All in-car navigation systems, driving apps, and mobile navigation apps like Google Maps all rely on GPS to get us from point A to point B. But what is GPS and how does it work?
GPS, how does it work? | ICT #12
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a U.S. government navigation system that consists of three main components:
The four people usually credited with the invention of GPS are Ivan Getting, Bradford Parkinson, Roger L. Easton, and Gladys West. According to Lemelson-MIT, it was Getting who first conceived of GPS as we know it today as a concept that uses "a system of satellites to produce precise positioning data for fast-moving objects such as rockets and airplanes."
Parkinson's contribution to GPS came in 1972, when he took charge of the U.S. Department of Defense's GPS program. In this role, Parkinson was able to build on Getting's original ideas. By 1978, Parkinson's GPS development project, known as the NAVSTAR GPS system, was complete and accurate to within three meters.
