GPS Systems

One of mans goals throughout the years has been determining his position in the world and that of those around him in order to explore, navigate and learn about his surroundings. Until recently this involved complicated readings using maps and compasses to gain a rough understanding of where you were in relation to your surroundings but now a system that is rapidly increasing in popularity, GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) makes this process a lot easier.

GPS came about when the US Ministry of Defence decided that they needed a more reliable way to figure out exactly where an individual man or vehicle was in the world and therefore they invested billions in a sophisticated satellite system to exactly pinpoint a position of a device on the globe. The system works using a constellation of 24 satellites and their base stations as reference points so that any device of the earths surface can triangulate its position exactly by measuring the time taken for radio signals to come from the satellites; the system is accurate on average to a metre or so.

This technology is becoming more and more prevalent in modern day devices ranging from car navigation systems, boat mapping systems and even modern computers. This has its obvious uses:
Location - You can easily find your current location in the world, even down to a number of centimetres wherever you are; especially useful if in remote areas of the world or at sea.
Navigation - Obviously if you know your current position and the positions of the objects around you then you are able to navigate the best route from one place to another.
Tracking - You can easily monitor the movement of people and objects in the world; especially good for tracking the military activity of countries considered hostile.
Mapping - Sophisticated and accurate maps can be created of the world in a more accurate way than would be possible without GPS. This is especially useful for areas of the world that haven´t yet been properly mapped.

As a good use for GPS, lets say for example that you have a GPS device in your car then the system can instantly pinpoint exactly where you are in the world. You can then state where you want to end up ultimately and the system will work out the best route for you based on the road maps stored in its database and guide you from start from finish. At any point you could look back down at the screen and you´d be able to tell exactly where on the M5 you currently were. Imagine a day when all mobile phones have GPS systems built in and if you ever get lost all you have to do is take a quick glance at your phone to discover where you were and which directions you would have to take to get to where you actually wanted to be.

As well as becoming more and more popular, GPS is also becoming more and more affordable. Many systems are already being incorporated into cars as standard and standalone GPS systems can be purchased for a couple of hundred pounds.

Computer Articles 2007

In past articles I have reviewed Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) as suitable alternatives to laptops however one special offer at the Carphone Warehouse grabbed my attention recently that I thought I should mention, especially considering that last week I talked about Global Position Satellites.

Basically, for £399 you can get a PDA and a separate GPS module that plugs in to the back of the PDA in order for it to be able to act as a tracking device. Once installed this allows you to be able to tell exactly where you are at any given time and the directions that you would need to take to get to a specified destination. We´ll discuss the GPS side of things next week but in the meantime, the two units can remain separately and so can function as a completely separate PDA so I´ll review that unit on its own merits today.

As you should all know by now, a PDA allows you to organise your life electronically so you can store all your contacts, appointments, notes etc all on a small unit weighing only a couple of hundred grams. The PDA included in the bundle is the Palm m130 and although it offers fewer features than products such as the Compaq iPaq PDA that I have reviewed in the past, it is also considerably cheaper.
The unit itself is easy to set up and begin to use, it is only when you start to try and enter any data in using the touch screen display that things tend to get slightly more difficult; this is because it uses a method known as `Graffiti´ to recognise the characters that you´re entering in. Graffiti is essentially a different alphabet that makes it quicker and more accurate to enter data in to the unit. For example, instead of scribbling `f´ into the unit, you instead enter the symbol `ſ ´ that is necessary as because of the size of the unit (roughly the same size as a wallet) there is no room for a keyboard to be included although one can be purchased as an additional extra.

The unit includes all the usual programs that you would expect - A calendar, note pad, calculator, world clock, address book, document reader etc. but of course many more applications can be downloaded from the Internet and put on to the device if you connect it to a home computer via the supplied docking station - when connected, you can also backup and manage the files on the Palm PDA.

There is an infrared port on the top of the unit that can be used to interface with a compatible mobile phone to provide access to text messaging, e-mails, the Internet as well as the mobiles phonebook memory. The unit also has a versatile expansion port which means that you can add on additional accessories such as the above-mentioned GPS device or external keyboard.

The machine uses the Palm Operating System that is quite similar to Windows CE although those that are already accustomed to one or the other of these OS´s may find the transition quite tedious. Also included within the box is a CD of bonus software, a hard plastic cover to protect the screen, the charging unit and a rather brief manual.

Overall, I would say for the money that the Palm offers good value for money for anybody whose life is somewhat hectic and wants to stay in touch and organised whilst away from home; now that we´ve established what this unit is capable of by itself, wait for next weeks article when we´ll look at using in conjunction with the GPS add on in order to plan journeys from one area of the country to another. This will hopefully put an end to tedious map reading and getting lost in the middle of nowhere once and for all

Last week I started discussing a £399 bundle deal which includes a Palm m130 PDA and a separate GPS module that plugs in to the back of the PDA to allow it to be able to act as a tracking device. Once installed this allows you to be able to tell exactly where you are at any given time and the directions that you would need to take to get to a specified destination.

So far we´ve looked at the PDA side of the deal and concluded it was more than satisfactory for the majority of users for those who need to arrange appointments, keep contact details, write simple documents, access the Internet via a mobile etc. This week I´m going to look specifically at the GPS tracking device that slots into the back of the PDA to enable it to accurately pinpoints its own position in the world.

You start by simply plugging the GPS kit into the back of the Palm organiser and then loading the software from the supplied CD via a laptop or personal computer based on the location you are currently or the location that you are thinking of going. This is made necessary, as obviously the Palm PDA can´t store details of every street in the country in its limited memory. You get two choices of software to install - SmartPath Trip and SmartPath City. SmartPath Trip is used to provide a lesser level of detail for if you want to plan a trip from city to city or from town to town as you can store the whole country in to its 8mg memory. SmartPath City includes a much greater detail so it is ideal for example if you are going away on holiday around Europe or the USA - Simply install the maps of the cities that you plan to visit before you depart then reference them as and when needed.
With any luck, using these two in conjunction should prevent any more pointless driving up and down varying Autobahns and Interstates looking for your hotel as the GPS system will tell you where you are, where you need to be and how to get there.

Also included within the kit is a car charger for the Palm (as the GPS system draws its power from the Palm PDA) and a dashboard mounting kit. Obviously it is not safe to drive and look at the screen simultaneously and so you should always stop the vehicle or get someone else to read off the directions if you are doing the driving.

Other notable features include positioning that updated on the map once a second using an array of 12 different satellites to gain an accuracy of within a distance of 6.8m, the fact it can automatically plan the quickest route and distance from Point A to Point B and the way you can zoom right in to street level to see the names of the streets in your vicinity.

To summarise, this sort of technology really interests me as I see it just a matter of time before this technology evolves, becomes more advanced and is able to become integrated in to our mobiles or another compact handheld device; just think of the amount of time, money and resources that would be saved if we never got lost and always knew the quickest route from one place to another at the touch of a button.

The Navman and Palm GPS bundle was loaned to me by the Carphone Warehouse in Torquay where you can currently buy pair at a cost £399. As always, all facts are considered correct at time of print but please check before purchase.
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Computer Articles 2007