It is a technology that allows users to navigate through their area and provides them with their current position. It is a system that has 30+ satellites circling and monitoring Earth 24/7. These satellites constantly send out signals to users and provide them with navigation. For example, in our smartphones, we have a GPS receiver that reads the signals that are sent from navigation satellites in space. The receiver then calculates the distance between itself and the other satellites to pinpoint the user’s exact location.
The GPS itself has three main components which are satellites, ground stations and receivers. The GPS systems consist of three segments: the space, control, and user segment. The space component is made up of numerous satellites which orbit the earth and are positioned in a specific way so that at least four satellites are always available at any location and time in the world. The control component consists of the master control system, the monitor station, and the ground antenna. This component focus on the movement and functionality of the satellites. Finally, we have the user segment which is the GPS receiver. The receivers are found in our smartphones and laptop, and they receive GPS signals from space in order to determine the exact location of the satellite.
GPS technology is extremely useful because it provides us with navigation which helps users get to places that are not common and have no knowledge of. It tracks and monitors the movement of an object or driver (Uber eats, FedEx). It provides precise timing so that users are aware of when the next bus will arrive or how long it will take to travel from one location to another. And finally, it creates maps of the world because of the numerous satellites in outer space that constantly monitors and provides signals to GPS receivers.
