The GPS system was developed to meet military needs of
the Department
of Defense, but there are other ways to use its capabilities.
The system has been
used in aircraft and ships, but there are many other
ways to benefit from GPS.
During construction of the tunnel under the English Channel,
British and French
crews started digging from opposite ends: one from Dover,
England, one from
Calais, France. They relied on GPS receivers outside
the tunnel to check their
positions along the way and to make sure they met exactly
in the middle.
Otherwise the tunnel might have been crooked.
Vehicle tracking is one of the fastest-growing GPS applications.
GPS-equipped
fleet vehicles, public transportation systems, delivery
trucks, and courier services
use receivers to monitor their locations at all times.
GPS is also helping to save lives. Many police,
fire, and emergency medical
service units are using GPS receivers to determine the
police car, fire truck, or
ambulance nearest to an emergency, enabling the quickest
possible response in life-or-
death situations.
Automobile manufacturers are offering moving-map displays
guided by GPS
receivers as an option on new vehicles. The displays
can be removed and taken
into a home to plan a trip. Several Florida rental
car companies are demonstrating
GPS-equipped vehicles that give directions to drivers
on display screens and through
synthesized voice instructions.
(Elk: GPS receivers are being used to determine population patterns)
Mapping and surveying companies use GPS extensively.
In the field of wildlife management,
endangered species such as Montana elk and Mojave Desert
tortoises are being fitted
with GPS receivers and tiny transmitters to help determine
population distribution patterns
and possible sources of disease. GPS equipped balloons
are monitoring holes in the ozone layer
over the polar regions, and air quality is being monitored
using GPS receivers. Buoys tracking
major oil spills transmit data using GPS.
Archaeologists and explorers are using the system.
Anyone equipped with a GPS receivers
can use it as a reference point to find another location.
The future of GPS is as unlimited as the imagination.
New applications will continue
to be created as the technology evolves. The GPS
satellites, like handmade stars in the
sky, will be guiding people well into the 21st century.