Maybe you ’ve hear the report of the great unwashed driving into lakes or other hazards because their GPS equipment told them to , or mayhap you ’ve experienced some wonky counsel from your own Global Positioning System – routing you the wrong way on the highway or down a unsympathetic route .
It ’s guess that as many as 560 million GPS handsets will be in use around the world by 2012 , up from 175 million in 2007 [ source : Meyer ] . Although many of us would be lost without following the step - by - footmark class relay by our computer rider , it can be a risky design sometimes . GPS is n’t unfailing . Before we can understand how it can go wrong , we need a canonical understanding of how it works . Very simply , GPS receivers use a combining of signal from a web of satellite and ground stations to calculate out where you are and where you ’d like to go . That data is then overlie onto single-valued function that are stored on your twist .
No matter how expensive a GPS machine is , when it make out to generate where you require to go , it ’s really only as practiced as the satellite connection and its map information . The first strike against GPS is that planet signals are n’t 100 pct accurate – for instance , they ca n’t determine your precise localization . They ’re middling closelipped though , within 164 to 328 feet ( 50 to 100 meters ) [ source : Corvallis Microtechnology Inc. ] .
The second strike is that maps quickly go out of date . The directions your GPS machine compiles are based on digital mapping provided by a mapping and navigation company that has partnered with the gimmick producer . Without the most up - to - date maps , you ’re out of luck . Let ’s await in more detail at the reasons why your GPS twist might lead you down the wrong way of life , from function trouble to bad satellite signal .
GPS Driving Directions: Led Astray by GPS
You credibly would n’t believe an old map you unearthed from the trunk of your car to serve diagram the most accurate road , so why have n’t you update the function on your GPS twist ? You ’ll never get from Point A to Point B with inaccurate or outdated entropy .
Each class , you could await roads to deepen as much as 40 percentage – that ’s new road , closed roadstead , lane changes , you name it [ source : Tele Atlas ] . remember about new developments in your own town – building may go on for months or years until one 24-hour interval the roads of a sudden open . finally those new roads will make it into the next version of digital map software system , but it is n’t instant . How does it materialize ? The major function and pilotage companies practice a combination of on - the - solid ground engineering ( employees drive around and collect data ) , user feedback and a variety of other beginning to work up single-valued function that meditate the reality of the route system around the world . In a study by the Navigations Systems Research Foundation , it was discovered that some of import entropy is sometimes overlook by GPS systems , such as type of roadstead . This is important information to have if your double-decker has accidentally been routed through a residential region or your car has been detoured to an unpaved road .
While the map data is at fault for inaccuracy , users are commonly at break for outdated data . Many handheld or stand - alone devices can be updated for free by connecting them or the removable media card directly to a computer and download new , updated map from the digital single-valued function supplier . With frequent downloads , your GPS twist will have the most current routing entropy .
Even with the most up - to - date mapping and pilotage package , your GPS gadget is still at the mercy of its satellite internet . Accuracy problems can arise from a variety of condition , from atmospheric to terrestrial . When a satellite is n’t able to channelize its positioning , a situation squall anephemerisororbital error , it is n’t able to establish a link with your GPS equipment . Atmospheric conditions , specifically in the ionosphere and troposphere , including variance in plasma natural process , temperature , atmospheric pressure and humidity , can cause calculation and accuracy erroneousness in the artificial satellite internet .
Bad orbiter signals and signal interference are some of the most common glitch and happen when something gets in the ancestry of stack between your Global Positioning System equipment and the satellite web . Without a clear and strong sign , your equipment ca n’t accurately set up your placement . grandiloquent buildings , dense leafage , plenty and even reflective physical object can make such a problem .
To be certain you always get from Point A to Point B , refresh your function software often and always institute a map .
