Thursday, May 23rd, 2013

 

200- to 300-word history about the National Critical Technology (NCT) technical application your team has selected to solve a local or national problem.

 

Navigation systems started in the 1960’s when the Navy wanted something to keep track of where they were.  The US Navy and the air force started trying to create systems which were all incompatible with each other.  In 1973 the services put their systems together ordered by the Department of Defense.  After putting the systems together they decided that they would use atomic clocks attached to satellites as the foundation for the new device.  This was an idea successfully tried out in a system called TIMATION.  They decided that the air force would run the system which was later called the Navstar Global Positioning System.  The name was shortened to just GPS later.  

Atomic clocks being so expensive they tried to change the foundation of the GPS.  The new system needed satellites that would orbit the earth, ground stations, and receivers.  With this new invention Navigation systems would be smaller than a backpack and a little cheaper.

 In 1978 a group of satellites was sent into orbit, and then in 1989 a second set was sent called the “Block II”. When the GPS went to the public, the GPS didn't have the same accuracy as the navy and Air Force did. In the 1990’s they gave the public the same accuracy the military had because of its high demand.  Today's GPS consists of 24 satellites which wasn't fully developed until 1995.

The GPS did have its flaws to, it didn't have a map or screen.  The GPS only gave you longitude, latitude and altitude. Today and in 1973 we couldn't rely on a GPS for tracking or location.


Cite three detailed examples of research done in the past 3 to 5 years which focused on the topic your team has selected.

 

 

We are not the first people to do research on this topic and we probably aren’t even the most recent anymore, but we are hoping to do something new or different than the people who have done this before. We are learning from past researchers by looking at their studies and their results and maybe using this new information to drive our own research. In this paper I will discuss 3 other researches done on our topic in the last 3-5 years.
 

An interview in November 2006 revealed a study being done to work on GPS’s fault of needing constant signal to able to work. Researchers in the Sarnoff Corporation working out of Princeton, New Jersey have been trying to use cameras to scan and gauge the distance traveled so that even after the signal fails you can still track your progress. Their technology is so accurate that after half a kilometer without GPS signal the range for error is only 1 meter. The research is being funded by the Office of Naval Research and the principal investigator for the project is Rakesh Kumar. 
 

On February 10, 2008 an experiment took place to test the ability of a new GPS idea of using phones with built in GPS to track traffic in real time. The research companies involved in the experiments were the University of California, Berkeley, and the Nokia Research Center. They are attempting to have cellphones send out anonymous speed/location information to a central hub, where they can attempt to show traffic in real time. They’re research is delayed however due to the high cost for the experiment. The research is being done at the California Center for Innovative Transportation, and the principal investigators are Alexandre Bayen and Quinn Jacobson. The project is funded by Tekes, a Finnish government funding agency.
 

On July 21, 2008 it was announced that a GPS like system is being designed for the Moon. They are going to use the satellite images we already take of it, and combine it with sensors placed on the Moons surface. The project is headed by Ron Li, a strange designated Professor of civil and environmental engineering and geodetic science. He is funded by NASA, and works out of Ohio State's Mapping and Geographic Information Systems Laboratory. The system is called the Lunar Astronaut Spatial Orientation and Information System or LASOIS. The project will happen in 2020 if NASA revisits the Moon.

Based on the research your team has done, explain how the NCT application chosen has advanced scientific knowledge.

 

 

Research done on Navigation systems in the past years have changed scientific knowledge quite a bit.  It has made it easier for people to know where they are and how to get to places easier without having to use a map. The GPS has advanced business, society and education knowledge.  This paper will be about how the advancements of the GPS and how they advanced scientific knowledge.  

Research done on navigation systems have changed a lot in the past years.  From being able to only know your longitude and your latitude; you can now see where you are located on a screen and map.  Pilots and ship captains have also transferred to Global positioning systems because they are easier to find out longitude and such.  It has also made geodetic research and map surveying easier for scientists.  Business's and government agencies also use navigation systems to track cars.  Navigation systems have been put into phones, cars, and music devices to make every ones life easier.  

In conclusion navigation systems have made scientists, the government, and the peoples life easier.  It has also advanced knowledge to know where exactly you are on the planet and how to get to different places on earth.