Friday, September 10, 2010
Have you heard about some of the new technology that makes GPS tracking for cars accessible to normal people like you and me? GPS technology is becoming increasingly available to consumers, and one side effect of this is that GPS has become available for many different applications. Today, parents can have large amounts of information about the location and driving activity of their teens with ease.
The Basics of GPS Tracking :
Right now, as you sit and read this article, there are at least 24 satellites orbiting the earth 11 nautical miles above its surface. They are continuously broadcasting signals that specialized receivers are able to pick up. The data that is transmitted by the satellites is processed by the GPS unit to give the user some type of fix on their own location. The specific items that the receiver is going to need is the place in the sky that the satellite transmitted the data from and when exactly it sent it.
A GPS receiver then processes this data and calculates its distance away from the satellite in question. The device will begin by taking the speed of the signal and multiplying it by the amount of time it took the signal to reach the GPS device. The equation for this looks something like that:
Speed x Time = Distance Traveled
This will tell you just how far away you are from one satellite. However, since the tracker only knows how far away it is from one satellite it cannot tell where it is in the world. One satellite just isn't enough. You really need at least two, but more like three, satellites to be able to get a true picture of where you are on the earth's surface. You might know this principle by the name of trilateration and it is very much like triangulation, except that trilateration is about finding an objects position in three dimensional space while triangulation is about finding an objects location in two dimensional space.
Having calculated its own position, the tracker stores that information on its hard drive and then it does one of two things with that information - keeps it or sends it out. A data logger is what a GPS tracking device for cars is called when it commits the position information to its own internal memory system. This type of device is unable to provide real time GPS tracking. For real time updates you need a data pusher. This device will transmit the information that it processed from the satellites to a central location. Here the data will become available to anyone with access to it - it could be a boss seeking to find the location of a company car or a city employee monitoring worker productivity.
The justifications that some will come up with to use GPS tracking for cars are many and valid. Being a technical whiz is not a requirement if you are trying to use one of these devices. All you need is the money to buy the device and the service. The company that you go with will be able to do the rest. Getting a handle on the company you are going to use is crucial, check them out at the Better Business Bureau or talk to customers of the service. If this type of service is up your alley then you should certainly try GPS tracking for cars.
The Basics of GPS Tracking :
Right now, as you sit and read this article, there are at least 24 satellites orbiting the earth 11 nautical miles above its surface. They are continuously broadcasting signals that specialized receivers are able to pick up. The data that is transmitted by the satellites is processed by the GPS unit to give the user some type of fix on their own location. The specific items that the receiver is going to need is the place in the sky that the satellite transmitted the data from and when exactly it sent it.
A GPS receiver then processes this data and calculates its distance away from the satellite in question. The device will begin by taking the speed of the signal and multiplying it by the amount of time it took the signal to reach the GPS device. The equation for this looks something like that:
Speed x Time = Distance Traveled
This will tell you just how far away you are from one satellite. However, since the tracker only knows how far away it is from one satellite it cannot tell where it is in the world. One satellite just isn't enough. You really need at least two, but more like three, satellites to be able to get a true picture of where you are on the earth's surface. You might know this principle by the name of trilateration and it is very much like triangulation, except that trilateration is about finding an objects position in three dimensional space while triangulation is about finding an objects location in two dimensional space.
Having calculated its own position, the tracker stores that information on its hard drive and then it does one of two things with that information - keeps it or sends it out. A data logger is what a GPS tracking device for cars is called when it commits the position information to its own internal memory system. This type of device is unable to provide real time GPS tracking. For real time updates you need a data pusher. This device will transmit the information that it processed from the satellites to a central location. Here the data will become available to anyone with access to it - it could be a boss seeking to find the location of a company car or a city employee monitoring worker productivity.
The justifications that some will come up with to use GPS tracking for cars are many and valid. Being a technical whiz is not a requirement if you are trying to use one of these devices. All you need is the money to buy the device and the service. The company that you go with will be able to do the rest. Getting a handle on the company you are going to use is crucial, check them out at the Better Business Bureau or talk to customers of the service. If this type of service is up your alley then you should certainly try GPS tracking for cars.
Labels: Technology
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