Who Uses GPS?
GPS technology has many amazing
applications on land, at sea, and in the
air. You might be surprised to learn about
the following examples of how people
or professions are already using GPS
technology:
Agriculture
In precision farming, GPS technology helps
monitor the application of fertilizer and
pesticides. GPS technology also provides
location information that helps farmers
plow, harvest, map elds, and mark areas of
disease or weed infestation.
Aviation
Aircraft pilots use GPS technology for en
route navigation and airport approaches.
Satellite navigation provides accurate aircraft
location anywhere on or near the earth.
Environment
GPS technology helps survey disaster areas
and map the movement of environmental
phenomena (such as forest res, oil spills,
or hurricanes). It is even possible to nd
locations that have been submerged or
altered by natural disasters.
Ground Transportation
GPS technology helps with automatic vehicle
location and in-vehicle navigation systems.
Many navigation systems show the vehicle’s
location on an electronic street map,
allowing drivers to keep track of where they
are and to look up other destinations. Some
systems automatically create a route and give
turn-by-turn directions. GPS technology also
helps monitor and plan routes for delivery
vans and emergency vehicles.
Marine
GPS technology helps with marine
navigation, trafc routing, underwater
surveying, navigational hazard location, and
mapping. Commercial shing eets use it to
navigate to optimum shing locations and to
track sh migrations.
