As society increasingly moves towards digital forms of communication, wireless technologies such as Global Positioning Systems are quickly becoming a necessity in our lives rather than just a novelty. Originally, GPS was developed by the US department of defence in the early 1970s for navigational and tracking purposes (El-Rabbany, 2002). Nowadays GPS can be implemented into many devices such as mobile phones and computers and used for many reasons, some of which haven’t even been discovered. Prior to 2000, civilian access to GPS signals was very limited and not very accurate due to selective availability (SA) implemented by the military during its development. This was to ensure that the military could use the features of GPS exclusively in order to maintain protection from clever individuals who could possibly hack into the system and cause some destruction. Today, selective availability has been removed and the world has access to a satisfactory GPS which enables all devices to work efficiently and provide us with the amount of signal we need in order to use the technology to its fullest capacity. The possibilities of Global Positioning Systems are almost endless and are now becoming much more affordable in order to transform this novelty device into a welcomed necessity. For more information regarding the prices and types of GPS available today visit GPS World.
Previously, GPS hand held devices were commonly used by professional fisherman, hikers and pilots (Kennedy, 2002). Those who were not familiar with the technology viewed the system as a novelty, as the benefits were not completely known and possibly seen as a needless piece of equipment. However, “Because it provides high-accuracy positioning in a cost effective manner, GPS has found its way into many industrial applications replacing conventional methods in most cases.� (El-Rabbany, 2002, pg 129). For example GPS is becoming necessary for farmers to use this technology to control and prevent fire, insect infestation, boundary determination and efficiently complete aerial spraying (El-Rabbany, 2002). GPS systems which are able to draw up maps of harvesting areas, track farm animals and prevent natural disasters will also be extremely beneficial for farmers. Furthermore, GPS in regards to emergency response features is beneficial when implemented into vehicles and mobile phone networks in order to provide a faster and more efficient service. Visually impaired people will also view this technology as a necessity due to the fact that “A sound based navigational interface can be utilized to give a blind person an acoustic view of his or her surroundings� (Larijani, 1998, pg 95). In addition, lightweight handheld GPS models are a backpack necessity for outdoor hikers, skiers and sports participants in order to keep track of time, distance and most importantly; location. For the past two decades, GPS has been an important navigational tool for all marine, land and aviation professions, proving that this technology is undoubtably becoming a necessity for many people today.
The above mentioned benefits for this relatively new piece of equipment demonstrate that global positioning systems have an important role in maintaining accuracy and determining location when used in conjunction with everyday operations. For some people, just like our mobile phones, hand held affordable Global Positioning Systems will make our lives much more efficient and may possibly revolutionise the communications industry.
See Also
Pages of Interest
Geoscience Australia National Mapping
GPS Receiver Information - Software and Hardware
GPS Training for Emergency Services
References
EmilyOwen 09:42, 29 Oct 2004 (EST)
