What is GPS? How does GPS work?
Almost all of you have heard the name GPS. And many of you use GPS in daily life. For example, to go to an unknown place, turn on the location and use GPS, but you can go there. Nowadays, the entire world is dependent on GPS, due to which the entire world has basically come to hand.
What is GPS?
GPS stands for Global Positioning System. The device that uses the internet to know the location of a place, road is called GPS.
What is GPS?
GPS is called Global Positioning System. It is the global navigation satellite system, through which we can tell about our current position.
Moreover, we can know the location along with the synchronization of speed and time through GPS. GPS can show any place, address, road through satellite.
This GPS is currently used in many things. For example - smartphone, watch, bike, house, car etc. It basically works with a technology called trilateration.
Through this trilateration technology, various types of signals are easily received through satellite. As a result of which we easily find the location information.
What is the full form of GPS?
The full form of GPS is Global Positioning System. And in Bengali it is called Global Positioning System.
History of GPS
The US Department of Defense developed this technology in the early 1970s. At first it was used only by the military. GPS was later released for public use.
It is an artificial satellite based communication system. GPS can provide real time information on the Earth in any bad weather. It can be called a very one-way system. Because, through it users can receive only the transmission from the satellite.
After 1983, GPS technology was approved for public use by the U.S. Government.
Hopefully, you can gain some knowledge about the history of GPS.
How does GPS work?
The GPS chip in your phone is the GPS signal receiver. It can pick up signals from GPS satellites. This receiver chip does not transmit any data to or from the satellite.
The 24 satellites that I mentioned at the beginning, those satellites actually transmit a kind of radio signal 24 hours a day and seven days a week. The ability to pick up that signal is in the GPS chip that resides in your smartphone or car tracker. Nowadays, however, GPS chips are embedded in smartwatches and even key rings.
GPS satellites are equipped with atomic clocks that provide very precise time day after day. And your phone has a clock. The signals sent by satellites basically consist of the time it takes to send the signal.
Your phone calculates the actual distance between the satellite and your phone from the time the signal was generated and the time your phone received the signal. It is from this distance that GPS determines your location.
But there is a problem here. The problem is, you can't determine the position of a second object by measuring the distance between one object and another. To determine the position there you need to take the distance relative to at least three things.
An example will clear the matter. Let's say your friend tells you on the phone that he is directly 1 km (or a bit more) from the gate of Jatiya Sangsad Bhavan. If you only hear that much, you will never know where he really is.
Because he can be 1 km away from the parliament building in any direction. That means, if a circle of 1 km radius is imagined around the Parliament building, then he can be anywhere along the circumference of the circle.
What is the use of GPS?
From above we can know what is GPS? So, let us now know where GPS is used.
- Tracking – Any passive movement test.
- Mapping – Creating a map of the entire world.
- Location – Specifying a location.
- Navigation – Moving from one location to another.
- Timing – getting the timing right.
- Also, today the use of GPS has increased tremendously with technology.
Features of GPS
We first responders use GPS during any natural disaster. Because, it is possible to predict the weather through GPS.
You can track anything using GPS. Get information on where this item is going.
By using GPS technology you can easily find the road, hotel, place etc. of any place. Moreover, it will take you to the specified destination.
You can keep GPS with you and track your physical activities. For example, how many meters did you walk in a day, how long did you stand, how long did you run, etc.
You can protect your bike, car from theft by using GPS device. If your car is equipped with this device, even if the car is stolen, you can see the location of the car.
Currently we are using GPS in our Android smartphones, watches, PC games. We can use them very easily.
If you are going to visit an unknown country or city, then with the help of this GPS, you can easily determine the roads.
You may understand the features of GPS very easily. GPS also has more features, which you will gradually understand.
Does GPS work without internet?
Actually there is no requirement to have internet connection on your phone to receive GPS signal. You only need internet to download graphical maps. So if you download any part of Google Maps for offline use then you can see your own location by turning on GPS without internet.
If America turns off GPS?
GPS is only a system for determining location. Apart from GPS, there are other alternative methods to know the location. However, they are not as common and not as powerful as GPS.
As I said earlier, GPS is owned by the US government. Although they keep it open to the whole world, they can close it if they want (perhaps in a warlike situation).
So Russia developed a GPS-like system they named GLONASS. Nowadays you will see Location: A-GPS with GLONASS in the smartphone specifications. This means that the phone can find location on both the US GPS and Russia's GLONASS system.
Besides, China is working on its own positioning system called BDS and Europe is working on Galileo.
Mobile phone service companies can also track your location based on how far your phone is from a tower. Similarly location can be determined using WiFi network.
What is GPS Tracker? (what is GPS tracker)
GPS tracker or GPS tracking is a navigation device that we use for moving things like cars, animals and people. After that, the location of the device is extracted through the Global Positioning System.
By using this device, we can easily see where our bikes and other vehicles are moving. Moreover, it is used in many cases to keep an eye on animals and birds.