The Global Positioning System A Worldwide Information Utility

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The Global Positioning SystemA Worldwide
Information Utility

• ESTME WeekMarch 2003
• Office of Space CommercializationTechnology
  AdministrationU.S. Department of Commerce

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What is GPS?

• Constellation of 24 satellites operated by U.S.
  Air Force
• Satellites broadcast precise time information
• Using this information, you can easily calculate
  your exact location on the Earth
• GPS service is available
• Anywhere in the world
• 24 hours a day
• Under all weather conditions
• For FREE!

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How It Works
RATE x TIME DISTANCE

• RATE Speed of Light (300,000 km/s)
• TIME How long it takes for the signalto reach
  the receiver

TIME 1 second DISTANCE 300,000 km
Its 93000
Now its 93001
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How It Works
With four or more satellites, a GPS receiver can
triangulate your precise position in space and
time
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GPS is a Dual-Use Technology

• Originally developed for military purposes
• Prominent in Gulf War, Afghanistan (smart
  bombs)
• Will be critical to operations in Iraq
• Civilian were given access in 1983
• Commercial use now dwarfs military use
• GPS is jointly managed at a national level by the
  Interagency GPS Executive Board (IGEB)

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Interagency GPS Executive Board
Defense
Transportation
State
Commerce
Agriculture
Interior
NASA
Joint Chiefs of Staff
Justice
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Commercial GPS Applications Span A Wide Range of
Economic Activities
Satellite Ops Ephemeris, Timing
Power Grid Interfaces
Personal Navigation
Surveying Mapping
Trucking Shipping
Aviation
Communications Network Timing, Synchronization
Recreation
Railroads
Fishing Boating
Off shore Drilling
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Global Sales by Market Segment
Millions
Source ITA, 1998
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New Commercial Applications Are Developed Every
Day

• Open pit mining
• Child safety
• Automatic snowplow guidance
• Spacecraft control
• Power grid management

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Huge Potential Exists in the Market for Value
Added Services

• Software development
• Embedded applications
• Localized Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
• Internet integration
• Wireless markets
• M-Commerce

(Translation you could make a lot of money
developing this stuff!)
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Transportation

• Greater safety, fewer accidents
• More efficient routes, fuel savings
• Improved traffic throughput

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Surveying Mapping

• Surveying is required before building anything
• Buildings
• Dams
• Power lines
• Telecom towers
• Pipelines
• GPS mapping is especially useful for
• Oil, gas, and mineral exploration
• Flood/disaster planning
• GPS technology enables lt1 cm accuracy and
  100-300 savings in time, cost, labor

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Construction

• Machinery, asset, and personnel management
• Rapid surveys for laying foundation piles, etc.
• Accident prevention
• Remote control of machinery possible

GPS/RTK technology was used in the construction
of the Øresund Bridge between Denmark and Sweden
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Scientific Research

• Monitoring geological change
• Glaciers, tectonic plates, earthquakes, volcanoes
• Wildlife behavior
• Atmospheric modeling
• Water vapor content
• Oceanic studies
• Tidal patterns
• Surface mapping
• Time transfer

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Environmental Management

• Forestry
• Wetlands management
• Natural resource management
• Fisheries boundary enforcement
• Endangered species and habitat preservation
• Hazardous material cleanup
• Oil spills, toxic waste

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Timing

• GPS offers an inexpensive alternative to costly,
  high maintenance timing equipment
• Telecommunications network synchronization
  management
• Phones, pagers, wireless systems
• LANs, WANs, Internet
• Financial transactions
• Electrical power grid management fault location
• Digital signatures for e-commerce

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Precision Agriculture

• Maximize use of resources
• Optimized plowing of crop rows
• Tailored applications of seeds, fertilizer,
  water, pesticides
• Improved management of land, machinery,
  personnel, time
• Greater crop yields
• Net benefit 5-14 per acre
• Minimize environmental impacts
• Localized identification and treatment of
  distressed crops reduces chemical use
• Precise leveling of fields prevents fluid runoff

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Consumer/Recreational

• Portable receivers for fishermen, hunters,
  hikers, cyclists, etc.
• Integration of GPS into cellular phones (E-911),
  wristwatches, PDAs
• Recreational facilities -- golf courses, ski
  resorts

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Yesterday
25-100 m
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Today
6-10 m
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Tomorrow
Plus Better resistance to interference
1 m?