Dual-use technology with significant military and civilian features and benefits:

This is a flooring industry software segment, about GPS software, which is an introduction to GPS technology for suppliers that serve the flooring industry.

This segment provides readers with an overview of GPS applications for all industries. GPS for the flooring industry will be covered in the GPS flooring segment soon. Contact Elizabeth Yokel about editorial deadlines.

GPS Applications:

Aerial photography

Agricultural

Aeronautical

Automation

Automotive

Aviation

Biomedical

Commercial

Communications

Construction

Consumer electronics

Corrections

Deployment

Disaster relief

Emergency response

Environmental

Family tracking

Fleet managment

Forestry

Industrial-control

Land navigation

Law enforcement

Manufacturing

Mapping

Marine

Military

Mobile

Personal tracking

Private investigations

Public Safety

Rail

Real time tracking

Recreational

Resource management

Roads

Security consulting

Seismic

Space

Special needs

Sport aviation

Surface transportation

Surveying

Telecommunications

Tracking mobile assets

Transportation

Vehicle data logging

Vehicle location

Vending

This concludes the flooring industry software segment about GPS solutions. Readers may look forward to reviewing future segments on GPS topics. The following section provides readers with added detail about how almost every industry relies on GPS in some way.

GPS serves as an essential element of the global information infrastructure. Hundreds of applications developed have been inspired by GPS; each of which impact many aspects of modern life, as GPS is in mobile phones, wristwatches, bulldozers, shipping containers, ATM's and many other devices.

GPS improves productivity across a broad area of the economy; including farming, construction, mining, surveying, package delivery, logistical supply chain management and others. Communications networks, banking systems, financial markets, and power grids depend largely on GPS technology for precise time synchronization. Some wireless services cannot operate without it.

GPS aids in the prevention of transportation accidents (cars, trucks, vans, buses, trains, boats, aircrafts, rockets, etc.), supports search & rescue efforts, and speeds delivery of emergency services and disaster relief. GPS is vital to the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), which is likely to enhance flight safety and also increase airspace capacity. GPS is considered essential to those advances with scientific aims; such as weather forecasting, earthquake monitoring, and environmental protection.

GPS is a critical component within national security systems, as its applications are integrated into virtually every facet of U.S. military operations. Nearly all new military assets, including vehicles and munitions, are equipped with GPS.

Most of today's precision agriculture or site-specific farming developed and implemented is made possible by combining the Global Positioning System (GPS) and geographic information systems (GIS). These technologies enable the coupling of real-time data collection with accurate position information, leading to the efficient manipulation and analysis of large amounts of geospatial data. GPS-based applications in precision farming are being used for farm planning, field mapping, soil sampling, tractor guidance, crop scouting, variable rate applications, and yield mapping. GPS allows farmers to work during low visibility field conditions such as rain, dust, fog, and darkness.

In the past, it was difficult for farmers to correlate production techniques and crop yields with land variability. This limited their ability to develop the most effective soil/plant treatment strategies that could have enhanced their production. Today, more precise application of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers, and better control of the dispersion of those chemicals are possible through precision agriculture, thus reducing expenses, producing a higher yield, and creating a more environmentally friendly farm.

Precision agriculture is now changing the way farmers and agribusinesses view the land from which they reap their profits. Precision agriculture is about collecting timely geospatial information on soil-plant-animal requirements and prescribing and applying site-specific treatments to increase agricultural production and protect the environment. Where farmers may have once treated their fields uniformly, they are now seeing benefits from micromanaging their fields. Precision agriculture is gaining in popularity largely due to the introduction of high technology tools into the agricultural community that are more accurate, cost effective, and user friendly. Many of the new innovations rely on the integration of on-board computers, data collection sensors, and GPS time and position reference systems.

Many believe that the benefits of precision agriculture can only be realized on large farms with huge capital investments and experience with information technologies. Such is not the case. There are inexpensive and easy-to-use methods and techniques that can be developed for use by all farmers. Through the use of GPS, GIS, and remote sensing, information needed for improving land and water use can be collected. Farmers can achieve additional benefits by combining better utilization of fertilizers and other soil amendments, determining the economic threshold for treating pest and weed infestations, and protecting the natural resources for future use.

GPS equipment manufacturers have developed several tools to help farmers and agribusinesses become more productive and efficient in their precision farming activities. Today, many farmers use GPS-derived products to enhance operations in their farming businesses. Location information is collected by GPS receivers for mapping field boundaries, roads, irrigation systems, and problem areas in crops such as weeds or disease. The accuracy of GPS allows farmers to create farm maps with precise acreage for field areas, road locations and distances between points of interest. GPS allows farmers to accurately navigate to specific locations in the field, year after year, to collect soil samples or monitor crop conditions.

Crop advisors use rugged data collection devices with GPS for accurate positioning to map pest, insect, and weed infestations in the field. Pest problem areas in crops can be pinpointed and mapped for future management decisions and input recommendations. The same field data can also be used by aircraft sprayers, enabling accurate swathing of fields without use of human “flaggers” to guide them. Crop dusters equipped with GPS are able to fly accurate swaths over the field, applying chemicals only where needed, minimizing chemical drift, reducing the amount of chemicals needed, thereby benefiting the environment. GPS also allows pilots to provide farmers with accurate maps.

Farmers and agriculture service providers can expect even further improvements as GPS continues to modernize. In addition to the current civilian service provided by GPS, the United States is committed to implementing a second and a third civil signal on GPS satellites. The first satellite with the second civilian signal was launched in 2005. The new signals will enhance both the quality and efficiency of agricultural operations in the future.

Aviators throughout the world use the Global Positioning System (GPS) to increase the safety and efficiency of flight. With its accurate, continuous, and global capabilities, GPS offers seamless satellite navigation services that satisfy many of the requirements for aviation users. Space-based position and navigation enables three-dimensional position determination for all phases of flight from departure, en route, and arrival, to airport surface navigation.

The trend toward an Area Navigation concept means a greater role for GPS. Area Navigation allows aircraft to fly user-preferred routes from waypoint to waypoint, where waypoints do not depend on ground infrastructure. Procedures have been expanded to use GPS and augmented services for all phases of flight. This has been especially true in areas that lack suitable ground based navigation aids or surveillance equipment.

New and more efficient air routes made possible by GPS are continuing to expand. Vast savings in time and money are being realized. In many cases, aircraft flying over data-sparse areas such as oceans have been able to safely reduce their separation between one another, allowing more aircraft to fly more favorable and efficient routes, saving time, fuel, and increasing cargo revenue.

Improved approaches to airports, which significantly increase operational benefits and safety, are now being implemented even at remote locations where traditional ground-based services are unavailable. In some regions of the world, satellite signals are augmented, or improved for special aviation applications, such as landing planes during poor visibility conditions. In those cases, even greater precision operations are possible.

The good news for the aviation community is that GPS is being constantly improved and modernized. A main component of the ongoing civilian modernization effort is the addition of two new signals. These signals complement the existing civilian service. The first of these new signals is for general use in non-safety critical applications. The second new signal will be internationally protected for aviation navigational purposes. This additional safety-of-life civilian signal will make GPS an even more robust navigation service for many aviation applications.

The second safety-of-life signal will enable significant benefits above and beyond the capabilities of the current GPS services. The availability of this signal offers increased instrument approach opportunity throughout the world by making the use of dual-frequency avionics possible. Dual frequency means that errors that occur in the signals due to disturbances in the ionosphere can be significantly reduced through the simultaneous use of two signals. This will improve the overall system robustness, to include accuracy, availability, and integrity, and will allow a precise approach capability with little or no ground infrastructure investment.

Reliance on GPS as the foundation for today and tomorrow's air traffic management system is a major part of many national plans. Those aviation authorities that are moving forward with GPS have observed and documented reductions in flight time, workload, and operating costs for both the airspace user and service provider. GPS also serves as an essential component for many other aviation systems, such as the Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) that has proven successful in reducing the risk of Controlled Flight into Terrain, a major cause of many aircraft accidents.

To sustain the Earth's environment while balancing human needs requires better decision making with more up-to-date information. Gathering accurate and timely information has been one of the greatest challenges facing both government and private organizations that must make these decisions. The Global Positioning System (GPS) helps to address that need.

Data collection systems provide decision makers with descriptive information and accurate positional data about items that are spread across many kilometers of terrain. By connecting position information with other types of data, it is possible to analyze many environmental problems from a new perspective. Position data collected through GPS can be imported into geographic information system (GIS) software, allowing spatial aspects to be analyzed with other information to create a far more complete understanding of a particular situation than might be possible through conventional means.

Aerial studies of some of the world's most impenetrable wilderness are conducted with the aid of GPS technology to evaluate an area’s wildlife, terrain, and human infrastructure. By tagging imagery with GPS coordinates it is possible to evaluate conservation efforts and assist in strategy planning.

Some nations collect and use mapping information to manage their regulatory programs such as the control of royalties from mining operations, delineation of borders, and the management of logging in their forests.

GPS technology supports efforts to understand and forecast changes in the environment. By integrating GPS measurements into operational methods used by meteorologists, the atmosphere’s water content can be determined, improving the accuracy of weather forecasts. In addition, the proliferation of GPS tidal tracking sites, and improvement in estimating the vertical component of a site’s position from GPS measurements, present a unique opportunity to directly observe the effects of ocean tides.
Oil spill in water In 2010, GPS helped cleanup crews respond to the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.

GPS receivers mounted on buoys track the movement and spread of oil spills. Helicopters use GPS to map the perimeter of forest fires and allow efficient use of fire fighting resources.

The migratory patterns of endangered species, such as the mountain gorillas of Rwanda, are tracked and mapped using GPS, helping to preserve and enhance declining populations.

In earthquake prone areas such as the Pacific Rim, GPS is playing an increasingly prominent role in helping scientists to anticipate earthquakes. Using the precise position information provided by GPS, scientists can study how strain builds up slowly over time in an attempt to characterize, and in the future perhaps anticipate, earthquakes.

Another benefit to using GPS is timeliness with which critical products can be generated. Because GPS data are in a digital form available at all times and in all parts of the world, they can be captured and analyzed very quickly. This means that it is possible for analysis to be completed in hours or days rather than weeks or months, thus ensuring that the final product is timelier. With the rapid pace of change in the world today, these savings in time can be critical.

The modernization of GPS will further enhance the support of GPS technology to the study and management of the world’s environment. The United States is committed to implementing two additional civilian signals that will provide ecological and conservation applications with increased accuracy, availability, and reliability. Tropical rain forest ecology, for example, will benefit from the increased availability of GPS within heavy foliage areas and the reduction of spatial error in fine-scale vegetation mapping.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) changed the way the world operates. This is especially true for marine operations, including search and rescue. GPS provides the fastest and most accurate method for mariners to navigate, measure speed, and determine location. This enables increased levels of safety and efficiency for mariners worldwide.

It is important in marine navigation for the ship's officer to know the vessel's position while in open sea and also in congested harbors and waterways. While at sea, accurate position, speed, and heading are needed to ensure the vessel reaches its destination in the safest, most economical and timely fashion that conditions will permit. The need for accurate position information becomes even more critical as the vessel departs from or arrives in port. Vessel traffic and other waterway hazards make maneuvering more difficult, and the risk of accidents becomes greater.

Mariners and oceanographers are increasingly using GPS data for underwater surveying, buoy placement, and navigational hazard location and mapping. Commercial fishing fleets use GPS to navigate to optimum fishing locations, track fish migrations, and ensure compliance with regulations.

An enhancement to the basic GPS signal known as Differential GPS (DGPS) provides much higher precision and increased safety in its coverage areas for maritime operations. Many nations use DGPS for operations such as buoy positioning, sweeping, and dredging. This enhancement improves harbor navigation.

Governments and industrial organizations around the world are working together to develop performance standards for Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems, which use GPS and/or DGPS for positioning information. These systems are revolutionizing marine navigation and are leading to the replacement of paper nautical charts. With DGPS, position and radar information can be integrated and displayed on an electronic chart, forming the basis of the Integrated Bridge System which is being installed on commercial vessels of all types.
 

GPS is playing an increasingly important role in the management of maritime port facilities. GPS technology, coupled with geographic information system (GIS) software, is key to the efficient management and operation of automated container placement in the world's largest port facilities. GPS facilitates the automation of the pick-up, transfer, and placement process of containers by tracking them from port entry to exit. With millions of container shipments being placed in port terminals annually, GPS has greatly reduced the number of lost or misdirected containers and lowered associated operation costs.

GPS information is embedded within a system known as the Automatic Identification System (AIS) transmission. The AIS, which is endorsed by the International Maritime Organization, is used for vessel traffic control around busy seaways. This service is not only vital for navigation, but is increasingly used to bolster the security of ports and waterways by providing governments with greater situational awareness of commercial vessels and their cargo.
 

AIS uses a transponder system that operates in the VHF maritime band and is capable of communicating ship to ship as well as ship to shore, transmitting information relating to ship identification, geographic location, vessel type, and cargo information -- all on a real-time, wholly automated basis. Because the ship's GPS position is embedded in these transmissions, all essential information about vessel movements and contents can be uploaded automatically to electronic charts. The safety and security of vessels using this system is significantly enhanced.

Finally, with the modernization of GPS, mariners can look forward to even better service. In addition to the current GPS civilian service, the United States is committed to implementing two additional civilian signals. Access to the new signals will mean increased accuracy, more availability, and better integrity for all users.

Time is a critical component essential to the success of rescue operations. During rescue operations, knowing the precise location of landmarks, streets, buildings, emergency service resources, and disaster relief sites reduces time required to save the lives at risk. Timing is critical to disaster relief teams and public safety personnel in order to protect life and reduce risk of property loss. The Global Positioning System (GPS) serves as a facilitating technology in addressing these needs.

GPS has played a vital role in relief efforts for global disasters such as the tsunami that struck in the Indian Ocean region in 2004, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita that wreaked havoc in the Gulf of Mexico in 2005, and the Pakistan-India earthquake in 2005. Search and rescue teams used GPS, geographic information system (GIS), and remote sensing technology to create maps of the disaster areas for rescue and aid operations, as well as to assess damage.

Another important area of disaster relief is in the management of wildfires. To contain and manage forest fires, aircraft combine GPS with infrared scanners to identify fire boundaries and "hot spots." Within minutes, fire maps are transmitted to a portable field computer at the firefighters' camp. Armed with this information, firefighters have a greater chance of winning the battle against the blaze.

GPS is playing an increasingly prominent role in helping scientists to anticipate earthquakes. Using the precise position information provided by GPS, scientists can study how strain builds up slowly over time in an attempt to characterize, and in the future perhaps anticipate, earthquakes.

Meteorologists responsible for storm tracking and flood prediction also rely on GPS. They can assess water vapor content by analyzing transmissions of GPS data through the atmosphere.

GPS has become an integral part of modern emergency response systems -- whether helping stranded motorists find assistance or guiding emergency vehicles.
 

As the international industry positioning standard for use by emergency and other specialty vehicle fleets, GPS has given managers a quantum leap forward in efficient operation of their emergency response teams. The ability to effectively identify and view the location of police, fire, rescue, and individual vehicles or boats, and how their location relates to an entire network of transportation systems in a geographic area, has resulted in a whole new way of doing business. Location information provided by GPS, coupled with automation, reduces delay in the dispatch of emergency services.

Incorporation of GPS in mobile phones places an emergency location capability in the hands of everyday users. Today's widespread placement of GPS location systems in passenger cars provides another leap in developing a comprehensive safety net. Today, many ground and maritime vehicles are equipped with autonomous crash sensors and GPS. This information, when coupled with automatic communication systems, enables a call for help even when occupants are unable to do so.

The modernization of GPS will further facilitate disaster relief and public safety services. The addition of new civil signals will increase accuracy and reliability all over the world. In short, GPS modernization translates to more lives saved and faster recovery for victims of global tragedies.

Rail systems throughout the world use GPS to track the movement of locomotives, rail cars, maintenance vehicles, and wayside equipment in real time. When combined with other sensors, computers, and communications systems, GPS improves rail safety, security, and operational effectiveness. The technology helps reduce accidents, delays, and operating costs, while increasing track capacity, customer satisfaction, and cost effectiveness.

Modern railways in several different countries are fielding Positive Train Control (PTC) systems to prevent collisions, derailments, work zone incursions, and passage through switches in the wrong position. PTC is the combination of real-time location information with sophisticated command and control systems to monitor and control train movements.
 

A PTC system can automatically vary train speeds, re-route traffic, and safely direct maintenance crews onto and off tracks. In addition to enhancing safety, PTC increases track capacity by maintaining a constantly updated operating plan that optimizes rail use and flow.

The United States has mandated the use of PTC by 2015. U.S. PTC systems may use the Nationwide Differential Global Positioning System, an enhanced form of GPS that is accurate enough to tell whether a train changed tracks after going through a switch.

Rail systems that do not have PTC also gain benefits from GPS technology. GPS gives dispatchers and passengers more accurate information on train arrivals. It enables the automation of track surveying and mapping operations. GPS also allows the automation of track inspection systems that work much faster and detect more defects than human crews, saving time and money while improving safety.

GPS also synchronizes the timing of railroad communication systems, including data transmissions for PTC, voice contact between locomotive engineers and dispatchers, and intermodal communications among trains, rail stations, ports, and airports.

Looking to the future, researchers are exploring ways to integrate GPS into vehicle-to-vehicle communication systems that could warn trains and cars of potential collisions at railroad crossings.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) has eliminated many of the hazards associated with common recreational activities by providing a capability to determine a precise location. GPS receivers have also broadened the scope and enjoyment of outdoor activities by simplifying many of the traditional problems, such as staying on the “correct trail” or returning to the best fishing spot.

Outdoor exploration carries with it many intrinsic dangers, one of the most important of which is the potential for getting lost in unfamiliar or unsafe territory. Hikers, bicyclists, and outdoor adventurers are increasingly relying on GPS instead of traditional paper maps, compasses, or landmarks. Paper maps are often outdated, and compasses and landmarks may not provide the precise location information necessary to avoid venturing into unfamiliar areas. In addition, darkness and adverse weather conditions may also contribute to imprecise navigation results.
 

GPS technology coupled with electronic mapping has helped to overcome much of the traditional hardships associated with unbounded exploration. GPS handsets allow users to safely traverse trails with the confidence of knowing precisely where they are at all times, as well as how to return to their starting point. One of the benefits is the ability to record and return to waypoints. Similarly, fishermen typically use GPS signals as a means to continually stay apprised of location, heading, bearing, speed, distance-to-go, time-to-go, chart plotting functions, and most importantly, returning to a location where the fish are plentiful.

An advantage in newer GPS receivers is the capability to transfer data to and from a computer. Outdoor enthusiasts can download waypoints from an exciting adventure and share them. An example of this is a web site based in Malaysia dedicated to GPS for mountain biking enthusiasts. Riders post waypoint files marking their favorite rides allowing other riders to try out the trails.

Golfers use GPS to measure precise distances within the course and improve their game. Other applications include skiing, as well as recreational aviation and boating.
 

GPS technology has generated entirely new sports and outdoor activities. An example of this is geocaching, a sport which rolls a pleasurable day’s outing and a treasure hunt into one. Another new sport is geodashing, a cross-country race to a predefined GPS coordinate.

GPS modernization efforts, designed to enhance more serious applications than recreation have provided direct and indirect benefits to the user. Various GPS augmentation systems that were developed in several countries for commerce and transportation are also being widely used by outdoor enthusiasts for recreational purposes. Modernization plans for GPS will result in even greater reliability and availability for all users, such as under a denser forest cover -- just the environment in which many adventurers most need this capability.

It is estimated that delays from congestion on highways, streets, and transit systems throughout the world result in productivity losses in the hundreds of billions of dollars annually. Other negative effects of congestion include property damage, personal injuries, increased air pollution, and inefficient fuel consumption.

The availability and accuracy of the Global Positioning System (GPS) offers increased efficiencies and safety for vehicles using highways, streets, and mass transit systems. Many of the problems associated with the routing and dispatch of commercial vehicles is significantly reduced or eliminated with the help of GPS. This is also true for the management of mass transit systems, road maintenance crews, and emergency vehicles.
 

GPS enables automatic vehicle location and in-vehicle navigation systems that are widely used throughout the world today. By combining GPS position technology with systems that can display geographic information or with systems that can automatically transmit data to display screens or computers, a new dimension in surface transportation is realized.

A geographic information system (GIS) stores, analyzes, and displays geographically referenced information provided in large part by GPS. Today GIS is used to monitor vehicle location, making possible effective strategies that can keep transit vehicles on schedule and inform passengers of precise arrival times. Mass transit systems use this capability to track rail, bus, and other services to improve on-time performance.

Many new capabilities are made possible with the help of GPS. Instant car pools are feasible since people desiring a ride can be instantly matched with a vehicle in a nearby area.

Using GPS technology to help track and forecast the movement of freight has made a logistical revolution, including an application known as time-definite delivery. In time-definite delivery, trucking companies use GPS for tracking to guarantee delivery and pickup at the time promised, whether over short distances or across time zones. When an order comes in, a dispatcher punches a computer function, and a list of trucks appears on the screen, displaying a full array of detailed information on the status of each of them. If a truck is running late or strays off route, an alert is sent to the dispatcher.
 

Many nations use GPS to help survey their road and highway networks, by identifying the location of features on, near, or adjacent to the road networks. These include service stations, maintenance and emergency services and supplies, entry and exit ramps, damage to the road system, etc. The information serves as an input to the GIS data gathering process. This database of knowledge helps transportation agencies to reduce maintenance and service costs and enhances the safety of drivers using the roads.

Research is underway to provide warnings to drivers of potential critical situations, such as traffic violations or crashes. Additional research is being conducted to examine the potential for minimal vehicle control when there is a clear need for action, such as the pre-deployment of air bags. The position information provided by GPS is an integral part of this research.

GPS is an essential element in the future of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). ITS encompasses a broad range of communications-based information and electronics technologies. Research is being conducted in the area of advanced driver assistance systems, which include road departure and lane change collision avoidance systems. These systems need to estimate the position of a vehicle relative to lane and road edge with an accuracy of 10 centimeters.

With the continuous modernization of GPS, one can expect even more effective systems for crash prevention, distress alerts and position notification, electronic mapping, and in-vehicle navigation with audible instructions.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is revolutionizing and revitalizing the way nations operate in space, from guidance systems for crewed vehicles to the management, tracking, and control of communication satellite constellations, to monitoring the Earth from space. Benefits of using GPS include:

Navigation solutions -- providing high precision orbit determination, and minimum ground control crews, with existing space-qualified GPS units.

Attitude solutions -- replacing high cost on-board attitude sensors with low-cost multiple GPS antennae and specialized algorithms.

Timing solutions -- replacing expensive spacecraft atomic clocks with low-cost, precise time GPS receivers.

Constellation control -- providing single point-of-contact to control for the orbit maintenance of large numbers of space vehicles such as telecommunication satellites.

Formation flying -- allowing precision satellite formations with minimal intervention from ground crews.

Virtual platforms -- providing automatic "station-keeping" and relative position services for advanced science tracking maneuvers such as interferometry.

Launch vehicle tracking -- replacing or augmenting tracking radars with higher precision, lower-cost GPS units for range safety and autonomous flight termination.

The surveying and mapping community was one of the first to take advantage of GPS because it dramatically increased productivity and resulted in more accurate and reliable data. Today, GPS is a vital part of surveying and mapping activities around the world.

When used by skilled professionals, GPS provides surveying and mapping data of the highest accuracy. GPS-based data collection is much faster than conventional surveying and mapping techniques, reducing the amount of equipment and labor required. A single surveyor can now accomplish in one day what once took an entire team weeks to do.

GPS supports the accurate mapping and modeling of the physical world — from mountains and rivers to streets and buildings to utility lines and other resources. Features measured with GPS can be displayed on maps and in geographic information systems (GIS) that store, manipulate, and display geographically referenced data.

Governments, scientific organizations, and commercial operations throughout the world use GPS and GIS technology to facilitate timely decisions and wise use of resources. Any organization or agency that requires accurate location information about its assets can benefit from the efficiency and productivity provided by GPS positioning.

Unlike conventional techniques, GPS surveying is not bound by constraints such as line-of-sight visibility between survey stations. The stations can be deployed at greater distances from each other and can operate anywhere with a good view of the sky, rather than being confined to remote hilltops as previously required.
 

GPS is especially useful in surveying coasts and waterways, where there are few land-based reference points. Survey vessels combine GPS positions with sonar depth soundings to make the nautical charts that alert mariners to changing water depths and underwater hazards. Bridge builders and offshore oil rigs also depend on GPS for accurate hydrographic surveys.

Land surveyors and mappers can carry GPS systems in backpacks or mount them on vehicles to allow rapid, accurate data collection. Some of these systems communicate wirelessly with reference receivers to deliver continuous, real-time, centimeter-level accuracy and unprecedented productivity gains.

Surveyor taking GPS measurements in front of a home construction site To achieve the highest level of accuracy, most survey-grade receivers use two GPS radio frequencies: L1 and L2. Currently, there is no fully functional civilian signal at L2, so these receivers leverage a military L2 signal using "codeless" techniques.

The ongoing GPS modernization program is adding a dedicated civil signal at L2 that supports high-accuracy positioning without the use of military signals. The GPS program is also adding a third civil signal at the L5 frequency that will enhance performance even further. After 2020, the government will no longer support codeless access to military GPS signals.

In addition to longitude, latitude, and altitude, the Global Positioning System (GPS) provides a critical fourth dimension – time. Each GPS satellite contains multiple atomic clocks that contribute very precise time data to the GPS signals. GPS receivers decode these signals, effectively synchronizing each receiver to the atomic clocks. This enables users to determine the time to within 100 billionths of a second, without the cost of owning and operating atomic clocks.

Precise time is crucial to a variety of economic activities around the world. Communication systems, electrical power grids, and financial networks all rely on precision timing for synchronization and operational efficiency. The free availability of GPS time has enabled cost savings for companies that depend on precise time and has led to significant advances in capability.

For example, wireless telephone and data networks use GPS time to keep all of their base stations in perfect synchronization. This allows mobile handsets to share limited radio spectrum more efficiently. Similarly, digital broadcast radio services use GPS time to ensure that the bits from all radio stations arrive at receivers in lockstep. This allows listeners to tune between stations with a minimum of delay.
 

Companies worldwide use GPS to time-stamp business transactions, providing a consistent and accurate way to maintain records and ensure their traceability. Major investment banks use GPS to synchronize their network computers located around the world. Large and small businesses are turning to automated systems that can track, update, and manage multiple transactions made by a global network of customers, and these require accurate timing information available through GPS.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) uses GPS to synchronize reporting of hazardous weather from its 45 Terminal Doppler Weather Radars located throughout the United States.

Instrumentation is another application that requires precise timing. Distributed networks of instruments that must work together to precisely measure common events require timing sources that can guarantee accuracy at several points. GPS-based timing works exceptionally well for any application in which precise timing is required by devices that are dispersed over wide geographic areas. For example, integration of GPS time into seismic monitoring networks enables researchers to quickly locate the epicenters of earthquakes and other seismic events.

Power lines Power companies and utilities have fundamental requirements for time and frequency to enable efficient power transmission and distribution. Repeated power blackouts have demonstrated to power companies the need for improved time synchronization throughout the power grid. Analyses of these blackouts have led many companies to place GPS-based time synchronization devices in power plants and substations. By analyzing the precise timing of an electrical anomaly as it propagates through a grid, engineers can trace back the exact location of a power line break.

Some users, such as national laboratories, require the time at a higher level of precision than GPS provides. These users routinely use GPS satellites not for direct time acquisition, but for communication of high-precision time over long distances. By simultaneously receiving the same GPS signal in two places and comparing the results, the atomic clock time at one location can be communicated to the other. National laboratories around the world use this "common view" technique to compare their time scales and establish Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). They use the same technique to disseminate their time scales to their own nations.

New applications of GPS timing technology appear every day. Hollywood studios are incorporating GPS in their movie slates, allowing for unparalleled control of audio and video data, as well as multi-camera sequencing. The ultimate applications for GPS, like the time it measures, are limitless.

As GPS becomes modernized, further benefits await users. The addition of the second and third civilian GPS signals will increase the accuracy and reliability of GPS time, which will remain free and available to the entire world.

This concludes the feature on GPS software, the February segment of the spotlight series; providing periodic coverage on the subject of flooring industry software, brought to you by Floor Covering Media. Click here to reach an alphabetical listing of GPS software suppliers located around the world.

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