GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM

What is GPS?
Global positioning system is a worldwide
radio navigation system formed from a
constellation of 24 satellites and their
ground stations.
GPS permits land, sea, and airborne users
to determine their three- dimensional
position, velocity, and time.

This service is available to military and

civilian users around the clock, in all
weather, anywhere in the world.

The History of GPS

Feasibility studies begun in 1960s.

Pentagon appropriates funding in 1973.
First satellite launched in 1978.
System declared fully operational in April,
1995.

Three Segments of the GPS

Space
Segment

User
Segment

Control
Segment

Master Station

Monitor Stations

Ground
Antenna
s

SPACE SEGMENT

The space segment consists of 24 satellites,

each in its own orbit, 11,000 nautical miles
above the earth which takes 12hrs each to go
round the earth once.
There are six orbital planes, equally spaces (60o
apart) and inclined about an angle 55o with
respect to equatorial plane. Satellites are
equipped with very precise clock that keep
accurate time to within three nanosecond

Control Segment
US Space
Command

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ii

Cape
Canaveral

Ascension
Is.

Diego
Garcia

Kwajalein
Atoll

Master Control Station Monitor Station Ground Antenna

USER SEGMENT

MILTARY
SEARCH AND RESCUE
SURVEYING
MARINE,AERONAUTICAL AND TERRESTRIAL
NAVIGATION
SATELLITE POSITIONING AND TRACKING
SHIPPING
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
SYSTEM( GIS)
RE-CREATION

Four Basic Functions of GPS

Position and coordinates.

The distance and direction between any two

waypoints, or a position and a waypoint.

Travel progress reports.

Accurate time measurement.

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Determining Position

A GPS receiver "knows"

the location of the
satellites. By estimating
how far away a satellite is,
the receiver also "knows"
it is located somewhere
on the surface of an
imaginary sphere
centered at the satellite. It
then determines the sizes
of several spheres, one for
each satellite. The
receiver is located where
these spheres intersect.

Sources of GPS Error

Standard Positioning Service (SPS ): Civilian
Users
Source
Amount of Error

Satellite clocks:
1.5 to 3.6 meters
Orbital errors:
< 1 meter
Ionosphere:
5.0 to 7.0 meters
Troposphere:
0.5 to 0.7 meters
Receiver noise:
0.3 to 1.5 meters
Multipath:
0.6 to 1.2 meters
Selective Availability (see notes)
User error:
Up to a km

APPLICATIONS OF GPS

GPS has different uses such as:

Military
Navigation
Mobile satellite communication
Location based services
Surveying
agriculture

Military
intelligence and target location
weapon aiming and guidance
Transportation
fleet tracking
marine
Aviation
navigation

Agriculture
GPS Machine Guidance is used for
tractors and other large agricultural
machines via auto steer or a visual aid
displayed on a screen, which is extremely
useful for controlled traffic and row crop
operations and when spraying.

SURVEYING

More costly and precise receivers are

used by land surveyors to locate
boundaries, structures, and survey
markers, and for road construction. There
is also a growing demand for Machine
Guidance such as Automatic Grade
Control systems that use GPS positions
plans to automatically control the blades
and buckets of construction equipment.

LIMITATIONS OF GPS

GPS can provide worldwide 3-dimensional

positions, 24hrs a day in any type of weather.
However the system does have some
limitations. There must be a relatively clear
line of sight between the GPS antenna and
four or more satellites. Objects such as
buildings, overpasses, and other obstructions
that shield the antenna from satellite can
potentially weaken a satellites signal such
that it becomes too difficult to ensure reliable
positioning .

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Any question?