Global Positioning System
GPS (Global Positioning System) is a satellite based navigation system made up of a network of 24 satellites that orbit the earth. This technology is very reliable and works under all types of weather conditions, 24 hours a day, virtually anywhere around the globe. GPS was originally designed for military purposes but fortunately, in 1980 the government made the system available for ordinary people. GPS is absolutely free, and there are no subscription fees or setup charges, according to www.gpsworld.com “a new market research study predicts that the global GPS market will rise above $22 billion by 2008, driven by new applications and led in part by demand for timing devices.” It is not expensive to use the system, simple receivers can be bought online for approximately $200, more complex receivers can cost up to $3000 depending on the capabilities and features.
The 24 satellites that make up the GPS space segment are orbiting the earth about 12,000 miles above us. They are constantly moving, making two complete orbits in less than 24 hours. These satellites are traveling at speeds of roughly 7,000 miles an hour and are powered by solar energy. They have backup batteries onboard to keep them running in the event of a solar eclipse, when there's no solar power, small rocket boosters on each satellite keep them flying in the correct path. Each satellite is built to last about 10 years. Replacements are constantly being built and launched into orbit, a GPS satellite weighs approximately 2,000 pounds and is about 17 feet across with the solar panels extended.
The first GPS satellite was launched in 1978. A full constellation of 24 satellites was achieved in 1994. It is fairly easy to understand how GPS works, though the technology itself is very complex. First, the receiver sends a signal to several satellites, once the satellite processes the signal and calculates the user's exact location, it sends back the signal to the receiver. Basically, the GPS receiver compares the time a signal was transmitted by a satellite with the time it was received. Moreover, the time difference tells the GPS receiver how far away the satellite is, with distance measurements from a few more satellites, the receiver can determine the user's position and display it on the user’s electronic device. According to gpsworld.com “A GPS receiver must be locked on to the signal of at least three satellites to calculate a 2D position (latitude and longitude) and track movement. With four or more satellites in view, the receiver can determine the user's 3D position (latitude, longitude and altitude). Once the user's position has been determined, the GPS unit can calculate other information, such as speed, bearing, track, trip distance, distance to destination, sunrise and sunset time and more.” Overall GPS receivers are extremely accurate, thanks to their parallel multi-channel design. Certain atmospheric factors and other sources of error can affect the accuracy. Most GPS receivers are accurate to within 15 meters on average.
This technology is being used in a wide range of industries, including: communications, military, automobile and aviation. Not only that artist use GPS as amedium to create complex new media projects. The tracking system is also popular among hikers, hunters, snowmobilers, mountain bikers, and cross-country skiers, just to name a few. Yet, the most popular use of GPS is in the automobile industry. The technology is known as: “automatic vehicle location”. This new technology is now available in most luxury cars and SUV’s, it provides the driver with features such as: driving directions, city maps and estimated time of arrivals. “Equipment for automotive and asset tracking will account for nearly half of the global GPS market from year-end 2004 and will continue to see gains through 2008, (gpsworld.com). GPS is also radically changing the way blind people navigate. Early this year a new device called “Probes” was released by Spain’s National Organization for the Blind, “It weighs less than one kilogram (about 2 pounds), comes with a Braille keyboard and a voice synthesizer, and taps the global positioning satellite system to provide verbal directions. Added software and a database of city maps give immediate feedback about the users' surroundings.” (wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,59174,00.html). The primary function of Probes is to serve the blind with a complementary instrument to get around, besides the traditional instruments that already exist, such as the blind cane or guide dog. With this device the blind are able to get to a specific location, it provides verbal directions, it guides them to their destination or give immediate feedback on their surroundings.
Furthermore, “The Degree Confluence Project “ is another scientific endeavor that is taking place in the GPS world, this is a website or database that started by Alex Jarrett in 1996. “The goal of the project is to visit each of the latitude and longitude integer degree intersections in the world, and to take pictures at each location. The pictures, with a narrative describing the adventures it took to get there have to be posted on the website, creating an organized sampling of the world. Another goal is to document the changes at these locations over time” (confluence.com). There is a confluence within 49 miles (79 km) of you if you're on the surface of Earth. Project coordinators estimate that about 3,000 confluence points the intersection of whole-number latitude and longitude lines have been visited, out of a total of 16,000 global confluence points located on land and meet the goal of the project. If one includes intersections of latitude and longitude lines at sea, about 64,000 confluences exist worldwide. But, Degree Confluence isn't collecting pictures from mid-ocean or confluence points close to the poles, where longitude lines can be as little as a few meters apart, so most confluences at sea an close to the poles have been discounted.
More than 4400 GPS travelers have participated since the projects began, covering nearly all the easily accessible points in the United States and Western Europe. The project itself might never be finished due to the inaccessibility of many confluences, such the ones in countries in war, in places where weather conditions are extremely harsh or in restricted areas where cameras and other electronic devices are not permitted.
In recent years GPS has become a popular medium for new media artists. These artists are taking GPS to a whole new level with the development and experimentation of complex and creative projects. As a consequence a very unusual type of art is being created. For example, in the U.K. artist use GPS technology to make large scale drawings of animals and objects, measuring up to 5-6 Kilometers. “In essence GPS Drawing is about recording lines using someone’s journey as a mark making medium. The Gallery now contains drawings made over land, on water, and in the air. There are also GPS maps and experiments along with contributions from around the globe.” (gpsdrawings.com). The drawings are first planned out on a map and then an individual follows the path decided, using a bike a car or simply by walking.
“Impressing Velocity” is another artistic project that uses GPS as a medium. Masaki Fujihata a new media artist is the author of this art piece; he uses complex algorithms to distort rendered images of mountains using velocity. “The algorithm abducts the process which our brains are processing normally in the situation of accelerating the speed. It will be a visualization of the impression of speed.” (http://www.c3.hu/~masaki/proposal/index.html). The concept of the project is incredibly interesting yet, the final output of the project is even more interesting. The project itself is a series of images that are visually very attractive. In Fujihata’s website the process which takes to produce the a final images is briefly explained, "GPS was used with laptop computer for collecting 3 dimensional data path which was generated corresponding to our climbing up and down Mt.Fuji. These 3 dimensional data were used to calculate the velocity in each part of the path and corresponding to the velocity data, the form of a cross-section of the Mt.Fuji was distorted. High velocity will shrink that cross-section data, and in the other hand,low velocity will expand the form of that section, because low velocity shows that the person is tired. The state of zero velocity, when we have a rest, will make an explosion form of Mt.Fuji” (http://www.c3.hu/~masaki/proposal/index.html).
GPS has become a great tool for all kinds of people, ranging from the blind to scientists, from generals to digital media artists. As the technology became more accurate and less expensive people have found endless uses for GPS. It has proven to be one of the technological breakthroughs of the 20th century. More uses are yet to be found so it obvious that its capabilities and uses are only limited by the users imagination.
igscb.jpl.nasa.gov/
http://www.garmin.com/aboutGPS/
http://www.gpsworld.com/gpsworld/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=26655
http://www.gpsworld.com/gpsworld/article/articleList.jsp?categoryId=277
The 24 satellites that make up the GPS space segment are orbiting the earth about 12,000 miles above us. They are constantly moving, making two complete orbits in less than 24 hours. These satellites are traveling at speeds of roughly 7,000 miles an hour and are powered by solar energy. They have backup batteries onboard to keep them running in the event of a solar eclipse, when there's no solar power, small rocket boosters on each satellite keep them flying in the correct path. Each satellite is built to last about 10 years. Replacements are constantly being built and launched into orbit, a GPS satellite weighs approximately 2,000 pounds and is about 17 feet across with the solar panels extended.
The first GPS satellite was launched in 1978. A full constellation of 24 satellites was achieved in 1994. It is fairly easy to understand how GPS works, though the technology itself is very complex. First, the receiver sends a signal to several satellites, once the satellite processes the signal and calculates the user's exact location, it sends back the signal to the receiver. Basically, the GPS receiver compares the time a signal was transmitted by a satellite with the time it was received. Moreover, the time difference tells the GPS receiver how far away the satellite is, with distance measurements from a few more satellites, the receiver can determine the user's position and display it on the user’s electronic device. According to gpsworld.com “A GPS receiver must be locked on to the signal of at least three satellites to calculate a 2D position (latitude and longitude) and track movement. With four or more satellites in view, the receiver can determine the user's 3D position (latitude, longitude and altitude). Once the user's position has been determined, the GPS unit can calculate other information, such as speed, bearing, track, trip distance, distance to destination, sunrise and sunset time and more.” Overall GPS receivers are extremely accurate, thanks to their parallel multi-channel design. Certain atmospheric factors and other sources of error can affect the accuracy. Most GPS receivers are accurate to within 15 meters on average.
This technology is being used in a wide range of industries, including: communications, military, automobile and aviation. Not only that artist use GPS as amedium to create complex new media projects. The tracking system is also popular among hikers, hunters, snowmobilers, mountain bikers, and cross-country skiers, just to name a few. Yet, the most popular use of GPS is in the automobile industry. The technology is known as: “automatic vehicle location”. This new technology is now available in most luxury cars and SUV’s, it provides the driver with features such as: driving directions, city maps and estimated time of arrivals. “Equipment for automotive and asset tracking will account for nearly half of the global GPS market from year-end 2004 and will continue to see gains through 2008, (gpsworld.com). GPS is also radically changing the way blind people navigate. Early this year a new device called “Probes” was released by Spain’s National Organization for the Blind, “It weighs less than one kilogram (about 2 pounds), comes with a Braille keyboard and a voice synthesizer, and taps the global positioning satellite system to provide verbal directions. Added software and a database of city maps give immediate feedback about the users' surroundings.” (wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,59174,00.html). The primary function of Probes is to serve the blind with a complementary instrument to get around, besides the traditional instruments that already exist, such as the blind cane or guide dog. With this device the blind are able to get to a specific location, it provides verbal directions, it guides them to their destination or give immediate feedback on their surroundings.
Furthermore, “The Degree Confluence Project “ is another scientific endeavor that is taking place in the GPS world, this is a website or database that started by Alex Jarrett in 1996. “The goal of the project is to visit each of the latitude and longitude integer degree intersections in the world, and to take pictures at each location. The pictures, with a narrative describing the adventures it took to get there have to be posted on the website, creating an organized sampling of the world. Another goal is to document the changes at these locations over time” (confluence.com). There is a confluence within 49 miles (79 km) of you if you're on the surface of Earth. Project coordinators estimate that about 3,000 confluence points the intersection of whole-number latitude and longitude lines have been visited, out of a total of 16,000 global confluence points located on land and meet the goal of the project. If one includes intersections of latitude and longitude lines at sea, about 64,000 confluences exist worldwide. But, Degree Confluence isn't collecting pictures from mid-ocean or confluence points close to the poles, where longitude lines can be as little as a few meters apart, so most confluences at sea an close to the poles have been discounted.
More than 4400 GPS travelers have participated since the projects began, covering nearly all the easily accessible points in the United States and Western Europe. The project itself might never be finished due to the inaccessibility of many confluences, such the ones in countries in war, in places where weather conditions are extremely harsh or in restricted areas where cameras and other electronic devices are not permitted.
In recent years GPS has become a popular medium for new media artists. These artists are taking GPS to a whole new level with the development and experimentation of complex and creative projects. As a consequence a very unusual type of art is being created. For example, in the U.K. artist use GPS technology to make large scale drawings of animals and objects, measuring up to 5-6 Kilometers. “In essence GPS Drawing is about recording lines using someone’s journey as a mark making medium. The Gallery now contains drawings made over land, on water, and in the air. There are also GPS maps and experiments along with contributions from around the globe.” (gpsdrawings.com). The drawings are first planned out on a map and then an individual follows the path decided, using a bike a car or simply by walking.
“Impressing Velocity” is another artistic project that uses GPS as a medium. Masaki Fujihata a new media artist is the author of this art piece; he uses complex algorithms to distort rendered images of mountains using velocity. “The algorithm abducts the process which our brains are processing normally in the situation of accelerating the speed. It will be a visualization of the impression of speed.” (http://www.c3.hu/~masaki/proposal/index.html). The concept of the project is incredibly interesting yet, the final output of the project is even more interesting. The project itself is a series of images that are visually very attractive. In Fujihata’s website the process which takes to produce the a final images is briefly explained, "GPS was used with laptop computer for collecting 3 dimensional data path which was generated corresponding to our climbing up and down Mt.Fuji. These 3 dimensional data were used to calculate the velocity in each part of the path and corresponding to the velocity data, the form of a cross-section of the Mt.Fuji was distorted. High velocity will shrink that cross-section data, and in the other hand,low velocity will expand the form of that section, because low velocity shows that the person is tired. The state of zero velocity, when we have a rest, will make an explosion form of Mt.Fuji” (http://www.c3.hu/~masaki/proposal/index.html).
GPS has become a great tool for all kinds of people, ranging from the blind to scientists, from generals to digital media artists. As the technology became more accurate and less expensive people have found endless uses for GPS. It has proven to be one of the technological breakthroughs of the 20th century. More uses are yet to be found so it obvious that its capabilities and uses are only limited by the users imagination.
igscb.jpl.nasa.gov/
http://www.garmin.com/aboutGPS/
http://www.gpsworld.com/gpsworld/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=26655
http://www.gpsworld.com/gpsworld/article/articleList.jsp?categoryId=277
posted by Memo at 5:38 PM
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