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GPS - What Is It PDF
GPS - What Is It PDF
Although four satellites are required for normal operation, fewer apply in special cases. If
one variable is already known (for example, a ship or plane may have known elevation), a
receiver can determine its position using only three satellites. Some GPS receivers may
use additional clues or assumptions (such as reusing the last known altitude or including
information from a vehicle computer) to give a degraded position when fewer than four
satellites are visible.
Absolute v's Relative Positioning
A key question asked about GPS is “How accurate is it”? This is based on the generally
publicised information that GPS has a positional error of between 5m & 10m globally.
Considering the satellite signal is travelling 20,000km to its destination, having a 10m error
works out to be a % error of only 0.0000005%!!
Being the fussy species that Humans are, this error margin is still seen to be too
inaccurate for the purposes of positioning of a human being on, for example; a pavement (I
guess 10m could see this person walking in the middle of the road if they were following
the positioning information carefully!) or on a sporting field.
With further developments in GPS technology itself we will see great improvements in
absolute positioning accuracy over the next 10 years (see my next article – GPS System
Accuracy).
• The technology is very power hungry, most systems will only last 8-12 hours before
needing a battery replacement or recharge.
• The GPS signal is unable to pass through solid structures so is unable to work
indoors, underground, under the water, or under a dense canopy of trees.
• Can be affected by large buildings and is typically unreliable in CBD areas.
• GPS accuracy is related to the quality of signal reception, the larger the antenna the
better the signal – so absolute miniaturisation is not possible whilst maintaining
good positioning accuracy.
Inconsistencies of atmospheric conditions affect the speed of the GPS signals as they
pass through the Earth's Atmosphere, especially the ionosphere (the uppermost part of the
atmosphere) These effects are smallest when the satellite is directly overhead and
become greater for satellites nearer the horizon since the path through the atmosphere is
longer.
Multipath
GPS signals can also be affected by multipath issues, where the radio signals reflect off
surrounding terrain; buildings, canyon walls, hard ground, etc. These delayed signals can
cause inaccuracy
Ephemeris and clock errors
While the ephemeris data is transmitted every 30 seconds, the information itself may be up
to two hours old. Data up to four hours old is considered valid for calculating positions, but
may not indicate the satellite's actual position.
Selective Availability
GPS includes a (currently disabled) feature called Selective Availability (SA) that can
introduce intentional, slowly changing random errors of up to a hundred meters into the
publicly available navigation signals to confound, for example, the guidance of long range
missiles to precise targets. When enabled, the accuracy is still available in the signal, but
in an encrypted form that is only available to the United States military & its allies.
Artificial sources
Man-made electromagnetic interference can also disrupt, or jam, GPS signals. In one well
documented case, the entire harbour of Moss Landing, California was unable to receive
GPS signals due to unintentional jamming caused by malfunctioning TV antenna pre-
amplifiers. Intentional jamming is also possible. Generally, stronger signals can interfere
with GPS receivers when they are within radio range, or line of sight.
In my next article I will look at what other forms of GPS technology are available, how to
make the current system cm level accurate as well as what's in store for users of GPS
enabled mobile phones.
Adrian Faccioni
GPSports Systems
References
Trimble Website: http://www.trimble.com/gps/index.shtml
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPS