Satellite Communications And The Future Of GPS

The use of Global Position System (GPS) has become quite diverse from automobiles, mobile phones, tourist facilities, city maps, and even pet collars. GPS works through a network (often called constellation) of 27 satellites that move around the Earth in geo synchronous orbit. These satellites exchange relative data to fix the position of one particular object on the surface. Similar to the Internet, the technology was original implemented for military use in order to help precise control of troops as well as getting accurate information about enemy troops and armament placement and movement. And like the Internet it was soon the commercial use that would dominate global reliance on GPS.

Mobiles phones are now more secure because they are outfitted with GPS tracking devices. It is now possible to use mobile communication and GPS technology to create a new type of mobile phone. The implications of this combination are so vast that those experts who saw only trouble in the future of wireless communication have begun to entertain some hope. There are developments in progress right now that would have seemed strictly science fiction material a few years ago. Some opinions even go so far as to say that the conventional means of human communication might just disappear if the plans under development succeed to their maximum.

Road-traffic management would itself be improved to quite an extent. For example, some of the newer cars are equipped with GPS technology so sophisticated that it acts like an airplane Black Box. The device can record data (for a short duration) like speed of vehicle, whether brakes were applied or not, if the seatbelt was used or not, so on, and of course, the precise location of the vehicle right down to a few feet accuracy. Another interested aspect is that apart from devices like phones and cars, GPS technology is available in sizes small enough to fit into pet collars. The collars can further be programmed to define a territory range and should the pet go outside this specified area, an instant alert is sent to the owner’s cell phone.

Other uses of GPS include making accurate maps, tracking of endangered species, and predicting some types of natural disasters. Farmers too may use the GPS system to get a fix on farmland that is less fertile and to spot wet and dry areas. This allows for better land use and precise farming techniques.

GPS technology is a bit invasive because it permits the precise tracking of human beings at all times. This raises issue regarding privacy of the individual. This is one of the biggest hurdles faced by a wider use of GPS. It is essential that people realize the inherent dangers of any technology while at the same time using it prudently. A good example is that car rental companies could use GPS records and accuse the renter of having violated traffic laws. While such a feature is ideal for the police it is completely unacceptable from a service provider. Controls are required to prevent such violations.

We have already faced the severe problems with identity protection and theft over the Internet and it would be wise to learn from those problems and make sure the GPS implementation comes with inbuilt safeguards and checks to ensure that the rights and privacy of the individual are not sacrificed to technology.