Application in Surveying Mapping

As technology evolves and expands throughout the world, the surveying and mapping community is steadily redefining the tools required to increase productivity and obtain highly accurate data.

Using the near pinpoint accuracy provided by the Global Positioning System (GPS) with ground augmentations, highly accurate surveying and mapping results can be rapidly obtained, thereby significantly reducing the amount of equipment and labor hours that are normally required of other conventional surveying and mapping techniques. Today it is possible for a single surveyor to accomplish in one day what used to take weeks with an entire team. GPS is unaffected by rain, wind, or reduced sunlight, and is rapidly being adopted by professional surveyors and mapping personnel throughout the world.

GPS provides accurate three-dimensional positioning information for natural and artificial features that can be displayed on maps and models of everything in the world - mountains, rivers, forests, endangered animals, precious minerals and many other resources. GPS position information for these features serves as a prime input to geographic information systems (GIS), that assemble, store, manipulate, and display geographically referenced information.

GPS has played a vital role in relief efforts for global disasters such as the tsunami that struck in the Indian Ocean region in 2004, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita that wreaked havoc in the Gulf of Mexico in 2005, and the Pakistan-India earthquake in 2005. Search and rescue teams used GPS position information to create maps of the disaster areas for rescue and aid operations, as well as to help assess damage.

Throughout the world, government agencies, scientific organizations, and commercial operations are using the surveys and maps deriving from GPS and GIS for timely decision-making and wiser use of resources. Any organization or agency that requires accurate location information can benefit from the efficiency and productivity provided by the positioning capability of GPS.

Unlike traditional techniques, GPS surveying is not bound by constraints such as line-of-sight visibility between reference stations. Also, the spacing between stations can be increased. The increased flexibility of GPS also permits survey stations to be established at easily accessible sites rather than being confined to hilltops as previously required.

Remote GPS systems may be carried by one person in a backpack, mounted on the roof of an automobile, or fastened atop an all-terrain vehicle to permit rapid and accurate field data collection. With a GPS radio communication link, real-time, continuous centimeter-level accuracy makes possible a productivity level that is virtually unattainable using optical survey instruments.

With the modernization of GPS even further enhancements are in the works. In addition to the current GPS civilian service, the United States is committed to implementing two additional civilian signals. The extra signals will, for example, provide a means for correcting errors caused by the ionosphere, thus improving positioning accuracy. The new signals will also improve the availability and overall integrity of the system for all users.