The GPS tracking technology that monitors the whereabouts of our fleet vehicles and keeps tabs on our remote employees is the same GPS tracking technology that secures military forces in foreign wars and accompanies astronauts into space.
But despite its remarkable sophistication, the Global Positioning System we use every day is still a technology in the making, being constantly improved upon to meet the growing needs of commercial, civil, and military usage. GPS modernization is an ongoing initiative for the United States Department of Defense; what our GPS tracking technology does today could evolve and expand significantly in years to come.
This commitment to constant innovation characterizes the compelling history of GPS tracking. Read on to learn more:
Development of the Global Positioning System dates back to 1973, when the United States Congress issued funding for the research, production, and deployment of a network of navigation satellites as a reactionary response to the perceived nuclear threat to America during the Cold War arms race. The United States military sought a universal surveillance system that could deliver accurate location and time information from anywhere in the world.
Designed with influences from ground-based radio navigation systems that had been developed during World War II, and with elements from navigation satellite designs from the 1960’s, GPS was primarily built to serve military functions.
However, after a Korean Air flight carrying 247 people was shot down in 1983 after straying into the USSR’s airspace, then-president Ronald Reagan sought to have GPS made freely available for civilian purposes. Six years later, the first GPS satellite was launched. As of today, there are thirty GPS satellites in orbit, all managed and owned by the United States Government as a national resource.
It’s a resource that has come to serve a number of significant civilian applications, such as the state-of-the-art vehicle, asset, personal, and trailer-tracking solutions offered here. With the launch of a modernized satellite in the GPS system with a second civilian signal in 2005, user performance and accuracy has been enhanced for superior tracking quality. Ongoing research and technical development has made GPS tracking for trucks and other everyday uses an accurate, accessible tool for the mainstream market.
In this last decade, we’ve seen massive improvements in hardware design and software capabilities for GPS tracking solutions. Tracking devices on the market today are compact, easy to self-install, and affordable to manufacture and maintain. Whether you manage a fleet of two vehicles or two thousand, the power of GPS tracking technology is within your reach.
GPS has come a long way, baby. Discover just how affordable GPS tracking for trucks, assets, personnel, and trailers can be with a free GPS Commander Instant Quote!
Reference
“Global Positioning System” Wikipedia. Last update: 3 April 2013
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