Find It: GPS

Engineering Design Challenge

Challenge
You are a team of engineers who have been given the challenge
of solving a problem the world faces through the use of GPS. You
will brainstorm within your group to identify three challenges, and
then determine which of the three has the greatest impact on
society. These might solve a human problem, and animal problem,
or an environmental problem.
You'll develop a proposal to present to your class and then each
team will reflect and consider the best new application of GPS.
You'll have to consider whether potential errors or even sabotage
of the GPS system would cause more problems than your
application would solve. Teams will design a GPS app.
Materials
GPS locator computer program

Criteria

Constraints
Must be completed on time

Controls

Variables

Introduction
How is it possible that we can ever pinpoint exact locations on the
Earth when it is so huge? How about finding an exact location in
space? Do you think that is hard? Yes, it is! Often, we create
small-scale models to represent large-scale objects, like a globe of
the Earth. This helps us gain a better understanding of where
things are in relation to each other. The small-scale model is
usually a good representation of the real thing. Can you point out
the USA on the globe? How about Africa? Now, let's think of Maya
canoeing around Canada. Where might she be? Sure, we can
point at the area where Maya might be, but how do we find
out exactly where she is? Well, today we will learn how engineers
help us find our location anywhere on Earth using a
technology called global positioning system (GPS) and satellites in
space.

Satellites can help us know exactly where something is on Earth.

Have you ever looked outside at night and seen a star that is
moving slowly though the sky? Well, that may not be a star and
might be a satellite instead. Hundreds of satellites are orbiting the
Earth as we speak. In fact, the Earth even has a natural satellite.
Do you know what it is? The moon! Engineered or human-made,
satellites can be instruments or machines that record different
data measurements from outside the Earth's atmosphere for
various purposes such as scientific research, weather research
and prediction, navigation and observing the Earth. GPS satellites
help us find a location by triangulating the position of an object or
person as they move. Satellites do this by receiving and
transmitting signals. Basically, a signal is sent from a computer or
a person in one location on Earth up to a satellite orbiting the
Earth and back down to the same or another person or computer
somewhere else. (Refer to Lesson 1 of this unit for additional
discussion about satellites and communication.)

With Spacewoman Tess in space (having deployed her satellites),

Spaceman Rohan on the ground hoping to get in contact with
Maya, and Maya off paddling in her canoe with her satellite phone
and GPS receiver, the entire family needs to be able to be in
contact with each other. But, in order to communicate with each
other, this family needed to understand the science and math
behind communications in order to set up their system. Tess had
to learn about satellites to design one and get it into space, and
Rohan and Maya needed to learn about how communications
work on Earth.

Engineers invented satellites and have always been involved with

designing them, getting them into space, and analyzing their
data. So, engineers need to have a good understanding of
science, space and aerospace engineering. Engineers also need to
understand mathematics and navigation systems on Earth. Today,
we are going to act as if we are engineers and use math to find a
location of someone on a map. We will pretend that the map is a
city and we will figure out how many satellites we need to find our
exact location. We can find that location by modeling GPS
satellites and receivers.

Vocabulary
constellation: An easily recognized group of stars or satellites that
appear to be located close together in the sky.

gravity: The force by which a planet or other celestial body tends

to draw objects toward its center.

low Earth orbiting: When a satellite circles close to Earth (200-500

miles high), it is in low Earth orbit (LEO). Because satellites orbit
so close to Earth, they must travel very fast (17,000 miles per
hour) so that gravity does not pull them back into the
atmosphere.
navigation: The science and technology of finding the position
and directing the course of vessels and aircraft.

orbit: The path of a celestial body or an artificial satellite as it

revolves around another body.

parabolic: Plane curve consisting of all points equidistant from a

given fixed point and a given fixed line.

Engineering Connection
Engineers are involved in the design of satellites, getting them
into space, and analyzing the data retrieved from them. GPS
designed by engineers helps to determine precise locations of
receivers on Earth. GPS has become a common technology in
vehicle and phone designs. Engineers work with the
communication systems, from satellites to information highways,
which help people contact each other from great distances.

Background
The Global Positioning System allows a GPS receiver to determine
its position by using the formula: Velocity x Time = Distance. The
signal is really called "Pseudo Random Code" (PRC) which is
basically a complex sequence of "on" and "off" digital pulses. The
GPS satellites continuously transmit these PRCs at specific,
planned times. The GPS device then has to measure the exact
instant when the PRC arrives and calculate the difference
between the receiving time and the time the signal left the
satellite in order to determine the "time." The times have to be
very accurate because a clock error in the receiver of even a few
nanoseconds would result in a positioning error of several
hundred meters.
There are many GPS application for civilian use. Many use GPS
systems to keep track of their location and destination when
hiking or driving. In many parts of the world, GPS is improving bus
and taxi service and safety. Having the ability to track cabs or
busses with a GPS system, dispatchers can ensure that their
companies' drivers reach passengers quickly and thus do more
business per day.
In Australia, GPS is making train travel more predictable. GPS
technology keeps on-board and waiting passengers informed of a
train's location and destination arrival times. In the United
Kingdom, the 1995 British Olympic Sailing Trials at Weymouth Bay
and Portland Harbour represented the first-ever use of GPS
technology in sailing race course mapping. Traditional course
setting has been difficult and inconsistent as weather conditions
have often forced course layers to make changes in courses. In
doing so, the course setters can inadvertently alter the intended
length of a course.
Engineers and scientists are always coming up with new
applications for established technologies such as GPS! For
example, during the recent H1N1 Flu Outbreak, the GPS system
was used to create immediate mapping of cases of the flu as they
were reported. GPS has become important for nearly all military
operations and weapons systems. It allows troops to advance in
sandstorms, and helps identify the location of individual soldiers.
Lockheed Martin is currently building the next-generation Global
Positioning System Space System program, known as GPS III. The
new engineering will improve position, navigation, and timing
services for the warfighter and civil users worldwide and provide
advanced anti-jam capabilities yielding superior system security,
accuracy and reliability.

Investigative Questions
1. Can you think of other ways that you could describe the
location of a specific point using distances. (Answer:
Measure from landmarks, measure from different points,
include height measurements, etc.)

2. What might happen if accurate measurements are not

give to the other group? (Answer: The other group
will have a hard time finding the location.)

3. If this was not on a small scale and the point is the real
location where someone was lost, what would happen if
an engineer did not accurately report the measurements?
(Answer: That person might stay lost for a longer time.)
 4. What we are doing is called triangulation. Can you think of
why? What word does triangulation remind you of?
(Answer: A triangle. A triangle has three corners. We are
using three strings to find our point and basically making
a pyramid or three-dimensional triangle on the map.)

Post Activity Questions

1. This was a small-scale model of what a GPS system does. In
a real GPS system, the points on walls of the box represent
what? (Answer: Navigation satellites.)

2. If you wanted to specify a point some distance above the

bottom of the box, what additional information would you
need to provide? (Answer: The distance between the bottom
of the box and that point or height.) In a large-scale system,
like the Earth, what would that distance represent? (Answer:
Altitude.)

3. What geometrical concept did we use to find the specified

location? (Answer: Triangulation.)

4. Is this the same method that GPS satellites and receivers use
to find a specified location? (Answer: Yes.)

5. How many satellites did we need to find our location on

Earth? (Answer: Three.)

6. How would you define triangulation? (Example answer:

Triangulation is finding a location of point by measuring the
distance from two or more other known points; finding a
location on a map, in three dimensions, which takes at least
three satellites to find the exact location; making a three-
dimensional triangle or a pyramid.)
7. What do engineers need to understand to design satellites
for GPS? (Answer: Engineers need to have a good
understanding of science, space and aerospace
engineering.)