Introduction to GPS

Editor's Notes

• #2: Good evening everyone! Today I would like to talk about the GPS. I have been developing navigation software using GPS for several years. So I decided to make it my first presentation subject on EPS.
• #3: Have you heard the word GPS? (click) You may saw the commercial film about this octopus having antennas like satellite. This product is called ‘Octo Fund GPS’
• #4: What do you recall when you hear the word ‘GPS’? (click) For many people, a satellite like this one will come across their mind. (click) And for many of North American customers, GPS means the car navigation product.
• #5: GPS is a acronym and it stands for Global Positioning System. It is a system to find the position of something anywhere in the world. The full name of GPS tells you that it’s usage of satellites and two important factors of the system. Time and Range. I’ll tell you why they are so important in my next presentation.
• #6: Now let’s check why the GPS is needed. From the beginning of civilization, people wanted to know where they are or how to go to somewhere.
• #7: In ancient age, there were some systems that show the way, especially while sailing in the sea. Ancient sailors used wind and stars to get the direction.
• #8: Also people have been using compass, map, and other methods to know their location and direction.
• #9: Nowadays, the GPS can tell you where you are!
• #10: Let’s look at a very brief history of GPS. It took 20 years to complete the entire system, and civilians couldn’t utilize the full function of GPS until the year 2000.
• #11: Next, let’s check the composition of GPS. This video shows the main factors that make GPS working.
• #12: As you saw on the last slide, there are three major segments in GPS. Space, Control, and User segment. These three segments make up the GPS system.
• #13: The space segment consist 24 satellites and they are flying over the earth in 6 different orbits. The orbits are spread evenly to cover the whole area of earth.
• #14: Control segment monitors and controls the GPS satellites. There is one master control station, and there are five monitor stations and tree ground antennas.
• #15: This map shows the location of each control station. The master control station is located in Colorado, USA. And other stations are spread all over the world.
• #16: The last segment is User segment. It is consist with various kinds of devices that we use. They receive signal from satellites and calculate the data to get current position and movement. (click) These are some sample devices of user segment. All of them has a tiny chip called GPS module like this one.
• #17: For the last part of today’s presentation, let check the applications of GPS.
• #18: First, there are military applications. Soldiers can use a kind of PDA for personal navigation.
• #19: GPS can be used for cruise missiles to get the missile hit the target precisely.
• #20: GPS can also be used in ‘Search and rescue’ missions. And there is additional function in GPS satellite. They are equipped with some sensors that they can detect a nuclear detonation. When someone explode a nuclear weapon, the GPS system can find the position as soon as possible.
• #21: There are civilian applications of GPS. Vehicles including cars, airplanes, and ships can use GPS to get their position and direction.
• #22: There are various types of application that use GPS data. (such as map-making and land surveying) The device on the right side is called ‘Fish Finder’. It can show the map under the sea and the location of fish for fishers.
• #23: GPS can also be used in outdoor activities. When you go out to hike or ride a bike, you can use GPS to record the track and check it out later. And there is a new kind of outdoor activity that utilize GPS. It is called ‘GeoCaching’ and it’s like some kind of treasure hunting.
• #24: The expansion of GPS usage made new kind of services like LBS. And it made the social network services more interesting. There are several famous services like Twitter, FourSquare, and Google Buzz.
• #25: This is the end of today’s presentation. In my next presentation, I’ll explain how GPS works. It is a technical stuff and can be boring to some people. But I’ll try to make it as interesting as possible.
• #26: Thank you for listening! Any question?