Global Positioning System
hideThe Global Positioning System (GPS) is a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) developed by the United States Department of Defense and managed by the United States Air Force 50th Space Wing. It is the only fully functional GNSS in the world, can be used freely by anyone, anywhere, and is often used by civilians for navigation purposes. It uses a constellation of between 24 and 32 medium Earth orbit satellites that transmit precise radiowave signals, which allow GPS receivers to determine their current location, the time, and their velocity. Its official name is NAVSTAR GPS. Although NAVSTAR is not an acronym, a few backronyms have been created for it.
Since it became fully operational on April 27, 1995, GPS has become a widely used aid to navigation worldwide, and a useful tool for map-making, land surveying, commerce, scientific uses, tracking and surveillance, and hobbies such as geocaching. Also, the precise time reference is used in many applications including the scientific study of earthquakes and as a required time synchronization method for cellular network protocols such as the IS-95 standard for CDMA.
For more information about Global Positioning System, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
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News tagged with gps
New Method to Measure Snow, Soil Moisture With GPS May Benefit Meteorologists, Farmers
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A research team led by the University of Colorado at Boulder has found a clever way to use traditional GPS satellite signals to measure snow depth as well as soil and vegetation moisture, a technique expected ...
Netherlands to levy 'green' road tax by the kilometre
Nov 13, 2009 |
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The Dutch government said Friday it wants to introduce a "green" road tax by the kilometre from 2012 aimed at cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 10 percent and halving congestion.
Seeing stars, Proba-2 platform passes its first health check
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 11, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (4) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Into its second week in orbit, Proba-2's spacecraft platform has proven to be in excellent health. This leaves the way clear for commissioning the many new technology payloads aboard the mini-satellite, ...
Researchers to develop probes to study cellular GPS
Nov 10, 2009 |
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An international group of researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, Goettingen Medical School in Germany and the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom have received a Human Frontiers Science Program (HFSP) grant ...
GPS to track blue sheep and snow leopard
Nov 06, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists hope to improve the survival odds of the endangered snow leopard in Nepal by venturing into the remote Himalayas to study its main prey, the Bharal or blue sheep.
GPS phone offerings: Price is Nuvifone G60's downfall; Navigon is on the money
Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets
Nov 05, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
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GPS navigation is morphing from a cool luxury to just one more thing you expect out of a decent smart phone. But different phones approach the issue in different ways.
Flying MAV Navigates Without GPS (w/ Video)
Nov 02, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- During the last several years, researchers have been building micro air vehicles (MAVs) that can autonomously fly through different environments by relying on GPS for navigation. Recently, ...
Garmin Nuvifone G60, sold by AT&T
Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets
Oct 29, 2009 |
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Product: Garmin Nuvifone G60, sold by AT&T
New Celestial Map Gives Directions for GPS
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 29, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (4) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Many of us have been rescued from unfamiliar territory by directions from a Global Positioning System (GPS) navigator. GPS satellites send signals to a receiver in your GPS navigator, which ...
Google unveils free GPS navigation for mobile phones
Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets
Oct 28, 2009 |
3.3 / 5 (6) |
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Google unveiled a free navigation system for mobile phones on Wednesday in a move seen as a potential challenge to the makers of GPS navigation devices.
RIM Introduces the New BlackBerry Bold 9700 Smartphone
Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets
Oct 21, 2009 |
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Research In Motion today announced the sleek and powerful BlackBerry Bold 9700 smartphone. The new BlackBerry Bold 9700 offers an extensive array of high-end communications and multimedia features in a compact ...
Rio youth use GPS phones to put favelas on map
Oct 17, 2009 |
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Rio's favelas are home to a third of the city's population, but are almost invisible on maps -- a situation five young women are trying to change with the help of GPS and the Internet.
Satellite data look behind the scenes of deadly earthquake
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 15, 2009 |
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Using satellite radar data and GPS measurements, Chinese researchers have explained the exceptional geological events leading to the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake that killed nearly 90 000 people in China's Sichuan ...
Cyborg beetles to be the US military's latest weapon (w/ Video)
Oct 15, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (28) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of scientists funded by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have implanted miniature neural and muscle stimulation systems into beetles to enable their flight to ...
NY state seeks to crack down on wayward truckers
Oct 14, 2009 |
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(AP) -- New York state wants to crack down on truckers who rely on satellite devices to direct them onto faster but prohibited routes and end up crashing into overpasses that are too low for their rigs.
