Introduction The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a navigation system based on satellites.

The GPS network operates on 24 satellites orbiting the earth. Developed by the US Department of Defense for military purposes in 1973, GPS was originally designed to assist soldiers and military vehicles, planes, and ships in accurately determining their locations world-wide. However the system was extended in the 1980s for civilian use. GPS works in all weather conditions and all over the world. GPS does not have any subscription fee of set up charges. GPS technology was originally developed for defense purposes and later brought to the consumer market as a navigation technology. However the price of the technology went down and this prompted companies to find new applications for the technology. GPS Tracking is one such innovation.

Today, the uses of GPS have extended to include both the commercial and scientific worlds. Commercially, GPS is used as a navigation and positioning tool in airplanes, boats, cars, and for almost all outdoor recreational activities such as hiking, fishing, and kayaking. In the scientific community, GPS plays an important role in the earth sciences. Meteorologists use it for weather forecasting and global climate studies; and geologists can use it as a highly accurate method of surveying and in earthquake studies to measure tectonic motions during and in between earthquakes. The Technology Before we get into the applications of GPS, let us examine briefly how GPS works. GPS is based on the technique of trilateration. where GPS receivers use this technique to calculate the co-ordinates of their location on earth. This calculation is done by measuring the time signals from different satellites take to reach them.

Figure 1 A visual example of the GPS constellation in motion with the Earth rotating.

The signal strength and clock differences between the device and the satellite network are adjusted by using signals from four separate satellites. This way we get a fairly accurate reading of location, usually in an error range of within 100 meters. The co-ordinates come into use to locate the device on a map. This map may be displayed to the user who may either be the device holder or the tracker. The co-ordinates can also be used to calculate routes, navigate or as input into mapping programs. Brief History of GPS The GPS concept originated during the race to space between Russia and the United States. U.S. scientists realized that they could monitor Sputniks transmissions and determine its position in the sky by measuring the Doppler distortion of the signals frequency between the satellite and their known position on earth. They realized that the converse would also be true that if the satellites position was known then they could determine a particular location on earth. GPS satellites were first launched over 20 years ago in 1978, paid for by the American taxpayer. However, it was not until 1993, when a full constellation of 24 satellites were deployed, that it was considered fully operational. Early commercial applications in 1984 were ascertaining position fixes on offshore oil rigs, and surveying, when GPS equipment was very expensive ($150K) as well as large and unwieldy. Handheld units arrived on the scene in 1989 and their purchase price was $3,000 - still not in the price range for casual hobbyist users. However, by 1995 that barrier was crossed when handhelds came down to $200 a unit, making it feasible for hunters, fishermen and hikers. Now GPS is integrated into navigational applications on your iPhones and Droids. CDMA cell sites use GPS for network synchronization as do many other communication networks. As a result of the current price point of GPS receivers and their increasing accuracy, GPS is showing up in many new personal and business applications. For national security reasons, the civilian signaled was originally deliberately injected with an error factor, referred to as selective availability (SA). In May 2000, the government turned off SA. It should be noted that the military can jam GPS signals over a particular geographic region if necessary for national security purposes.

Advances in technology and new demands on the existing system have now led to efforts to modernize the GPS system and implement the next generation of GPS III satellites and Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX). Announcements from the Vice President and the White House in 1998 initiated these changes. In 2000, U.S. Congress authorized the modernization effort, referred to as GPS III. In addition to GPS, other systems are in use or under development. The Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) was developed contemporaneously with GPS, but suffered from incomplete coverage of the globe until the mid-2000s. There are also the planned European Union Galileo positioning system, Chinese Compass navigation system, and Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System.
How GPS Works

The architectural components of GPS are typically referred to as the control segment (ground stations), the space segment (satellites) and the user segment (receivers). Control Segment Ground Stations: There are six operational control system (OCS) monitoring stations and four ground antenna stations. These stations track all GPS signals. Three of them are capable of unlinking to the satellites. In other words, they both speak and listen to the satellites, updating them with regard to clock corrections and satellite positions. They listen to the satellites to determine their health by looking at their signal integrity and orbital position stability. These ground control stations are all under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and are positioned around the world. The master station is located in Colorado Springs at the Air Force base. The master station can send commands to the satellites to make orbit adjustments, upload new software and so on. In 2005 additional feeds from an initial set of six National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) stations were included in the OCS data processing. And the OCS data modeling was improved to be able to better use these additional data feeds. Space Segment Satellites: There are 29 U.S. GPS satellites in orbit (some are spares). A minimum of 24 active satellites is required to be fully functional. These satellites are constantly streaming data over a downlink. Their signals can be read by GPS receivers anywhere in the world. However, the receiver must have a minimum of four satellites in view. Buildings, terrain and electronic interference can block signal reception. The satellites vary in age and have a lifespan of seven to twelve years and have to be replaced as they expire. Future satellites will offer additional civilian signals. The progression of satellite series currently operational starts with 16 II/IIA (in Block II), followed by 12 IIR. Most recently two of IIR-M series were launched. User Segment Receivers: These receivers read the available satellite signals to determine a users position, velocity and time. Underlying how these components work together is the clock and the satellites orbit. To get an accurate position fix, a receiver sees at least four satellites. The receiver uses the time stamp from the satellite to determine the transmission delay. Getting this information simultaneously from a minimum of four different satellites is what enables the calculation of a users 3-D position. Position refers to the coordinates in 3-D space in other words, not just where one is standing, but how high. 2-D (latitude and longitude) can be determined with only 3 satellite signals.

Determining Position: Upon taking in all available satellite signals the receiver compares the time that the satellite sent the signal to the time it was received for each of the available signals. Trilateralization then calculates the position by comparing the difference among the signals. See the figure below for an illustration in a simplified 2-D view.

GPS works through the signals the satellites transmit to earth. In other words, GPS receivers take in this information to calculate the users position by the method of triangulation. The GPS receiver needs signals from at least three satellites for this. Three distinct parts make up the Global Positioning System. The first segment of the system consists of 24 satellites, orbiting 20,000 km above the Earth in 12-hour circular orbits. This means that it takes each satellite 12 hours to make a complete circle around the Earth. In order to make sure that they can be detected from anywhere on the Earth's surface, the satellites are divided into six groups of four. Each group is assigned a different path to follow. This creates six orbital planes which completely surround the Earth. These satellites send radio signals to Earth that contain information about the satellite. Using GPS ground-based receivers, these signals can be detected and used to determine the receivers' positions (latitude, longitude, and height.) The radio signals are sent at two different L-band frequencies. L-band refers to a range of frequencies between 390 and 1550 MHz Within each signal, a coded sequence is sent. By comparing the received sequence with the original sequence, scientists can determine how long it takes for the signal to reach the Earth from the satellite. The signal delay is useful in learning about the Ionosphere and the Troposphere, two atmospheric layers that surround Earth's surface. A third signal is also sent to the receivers from the satellite. This signal contains data about the health and position of the satellite.

The second part of the GPS system is the ground station, comprised of a receiver and antenna, as well as communication tools to transmit data to the data center. The Omni-directional antenna at each site, acting much like a car radio antenna, picks up the satellite signals and transmits them to the site receiver as electric currents. The receiver then separates the signals into different channels designated for a particular satellite and frequency at a particular time. Once the signals have been isolated, the receiver can decode them and split them into individual frequencies. With this information the receiver produces a general position (latitude, longitude, and height) for the antenna. Later, the data collected by the receiver can be processed again by scientists to determine different things, including another set of position coordinates for the same antenna, this time with millimeter accuracy.

The third part of the system is the data center. The role of the data center is twofold. It both monitors and controls the global GPS stations, and it uses automated computer systems to retrieve and analyze data from the receivers at those stations. Once processed, the data, along with the original raw data, is made available to scientists around the world for use in a variety of applications. Since global GPS sites are constructed and monitored by different institutions all over the world, there are many different data center locations. Civilian Applications of GPS: The free availability and accuracy of the GPS signals for location and timing, combined with the low cost of receiver chipsets, has made GPS the preferred solution for a very wide and growing range of civilian applications.

Transport: At present, road transport applications are the majority users of GPS signals for commercial fleet management and freight tracking, taxi services, public transport monitoring and passenger information, and emergency vehicle location, dispatch and navigation. Consumers have widely adopted in-car GPS navigation systems and most automobile manufacturers now release new vehicles with optional factory-fitted GPS. Aviation: In commercial aviation, most aircraft now use GPS for en-route navigation and increasingly GPS is being used for initial approach and non-precision approach to specified airfields. Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B) is being developed globally as the preferred future technology for commercial air traffic control; this involves aircraft calculating their position using GPS and broadcasting it to other aircraft. GPS is also widely used for navigation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for professional applications such as resource mapping and aerial surveying imaging tasks previous performed by satellites such as NASAs Landsat. Shipping & Rail Transport: Maritime applications include ocean and inshore navigation, dredging, port approaches, harbor entrance and docking; vessel traffic services (VTS), Automatic Identification System (AIS), hydrography, and cargo handling. Railway applications include the management of rolling stock, passenger information, preventing doors opening until the carriage is alongside the platform, cargo tracking signaling, train integrity and level crossing approach. Science: Scientific applications of GPS are widespread and include environmental and atmospheric monitoring, animal behavior studies, botanical specimen location, and meteorology and climate research. GPS is used in agriculture and fisheries for land area mapping, yield monitoring, precision planting, spraying and harvesting, autonomous vehicle control and to monitor fishing limits. Security: Security applications include tracking of vehicles, containers, other valuable cargoes, and covert tracking of suspects. Heavy Vehicle Guidance: GPS is being used increasingly to guide and track heavy vehicles in engineering applications such as mining and construction. For example, in highway construction, surveyors and marker pegs have been replaced with in-cabin vehicle guidance and control systems for excavators, graders, bulldozers and road paving machines that allow drivers to follow surveyors pre-programmed site plans and achieve close tolerances for position, level and gradient. In open-cut mines, GPS is integrated into applications developed by companies such as Leica Geo-systems, Topcon Positioning Systems and Trimble/Caterpillar for vehicle guidance, tracking systems and mine asset management systems. In these professional applications, GPS information is captured by sophisticated IT systems and meshed with other engineering requirements to provide multi-function guidance and control systems.

Surveying, Mapping and Geophysics: Professional, survey-grade GPS receivers, capable of utilizing signals from both L1 and L2 GPS frequencies, can be used to position survey markers, buildings, bridges and other large infrastructure. GPS is widely used in mapping, including aerial mapping, and other GIS applications. In geophysics, GPS is used to time stamp seismic activity and to monitor position changes in sensitive physical formations such as volcanoes and earthquake fault lines. Telecommunications: GPS timing is important for telecommunications applications, particularly for mobile telephone networks. Synchronous technologies are much more efficient than asynchronous technologies but require a time source with appropriate accuracy, stability and reliability to operate effectively or at all, and GPS satellites can provide this. While ground-based clocks are accurate enough for this purpose (especially with the availability of chip scale atomic clocks (CSAC)), the synchronization of many such clocks is problematic. GPS allows the derivation of synchronized UTC time through resolving the signals from a number of atomic clock sources at known locations. Financial Services: Global financial systems increasingly need precise timing systems to schedule and priorities local and international money transfers, settlements and trades, and to provide an audit trail for financial transactions. For example, the time signal provided by the atomic clocks on board the GPS is used by financial institutions worldwide for providing date and time stamps for Electronic Funds Transfers. In some developed countries up to 80% of retail transactions involve either credit or debit cards. With millions of these transactions occurring every minute, a very high level of timing accuracy has become a critical component of financial trading networks. Social Activities: Widely available, low-cost hand-held GPS receivers have enabled a numerous variety of social activities. The most ubiquitous application is in-car navigation, but there are dozens of other applications: GPS-based social networking, retagging photographs, cross country cycling, hiking, skiing, paragliding, skydiving, geocaching, geocaching and other gaming activities.

Military Application: Military applications of GPS include: Navigation: GPS allows soldiers to find objectives, even in the dark or in unfamiliar territory, and to coordinate troop and supply movement. In the United States armed forces, commanders use the Commanders Digital Assistant and lower ranks use the Soldier Digital Assistant. Target tracking: Various military weapons systems use GPS to track potential ground and air targets before flagging them as hostile. These weapon systems pass target coordinates to precision-guided munitions to allow them to engage targets accurately. Military aircraft, particularly in air-to-ground roles, use GPS to find targets (for example, gun camera video from AH-1 Cobras in Iraq show GPS co-ordinates that can be viewed with specialized software).

Missile and projectile guidance: GPS allows accurate targeting of various military weapons including ICBMs, cruise missiles, precision-guided munitions and Artillery projectiles. Embedded GPS receivers able to withstand accelerations of 12,000 g or about 118 km/s2 have been developed for use in 155 millimeters howitzers. Search and Rescue: Downed pilots can be located faster if their position is known. Reconnaissance: Patrol movement can be managed more closely. GPS satellites carry a set of nuclear detonation detectors consisting of an optical sensor (Y-sensor), an X-ray sensor, a dosimeter, and an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) sensor (Wsensor), that form a major portion of the United States Nuclear Detonation Detection System.

How Accurate is it?

The new generation of GPS receivers is very accurate on account of their multi-channel design. For instance Garmin has twelve parallel channel receivers that maintain strong links with the satellite network even among tall buildings or dense foliage. These receivers Average accuracy levels come up to within 15 meters. Garmin also has a new range with WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) that can have an accuracy of within three meters. Differential GPS is another way of achieving better accuracy of up to five meters. Here a network of towers receive GPS signals and send back a rectified signal using beacon transmitters. However this system requires that the user has a differential beacon receiver and antenna along with the GPS equipment.
GPS Facts

The 24 satellites of the GPS network are at an altitude of 12,000 miles from the earths surface. They make two complete orbits around the earth in a day, traveling at about 7,000 miles an hour. These satellites are running on solar energy, with onboard back up batteries for times such as solar eclipse. They also have small rocket boosters fitted to them to keep them on the right track. Each satellite lasts for ten years and replacements are launched into the orbit as and when required.
GPS for Tracking

GPS tracking system is method to locate the exact location of a receiver (tracking unit) on the earth. GPS tracking unit is the device that uses the GPS and Geographic Information System (GIS) to determine the exact location of a vehicle, person, or any other asset to which it is attached. The device records the position of the data at regular intervals or it may transmit the information to a database or an Internet connected computer by using cellular GPRS or a satellite modem affixed in the unit. Then the recorded location data is displaced on a map with the help of GPS tracking software. The tracking system was earlier used only for military purpose but it has been used in various ways including boaters, outdoorsmen, police, wildlife monitoring but predominantly by motor vehicle drivers. The GPS vehicle navigation system is now widely used in all over the world for determining the location of a vehicle by using satellite navigation devices. The device calculates the navigation information in almost all places. Generally there are two types of GPS tracking systems: passive tracking system and real-time system. Passive tracking system records every location the receiver comes across and that can be later

downloaded on the computer by using GPS tracking software. But the Real-time system assists in determining the exact location at any point of time via Internet.
Tracking Mechanism: The receiver or tracking unit attached inside the vehicle receives signals from the

tracking unit to calculate its co-ordinate of the geographic location. The receiver then transmits these inputs to an operational center through radio signal. Finally the information is processed in the center and passed on to you via Internet. By using mapping software one can see the current location of the receiver on the computer screen anywhere in the world.
GPS in Vehicle Tracking

One application of GPS is for tracking vehicles, where GPS devices are attached to vehicles with a distinctive identification like a chassis number. The principle is similar to a tracking device worn by a human; however the system is integrated with the vehicles electronic system. This way, the vehicle does not need a separate car navigation system. Further, the GPS technology makes it possible to relay this information through a radio or cell phone. Another application of the technology is for locating vehicles. The police can track a stolen vehicle fitted with a GPS device. GPS devices can also be used to pass alerts to the driver. For instance, a driver can be alerted of the approach of a service center while he is on the road in unfamiliar territory.
Fleet Coordination

GPS technology can also be extended to coordinate vehicle tracking. Thus several vehicles going to the same destination can share location information. Vehicle tracking and GPS fish-finder unit combinations have been used successfully to help fishing boats locate, track and catch large schools of fish. However the overall technology is more sophisticated here, as elements like gauging depth, checking tide timings etc come into the picture. Fleet tracking has an important place in military operations. Units out of line of sight can share their location information. The often inaccurate map coordinate method of the past can thus be replaced with much higher accuracy now.
Consumer Applications

Apart from military, commercial fishing and aviation applications, GPS tracking can also work with existing systems like cell phones and vehicles. A point of service is often involved here, to keep track of the location. This brings down the cost of the consumer unit and users can avail the technology at attractive prices.
GPS in earthquakes studies

A perfect example of this three-part system in application is the Southern California Integrated GPS Network (SCIGN.) SCIGN is a network of continuously recording GPS receivers throughout Southern California that have been installed in an array to monitor the strain accumulation in Southern California's crust. This is done with the help of the highly accurate measurements made by the GPS

system which allow scientists to record millimeter-scale slip on faults that cannot ordinarily be measured. Understanding of area seismicity could lead to a better understanding of the mechanics behind earthquakes and to better assessment of earthquake hazards and damage estimates. Scientists from NASA/JPL, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and the U.S. Geological Survey use the data from this array to determine if small-scale motion on faults between earthquakes can indicate precursor signs to an event that may help to predict where and when an earthquake will likely occur. In the near future, this network will act as a key in the improvement of emergency preparedness and response; determining of aftershock risk areas following major earthquakes; helping prevent destruction of buildings, property and infrastructure; advancing the understanding of the earthquake process; providing better geophysical models; and the opening of new directions in the field of solid earth dynamics.

Using GPS to measure earthquakes

GPS is being used by scientists to study the ongoing deformation of the crust in Southern California caused by the San Andreas fault and other faults in the LA Basin. The Southern California Integrated GPS Network (SCIGN) measures the millimeter-scale movements of the crust between earthquakes, and also records displacement of stations during earthquakes, but it does not measure the actual shaking of the ground caused by an earthquake. As you learned in previous sections, earthquakes can be measured in a variety of ways. Traditionally, earthquake size has been determined by various seismologic methods, which examine the amount of shaking, which directly relates to the energy released in an earthquake. GPS measures the size of an earthquake by examining the final amount that a station has been displaced in an event. This is done by examining the total distance that a station has moved in an earthquake by comparing its position prior to the event with its position following the event. Scientists have found that there is a relationship between the amount of displacement caused by an earthquake and its magnitude. It is by using this relationship between slip and magnitude that scientists can measure the relative size of an earthquake using GPS. GPS is not used to measure the actual shaking of the ground because of the way in which the actual data are collected. Data are sampled at a certain rate, called a sample rate, which means that the receiver records the information being sent to it from the satellites at a certain interval of time all day long. GPS Tracking Software For example, data can be sampled at a 30-second interval, which means that the receiver records information from the satellite every 30 seconds. That means that if the shaking from the earthquake lasts any less than 30 seconds, it will be missed by the receiver. Because of this, data are processed and a daily solution is determined, which means that the change in position of the receiver is calculated for one day at a time by combining the data collected througout the

day. The data can also be processed at another solution interval. For example, data could be sampled at a 1-second rate and processed, but the solutions would be far less accurate than the daily solutions. This is the reason why GPS is not used to directly measure the ground shaking during an earthquake. Seismometers are much better equipped to accurately record that sort of high-freqency motion than GPS. So, earthquake size is determined instead by measuring the final displacement of the stations and using the slip versus magnitude relationship. GPS Antenna 1. PS Antenna and Glonass Antennas are an essential part of all wireless systems. Laipac manufactures a variety of high quality antennas for GPS, GLONASS, cellular and Wireless-Link. The antennas include a Low Noise Amplifier to offer finely tuned operation in the harshest environments. We recommend our customers to use these antennas with our modules. These antennas are specially designed to complement our electronics equipment and guarantee best possible performance. The cost effective & robust design of Laipac antennas provides a time-to-market best choices for AVL and timing applications. 2. GPS Antenna Calibration The precise point whose position is being measured when a GPS baseline is determined is generally assumed to be the phase center of the GPS antenna. However, the phase center of a GPS antenna is neither a physical point nor a stable point. Differential GPS solutions are used routinely to provide geodetic positions with precisions that are often as good as a few millimeters. These positions are typically obtained from a baseline vector that extends from a station whose position is known and constrained to a station whose position is being determined. 3. A Comparison of Amplifier GPS Antenna The GPS-700 antenna series incorporates NovAtel?s patented Pinwheel? technology and is designed to enhance the performance of the OEM4G2 and OEM4-G2L GPS engines. The GPS-700 series, including the single frequency GPS-701 and the dual frequency GPS-702, takes advantage of Pinwheel? technology to provide exceptional multipath rejection. With a gain roll off to the horizon of 13 dB for the L1 signal and 11 dB for L2, the GPS-700 provides performance comparable to that offered by a typical choke ring and antenna combination. Signals arriving from low elevation angles are attenuated, virtually eliminating position errors due to troublesome signal reflections.

4. The GPS Antenna with converter Unit The GPS antenna combines a planar antenna and a frequency converter, which translates the high-frequency phase-modulated spread spectrum signal of the GPS system to an intermediate frequency. This way a standard coaxial cable (e.g. RG58) can be used for the connection with the GPS clock and a distance of up to 300 meters (with RG58) or even 600 meters with a low-loss cable type like RG213 between receiver and antenna is possible without requiring an additional amplifier. 5. The GPS Antenna Mobile The upgraded version of SM-18, MK-18 is the most compact GPS antenna available with low power consumption on the current market. Its state-of-the-art technology allows for miniature without. With good coverage almost all the way to the horizon, it performs excellently in foliage or urban canyon environment -- even in the presence of electromagnetic interference! Featuring diminutive and rugged enclosure and unparalleled performance, MK-18 is compatible with almost every GPS receiver model, especially the GPS PDA on the markets and provides an excellent alternative for a vast range of GPS applications including AVL, Vehicle Navigation, Aviation, and Military. 6. A GPS Helix Antenna Construction The GPS Patch antenna design published in the Oct, 1995 issue of QST magazine, and also placed on the Internet, has the advantages of being cheap, compact, and easy to build. Its main limitation is that it does not track satellites very well at low angles near the horizon. The GPS SPS (Standard Positioning Service) specification calls for tracking down to 5 degrees above the horizon, which cannot be met with a patch antenna design. After building and testing several patch antennas, I decided to try to design something better