Global Positioning System (GPS)

Global Positioning
System (GPS)
GPS Basics
GPS stands for Global Positioning System which
measures 3-D locations on Earth surface using
satellites
GPS operates using radio signals sent from satellites

orbiting the earth
Created and Maintained by the US Dept. of Defense
System as a whole consists of three segments

Satellites (space segment)
Receivers (user segment)
Ground stations (control segment)
GPS History
Development began in 1973
First satellite became
operational in 1978
Declared completely
functional in 1995
A total of 52 satellites have
been launched in 4 phases
30 satellites are currently
functional
Managed by the U.S.
Department of Defense
Originally developed for
submarines
Now part of modern smart
bombs and highly accurate
missiles
Satellites
At least 4 satellites
are above the horizon
anytime anywhere
GPS satellites are also

known as NAVSTAR
satellites.
The precise positions
of satellites are known
to the GPS receivers
from a GPS almanac
Satellites
cont.
The satellites are in
motion around the
earth
Like the sun and

moon satellites rise
and set as they
cross the sky
Locations on earth
are determined
from available
satellites (i.e., those
above the horizon)
at the time the GPS
data are collected
Receivers
Ground-based devices read and interpret the radio
signals from several of the NAVSTAR satellites at once
Geographic position is determined using the time it

takes signals from the satellites to reach the GPS
receiver
Calculations result in varying degrees of accuracy

that depend on:
Quality of the receiver
User operation of the receiver (e.g., skill of user and
receiver settings)
Atmospheric conditions
Local conditions (i.e., objects that block or reflect the
signals)
Current status of system
Ground Stations
Map from P. Dana, The Geographer's Craft Project, Dept. of Geography, U. Texas-Austin.
Control stations
Master station at Falcon (Schriever) AFB, Colorado
4 additional monitoring stations distributed around the
world
Responsibilities
Monitor satellite orbits & clocks
Broadcast orbital data and clock corrections to satellites
How GPS Works: Overview
Satellites have accurate atomic
clocks onboard and all GPS
satellites transmit the same time
signal at the same time.
The satellite signals contain
information that includes
Satellite number
Time of transmission
How GPS Works: Overview
Receivers use an almanac that includes
The position of all satellites every second
This is updated monthly from control stations
The satellite signal is received, compared

with the receivers internal clock, and used to
calculate the distance from that satellite
Trilateration (similar to triangulation) is

used to determine location from multiple
satellite signals
How GPS Works: Signal
Processing
Distances between satellites and receivers is determined by
the time is takes the signal to travel from satellite to receiver
Radio signals travel at speed of light (186,000 miles/second)
All satellites send the identical time, which is also generated by
the receivers
Signal travel time = offset between the satellite signal and the
receiver signal
1sec
Satellite signal
Receiver signal
Distance from each satellite to receiver = signal travel time *

186,000 miles/second
How GPS Works:
Trilateration
Start by determining distance
between a GPS satellite and your
position
How GPS Works:
Trilateration
Adding more distance
measurements to satellites
narrows down your possible
positions
How GPS Works:
Trilateration
How GPS Works:
Trilateration
The 4th satellite in trilateration is
to resolve any signal timing error
Unlike GPS satellites, GPS receivers
do not contain an atomic clock
To make sure the internal clock in the
receiver is set correctly we use the
signal from the 4th satellite
GPS Error Sources
Satellite errors
Satellite position error (i.e., satellite not exactly where its supposed
to be)
Atomic clocks, though very accurate, are not perfect
Atmospheric
Electro-magnetic waves travel at light speed only in a vacuum
Atmospheric molecules, particularly those in the ionosphere, change
the signal speed
Multi-path distortion
The signal may "bounce" off structures before reaching the GPS
receiver the reflected signal arrives a little later
Receiver error:
Due to the receiver clock or internal noise
GPS - Error Correction
2 Methods:
Point Averaging
Differential Correction
Point Averaging
Point Averaging is one of the simplest
ways to correct GPS point locations
Collect many GPS measurements at the
same location and then average them to get
one point
The averaged point should have greater
accuracy than a single point measurement
Accuracy varies with this method but you
should have a position that is within 5
meters of its true location 95% of the time
GPS - Point Averaging
Averaged
Location
This figure shows a successive series of 3-D positions

taken using a receiver kept at the same location, and
GPS - Differential
Correction
Differential correction collects points using
a receiver at a known location (known as a
base station) while you collect points in the
field at the same time (known as a rover
receiver)
Any errors in a GPS signal are likely to be
almost the same among all receivers within
~ 300 miles of each other
~ 300 miles (~ 480 km) or less
Base station (known location) Rover receiver

GPS - Differential
Correction
The base station knows its own location
It compares this location with its location at that moment
obtained using GPS satellites, and computes error
This known error (difference in x and y coordinates) is applied
to the rover receiver (hand-held unit) at the same moment
Example: Base Station File

Time GPS Lat GPS Long Lat. error Long. error
3:12.5 35.50 79.05 .5 .5
3:13.0 35.05 78.65 .05 -.35
3:13.5 34.95 79.55 -.05 .55
3:14.0 36.00 80.45 1.0 1.45
3:14.5 35.35 79.30 .35 .30
3:15.0 35.20 79.35 .20 .35
GPS - Differential
Correction
GPS error when using differential
correction:
1 3 meters
There are two ways that differential
correction can be applied:
Post-processing differential correction
Does the error calculations after the rover
has collected the points
Requires downloading a base-station file
Real-time differential correction
Done in real time by receiving a
broadcasted correction signal
May require additional hardware
GPS Applications
Generating mapped data for GIS
databases
Collecting field data - travel to the field and
capture location & attribute information
Geographical information system is a system
designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze
and present all types of geographical data.
Other uses (many in real time):
firefighter/police/ambulance dispatch
Car & boat navigation
Roadside assistance
Business vehicle
Mineral/resource exploration
Wildlife tracking
Strengths of GPS
Easy To Incorporate into Project
Once trained, just about anyone
can use it
Cheap
Widely Available
Weaknesses
Does require a training component
Accuracy Issues
Differential Correction may not be
an option in many parts of the
world
Garmin GPS
Introduction
Garmin GPS
Antenna
Control Buttons
Display Screen
Garmin GPS
Step 1: Turn on Unit
Off/On Button
After a couple of seconds, the GPS unit

will start looking for satellites.
Search for Satellites
Step 2: Wait for Satellites
North Indicator
Satellite Located,
but not locked in
Battery Gauge
Satellite Located,
and locked in
Signal Strength
for satellite
Outer circle represents
horizon, inner circle
represents 45 degrees
above horizon
Satellite Acquisition Page
Acquire Position
Step 3: Once enough satellites have
been located, the GPS unit will provide
you with a position Direction Indicator
Speed
Altitude
Position
Time
Position Page
Collect a Point
Step 4: Press the Mark button and
begin collecting data.
Mark
Button
To collect a single point, highlight Save and press

ENTER.
To collect an averaged point, highlight Average,

press the Enter button and wait for a few minutes,
Waypoint Page
then highlight Save and stop point collection
Record Point
Step 5: Go to Menu Princ. Page and view
waypoint list and record coordinate
Waypoint ID
Averaged
Position
Main Menu Page

Other Pages
Map Page
Compass Page
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Global Positioning

GPS operates using radio signals sent from satellites

Created and Maintained by the US Dept. of Defense

System as a whole consists of three segments

GPS satellites are also

Like the sun and

Geographic position is determined using the time it

Calculations result in varying degrees of accuracy

The satellite signal is received, compared

Trilateration (similar to triangulation) is

Distance from each satellite to receiver = signal travel time *

This figure shows a successive series of 3-D positions

Base station (known location) Rover receiver

Example: Base Station File

After a couple of seconds, the GPS unit

To collect a single point, highlight Save and press

To collect an averaged point, highlight Average,

Main Menu Page

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