Personal GPS Devices

Why GPS?

Why GPS? Well, I growing up in the Bay Area, I like to go on backpacking trips every summer with my friends in Lake Tahoe, Big Basin, Yosemite, Desolation Wilderness, Mammoth, etc. I also am majoring in Computer Science, which means that I'm expected to be interested in the coolest new gadgets (for example, small handheld electronic devices that can tell you exactly where you are at any given moment). So it seems only natural that I combine these two interests and use a GPS device while I go backpacking so that I don’t get lost and have something to do along the trail or back at camp.

For some people, this is the extent of their GPS use. They are able to find their current latitude and longitude, look on their map, and find out of they missed the fork in the road or not. However, this isn’t enough for me. My fascination, and yes, it actually is a deep fascination, with GPS devices, more specifically the future potential for them, is the ability to record your current position for later use. Although this sounds extremely vague, I hope that by the end of this project I have you convinced that if you enjoy any sort of travel, whether it be camping and backpacking, road trips, a daily job in the morning, or summer trips to Europe with the family, a GPS device is crucial for your ability to explore, share, and revisit these trips later.

Because of this new focus around GPS functionality is building online communities who enjoy exploring other members’ past trips and vacations. People are able to share where they have gone, offer tips for those who plan to go to the same places, and receive recommendations for other trips based on both word of mouth and maps with track data and picture locations. In the near future, there is hope to use GPS systems on cars to predict traffic conditions on freeways and alert drivers of these conditions with enough advance notice to change commute routes or plan accordingly, which may lead to less traffic congestion.

GPS is sure to be an important tool for many future uses, and with the cheaper costs for personalized devices and implementation to new cell phones and cares, it is sure to be a significant device to connect different communities together.

Where Did GPS Come From?
How GPS Works
My Best Friend - Garmin eTrex Legend
Other Cool GPS Devices
What Can You Do With a GPS Device?
Future Uses for GPS
My Future Plans for GPS
GPS Conclusion

Sources:

http://www.beyonddiscovery.org/content/view.article.asp?a=458
http://www.its.umn.edu/seminars/2003/3parkinson.html
http://ezinearticles.com/?Cell-Phone-GPS-Tracking---Privacy-Issues&id=159255
http://www.Dash.net
http://www.Garmin.com
http://www.BoostMobile.com
http://www.Loopt.com

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Posted at Feb 17/2007 07:08PM:
Cori:Why GPS? What are your questions?