Bennett 1

Terrell Bennett
Professor Huizar
UWRT 1102

Importance of the GPS

Have you ever wanted to travel, gotten lost, or wanted locate the best seafood restaurant
near you? Of course, but in order to do that you need some sort of guidance to get you to your
destination. Now before in order for you to get to a place you had no idea of how to get to, you
had to pull out the good old-fashioned MapQuests or road maps of your state or the state in
which you wish to travel to. Those maps were created in the late nineteenth-century that
displayed primarily roads and transport links. Luckily, with the help of technology there is a
handy gadget called the GPS (Global Positioning System) and smartphones that allow everyone
to get to their destination faster. (Easton and Frazier) Once you punch in your destinations
address those tools show you digitally the roads and places of interest that you will pass on the
way to your specific location.
To fully appreciate the invention of the GPS and smartphones you have to take into
account the way that people used to have to find their way around town. Formally people would
have to use a large paper map to pinpoint where they were at and to see which roads they had to
take get where they were going. Mind you that these maps did not talk to you. Therefore, if you
make a wrong turn or get off the wrong exit you wouldnt not know unless you had someone
keeping their eyes on the map at all times while you were driving, you werent notified the
amount of miles you had to take before your next turn, or even be notified that there was an
accident up ahead to ensure you to take a detour. The only illustrations on the paper maps were

Bennett 2
contour lines that represented the federal and interstate highways, capitals, major cities, and
park/recreational areas which are similar as to what GPSs illustrate.
Although there are some similarities between the two, many argue that both paper maps
and electronic maps are quite different in a few ways. Studies show that roadmaps are more
accurate than GPSs. (Faghri and Hamad) But, because it is impossible for roadmaps to update
themselves people would have to go purchase another one when they are published. (Faghri and
Hamad) The difference with the GPS is that you will also need to update its maps, the point is
that it can be updated.(Lee) Another advantage that a road map has over a GPS is that it will
never run out of battery life or malfunction. Suppose youve gotten miles away from your home
and realize you have forgotten your charger to your GPS. If you have a road map for backup you
would not have anything to worry about because it can still give you some sense of direction or
you would have to stop at a gas station or supermarket and ask those who worked there how to
get to your destination. They may know and they might not know. But, in todays society a
majority of this generation would rather use anything electronically over and avoid having to do
something on their own or the traditional way. No matter how more accurate paper maps may
be than GPSs, they will die out because this generation is too lazy to even figure out how to use
a paper map. This is why GPSs have surpassed the paper road maps in terms of usage.
Because this world is so impatient GPSs fit right into the needs of every person who
drives. With a GPS you are given the time it will take for you to get to your destination, how
busy the traffic is, wrecks that have occurred, etc. With those features people will have the ability
to plan ahead before they hit the road. If someone needs to leave early to avoid traffic or take a
detour because of a crash that has occurred on the highway they can because they will have prior
knowledge of the road conditions before they leave out of their driveway. (Scherkenbach) With

Bennett 3
the help of the GPS no one should be late for their business meeting, getting to the airport on
time, or getting to school on time.
Although there are situations where you need to be on time, there are also times where
you want to explore and have time to spare. Maybe you want to catch a movie, try out a
particular restaurant, etc. but you have no idea of how to get to those places. Unlike the road
map, a GPS can provide you with a wider variety of places of interests that are near you or
causes you to travel quite a bit to get to. Suppose youre in a new city and want to get out and do
something but you dont know your way around. Using your smartphone or GPS you can look
up places of interests and find all the local hot spots near you. (Kaplan) Depending how
updated your GPS is, it will even have the newest buildings in your surrounding area.
Smartphones even enable you to know the days and times businesses are open. (Easton and
Frazier) A road map will usually only have two places of interests on them which would be
resting areas and recreational parks. Not only are GPSs more convenient than road maps in
being time consuming when getting you to your destination on time, but it also allows you to
explore whatever city you may be in if you want to go to the mall or catch a movie. The GPS
gives you those directions all while talking to you through each road and exit.
Being that GPSs are equipped with voice controls it enables drivers to keep their eyes on
the road at all times, thus preventing accidents. (Voice and Gps Based Navigation System for
Visually Impaired) Now with roadmaps unless you had someone riding shotgun while you drove,
you would constantly have to look at the map to see which road or exit youd have to turn off on
to get to your destination. Luckily, the GPS will voice out each turn, you will need to make as
you drive. Along with giving directions GPSs can also serve as tracking devices. If your car is
stolen, stuck on the side of the road, etc. the police can find you through GPS vehicle tracking.

Bennett 4
(Warren) The device also provide services to the driver such as locating the nearest gas station.
Police can also benefit from using GPS tracing devices to ensure that parolees do not violate
curfew, and to locate them if they do.
There are so many benefits that come with using a GPS system that its hard to think of
how people could get around years ago without them. Using a road map and trying to pinpoint
where youre located to see which way you need to travel is just out of the norm in this
generation. The enhancement of technology has made things much easier for the world and is the
same reason why the GPS is the primary resource and road maps are secondary resources when it
comes to navigation. Although road maps and GPSs can get you to your destination, the
capabilities that the GPS has makes it all the more convenient for people to get where theyre
going faster, keeps their eyes on the road with the help of the voice command feature, and allows
them to find places of interest near them with ease. What will be your choice of navigation the
next time you travel, the good old-fashioned road map or the time consuming, high-tech GPS
system?

Bennett 5

Works Cited
Kaplan, Elliott D. Understanding Gps: Principles and Applications. Boston: Artech
House, 1996. Print.
National Civilian Gps Services: Global Positioning System (gps), Gps Augmentations,
Gps Modernization. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Transportation, 2000. Print.
Scherkenbach, William W. The Deming Route to Quality and Productivity: Road Maps
and Roadblocks. Washington, D.C: CEEP Press Books, 1986. Print.
Lee, S.G, D.H Lee, and S.W Lee. "Network-oriented Road Map Generation for Unknown
Roads Using Visual Images and Gps-Based Location Information." Ieee Transactions on
Consumer Electronics. 55.3 (2009): 1233-1240. Print.
Faghri, Ardeshir, and Khaled Hamad. "Travel Time, Speed, and Delay Analysis Using an
Integrated Gis/gps System." Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering. 29 (2002): 325-328. Print.
Richey, Warren. "Gps Tracking Device: Supreme Court to Consider Its Use in Following
Suspects." Christian Science Monitor. (2011). Print.
Easton, Richard D, and Eric F. Frazier. Gps Declassified: From Smart Bombs to
Smartphones. , 2013. Internet resource.
"Voice and Gps Based Navigation System for Visually Impaired." International Journal
of Engineering Research and Applications. 4.4 (2014): 48-51. Print.

Bennett 6