What Is GPS?

Date First Published: 26th October 2023

Topic: Computer Networking

Subtopic: Data Transmission Technologies

Article Type: Computer Terms & Definitions

Difficulty: Medium

Difficulty Level: 6/10

CONTENTS

How Does GPS Work?
History

Learn about what GPS is in this article.

Stands for Global Positioning System. GPS is a satellite navigation system owned by the US government that provides users with navigation, positioning, and timing services. Although technologies can improve the use of GPS positioning data, it does not require the user to transmit any data and functions independently of any telephone or internet reception. GPS consists of 31 well-spaced satellites that orbit the Earth and allow people with ground receivers to pinpoint their geographic location.

With the right equipment and software, it is possible for anyone to establish a connection to those satellites and get a location accuracy of 100 to 10 metres for most equipment. GPS systems can be found on smartphones, smartwatches, and cars and can provide positioning capabilities to military, civil, and commercial users around the world. Since it is low-cost, almost anyone can own a GPS receiver.

How Does GPS Work?

Trilateration is a method used by GPS to function. Trilateration receives signals from satellites and processes them to produce location, velocity, and elevation data. It is often confused with triangulation, which measures angles rather than lengths.

A GPS device that is located on or close to the earth's surface receives signals from satellites in orbit. A GPS device needs to be able to read signals from at least four satellites in order to determine its location. Every satellite in the network sends out a unique signal with its orbital characteristics and time every two days. A GPS gadget can read signals from six or more satellites at any given time.

History

In order to overcome the limitations of earlier navigation systems, the GPS project began in the United States in 1973. It combined ideas from a number of earlier projects, including 1960s classified engineering design studies. The system was created by the US Department of Defence and started with 24 satellites. It was made available to the US military in 1995 and was completely functional.