Where Am I
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Written by Bradley S. Melara
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Monday, 09 March 2009 |
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Let your GPS receiver show you the way.
When Claudia Balmaceda goes on a hike, she packs more than just a canteen and a compass. The 40-year-old Argentine also takes along a GPS receiver to help her navigate through the woods and along the streams. "I don't want to get lost out there," says Balmaceda, a frequent day-tripper. "With my GPS, I know I can go out in unfamiliar areas and still find my way back. I've been able to go places I wouldn't dare go with just a compass."
Indeed, GPS--or Global Positioning System--has become the new compass of the 21st century. Campers and hikers have turned to the technology as a way to track new trails, find out where they are, and assure themselves that they will never again get lost. But it's not just day-packers who have embraced GPS, it's being used by people to help them in everything from fishing to driving.
"Until recently, GPS navigation devices have been complicated to use and have appealed mainly to high-tech early adopters," says Dave Marsh, director of navigation products for Cobra, which makes GPS equipment. "Now, advances such as large, easy-to-read screens, beaming of addresses from PDAs, and no longer needing PCs or cumbersome CDs have created a much more user-friendly experience, attractive to mainstream consumers."
The technology behind GPS goes back decades to when the U.S. Department of Defense launched dozens of satellites for military use. It has become a popular tool for civilians because GPS works in any weather condition, anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day. There are no subscription fees or set-up charges.
The way it works is that GPS satellites circle the Earth twice a day and transmit signal information to Earth. GPS receivers take this information and use triangulation to calculate the user's exact location. The position can then be displayed on the GPS unit's moving electronic map, which includes nearby landmarks, streets, and other geographical details.
The market has skyrocketed because systems have developed to be more user friendly and have shrunk in size; GPS units now fit on a wristwatch or can be clipped to a belt. They have also come down in price, starting at around $100.
Golf courses around the country are using GPS to help golfers figure out how to improve their scores by giving the player the ability to see how far the hole is from their ball regardless of where they are on the course with a golf cart GPS unit. Fishermen use GPS to find their way back to shore in a fog or to remember how to get to a lucky fishing hole.
The Forerunner 101, by Garmin, which sells for around $100, features an integrated GPS sensor that accurately measures time, speed, distance, and pace information for an athlete. The sensor also calculates calories burned based on the user's body weight and the workout distance, duration, and slope changes. Hikers have become enamored with the technology because it lets them charter new trails without a map or prior knowledge of the area.
The Magellan eXplorist 100, also around $100, is simple enough for first-time users. Its one-button access quickly takes users directly to important functions: the menu, personal points-of-interest storage, and three navigation screens with track plotting to help hikers find a trail and then find their way back. It also saves up to 500 waypoints and 20 routes.
For road travelers, GPS has taken the place of stopping at the local gas station to ask for directions. Cobra Electronics Corp., recently unveiled its NavOne 3000 Mobile Navigation System. The $1,300 unit uses GPS to feature turn-by-turn directions and voice guidance to an address or two million points of interest. It includes North American street level detail maps on board the system's disk drive with no downloading required. Spanish-speakers can get the unit to provide directions en espa?ol.
With GPS technology continuing to grow and more applications being found for the technology, industry insiders say GPS will do to the compass what the computer did to typewriters--make them obsolete.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 09 March 2009 )
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