GPS Turns 20 Years Old Today
GPS Celebrates 20th Anniversary
Global Positioning Systems (better known as GPS), a technology many of us have started to rely on daily, turns 20 years old today!
On July 17th, 1995, full operational capacity was announced by the Air Force. Two decades ago, global positioning systems had 24 satellites in orbit, providing global 24-hour coverage. Worldwide, 4 billion GPS-enabled devices currently exist according to the Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency, and that number is expected to double in the next 5 years.
It all started out as a military effort, so that airplanes and troops would know exactly where they are. Since the development of GPS, it has taken on multiple purposes, from navigating your way around, to knowing where your fleet vehicles are located in real-time for better management, to finding things that have seemed to disappear.
GPS helps fight crime, especially when it comes to stolen vehicles. If your vehicle has a GPS tracker installed, and your vehicle gets stolen, you will be able to track down your car and also hopefully the person responsible for the crime.
GPS has improved and expanded so much in the last 20 years, it will be interesting to see how much more it will develop and grow over the next 20 years.
Sources:
9 News: GPS Turns 20 Years Old This Week
Fed Pulse: GPS Turns 20
