IMPLICATIONS OF GPS IN HUMAN LIFE

- Sagar Mukherjee Trying to figure out where you are and where you are going is one of man’s favorite pastimes which gradually evolved into a necessity as he stepped into the modern life. Navigation and positioning are crucial to so many activities yet the process has always been rather clumsy and incompetent. Over years scientists had been in search of a technology that would suffice the growing needs of navigation and global positioning. Finally the U.S. Department of Defense decided that their military must have the technology which could overcome their needs of global positioning, navigating and targeting. Thus emerged the elite technique to suffice their needs- the GPS or Global Positioning System, a system that changed navigation forever. What is GPS? Now we may ask the question- What is GPS? A small and easy looking question, but not that easy to answer. To under the concept we must know that GPS or the Global Positioning System is a worldwide radio-navigation system comprised of a constellation of 24 satellites and their ground stations. GPS uses these “man-made” stars as reference points to calculate positions accurate to a matter of meters (and sometimes centimeters with advanced GPS devices). Nowadays GPS devices are miniaturized to just few integrated circuits and so are very economical. This makes the technology accessible to virtually everyone. GPS is also finding its way into cars, boats, planes, machines, construction equipments, laptops and even cell phones! Why we need it? GPS technology has matured into a resource that goes far beyond its original goal. Nowadays GPS is not only used as a tool for military operations, but as an important commodity for modern day living. These days scientists, farmers, soldiers, pilots, surveyors, hikers, delivery drivers,sailors, policemen and fire-fighters, viz. people from every profession use GPS in ways that make their work more productive, safer, and sometimes even easier. Though the uses of GPS are virtually unlimited, the applications of the technology can be narrowed down to four categories. Location : The first and the most obvious application of GPS is the simple determination of a position or location. GPS is the first positioning system to offer highly precise location data from any point on the planet, in any weather. For example,if a hiker gets stranded in middle of a desert with nothing but a GPS device with him, it would be easy for rescuers to find the hiker. The GPS device would send a signal so that the rescuers can track the signal and find the stranded person. Navigation: GPS was originally designed to provide navigation information for ships and planes. GPS may be useful for determining an exact location but it is also important to know how to get to somewhere else. So it is no surprise that this technology is so useful for navigating purposes on water, air and land. It's interesting to know that GPS has revolutionized the waterways and made them more precise than ever. Tracking: If navigation is the process of getting from one location to another, tracking is the process of monitoring the movement. Commerce relies on fleets of vehicles to deliver goods through nationwide corridors, GPS tracking devices effectively directs the bottom-line implications of fleet management such as telling a customer when the package will arrive or even help tankers avoid hazards. GPS used in conjunction with communication links and computers can regulate application in agriculture, mass transit, urban delivery, public safety and vessel and vehicle tracking. For these reasons police, ambulance and fire departments use GPS based AVL ( Automatic Vehicle Location ) Manager to pinpoint both the location of emergency and the location of nearest response vehicle. Mapping: In this big world, using GPS to survey and map precisely helps in saving both time and money. Mapping is the art and science of using GPS to locate items, then create maps and models of everything. GPS makes it possible for a single surveyor to accomplish in a day what would otherwise take weeks for an entire team. Mapping anything anywhere has become an easy job with the help of GPS technology. Everything can be mapped with GPS guided systems; mountains, rivers, forests as well as roads routes and city streets. Even endangered animals, precious minerals and other resources, damage and disasters and trash and archaeological treasures can be mapped with this technology. GPS IS Mapping the world. Technological Impact From the very day of its birth, GPS technology has been revolutionising the modern world. Locating to mapping, navigating to setting time, GPS devices had shown their credibility in all the aspects. GPS tracking devices are nowadays even used in medical science. GPS devices are even installed in cell phones so that one can use it cases of emergency. Truly, it is a huge job and to some extend an impossible one just to sum up the utilities of the Global Positioning System. Though GPS is a great help to man, it is undeniable that sometimes ill usage of this technology can jeopardize a some one's life and profession. Taking undue advantage of this system to hack and track someones life is legally and morally objectionable. But if these negligible demerits are set apart, it is undeniable that GPS is one of the greatest discoveries of mankind. GPS is the answer to the needs of today's man; to stay up-to-date with the fast moving time, to be in touch with their loved ones and to know where you are and where to go. GPS is the future and is here to stay and revolutionise human life.