Ever since the first artificial satellite was propelled into space, the use of GPS satellites has rapidly increased. There is evidently conflicting evidence over whether the ethical, moral and practical implications of putting GPS satellites into orbit are positive or negative. This paper investigated the idea that GPS devices can help solve crimes and enhance security, but there are nevertheless potential perils posed by the abuse of GPS technology and orbital debris from satellite collisions. Taking everything into account, this essay concludes that the beneficial implications outweigh the detrimental ramifications.
Introduction
The GPS (Global Positioning System) is a navigation system that comprises 24 satellites orbiting at an altitude
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According to Huang, a Qihoo security researcher (as cited in Olson, 2015), ‘Hackers can give the wrong GPS position, for example, a drone. If you use GPS to drive a car it can change you to a different location (or direct the victim) to go down a cliff.’ In other words, the hacker is capable of falsifying their victim’s GPS location to direct them elsewhere. Not to mention, this can potentially become a life threatening issue if left unsolved. To elaborate, the Supreme Court asserted(as cited in Crump, 2011) that ‘a person who knows all of another’s travels can deduce whether he is a weekly churchgoer, a heavy drinker, a regular at the gym, an unfaithful husband, an outpatient receiving medical treatment, an associate of particular individuals or political groups -- and not just one such fact about a person, but all such facts.’ Not only is this an infringement of the right to personal privacy, but personal data can also be accessed by hackers as GPS systems gather all whereabouts of each user and transmit them to a third party. That is to say, personal information can be abused by anyone to blackmail, harass and threaten. Considering the findings stated above, it can be debated that there are egregious capabilities of GPS technology and a myriad of probable consequences when it falls into the wrong
The invention of the GPS started with Dr. Ivan Getting leaving his position at Raytheon Company, and armed with the knowledge of what was at the time the most advanced navigational technology in the world, they began developing the Global Positioning System. He, Roger L. Easton, and Bradford Parkison began in the 60’s with a constellation of 24 satellites (placed in six orbital planes) orbiting the earth at a very high altitude (about
Although this service sounds quite convenient and has its obvious benefits, there are other issues to be considered. For example, many ethical dilemmas that play from privacy issues. In a world when at one time you could take a walk to remove yourself from the eye of another, we not may be under constant supervision of sorts. Tracking devises are easily placed in many things, cell phones, which are used by nearly all people in today's American society, are the recent and most wide spread target for GPS. Is it ethical to track someone through an everyday devices such as a cell phone, is tracking people ethical in itself? These are the questions that must be resolved before we can celebrate the positives of such technological advancements.
GPS systems in earlier history, were primarily used by the military branches of our government to compete with other nations we had been fighting against. At the time, many people were trying to make that technology accessible to the public living in the United States. The idea of adding a GPS inside of a cell phone came to reality briefly before the year 2000. From then on, the GPS technology in cellphones has sophisticated in such a way never imaginable. A lot of good has come from this technology, but there has also been a lot of bad that has come from it as well.
NSSS states a few current trends in space as being “congested and contested” (NSSS, 8), which is shaping our space strategic environment as well as fueling debates for space weapons. “Congested” trend refers to the current “60 nations and government consortia that own and operate satellites and the expectation to have 9000 satellite communication transponders in orbit by 2015.
The story of the haunted GPS unit served as a commentary on the consequences of over-reliance as well as blind trust in not only navigation units, but also technology in general. It also served as a warning against buying items that were at too good to be true prices from websites where the sellers are not reputable companies but users who have no desire to maintain a good reputation.
...regarded GPS – an indispensable part of GIS. Discussions on cartographic principles, commercial GIS software programs, satellite images, aerial photos, and geodatabases are some of the other conspicuous omissions in this book. There is an inconsistency in the depth of topics explored; for example map projections are explored in great depth, while vector topology is merely glossed over. These omissions and inconsistencies would in my opinion make this book marginally less beneficial to all the three audiences together. However, there is something for all them; structure for engineers, equations for engineers and students, and GIS concepts for students, engineers and users. This book will therefore be undeniably valuable if used to complement the material in some of the other fundamental GIS books in the discipline. It has merits, but there is room for improvement.
“What is GPS?”, “GPS Location Privacy.” Official U.S. Government information about the Global Positioning System. National Coordination Office for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing. Feb 11, 2014. Web. April 30, 2014.
... potentially criminal. Similar to the collection of consumer data, the information gathered by the government is also subject to abuse by people who are granted access privilege. For example, in 2007, a federal agent was charged with using a government database to track the travel pattern of his ex-girlfriend (Lee).
The following is a brief illustration of the principles of GPS. For more information see previous chapter. The Global positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-base navigation system that provides a user with proper equipment access to positioning information. The most commonly used approaches for GPS positioning are the Iterative Least Square (ILS) and the Kalman Filter (EKF) methods. Both of them are based on psuedorange equation:
GPS is a navigational aid that is satellite based. It is made up of a network of 24 satellites in orbit around the world. The first satellite was launched in 1978 and the last was put into orbit in 1994. Every 10 years another satellite is put into orbit because each satellite is made to last that amount of time. The system began as a military application but in the 1980’s the government decided to make it available to everyone, anywhere, anytime. The system finds your position by measuring the time it takes to receive the signal back to the satellite. It then does that with other satellites to triangulate your position in relation to the earth. To calculate a position in 2D the system has to be locked on to at least three satellites, but for a 3D representation you need to be locked on to at least 4 satellites. Once the position is found the GPS can calculate much more info like speed, bearing, track, distance, etc… The GPS system is very accurate; Garmin (a leader in GPS technology) states that their newest receiver is accurate up to an average of 15 meters.
In May 2007, Google added an innovative feature to Google Maps, called Google Street View. Street View provides 360 degree views of addresses from street level. Google cites many possible uses for the technology, such as showing long-distance friends and family your house, checking out the handicapped accommodations at establishments in advance, or previewing potential vacation rentals. Street View is available for most major metropolitan areas in the United States as well as selected countries abroad. As with any project that has a scope as grand as Street View’s. Google’s new technology has some drawbacks. Google’s methodology to collect all of these images was to pay people to drive around in cars that had cameras mounted on their roofs. As a result, many of the images contain people going about their daily lives, unaware that they are being photographed. This causes some people concern over their privacy. These fears are unfounded, however, as Google has worked very hard to ease people’s concerns. Ultimately, the utility of the service outweighs the privacy concerns of a small group of people. This paper outlines the privacy rights of United States citizens regarding Street View, what Google has done to address privacy concerns, and then offers a recommendation on whether Google has done enough to address these privacy concerns.
GPS is a system of satellites radio-transmitters that orbit the planet in great numbers; their purpose is to be able to pinpoint the exact location of an individual or any type of vessel that is equipped with a receiver transmitter within a very small radius. GPS navigation has had a great impact upon society in general as well and its commercial and military applications. Global Positioning is made available at no cost to anyone who has a GPS receiver unit anywhere on the planet. A GPS unit is able to give the user longitude/latitude information as well as, altitude, traveling speed, distance traveled, distance remaining and time in any type of weather conditions imaginable.
The Global Positioning System, more commonly called the GPS is a satellite based system that provides navigation for almost everything from cell phones to automobiles. This wonderful technology is very vital in today’s economy because of its prominence in banking, financial markets, power grids, farming, construction and so much more. It also protects human life by preventing accidents, helping in search and rescue missions and is critical to nearly every facet of military operations. There are three segments that make up the global positioning system: the space segment, the control segment and the user segment. The segment we are familiar with is the user segment. The user segment is what receives GPS signals, determines the distance between a satellite and a receiver and solves the navigation equations, all in order to obtain the coordinates of a specific place. The space segment consists of 31 satellites but there is an availability of at least 24 satellites that are approximately 6 000-12 000 miles above the earth.
Snyder, S.. "Google Maps: An Invasion of Privacy?." Time. Time Inc., 12 June 2007. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
When considering geographical data privacy, it is very important to maintain as location tracking capabilities of mobile devices are advancing (location-based services), problems related to user privacy arises. If the privacy of location data is not maintain properly terrorists, thieves can easily access our location.