Global Positioning System: Inducted in 1998
Like the Internet, Global Positioning Systems (GPS) seem to be everywhere these days. Originally developed to help the military to track things like ships at sea and the locations of groups of soldiers, it's now regularly being used to track things as mundane as lost pets.
|
Click to
enlarge
|
The true genius of the GPS system is its very simplicity. No matter where you are on Earth, or what time it is, there are always several GPS satellites overhead. A constellation of 24 operating satellites (along with five spares) parade in strictly specified orbits 10,900 miles (20,200 km) high. Together they beam a global "dial tone" of sorts which GPS devices use to determine their location by determining the signal lag from each detected satellite.
While it was the United States that created the first GPS system, the European Union is hoping to launch its own 30-satellite constellation, Galileo, to augment the service offered by GPS and Russia's GLONASS system.
As GPS devices get smaller and cheaper, it seems like getting lost is rapidly becoming a thing of the past.
Next page: Temper Foam
advertisement
