Benefits, How to Work, and Types of Vehicles that Use GPS Satellites

Satellite GPS is a satellite navigation system used to determine locations and times around the world. This system was originally developed by the United States Department of Defense for military purposes, but is now widely used for a variety of civilian applications, such as vehicle navigation, mapping, surveying, and more.

In everyday use, GPS allows us to determine our current location, calculate the shortest or fastest route between two locations, track vehicle movements, and even provide information such as speed and elevation. GPS is also used in various industries such as aircraft navigation, ship navigation, terrain mapping and scientific research. Check out more of the following TransTRACK articles!

Benefits of Satellite GPS?

Here are the benefits of satellite GPS that you must know. These benefits are:

Navigation

The most common use of GPS is in navigation. This allows users to find their location with high accuracy and get exact directions to reach their destination. Whether in private vehicles, public transportation, or on foot, GPS helps people not get lost and reach their destination more easily.

Transportation

GPS plays a key role in the navigation systems of vehicles, including cars, trucks and aviation. This system helps avoid traffic jams, find alternative routes and optimize trips. In aviation, GPS enables safer and more accurate flights.

Mapping

GPS is used in geographic mapping and surveying to create accurate digital maps. It is useful in urban planning, infrastructure development, monitoring of geographic changes and scientific research.

Weather Application

GPS is used in weather observation systems to measure changes in atmospheric humidity and other weather conditions. This data helps in more accurate weather forecasts.

Location Services

Many phone-based applications and services use location information from GPS to provide users with relevant content and services, such as finding nearby restaurants, traffic alerts, and more.

Security

GPS can be used in emergency situations to track a person’s position, such as in search and rescue. It is also useful in personal security, such as tracking lost or stolen devices or vehicles.

As for the benefits of Hybrid GPS itself are:

Hybrid GPS refers to combining data from multiple location sources, including satellite GPS, cellular networks, Wi-Fi, inertial sensors, and other technologies. This approach has several benefits:

Higher Accuracy

By combining data from multiple sources, hybrid GPS can provide higher accuracy in determining location, especially in environments with poor GPS coverage, such as in buildings or dense urban areas.

Better Availability

When satellite GPS signals are blocked by buildings or other obstacles, hybrid GPS can still rely on information from cellular or Wi-Fi networks to still provide useful location information.

More Efficient Energy Consumption

The use of hybrid GPS can reduce the device’s power consumption because it can switch between more power-efficient location sources.

Improved Initiation Speed

Hybrid GPS can speed up the time it takes to find an accurate initial location when the device is turned on.

Activity Monitoring

Using inertial sensors, hybrid GPS can recognize a user’s activity, such as walking or running, which can be used in applications such as fitness or gesture-based navigation.

How Does Satellite GPS Work?

GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites work on the principle of trilateration, which is a geometric method for determining position using the relative distances of three or more known reference points. In the case of GPS, these “reference points” are GPS satellites orbiting the Earth. Here is how satellite GPS works in general:

GPS satellites

There are a number of GPS satellites that orbit the Earth in predetermined trajectories. Each of these satellites is equipped with a highly precise atomic clock and a radio transmitter that transmits signals containing information about the satellite’s position and transmission time.

GPS receiver

A receiving GPS device, such as a smartphone or navigation device, receives signals from several different GPS satellites. The device also has an internal clock which can synchronize with the time it is receiving from a GPS signal.

Time and Distance

Signals from GPS satellites contain information about the time when the signal was sent by the satellite and the position of the satellite at that time. Due to the known speed of light (approximately 299,792,458 meters per second), GPS devices can calculate the time it takes for the signal to reach the receiving device.

Trilateration

By receiving signals from three or more different GPS satellites, the GPS device can calculate its distance from each satellite based on the time difference between the signal sending time and the signal receiving time. This is known as “trilateration” because three points are needed to determine the 2D position, whereas four points are used to determine the 3D position (including elevation).

Position Calculation

By having relative distance information from three or more satellites, a GPS device can use the math of trigonometry to calculate its position with great accuracy. This process involves the intersection of a circle or sphere with a radius corresponding to the measured distance from each satellite.

Data Processing

GPS devices internally process time and distance information from visible satellites to calculate the user’s geographic position, including latitude, longitude, and elevation.

Display and Navigation

Once the position is calculated, the GPS device can display the user’s location on a digital map and provide directions to reach the desired destination.

Update Anytime

The GPS device continuously receives signals from GPS satellites to update its position in real time and ensure constant accuracy.

This is the essence of how satellite GPS works. By receiving signals from several satellites and performing complex mathematical calculations, GPS devices can pinpoint locations with incredible accuracy almost anywhere in the world.

Vehicles that can use GPS Satellites

Many types of vehicles can use satellite GPS for navigation and tracking. Here are some examples of vehicles that commonly use GPS:

Private car

Most modern cars are equipped with a GPS navigation system, either integrated into the vehicle or in the form of a separate device such as a portable GPS. GPS helps drivers find the best route, avoid traffic jams and reach their destination with accuracy.

Trucks and Commercial Vehicles

GPS is essential in fleet management to optimize delivery routes, manage travel time and ensure on-time delivery. This also helps to avoid roads that are not suitable for oversized trucks.

Public transport

Many public transportation systems such as buses and trains use GPS to provide accurate time of arrival information to passengers, as well as to track and regulate vehicle movements.

Aircraft

Air navigation uses GPS to calculate the aircraft’s position in flight, assisting pilots in following a precise flight path, landing accurately, and in-flight navigation.

Boat

GPS is also used in maritime navigation to determine the position of ships at sea, assisting the captain in avoiding danger and following a set route.

Off Road Vehicles

Such as farm tractors, heavy construction equipment or other off-road vehicles, which use GPS for land mapping, monitoring and directing activities over large areas.

Motorcycle

Some motorcycles are equipped with a GPS navigation system to help the rider find an efficient route and locate specific locations.

Online Vehicles (Ride-Sharing)

Online ride-hailing apps like Uber or Lyft use GPS to connect drivers and passengers, and provide accurate location information to both parties.

Special Vehicles (Ambulance, Fire, Police)

Emergency vehicles often use GPS to quickly respond to emergency calls, identify their exact location and plan the fastest route.

Space Vehicle

Whether communication, reconnaissance or scientific satellites, space vehicles also use GPS navigation systems to maintain their position and orientation in space.

So, almost any type of vehicle can use satellite GPS for navigation, tracking and movement management.

With the development of technology, the benefits of satellite GPS in everyday life are increasingly being expanded. However, challenges such as unstable coverage in dense urban areas or inside buildings are often a bottleneck. This is why we at TransTRACK introduce our innovative solution: Hybrid GPS.

Hybrid GPS is a step forward in navigation that combines the advantages of satellite GPS with other modern technologies such as cellular networks and Wi-Fi. By integrating these location sources, we deliver consistent and higher accuracy, even in places that are difficult to reach with traditional GPS signals.

Not only does it provide better accuracy, but TransTRACK’s Hybrid GPS also provides higher energy efficiency, keeping your device’s battery running longer. In a world that is constantly moving, the faster initiation speed is also a strength of Hybrid GPS, ensuring you get location information instantly as soon as the device is turned on.

No matter what type of vehicle or device you’re using, TransTRACK Hybrid GPS is here to make sure you’re always on the right track. Discover a better navigation experience and unmatched accuracy with Hybrid GPS from TransTRACK. Come join us on the journey to a better and more reliable navigation future.