People use various devices on a daily basis, with them life has become much more comfortable. This includes gps-navigators, they have become as commonplace as mobile phones, cameras, and mp3 players. Who thought about the principle of navigation?
gps navigation
Even in ancient times, people tried to make their life easier while traveling with the help of various tools that allow them to locate in space. Such as, for example, a compass or a sextant. These two devices also exist in the modern world, but the so-called gps navigation is gaining more and more popularity. With its appearance, a new era began in the determination of geographical coordinates.
By itself, the abbreviation “gps” stands for “global positioning system”, it is a large-scale positioning system. It is powered by a number of solar-powered satellites and ground points. This system was first launched by the US Department of Defense to ensure the military security of the state, and over time it became available to civilians.
Modern people can no longer imagine life without the use of satellite systems. They allow you to travel around the world, without fear of getting lost in any unknown territory, give a feeling of unlimited freedom.
How gps navigators work
It is possible to determine your location using gps receivers. These are already familiar devices - navigators. They process signals from satellites and calculate exact coordinates. For this, the time it takes for a signal from space to reach a terrestrial object is measured. The distance is calculated automatically based on the received time data. Usually, to determine the position of an object in space, information obtained from three satellites is sufficient, but if there are more of them, then you can also calculate the position of the object above sea level. In addition, the gps system helps in determining routes (even taking into account traffic jams), distances, finding individual houses and streets, and various infrastructure facilities. Navigation is available at any time of the day or night and in any weather.
GPS signal quality and errors
The quality of radio signals sent from satellites may be slightly affected by increased activity on the Sun or magnetic storms. In these cases, the signals usually propagate slightly worse, the navigator will function more slowly.
As a rule, small errors in the determination of coordinates arise due to some technical malfunctions of the system. This can include a delay in the onboard equipment, an unstable operation of the generator, an undefined position of the satellite, and various errors of a space nature.
