Global Positioning System Technology: Theory and the Methods of its Application

Thomas U. Omali¹ , Sylvester B.M. Akpata²

1. National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), Nigeria.
2. Department of Geoinformatics & Surveying, University of Abuja, FCT Abuja, Nigeria.

Section:Review Paper, Product Type: Journal-Paper
Vol.10 , Issue.5 , pp.70-76, May-2024

Online published on May 31, 2024

Copyright © Thomas U. Omali, Sylvester B.M. Akpata . This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
 

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Abstract :
The Soviet Union launches Sputnik on the 4th of October, 1957 as the first artificial satellite to orbit around the Earth. Since then, there have been a significant progress in artificial satellite technology. This is owing to the fact that artificial satellite systems are essential for many man’s activities including communication, earth observation, navigation, and positioning, etc. Satellite-based Navigation System such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) encompass equipment placed in the space orbit, and on the ground for determination of the coordinates and trajectory parameters of an object. The GPS, which was developed, established and managed by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) does not require the user to transmit any data. It operates independently of any telephonic or internet reception even though these technologies can enhance the usefulness of its positioning information. There have been a substantial progress in the performance of the GPS for diverse applications with different level of accuracy in recent time. Thus, this paper focuses on the GPS technology with specific interest in the principle upon which it is based and the techniques for its application. Basically, there are two GPS measurements for positioning including pseudorange and carrier phase observations. Also, there are two major methods for GPS-based observation including relative positioning, and absolute positioning. However, other methods have emerged from the variations and modifications of these primary techniques.

Key-Words / Index Term :
Coordinates, GNSS, navigation, positioning, radio frequency, signals

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