Where on Earth am I?
The answer to this seemingly simple question can sometimes be a matter of life and death. Consider an aviator trying to find a safe destination to land, or the crew of a ship in distress seeking assistance, or a hiker in the mountains disoriented by poor weather conditions. Your position on Earth is of vital importance and can have an immense variety of implications and applications.
These needn’t be as dramatic as the circumstances above, but they can be situations that also have a significant impact on our daily lives. How do I find that address that I’ve been searching for, or when or where should the public transit vehicle trigger the next traffic light? The potential applications and uses of position information are seemingly limitless. Our position on this blue planet has always been vitally important to human beings and today our exact position is something that we can obtain with astonishing ease.
Among the most stunning technological developments in recent years have been the immense advances in the realm of satellite navigation or Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) technologies. In a matter of a few years, satellite navigation has evolved from the level of science fiction to science fact with a dynamic and rapidly growing industry providing customers around the world with technology devoted to the rapid, reliable and readily available determination of their position.
As global leaders in this fascinating and rapidly changing industry, u-blox AG adds a Swiss accent and our obsession with precision and quality shows through. The men and women of this company are dedicated satellite navigation enthusiasts, and as our motto says, your position is our focus. As part of our commitment to customer service, u-blox AG is pleased to be able to provide you with this compendium to help lead you into the remarkable world of satellite navigation.
The aim of this book is to provide a comprehensive overview of the way in which satellite navigation systems function and the applications to which they can be used. The current level of development as well as changes and innovations will be examined. It is written for users who are interested in the technology as well as specialists involved in satellite navigation applications. The document is structured in such a way that the reader can graduate from simple facts to more complex concepts. The basic theory of satellite navigation will be introduced and supplemented by other important facets. This compendium is intended to additionally serve as an aid in understanding the technology that goes specifically into current satellite navigation receivers, modules and ICs. Important new developments will be dealt with in separate sections. Acquiring an understanding of the various current co-ordinate systems involved in using GNSS equipment can be a difficult task. Therefore, a separate chapter is devoted to introduce cartography.
We hope that this document will be of assistance to you and that you will be as enthusiastic as we are about the technology involved in determining position. It is indeed an immensely fascinating world and industry that answers the question "where on earth am I?"
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