The Global positioning system (GPS) is popular now-a-days as a satellite-based navigation system that gives information about geo-location and data about time to receiver. The facility is available to anyone at any place in the world.
The system does not need the user to send any data as it operates with complete independence without any telephonic and internet connection, although the involvement of these technologies could add to the functioning of the system.
Military, civil, and commercial users get the support of the system because it provides them with vital information about positions of places and things around the world. Owned by United States Government, GPS functions under the supervision of United States Air Force.
As everyone thinks that GPS is only for vehicle navigation, interactive mapping, use in space-age technology, the reality is it has now-a-days advanced a lot to become part-and-parcel of everyday life.
Let’s know about some of the remarkable uses of GPS in everyday life.
1. Convenience in Doing Business Logistics
A new trend has come to exist in the business logistics. Many companies are now-a-days tracking the movement of their trucks through GPS system with an intention to ascertain the whereabouts of their employees and their related movement in transit. This helps in bringing improvement in making timely deliveries and developing a good rapport with the customers.
2. Farming – The Other Important Area for GPS Application
As agriculture is the other important area, where NASA is planning to bring development with the application of GPS system, a remarkable change would get noticed in the methods of farming. In a fresh initiative, NASA has decided to equip tractors with GPS sensors.
The sensors would help remarkably to navigate during night-time and periods of visibility. In addition to that, scientists would plant soil sensors and other types of monitors to know about the areas that need better watering, fertilization, and weed control.
3. Avail Emergency Help at the Road-side
While travelling, a person could need emergency help for anything. He would not have to either shout or call anyone for help but simply press a button to get help. Moreover, the help comes at the specified place, where the person would need it.
4. Let’s Tackle Personal Emergencies
Nowadays, users could tie GPS-based band to their wrist or get taped to their body. The device could monitor vital body signs and in case of medical emergency, the device could alert and call for medical help through wireless communication.
5. No Difficulty in Finding Lost Animals
As now-a-days various companies sell GPS featured tracking device, which they could get implanted to the bodies of pets. The device tracks the whereabouts of the pets and monitors their heart-rate and body temperature.
6. Get Help from the Emergency Personnel
When a person gets lost without finding his/her way out of the place, the GPS could pin-point his/her location and help the emergency personnel search and get him. When travelling in a public carrier service, the installed GPS in the carrier could help in pin-pointing the presence of the person in a particular place.
7. Greatly helpful in finding short-cuts and other directions for the destinations
When the person has a time-bound engagement, the GPS could easily give help by giving him/her alternative directions and short-cuts to reach the place. This feature is greatly helpful as the person does not have to fumble his/her way out and struggle for time management.
8. Most Helpful in Saving Fuel
In a developing nation like India, people experience regular price-hikes of fuel. A tracking device, installed on the top of the bus, could help a lot in controlling fuel cost.
The GPS tracker helps greatly in pre-planning the movement of the buses in their routes. This could optimize the returns from the movement of the buses and bring improvement in fuel consumption and reduction in maintenance costs.
9. Employee Transportation
Using GPS tracking systems, you can manage employee transportation fleet and improve its efficiency. You can save time and fuel, thereby minimizing expenses.
10. Keep an Eye on the Luggage, Laptop, and Important Belongings
While travelling, the feature in the GPS could track the luggage, laptop, and important personal belongings. With this feature, the owner of the belongings would get instant notification regarding any attempt of theft.
11. Track and Find Friends, Family, and Relatives at the Crowded Place
While participating in a crowed gathering, concert, or graduation ceremony, GPS has the feature to track relatives, friends, and family members and help the person in locating his beloved ones easily.
12. No Worries for Getting Lost in an Unfamiliar Place
The traveler does not have to worry if he/she gets lost in an unfamiliar place. In case, the GPS is active, it becomes really easier to get back to the destination without any hassle.
13. Really helpful in documentation
GPS tracker has the utility of real-time documentation. The device could record the event as those take place. This lends incredible transparency to the services.
As it also does not need human intervention, the documentation process literally remains error-free. Leaving no chance for conflicts of statements in the documentation, the documents could become excellent reference papers.
14. Criminals Even Get Tracked
GPS tracking features have really helped police to nab criminals, especially drug peddlers. Police have even successfully tracked drug thieves. Police concealed decoy drug parcels under GPS and tracked the criminals successfully to nab them with important information. This has opened another dimension in the use of GPS and given authorities necessary help in controlling drugs-related crimes.
15. Useful in Drawing Up Artistic Works
Michel Wallace – the famous American artiste – performed a huge etch-a-sketch and showed off her electronic drawings.
Equipping her bike with a GPS tracker, he rode around the American city and artistically drew a wonderful painting with the help of mapping software. His intricate drawing of the lost luxury ship, Titanic, was a sensation on the occasion of 100th year of the ocean liner’s sinking.
16. Helpful in Improving Driving Ethics
GPS system has proven its mettle in improving ethics in the driving patterns. The device could help in controlling over-speeding, rough-braking, and unnecessary accelerations. This is really helpful in the avoidance of accidents and keeping the lives of passengers safe.
17. Geo Caching – The Wonderful Game by GPS
Researchers have even used the GPS features in setting up hi-tech treasure hunts. Geo-caching hobbyists keep the caches of trinkets. The trinkets are usually souvenir coins or toy plastic animals. The hobbyists keep those at different places on treasure maps.
As they post them online on different websites, it allows others to search for them. Some geo-caching events have even taken place in public parks, while the treasures were kept clandestinely at public places.
18. GPS could Even Guide Driverless Cars
Now-a-days, the car makers are trying hard to manufacture driverless cars. The engineers are making efforts to create a synergy of GPS, censors, and cameras that could make the driverless car see the light of the day.
In this the GPS would play the role of plotting car’s location, speed, and direction, which are related to destination. As in the near future, the car could become a major innovation as the features of GPS would definitely stay central to the functioning of the car.
19. Ingenious Application of GPS could save lives of People Suffering from Dementia
As the population throughout the world ages, there are a growing number of people, suffering from dementia. With the ingenious application of GPS, the researchers have developed inserts in the patients’ shoes that could keep track their movements easily.
The smart device in the shoe could even set an alarm as the patient leaves a designated area. Best tool for a company to minimize operating expenses.
The companies have realized that by investing in GPS tracking system, they could introduce best fleet management system. This would minimize operating expenses and boost up profitability of the ventures.
20. GPS could Even Guard Idols from Theft
In the year 2005, a new GPS technology was launched to protect the statues in the Churches and other religious organizations from theft. The GPS device in the statue could either send an alert signal or a text email to the authorities that would help them to track the idol or statue and recover it from the thieves.
As the cases of thefts of old statues and idols are on the rise throughout the world, such a step in tracking the theft cases would help in saving the heritage of the nations.