What Are
Typical Applications Of GPS ?
As mentioned, GPS was initially designed as a
radio-navigation system for the military. Desert Storm was a proving ground
for GPS under military conditions, and the system lived up to expectations.
But with the technology becoming more affordable, there has been tremendous
growth in civilian GPS activity over the last several years. GPS is
currently used by a number of state agencies, county planning and health
departments.
GPS has been widely recognized as an accurate, efficient
method for collecting geographic coordinate data that can be used in a GIS.
There are many applications where GPS can be used to generate coordinates
for a GIS data layer. In the New Jersey Department of Environment
Protection, as well as other state agencies, GPS is being employed in a wide
array of applications.
In an effort to protect the state's water resources, GPS is
being used to collect the coordinates for well heads as part of New Jersey's
Well Head Protection Program. GPS could also be used to produce coordinates
for potable surface water intakes, and reservoir boundaries.
To more effectively manage regulatory permits across the
various environmental permitting programs, GPS is being used to collect
coordinates for facilities that have permits. These include facilities that
discharge to surface water, ground water, air, store hazardous waste onsite
and/or have underground storage tanks. Future efforts should focus on
obtaining the locations of the actual point discharges that may adversely
impact the state's natural resources.
The environmental monitoring programs are using GPS to
generate coordinates for monitoring stations throughout the state. The water
monitoring programs have been determining coordinates of sampling stations
on existing water quality monitoring networks and are planning to establish
a new ambient network. The radiation protection programs have collected
coordinates for the sampling stations used to monitor radiation levels at
various distances from the state's two nuclear power plants.
Natural resource programs plan to use GPS in forest
management applications including mapping the areas of particular forest
tree types. The endangered species protection programs plan to collect
endangered species locations as well as map critical habitats areas.
New Jersey plans to use GPS in emergency response
applications. Should a major oil spill occur in New Jersey waters,
coordinates for the spill location and aerial extent of the plume could be
collected. In short order, an effective booming strategy could be developed
to protect environmentally sensitive areas in the region of the spill. In
the event of a major natural disaster, GPS will be used to assist in the
damage assessment and inventory.
In surveying and mapping applications, activities that would
normally take months now take only a few days utilizing GPS. Updating GIS
data now can be done quickly, without manually digitizing from a series of
maps that may not meet accuracy standards.
GPS is also being used quite extensively in the commercial
shipping, fishing and recreational boating industries. Whether navigating
through narrow shipping channels, to favorite fishing locales, or
determining the most direct course from point A to point B, GPS is an
affordable way to obtain accurate locational data.
Navigation for private and commercial aviation is a big
market for GPS. There is a great deal of interest in using GPS in the future
to fully automate the landings of aircraft, and to assist in collision
avoidance in the air and on the ground.
Vehicle tracking has become a major application with GPS. A
manager can track the locations of pick-up and delivery vehicles.
Transportation utilities are testing GPS-based fleet management systems that
will provide the capability to monitor on-time performance or breakdowns,
and keep commuters informed. Transit authorities are using GPS for AVL
(automatic vehicle location) to track the location of buses and to detect
traffic problems.
The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is
planning to use GPS to collect data on roadway feature locations for a
roadway inventory. NJDOT will also be using GPS to improve its GIS map base.
New Jersey's Geodetic Survey Section is using GPS to develop
a more dense geodetic control network for New Jersey.
Nearly 90% of control surveying for photogrammetry is now
performed with GPS. It is clear that GPS is an exciting technology that will
provide many users a useful locational tool. As GPS becomes less expensive
and increasingly accepted, there is no doubt that many creative uses and
applications will evolve.
