What could you do if you had a way of life of memorialize precisely how much effort you put into your workouts ? How much time could you save if you know that every step , every stroke of a kayak paddle or every turn of a bike foot pedal was fine - tuned to give you the fitness result you want ? Would you make good decisions – and have more playfulness – if you could glance at your wrist and access a highly precise navigation andweather cock ?
Unless you ’ve been totally prune off from technology for more than a decade , you know that this is n’t science fabrication : global positioning system(GPS ) technology has revolutionized how we move about the planet . The star topology of this system of rules are a web of 24 artificial satellite that circulate the earth in exactly tracked orbits . They ’re synchronise to broadcast unique signals at on the nose the same clock time , which receiver units in airplanes , cars and even peregrine phones use to calculate their position proportional to the satellites . If your GPS unit can pick up signals from at least three satellites ( though four is preferable ) , it can calculate your parallel , longitude , amphetamine and elevation to within a few feet or metre .
An regalia of maker are putting this once - relegate military applied science to all kinds of uses , such as work up ever - more - accurate navigation tool and using mobile - phone GPS cover to customize ad campaigns for specific users in specific location . And sporting goods ship’s company have leap whole - heartedly onto this bandwagon , with a rapidly blow up fleet of watch - sized GPS tools design for jock and outdoor adventurers .
These wristwatch - sized computers often issue forth packed with a library of view - based information ; it ’s potential to corrupt a GPS watch today that will let you find your location – anywhere on the planet – within hour of opening the loge . But GPS watches go far beyond simple " hey , seem where I am " widget . With a trivial knowledge about how the watches turn , you may train smarter and perform advantageously in the hotness of contention . There ’s no need to wait for the hereafter of sport and physical fitness – it ’s here today , and it agree on your wrist .
The History of GPS Technology
GPScan follow its stemma to the very nascency of space travel ; the precept behind it came together as American scientists scrambled to give chase Sputnik , the planet launched into compass by the Soviet Union in October of 1957 . Researchers from Johns Hopkins University ’s Applied Physics Laboratory , Drs . William Guier and George Weiffenbach , discovered that they could track former satellite ' office base on the Doppler Effect : Signals transmitted from a moving satellite would come out to distort as it approached or moved away from the receiving station . By measuring the nature and rigourousness of the distortion , a soul could calculate the preference of the orbiter ’s ambit .
APL company researcher Frank McClure suggested that the trailing system could also work the other way around : By tracking a satellite with a precisely known cranial orbit and valuate the resulting Doppler shift in its signaling , a person on the ground could identify his side anywhere he could pick up the signal . The U.S. Navy expanded the system into the Navy Navigation Satellite System , which was actively guiding ship by 1964 . ( For more on the chronicle of GPS , take a expression at our article onHow GPS Receivers Work . )
war machine - shop at enquiry remain into the 1970s and ' LXXX as scientists tried to meliorate the sign preciseness , reliableness and speed of artificial satellite navigation . Technology switched from tracking Doppler shifts to using triangulation and betoken timing : The longer a signal take to reach a telephone receiver , the farther away the satellite was at the moment the signaling was beam . GPS was a hear - and - true peter for all leg of the U.S. military and its allies by the 1980s , when the U.S. government begin allowing far-flung civilian memory access to the technology [ author : Parkinson ] .
other civilian GPS units were large and heavy , limiting their usefulness for on - the - go users . But they suffered from a much more crippling drawback : They were n’t all that accurate . To foreclose enemies from reach the sailing sign , the U.S. military employeddithering : knowing interference with the satellites ' timing signal that unauthorised substance abuser could n’t decode . This limited civilian GPS accuracy to about 300 foot ( 100 meters ) . It was n’t until the year 2000 that the U.S. government lastly removed the dithering , piss accurate civilian navigation possible . GPS then became a useful tool for anyone who postulate to make out where they were , how fast they were locomote or how to get where they wanted to go [ sources : Parkinson;Navigon ] .
So that took care of the accuracy way out , but how did GPS unit manufacturers create product of a sanely portable sizing ?
The Incredible Shrinking GPS Unit
The memory access to pother - free Global Positioning System technology coincided with a gyration in electronics miniaturisation – think about how much less a modernlaptop computerweighs than the one you were using in 1996 . GPS developers cover founding such assurface mount technology(SMT ) , in which bantam components are soldered straight to a circuit board ( rather than using wire lead to make connection ) , and machinelike assembly that helped shrink the timing and signal processing chip at the philia of GPS receivers into miniscule components . Today they ’re almost too diminished to see clear without overstatement [ source : Poole ] .
Researchers further shrink GPS social unit by applyingfractal geometry– which involves shapes made up of repeat , expansible patterns – to design potent receiver antennae that literally folded into miniscule space . This important ( and once bulky ) piece of theGPS receiverpackage became modest enough to hide in the slim caseful of a smartphone – or within the body of a watch [ rootage : Rusu and Baican;Mikkola ] .
The first GPS sentry were fundamentally minor versions of handheld GPS units , measuring about 2 to 3 inches ( about 50 to 75 millimeters ) long and about 1 in ( 25 mm ) wide , with wrist shoulder strap attached . Even though they were indeed smaller and light than most other GPS units from the other 21st century , they were still big enough to make run retentive distances with one – not to mention running to the coffee shop after a physical exertion with the thing on your branch – more bother than it was worth for many athletes [ beginning : Wollman ] .
Sports that hinge on lie with one ’s fix relative to a target , such as golf , dramatize GPS early in this miniaturization process . For example , well - known golf champion and course architect Greg Norman became an adviser with golf - link up GPS product manufacturer Inforetech in 2002 [ source : GPS Industries ] . But by and large , it take two technological steps for consumers to commence adopting GPS watches on a wide of the mark scale .
Making GPS Watches Useful
To become really useful ( and hence merchantable ) , GPS watch had to first become , well , watchlike . That point was at long last get to around 2010 , and as of 2012 , you could grease one’s palms a GPS keep an eye on the same size , shape and general style as any other fashion watch on the market . Some models , such as a 13 - millimetre ( 0.51 - inch ) loggerheaded prototype expel in February 2012 byEpson , were actually modest than many non - GPS sports watches [ origin : Tucker ] .
Small size does not mean a low issue of features , though , and here ’s where GPS watches really became useful training tools . know exactly where you are at any gift consequence is nice , but unless you ’re in the midriff of nowhere or trying to take a club in the centre of an unsung fairway , the app is special . GPS take in producer construe this , and expanded their product ' versatility by adding in feature from other sports gimmick such as bike computing machine , pedometers and pith rate monitors .
Many GPS watches can sync with other machine using wireless signaling , such as ANT+ , a small , energy - efficient system . These additional gadget often measurebiometrics : bodily systems measurements such as heart pace , which athletes can utilise to gauge the intensity of their workouts . Other sensor included with GPS watches may include skid - climb up cadence monitor that track the rate of a runner ’s tread and bike - mounted detector that detect steering wheel focal ratio and the forcefulness that a passenger is exert through the pedal . Computer software that get with these watches let users download array of physical exercise data collect by the watch either wirelessly or through aUSB port . By entering basic data such as height , weight and age into the ticker , the technical school - savvy jock can have a exact , sport - specific tool , a twenty-first - 100 version of the jock ’s training diary .
This combination of fix and biometric data is the marrow of what gain a GPS watch deserving the disbursement . But as in many tech - machine scenarios , it ’s easy to get overwhelmed by the alternative available . GPS look on prices vary , but with prices in other 2012 tramp from $ 100 to more than $ 400 for various models , they ’re still not a little disbursal . How can you choose the most appropriate GPS vigil for your want ?
The Right GPS Tool for the Job
You would n’t grease one’s palms a sailboat if you want to go whitewater rapid . In the same mineral vein , you ’ll want to check that a Global Positioning System watch meets your expect needs before you spend your firmly - earned money on it . Will you be using the scout for one athletics , or do you require one that ’s useful for a variety of activity ? Are you more interested with having data you may download to your computer and cut through over meter , or would you choose a machine that gives you information as you need it in the field of honor ? Do you go places where getting lost could be dangerous , or do your activities keep you on well - mark trail and route ? Your answer to all of these questions will specify your watch alternative .
Take that last question , for example : If you ’re an devouring hiker or cross - country skier who like to cuckold into the backcountry , it would certainly be helpful to have a GPS watch with a moving - map display , which shows you where you are in relation to other waypoints . The trade - off for this is sizing : The bigger display necessary to show map particular means this type of spotter may be too cumbersome for you if you mainly desire something light and sleek to cut across splits in your next marathon [ seed : Geek.com ] . Likewise , a rugged - sport athlete such as a skier or raft biker might want to void a lookout with a touchscreen port , exchanging the sleek , button - free look for something that wo n’t get recalibrated if it ’s unexpectedly whacked by a tree branch . A runner , on the other hand , might chance that a touch screen is thoroughgoing for quickly check out information .
GPS sentry manufacturers heel their mannequin ' features on their Web website , giving you a straightaway , soft path to liken features and price across the entire grocery store . As you narrow your search , though , it helps to get a alive perspective . Talk to the ethnic music at your local bike store , run store or hiking outfitter , and do n’t be afraid to pester friend about their GPS watches . The first - hand tips and real - biography reviews you ’ll get will pass on you well disposed to make the veracious leverage to complement your chosen activities .
Using a Useful GPS Watch
The welfare of basicGPSfunctions are clear if your passionateness is outdoor adventures such as backcountry hiking , sea kayaking or hunting ; these tinycomputersare tailor - made to serve you get into the wilderness and make it back with less risk of getting fall back . Just recollect to mob a function and scope , and get it on how to use them ; adventure traditional knowledge is full of stories about GPS batteries dying at the spoilt possible moment .
Sports- and fittingness - oriented user can also use wayfinding feature to try a unexampled running route or for training while traveling . But that only scratches the surface of what you’re able to do with this high - tech education prick .
A Global Positioning System watch can measure your operation with a stratum of precision that was once only the sphere of researchers and professional athletes . It ’s gracious to know how long it consider you to complete a one-half marathon , but a GPS sentinel can assure you exactly where in the 13.1 - knot ( 21.1 - kilometer ) grade you were fastest – and slowest . With the data - download capability that ’s pretty much criterion on these gadget , you may compare each run to see trends in your performance . Maybe you ’ll notice that you mislay too much time after Mile 10 , or that you ’re not climbing hills as fast as you did on the same course last year .
Once you identify these kinds of weak berth in your performance , the combined features in a GPS vigil can give you on - the - fly feedback to make your training more specific and efficient . Many bicycler , for example , spend the first part of their preseason work up cardiovascular strength with long , unbendable effort . This aid build up a foundation for the rigors of sprinting and hill training later in the year . Tracking a " temperate tread " using comprehend effort – how you feel during the physical exercise – is a variable metre at well . fit out yourself with a GPS lookout man that can read data from a heart charge per unit monitor , beat sensor and steering wheel speed sensor , however , and you may fine tune every sea mile of your ride , restrain your effort within a accurate ambit of speed , nitty-gritty rate and metre .
The results of this form of specific education can be striking . If you ’re strapped for time , you ’ll now be able to get the most out of every minute of your workout . You ’ll consequently spend less time worrying about the proportionality of sport , phratry and work . And when secret plan day arrives , you ’ll bed on the nose how heavily you may push yourself , whether it ’s on the race course , lead or course . This is technology that will help you train smarter , not just harder .
Lots More Information
Despite my deep heat for going fast on a wheel , I ’ve been tedious to come over to the GPS - training - twist camp . I do drive with a computer that tracks my focal ratio , cadence , aloofness and affection charge per unit , so I ’m not a complete minimalist . But for a number of years , I viewed " the GPS thing " as one more pricey gadget that would n’t be as beneficial as grooming hard with the tools I currently had . In fact , I ’ll admit to feel really good every time I outsprinted a guy on a pull a fast one on - out motorcycle with a GPS building block strapped to the handlebars .
But my perspective started to change this year during a summer metre visitation serial publication . Every week , I joined a group of racers battling one - by - one against the clock on a 2-dimensional 10 - mile line . tail end and handlebars got adjusted centimetre by centimetre . Our conversation began to orb around arcane details such as a few pounds per square inch of tyre pressure ( yes , it makes a difference ) and the aerodynamic advantage of taping shut the vents on one ’s helmet ( in the end , that one was n’t deserving all the funny facial expression we fetch ) . One of my teammates ran a GPS building block all season , and could tell just where his f number increased , stayed reproducible or dropped off . He used this to his reward , mentally prepping himself for the harder section of the course as I stuck tried - and - true to my " if it hurts , you must be doing something right " philosophy .
Our elapsed times were fairly close most week , but factor in that this guy ’s seven years my senior . He ’s a hard passenger , but I ’m no slouch ; I ’ve been into the fun longer than he has and my ego separate me I should be able to out - step him . I have to think that the time he spend analyse each drive with hisGarmintrickled down to a flyspeck bit more efficiency . Maybe it was only a few seconds full , but that was all he needed to nip me by four places in the overall standing . And while I ’m still passing cat with GPS units on a satisfyingly regular basis , getting passed by that one bike – more than once – may be enough to labour me into the GPS nightspot this season .
