Alternatives to GPS _Creative Solutions to Navigation

Written by admin on Wednesday, July 24th, 2013

Global Positioning System or GPS was originally developed in the 1960s to aid military navigation. GPS uses Earth-orbiting satellites that fly approximately 12,000 miles above the Earth’s surface, circling the planet twice a day. The satellites transmit their location and the precise time to receivers on the surface, which enables users to triangulate with at least three satellites to determine their latitude and longitude of the GPS receiver. This technology has been in use for many years by the military and the commercial sector but with the ease of jamming the signal and the vulnerabilities of the medium orbiting satellites, alternatives to GPS are finally being developed.

 

 

One such system in development to augment GPS is called Navigation via Signals of Opportunity or NAVSOP. NAVSOP is a system that relies upon existing transmissions from various sources to include; air traffic communication, radio and television transmission towers, mobile phone signals and also GPS satellites. The concept is that buy antibiotics from india when the GPS signal is denied, jammed or not-accessible, the NAVSOP would serve as a backup device to augment position using existing signals. The obvious advantage to the NAVSOP is that no new infrastructure would be required. The alternative to GPS is being designed and developed by BAE Systems in the United Kingdom with the thought that it could be a viable surrogate to GPS, should the need arise.

With just $100 and a trip to Radio Shack, most anyone can build a GPS jammer that can interfere with GPS signals and can disrupt navigational systems on military vehicles, military aircraft and can cause GPS guided weapons to become ineffective. With this in mind, the U.S. and other countries are actively searching for low-cost alternatives to GPS and with innovative minds and an ever-growing threat to military operations; the time is now for a leap in technology.

 

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