GPS Development Services: An Introduction

GPS application development, contracting and programming services are changing the way geographical data is collected and manipulated.

GPS stands for global positioning system, and comprises an arrangement of 24 satellites that orbit the earth. With the use of computers, GPS applications and development services can be used to find the exact geographical location of a ground receiver. Created by the U.S. Department of Defense, the GPS system locates the receiver using the time differences that arise when signals from different satellites reach the receiver. This "triangulation" of signals has an accuracy of 10 to 100 meters with more sophisticated GPS application development aiming for an accuracy of a few meters. GPS development and programming, which was prevalent in scientific institutions, is available for public use from the US Department of Defense and is now affordable enough for personal use. With a GPS receiver, a person on earth can at any time locate his precise latitude, longitude, and altitude.

The first GPS satellite was launched in 1978. The satellites in use today are second generation or Block II, with the first of them launched in 1989. However, it took till 1995 for the US Department of Defense to make GPS services fully operational.

The satellites used by GPS applications are spaced so that from any point on earth, four satellites will be above the horizon. Normally 8 or more satellites are visible to a GPS receiver. The satellites contain an atomic clock (for time accuracy), radio and a computer and continuously broadcast (through radio) their changing position and time to the GPS receivers. The GPS receivers have computers that triangulate their position from three satellites and display the longitude and latitude. The fourth satellite is used to determine the altitude. Most GPS applications are equipped with displays and digital maps to inform the user of his location on a map. GPS receivers also have some memory to store personal navigation data.

In the case of GPS applications and services in vehicles, systems may also be able to calculate the time of arrival at a destination. These systems allow you to trace your path by remaining in communication with the satellites.

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