Satellite navigation advances

Article By:

Straus, Joe M. The Aerospace Corporation, Los Angeles, California.

Powell, Thomas M. Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California.

Last reviewed:2009

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.YB090052

The Global Positioning System (GPS) has revolutionized navigation and precise timing applications for countless military and civilian users worldwide. Businesses, and indeed entire industries worldwide, have been created using the position and timing information provided by GPS, which was developed by the U.S. government. Users have come to expect highly reliable and accurate service from GPS, and as a result GPS has become the first truly global utility. The benefits of satellite-based navigation, which are demonstrated by GPS, have motivated other governments to develop their own independent Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). On the other hand, the limitations of standalone GPS are motivating innovative research and development to make position, velocity, and timing (PVT) technology even more accurate, reliable, and pervasive. Near-term advances in satellite navigation will be defined by the proliferation of new and modernized GNSS systems and the services they offer, along with the new and improved applications of GNSS technology that will provide more robust PVT services to users worldwide.

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