Global Positioning Satellite System (GPS) and Phones - Essay Example

GPS Samson Varghese Global Positioning Satellite System (GPS) and Phones Introduction “The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system made up of a network of 24 satellites placed into orbit by the U.S. Department of Defense. GPS was originally intended for military applications, but in the 1980s, the government made the system available for civilian use. GPS works in any weather conditions, anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day”. (What is GPS?) Global Positioning Satellite System (GPS) is an invaluable tool in location based services and navigating unfamiliar areas. Its implementation in phones especially in mobile phones has provided immense help to the public, but at the same, it raises so many questions as well. Negative Consequences of GPS Cell phones, especially GPS phones raise lots of concerns over the privacy issues. Consumers are often not aware that their movements are monitored. Their secrecy and private life will be in jeopardy while they are using such GPS mobile phones. Women and girls can be traced and their private life can be exploited by intruders. Blackmailing and robbery can be accomplished using the GPS. Security is another concern. “Government officials and communications experts are assessing the public safety and security implications of a newly posted online article that provides directions for making cheap devices that can jam Global Positioning GPS 2 System (GPS) signals. The Phrack article provides a detailed guide to building a low-cost, portable GPS jammer out of components that can be easily obtained from electronics supply houses. (Bob Brewin) As per this article, an average person with slight knowledge in electronics can make GPS jammers without much effort. In the modern world of highest terrorist activities, GPS can act as a blessing and a curse at the same time. User’s Privacy Positive Impacts “Global Positioning Systems (GPS) reveal a persons location. This type of location data helps police with their investigations, such as tracking down a criminal or even someone who is lost or missing. They can act as a safety device to protecting your family and loved ones. Location technology also helps locate stolen cars.”(Brad Seabourne ). For example, suppose a person with a GPS phone is being kidnapped. The police can identify the location of the person who is being kidnapped with the help of the GPS system easily. GPS can provide valuable information to the drivers such as total miles driven, speeds that it was driven, travelled routes and current location. The driver can now find their exact location and get directions, and more over they can have it delivered by voice with the help of GPS. The road maps are no more in use. GPS will help them in locating the nearest rest stop, dining establishment, bed and breakfast, or fueling GPS 3 station. They can drive even without the knowledge of the routes and areas if their vehicle is equipped with GPS. Suppose an American tourist wanted to go to Taj Mahal in Agra, India without having a guide or a driver to protect his privacy. He can do that if his car is accomplished with GPS. GPS is of great advantage for the tourists who are interested in keeping their privacy by avoiding the help of a tour guide. GPS technology can also help in locating stolen cars. Car robbers have a hard time after the implementation of GPS in vehicles. Before they are getting enough time to remove the GPS system their positions will be accessed correctly by the police using the GPS services. Thus robbery of cars marked a great reduction after the implementation of GPS. Some car rental companies impose certain rules in driving speeds, while giving their cars on rent. They can monitor the speed of the rented car if it is installed with GPS system and based on the data collected for speed, they can decide whether to bill excessively or not for the wear and tear. Customers can no more make cheat the rent-a- car companies. “GPS vehicle tracking systems have been invaluable to companies who need to keep track of their vehicle fleets, while simultaneously allowing their drivers to use the devices to make deliveries more efficiently, and allowing estimation of time of arrival.GPS vehicle tracking systems have also allowed delivery companies to determine the most efficient route for their drivers to take” (GPS Tracking Systems and Privacy). GPS 4 Many parents are using the advantages of GPS to locate their child and their activities. Children can often mislead their parents about their activities and whereabouts. Though it is useful in the navigation of unfamiliar areas, it can also cause problems to both the privacy and security of people. “The advent of GPS technology has had an impact on many recreational activities such as hiking, camping and fishing because it allows GPS users to better navigate new areas. Additionally, a new recreational activity has come from GPS itself, an activity called "geocaching." This new activity is something like a game of hide-and-seek using the longitude and latitude coordinates to locate a particular container” (GPS Tracking Systems and Privacy). The kidnapping and looting of commercial ships in the coastal areas of Somalia is a big problem now the international community is facing. If all the commercial ships are equipped with GPS, it can be easily located and the authorities can rescue the workers and the goods. The activities and whereabouts of business executives, especially marketing executives, can be studied by the corporate companies with the help of GPS. Most of the marketing executives mislead their companies or boss about their whereabouts. Even while relaxing at home on duty time, they will say that they are in the market with some of their clients. A marketing fellow can no more mislead the management anymore about his whereabouts if he is provided with a GPS phone. GPS 5 Negative Impacts There is lot of negative impacts also in using the GPS phones. As we have seen the misuse of other technologically advanced areas such as computers and internet, GPS phones also can be misused. Consider the example of a business executive, who wants to have some business negotiations with some of his clients. Suppose he wanted to do it secretly in order to avoid the competition. Even if he succeeded in keeping the details of his business trip in secret, his GPS mobile phone can easily give the whereabouts of him to his competitors easily. Using GPS system the competitors can locate him and study his movements and based on that they can act positively in favor of them. In such cases the GPS phone can be a headache rather than a blessing. Security is another concern in using the GPS phones. Kidnappers can utilize GPS technology to their advantages in locating their wanted persons. Kidnapping and robbery is one of the threats faced by the modern world from the gangsters. They can locate and kidnap their wanted persons and using some modern technologies they can even jam the signals from their GPS phones and thereby they can neutralize the attempts of police in locating them using the same GPS technology. In order to avoid the misuse, most of the cell phone service providers do not offer the user, direct access to the GPS data. Location determination requires the assistance of the wireless network, and the GPS data is transmitted only if an emergency call is made. GPS 6 Personal Opinion about GPS Considering the benefits of GPS with the concerns, I strongly believe that GPS usage should be increased in more and more areas. The internet and computers were treated with suspicion during the early days of its implementation. Though the negatives are still there, it is an essential part of human life nowadays. We cannot even think of avoiding the computers or internet from any fields of the society. In fact most countries are spreading the usage of computers and internet to even rural areas. In the same way though there are certain security and privacy concerns about the GPS, the usage of it should be encouraged to more and more areas. In today’s world most of the children don’t have proper control from their parents and their activities are not at all monitored by anyone. Some reports from India shows that the students are recruited by the terrorist group and they are trained in remote areas. Most of the students may not reveal their linkage with the antisocial elements. In such cases GPS can help the parents in monitoring their activities which cannot be considered as an intrusion over privacy. Conclusion GPS technology has its merits as well as demerits. It can be used constructively and destructively as in the case of most of the modern technologies. Navigation of unfamiliar areas is one of the great advantages of this technology. It can be a help for the law enforcers, police and the law breakers, gangsters at the same time. Parents can GPS 7 navigate their children’s whereabouts and their activities using the GPS phone. The robbed vehicles can be located if it is equipped with suitable GPS. In short considering the merits of GPS, the negative impacts can be negated. GPS 8 Sources 1. What is GPS? Retrieved on 12/12/08 http://www8.garmin.com/aboutGPS/ 2. Brad Seabourne GPS Security And Privacy - Pros Vs Cons Retrieved on 12/12/08 http://ezinearticles.com/?GPS-Security-And-Privacy---Pros-Vs-Cons&id=945696 3. Bob Brewin Homemade GPS jammers raise concerns Retrieved on 12/12/08 http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,77702,00.html 4. GPS Tracking Systems and Privacy Retrieved on 12/12/08 http://www.gps-nav-systems.com/GPS_Tracking_Systems.html Read More