive awareness of the importance of knowing where they are. Man has been very keen in improving cartography until they could finally make a map of the whole world. Early sailors were able to pinpoint their location by observing the sky through stars. It was not long when the compass has been finally developed. Since its needle always points north, people will then have an idea where to go.

In modern times, the technology of navigation has come a long way. Scientists have learned that the exact location of an object by listening to radio frequencies. The first Global Positioning System (GPS) was developed in 1973 which is known as the Navstar GPS. So in 1978, the United States Department of Defense launched the first satellite until its full operational capability of the whole network is announced in 1995.

During this period, it was used as a guide by the US military for strategy formulation, combat and missile guidance. It was in 1983 when the use of the GPS system is made available to the public. At that time however, the accuracy of the GPS system was suffering from intentional interference of its signals by the military for security reasons which is known as Selective Availability. Such interference was removed in the year 2000 due to a growing demand for GPS systems.

So far, more than fifty satellites have been launched. Thirty one of them are currently orbiting the earth while twenty four are operational. Lately, the first IIR-M GPS-satellite was launched which provides better GPS performance for both civilian and military use.

GPS systems are widely used today for vehicle navigation. A substantial percentage of cars in the United States have a GPS receiver already installed while millions are made available in the market. In lieu of this, many private and public companies have been constantly making and updating road maps all over the world. GPS software updating is one of the most important industries of today to achieve the full benefit of GPS technology. Aside from mapping system, many features have been added to modern navigators. This includes the development of high sensitivity receivers in order to pick up signals even amid tall buildings, bridges, forests and steep terrain.

Voice enabled navigation systems offering turn by turn directions are also being availed of as a safety feature because looking at the GPS screen could be hazardous while driving a vehicle. Moreover, certain driving convenience features are offered by the market such as traffic detection and avoidance systems, speed limit warning system and lane guidance which could really help a driver to safely reach its destination. Some systems also have entertainment features such as DVD players, MP3s and hands free calling with Bluetooth technology.

Mankind has high hopes for the future. Thanks to GPS technology, everyone is now able to cope up with our fast paced development. The possibilities are limitless. We can now safely say that technology has enabled us to go anywhere we desire.