The Process of GPS Recievers

The magic behind the quick, and instant answer as to where we are located anywhere in the world is the main driving force that keeps the GPS technology well-funded. This fast response that is critical to most business operations is what makes it appealing for a lot of GPS users. But when asked how does this happen, do we know how GPS works?

The story behind the GPS system is how the satellites measure the range or distance between one another and the receiver. In a way, it becomes a triangulation of some sorts, though because this is a spatial dimension; it looks more like an inverted pyramid. Satellites act like eyes in the sky. You may get lost in a forest because you couldn’t see anywhere in the horizon but trees, but if you had a vision of yourself from above the forest, you’d know where to navigate because there isn’t anything blocking your view. Using satellites to track your location is a novel idea in itself.

First off, let us understand that all satellites have an internal atomic clock that is set in sync with each other. This clock is so accurate that it can keep the same time over a century with only a few nanoseconds of discrepancy. Their system also contains data of their current location like which country are they flying above right now, what coordinates, the longitude, the latitude and the like for like. These data is essential for calculating the location of the receiver.

When the receiver sends a query for its current location, the signal is picked up by all satellites in orbit. Now that the data is being requested in your located, the satellite sends its location relative to the receiver’s location plus one more thing, the time signal. The time signal is like a time stamp that will tell you what time the signal was sent from the satellite.

This data about the satellite’s current location plus the time stamp is beamed back by at least three satellites to the receiver that requested it. Waves travel at light speed, but distance is distance. There will always be some sort of delay or lag from the request that was sent out, processed, and then retrieved. The signals that travel from the satellite to the receiver contain a time stamp, and this time stamp is then used by the receiver to calculate the difference in time from when the signal was sent out till when they were received. The software in the receiver calculates the data from each satellite and uses this data to make a representation in the in-device map.

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