GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM

S.RAMJI

A.RAMKUMAR

06341A0465

06341A0403

ramjisimhadri.369@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
GPS for all reasons. Did you
know GPS could be used for paying
bills, remote controlling your car,
tracking busses and containers and even
for sport? Find out about its out-of-thebox Applications
The Global Positioning System
(GPS) is a satellite-based navigation
system made up of a network of 24
satellites placed into orbit by the U.S.
Department
of
Defense(US
Defense).GPS is funded by and
controlled by the U. S. Department of
Defense (DOD).
GPS Satellite is about 2000
pounds, 17 feet with solar panels
extended and it requires about less than
50 watts. This works with solar energy.
GPS provides specially coded
satellite signals that can be processed in
a GPS receiver, enabling the receiver to
compute position, velocity and time.
Four GPS satellite signals are used to
compute positions in three dimensions
and the time offset in the receiver clock.

ram_raja54@yahoo.com

Introduction:
The Global Positioning System
(GPS) is a satellite-based navigation
system made up of a network of 24
satellites placed into orbit by the U.S.
Department
of
Defense
(US
Defense).GPS is used for tracking or
finding the position of any object on the
earth.

GPS is funded by and controlled

by the U. S. Department of
Defense (DOD).
GPS provides specially coded
satellite signals that can be
processed in a GPS receiver,
enabling the receiver to compute
position, velocity and time.

Four GPS satellite signals are used to

compute positions in three dimensions
and the time offset in the receiver clock.
NAVSTAR GPS - Navigation Signal
Timing and Ranging G P S.

Applications:
Location- determining a basic position.
Navigation - getting from one location to
another.Tracking - monitoring the
movement of people and things.
Mapping- creating maps.
Timing - providing precise timing

GPS was originally intended for

military applications, but in the 1980s,
the government made the system
available for civilian use. GPS works in

any weather conditions, anywhere in the

world, 24 hours a day. Over fifty GPS
satellites such as this NAVSTAR have
been launched since 1978. this was
funded by U.S. DOD at a cost of about
US$13 billion. There are no subscription
fees or setup charges to use GPS; access
is free to all users, including those in
other countries.

About GPS Satellites:

The GPS satellite orbiting Earth at
11,000 miles. The system consists of a
"constellation" of at least 24 satellites in
6 orbital planes. The GPS satellites were
initially manufactured by Rockwell; the
first was launched in February 1978, and
the most recent was launched November
6, 2004(Delta II rocket). The first 10
satellites were development satellites,
called Block I. From 1989 to 1993, 23
production satellites, called Block II
were launched. The launch of the 24th
satellite in 1994 completed the system.
The DOD keeps 4 satellites in reserve to
replace any destroyed or defective
satellites. The satellites are positioned so
that signals from six of them can be
received nearly 100 percent of the time
at any point on earth. Each satellite
circles the Earth twice every day at an
altitude of 20,200 kilometers (12,600
miles).
With
military
accuracy
restrictions partially lifted in March
1996 and fully lifted in May 2000, GPS
can now pinpoint the location of objects
as small as a penny anywhere on the
earths surface. This GPS satellites are
also named as Space Vehicles (SV`s) by
U.S.Defence.

Equipments used in GPS:

This consists of a GPS receiver, GPS
equipped device and also the Space
vehicles. GPS provides specially coded
satellite signals that can be processed in
a GPS receiver, enabling the receiver to
compute position, velocity and time.

Basically GPS works by using four GPS

satellite signals to compute positions in
three dimensions (and the time offset) in
the receiver clock. So by very accurately
measuring our distance from these
satellites a user can triangulate their
position anywhere on earth. GPS
receivers have been miniaturized to just
a few integrated circuits and so are
becoming very economical. And that
makes the technology accessible to
virtually everyone. These days GPS is
finding its way into cars, boats, planes,
construction equipment, movie making
gear, farm machinery, even laptop
computers. This report shows the various
features of GPS and the reasons why it
may soon become almost as basic as the
telephone.

GPS Satellite Constellation:

The satellite constellation consists of the
nominal 24-satellite constellation. They
transmit signals (at 1575.42 MHz) that
can be detected by receivers on the
ground. The satellites are positioned in
six Earth-centered orbital planes with
four satellites in each plane. This means
that signals from six of them can be
received 100 percent of the time at any
point on earth. The nominal orbital
period of a GPS satellite is one half of a
sidereal day or 11 hr 58 min. The orbits
are nearly circular and equally spaced
about the equator at a 60 degree
separation with an inclination relative to
the equator of nominally 55 degrees.
The orbital radius is approximately
26,600 km (i.e., distance from satellite to
centre of mass of the earth).
GPS satellites transmit two low
power radio signals, designated L1 and
L2. Civilian GPS uses the L1 frequency
of 1575.42 MHz in the UHF band. A
GPS signal contains three different bits
of information a pseudo-random code
ephemeris data and almanac data. The

pseudo-random code is simply an I.D.

code that identifies which satellite is
transmitting
information.
Several
different notations are used to refer to
the satellites in their orbits. One
particular notation assigns a letter to
each orbital plane (i.e., A, B, C, D, E,
and F) with each satellite within a plane
assigned a number from 1 to 4. Thus, a
satellite referenced as B3 refers to
satellite number 3 in orbital plane B. A
second notation used is a NAVSTAR
satellite number assigned by the U.S. Air
Force. This notation is in the form of a
space vehicle number (SVN) 11 to refer
to NAVSTAR satellite 11.

WORKING:
GPS works in five logical steps:
1. The basis of GPS is "triangulation"
from satellites.
2. To "triangulate," a GPS receiver
measures distance using the travel
time of radio signals.
3. To measure travel time, GPS needs
very accurate timing which it
achieves with some tricks.
4. Along with distance, you need to
know exactly where the satellites are
in space. High orbits and careful
monitoring are the secret.
5. Finally you must correct for any
delays the signal experiences as it
travels through the atmosphere.

Triangulation???
We're using the word "triangulation"
very loosely here because it's a word

most people can understand, but purists

would not call what GPS does
"triangulation" because no angles are
involved. It's really "trilateration."
(Meaning of the word TRILATERAL:
of, on or with 3 sides & 3 parties)That's
right, by very, very accurately measuring
our distance from three satellites we can
triangulation our position anywhere on
earth.The receiver does not need a
precise clock, as in the onboard clock of
satellite but does need a clock with good
short-term stability and the ability to
receive signals from four satellites in
order to determine its own latitude,
longitude, elevation, and the precise
time.

Fig : GPS clock

The receiver computes the
distance to each of the four satellites
from the difference between local time
and the time the satellite signals were
sent (this distance is called a
pseudorange) . It then decodes the
satellites' locations from their radio
signals and an internal database. The
receiver should now be located at the
intersection of four spheres, one around
each satellite, with a radius equal to the
time delay between the satellite and the
receiver multiplied by the speed of the
radio signals.

Determining Your Position:

Suppose we measure our distance
from a satellite and find it to be 11,000
miles (how it is measured is covered
later). Knowing that we're 11,000 miles
from a particular satellite narrows down
all the possible locations we could be in

the whole universe to the surface of a

sphere that is centered on this satellite
and has a radius of 11,000 miles.
Next, say we measure our distance to a
second satellite and find out that it's
12,000 miles away. That tells us that
we're not only on the first sphere but
we're also on a sphere that's 12,000
miles from the second satellite, i.e.
somewhere on the circle where these two
spheres intersect. If we then make a
measurement from a third satellite and
find that we're 13,000 miles from that
one, that narrows our position down
even further, to the two points where the
13,000 mile sphere cuts through the
circle that's the intersection of the first
two spheres. So by ranging from three
satellites we can narrow our position to
just two points in space. To decide
which one is our true location we could
make a fourth measurement. But usually
one of the two points is a ridiculous
answer (either too far from Earth or
moving at an impossible velocity) and
therefore can be rejected without a
measurement.

Measuring Your Distance:

How the satellites actually measure the
distance is quite different from
determining
your
position
and

essentially involves using the travel time

of a radio message from the satellite to a
ground receiver. To make the
measurement we assume that both the
satellite and our receiver are generating
the same psedo-random code at exactly
the same time.
In the case of GPS we're
measuring a radio signal so the velocity
is going to be the speed of light or
roughly 186,000 miles per second.
The Pseudo Random Code is a
fundamental part of GPS.Since each
satellite has its own unique PseudoRandom Code this complexity also
guarantees that the receiver won't
accidentally pick up another satellite's
signal. So all the satellites can use the
same frequency without jamming each
other
By comparing how late the
satellite's pseudo-random code appears
compared to our receiver's code, we
determine how long it took to reach us.
Multiply that travel time by the speed of
light and you obtain the distance
between the receiver and the satellite.
However this calls for precise timing to
determine the interval between the code
being generated at the receiver and
received from space. On the satellite
side, timing is almost perfect due to their
atomic clocks installed within each
satellite. However as it would be
extremely uneconomical for receiver to
use atomic clocks a different method
must be found. GPS solves this problem
by using an extra satellite measurement
for the following reason: If our receiver's
clocks were perfect, then all our satellite
ranges would intersect at a single point our position. But with imperfect clocks,
a fourth measurement, will not intersect

with the first three satellite ranges. So

the receiver's computer will then
calculate a single correction factor that it
can subtract from all its timing
measurements that would cause them all
to intersect at a single point. That
correction brings the receiver's clock
back into sync with universal time ,
ensuring (once the correction is applied
to all the rest of the receivers
measurements) precise positioning.
Error Correction
As would be expected, a variety
of different errors can occur within the
system, some of which are natural,
whilst others are artificial. First of all, a
basic assumption, the speed of light, is
not constant as this value changes as the
satellite signals travel through the
atmosphere. As a GPS signal passes
through the charged particles of the
ionosphere and then through the water
vapour of the troposphere it gets slowed
down, and this creates the same kind of
error as bad clocks. This problem is
tackled by attempting to use modelling
of the atmospheric conditions of the day,
and using dual-frequency measurement,
i.e. comparing the relative speeds of two
different signals. Another problem is
multipath error, this is when the signal
may bounce off various local
obstructions before it gets to our
receiver. Sophisticated signal rejection
techniques are used to minimize this
problem.

Fig: Error due to the tall building.

Uses of GPS Technology

GPS technology has matured into a
resource that goes far beyond its
original design goals. These days
people from a plethora of professions
are using GPS in ways that make
their work more productive, safer,
and sometimes even easier. There are
five main uses of GPS today:
Location- determining a basic
position.
Navigation - getting from one
location to another.
Tracking - monitoring the movement
of people and things.
Mapping- creating maps.
Timing - providing precise timing .

APPLICATIONS:
Astronomers,
power
companies,
computer networks, communications
systems, banks, and radio and television
stations can benefit from this precise
timing. One investment banking firm
uses GPS to guarantee their transactions
are recorded simultaneously at all offices
around the world. And a major Pacific
Northwest utility company makes sure

their power is distributed at just the right

time along their 14,797 miles of
transmission lines. Chicago developed a
GPS tracking system to monitor
emergency vehicles through their streets,
saving precious time responding to 911
calls. And on the commercial front, two
taxi companies in Australia track their
cabs for better profit and improved
safety.The primary military purposes are
to allow improved command and control
of forces through improved locational
awareness, and to facilitate accurate
targeting of smart bombs, cruise
missiles, or other munitions.

GPS for private and commercial

use
The GPS system is free for everyone to
use, all that is needed is a GPS receiver,
which costs about $90 and up (March
2005).

GPS on airplanes
Most airline companies allow private use
of ordinary GPS units on their flights,
except during landing and take-off

GPS for the visually impaired

The projects of the navigation system
using GPS for the visually impaired have
been conducted quite a few times. GPS
was introduced in the late 80s and since
then there have been several research
projects such as MoBIC, Drishti, and
Brunel Navigation System for the Blind,
NOPPA, BrailleNote GPS and Trekker.

"Where am I?"
The first and most obvious application of
GPS is the simple determination of a
"position" or location. GPS is the first

positioning system to offer highly

precise location data for any point on the
planet, in any weather
On the water : A New Zealand
commercial fishing company uses GPS
so they can return to their best fishing
holes without wandering into the wrong
waters in the process.
GPS is very popular in fleet
management. Many companies have
fitted their trucks or busses with tracking
devices which means thousands of
vehicles can be monitored form a single
computer.(time if bus stops, area, speed)
A GPS machine can be integrated with
any type of machine. This can be used to
make bills on gas, electricity & water
etc.
GPS devices can be fitted to your car
and can be used as remote to all parts of
your car, U can now about the details of
fuel & also the music run in your car.

MAINTANENCE
The cost of maintaining the system is
approximately US$400 million per year,
including the replacement of aging
satellites. For normal civilian to use GPS
he/she must have GPS receiver system
which costs normally of about 90$.
European concern about the level of
control over the GPS network and
commercial issues has resulted in the
planned GALILEO positioning system.
Russia already operates an independent
system called GLONASS (global
navigation system), although with only
twelve active satellites as of 2004, the
system is of limited usefulness.

Awards:
Two GPS developers have received the National Academy of Engineering Charles Stark
Draper prize year 2003:

Ivan Getting, emeritus president of The Aerospace Corporation and engineer at

the Massachusetts Institute of Technology established the basis for GPS,
improving on the World War II land-based radio system called LORAN (Longrange Radio Aid to Navigation).
Bradford Parkinson, teacher of aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford University
developed the system.

REFERENCES:
[1] Muller N. J.; Desktop Encyclopedia of Telecommunications ; 1998
[2] Kaplan E.D. ; Understanding GPS , Principles & Applications ; 1996
[3] Lichtenegger B.H., Collins J. ; GPS: Theory and Practice ; 1994
[4] United States Coast Guard Navigation Center.
<http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/>
[5] InfoTooth Knowledge Base
<http://www.palowireless.com/infotooth/knowbase.asp>
[6] Trimble GPS Tutorial
http://www.trimble.com/gps/