GPS
December 1, 2021
Navigation is something that has rapidly changed with the introduction of the internet and smartphones. When my parents were growing up, they navigated new cities by pulling out paper maps and finding their location using surrounding landmarks and their finger. Nowadays, I pull out my smartphone, type my destination into Google Maps, select a mode of transportation and go. The directions play over the speaker, telling me when to turn left and right until I reach my destination.
This new form of navigation wouldn’t work without the use of GPS, or Global Positioning System. GPS tracks locations by using longitude and latitude to pinpoint exactly where on Earth it is. There are many ways to track longitude and latitude, a common way being satellites. Cell phones are able to use WIFI towers and cellular networks to access GPS data, which is how I access my location on Google Maps on my iPhone.
This new form of navigation wouldn’t work without the use of GPS, or Global Positioning System. GPS tracks locations by using longitude and latitude to pinpoint exactly where on Earth it is. There are many ways to track longitude and latitude, a common way being satellites. Cell phones are able to use WIFI towers and cellular networks to access GPS data, which is how I access my location on Google Maps on my iPhone.
As you can see from the difference between the way my parents navigated to the way I navigate now, this technology has already advanced so much, but I can see how it could be used to aid in the advancement of other technology. For example, there have been many GPS products that have hit the consumer space, such as a GPS dog tracker and GPS watches.
As always with technology, there are certainly privacy concerns associated with tracking your location via GPS. There was a story that broke in 2018 that American soldiers accidentally gave away the location of a secret military base because their Fitbit watches tracked their location. That location was then released into the public by a GPS tracking company, Strava.
As always with technology, there are certainly privacy concerns associated with tracking your location via GPS. There was a story that broke in 2018 that American soldiers accidentally gave away the location of a secret military base because their Fitbit watches tracked their location. That location was then released into the public by a GPS tracking company, Strava.
Figure 1. The secret military base revealed using GPS data.
Do you currently use GPS devices? Do you have concerns about broadcasting your location?