Almost every smart device uses GPS to track and monitor your location, and other physical activities over a distance. It helps you navigate from Point A to Point B.

But do you know, how GPS does this, how does GPS work, and what are its other uses?
Well, we’ll discuss the same here in this article. Let’s understand how the GPS system works, what it is used for, how accurate it is, and its receivers and modules work.

A Brief History of Global positioning system

Humans have been practicing navigation for millions of years with the help of the Sun, Moon, and stars. Global positioning system is an advancement to the same technology in the 20th century, using space-age technology.
The first peek into GPS was witnessed when Russia launched its first Sputnik 1 satellite in 1957. Soon after that, the US Department of Defense began exploring the geolocation capabilities for submarine navigation.
Although the GPS was made available to the public in 1983 by the US government, the control of data was kept by the government itself. It was only in 2000 when the companies and the public finally gained complete access to using the Global positioning system.

What is GPS and How Does it Work?

GPS, or Global Positioning System, provides navigation, positioning, and timing measurements. GPS tracking system uses satellites, receivers, and algorithms to synchronize various locations, time data, and velocity. A GPS system’s synchronization is used for land, sea, and air travel.

Key Elements of Global Positioning System

A GPS tracking system is made up of three different elements, also known as segments. These segments work collectively to provide you with location information.
The three segments that make key elements of the Indian GPS system are:

Space/ Satellites: The first element is satellites orbiting the Earth in space. These satellites transmit data signals to users based on their geographical location and time of the day.

Ground Control: The ground control, also known as the ‘control segment’ consists of ground antenna, master control stations, and monitor stations on the Earth. Activities in the control segment include operating and tracking the satellites in space and monitoring their transmissions. These monitoring stations are in all the continents of the world including Europe, North & South America, Asia, Africa, and Australia.

User Equipment: It is the end-user Global positioning system receiver and transmitter equipment. These include items such as smartphones, watches, and other telematic devices.

How Does GPS Technology Work?

Let’s understand how GPS works in detail by understanding the technology and concepts used behind it.
The GPS tracking system works on a unique technique known as trilateration. Using this technique, you can calculate velocity, elevation, and location by collecting signals from satellites to determine the information of output location.
So, in simple words, satellites that are orbiting the Earth in space send signals that are to be read and interpreted through a GPS device located near or on the Earth’s surface. To calculate the exact location, a GPS tracking device should be able to read signals from at least four satellites.

In these network circles, each satellite orbits the Earth twice a day while sending across a unique signal, time, and orbital parameters. The GPS tracking device can read signals from six or more satellites at any given point in time.
So, when a GPS device picks up a microwave signal broadcasted by a single satellite, it calculates the distance between the GPS device and the satellite. But, as the Global positioning system can only calculate the distance from a satellite, a single satellite is not enough to provide the required information about the location.

Also, satellites don’t provide any information about the angles, so the location picked by the Global positioning system device could be anywhere on the Earth’s surface area.