The General Positioning System (GPS) tracking system is the latest breakthrough of the technology aiming at improving people’s lives. The GPS tracking system is reported to be used as a travel guide and as a tracking device of vehicles. No matter its application, GPS devices are good travelling companions.

The actual process of GPS tracking system is straightforward. In short, there are exactly 27 satellites rolling around the center of the Earth. Out of them, 24 are used by the GPS technology and the remaining ones are used for storage purposes. A GPS receiver installed in your car emits a signal to these satellites. Four available satellites will be used to find out your exact position. The mathematical tenet involves in this computing process is called trilateration. It can be achieved in either two dimensions or three dimensions.

Adverse weather conditions can affect the accuracy of the position. This issue is still to be addressed by GPS vendors as they are struggling to tweak their devices as a way around this problem.

Applications of GPS devices are twofold: the first one being as travelling guide as you can set your destination and the receiver will work out your location. It will also tell the best trajectory to reach your destination. It should be noted that some devices are able to talk as well. The GPS technology is also reported to be used in the military industry as it was first created for such purposes.

Another application of GPS devices is for tracking purposes. For instance a car company may decide to install GPS device in their cars in order to record their position all over the time. This can help them improving their delivery times and also increase their efficiency. An employer also can make use of this device to make sure that his employees are not abusing company car privileges.

Private investigators also make use of GPS tracking devices in order to keep track of cheating wives. Law enforcement also makes use of GPS devices to locate people who steal cars. Recent GPS devices are also able to report a driver’s habits therefore deciding if the driver is responsible enough to carry on.

The GPS tracking system is also a perfect way around home construction site thefts. Indeed, recent news from the Tennessee reveals that GPS tracking devices have helped identify a rash of construction site thefts where many thieves were used to nicking home appliances. A Tennessee police spokesman later on claims that these hard to break burglaries could be tracked down in less than 24 hours with suitable GPS tracking devices.

Still in the US, it is well known that some school buses are equipped with GPS tracking devices for emergency response purposes. Indeed, school buses equipped with the GPS tracking devices can be used to shuttle emergency responders such as fire fighters, and evacuate those in need, including nursing home residents.

In summary, GPS device applications are growing more and more over the time. There are mainly used for military and civilian purposes as we described in previous sections. It is nowadays commonplace to see GPS devices almost everywhere as we saw in the previous sections.



Thanks to John B. Mayall for contributing this article to our Surveillance blog:

Gps Real Time Tracking

Can you answer sunshine_grin’s question about Surveillance?:

They sell gps tracking devices for hundreds of dollars, but isn’t there a way to just track the current gps navigation that is used in a car? Why have 2 devices if you can use the current one. Don’t both use satelite to get locations etc?

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GPS tracking is a way of working out exactly where something is. A GPS tracking system, for example, may be placed in a vehicle, on a cell phone or on special GPS devices which can either be fixed or portable units.

GPS (Global Positioning System) works by giving information on exact location. It can also track the movement of a vehicle or person. So, for example, a GPS tracking system can be used by a company to monitor the route and progress of a delivery truck, it can be used by parents to check on the location of their child, or it can be used by drivers as an aid to navigation.

A GPS tracking system uses the GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) network. This network incorporates a range of satellites that use microwave signals which are transmitted to GPS devices to give information on location, vehicle speed, time and direction. So, a GPS tracking system can potentially give both real-time and historic navigation data on any kind of journey.

A GPS tracking system can work in various ways. From a commercial perspective, GPS devices are generally used to record the position of vehicles as they make their journeys. Some systems will store the data within the GPS tracking system itself (known as passive tracking) and some send the information to a centralized database or system via a modem within the GPS system unit on a regular basis (known as active tracking).

A passive GPS tracking system will monitor location and will store its data on journeys based on certain types of events. So, for example, this kind of GPS system may log data such as turning the ignition on or off or opening and closing doors. The data stored on this kind of GPS tracking system is usually stored in internal memory or on a memory card which can then be downloaded to a computer at a later date for analysis. In some cases the data can be sent automatically for wireless download at predetermined points/times or can be requested at specific points during the journey.

An active GPS tracking system is also known as a real-time system as this method automatically sends the information on the GPS system to a central computer or system in real-time as it happens. This kind of system is usually a better option for commercial purposes such as fleet tracking and individual vehicle tracking as it allows the company to know exactly where their vehicles are, whether they are on time and whether they are where they are supposed to be during a journey. This is also a useful way of monitoring the behavior of employees as they carry out their work and of streamlining internal processes and procedures for delivery fleets.

Real-time tracking is also particularly useful from a security perspective as it allows vehicle owners to pinpoint the exact location of a vehicle at any given time. So, if there is a robbery, the owner of a vehicle will know exactly where the vehicle was when the robbery took place. And, the GPS tracking system in the vehicle may then be able to help police work out where the vehicle was taken to if it was stolen. Many fleet operators find that having a GPS tracking system in place actually works as an extra security deterrent for this reason.



Thanks to Juan Olano for contributing this article to our Surveillance blog:

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