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Study Guide
1. What is GPS?
- Definition from Nitrox.com: Global
Positioning System: A worldwide radio-navigation system that was
developed by the US.
Department of Defense. In addition to military purposes it is widely
used in marine, terrestrial navigation and location based services.
- Definition from Sound
Underwater Images: (Global
Positioning System) A satellite based
navigation system providing accuracy usable for side scan sonar surveys
on a worldwide basis. GPS has become a universal, reliable positioning
system. Inherent errors in GPS (implemented by the Department of
Defense) create inaccuracies of more than 100 meters. Differential base
stations can reduce these errors to less than two meters but are time
consuming to survey-in and have limited range.
- Definition from NOAA: An acronym for Global Positioning
System. A network of satellites which provide extremely accurate
position and time information. Useful in remote locations or for moving
platforms
2. What
are the uses of GPS?
According to The Aerospace
Corporation, GPS has many uses.
- The U.S.Military uses GPS for positioning of soldiers
and equipment. Receivers are
carried by the troops on the ground and are attached to vehicles,
helicopters, and aircraft instrument panels. GPS receivers are used in
several aircraft, including F-16 fighters, KC-135 aerial tankers, and
B-52 bombers. Navy ships used them for rendezvous, minesweeping, and
aircraft operations.
- NASA uses GPS to
obtain highly accurate orbit data and to control spacecraft orientation.
- In 2002, it enabled
rescuers to drill a shaft to free trapped miners in Somerset PA.
- Many police, fire, and
emergency medical-service units use GPS receivers to determine the
police car, fire truck, or ambulance nearest to an emergency, enabling the
quickest possible response in life-or-death situations. GPS-equipped
aircraft can quickly plot the perimeter of a forest fire so fire
supervisors can produce updated maps in the field and send firefighters
safely to key hot spots.
3. GPS and Privacy: Convenience or Invasion?
- Brenda Miller brings up Bar-Coding & Implanting in humans in High Technology: Friend or
Foe, which brings up many ethical issues regarding GPS and how it is
used and who in fact uses it.
- According to ZDNet, Rental
cars are being implemented with GPS which brings up many more ethical
issues regarding privacy. Rental car companies have used GPS
devices since the mid-1990s, installing systems to give drivers
directions while they're on the road. "Fleet management"
companies such as AirIQ
and Fleetrack
are also selling newer tracking services that help companies monitor
their vehicles.
- The
NY Times takes a looks at GPS in personal vehicles using the OnStar system. OnStar
is one of a growing number of automated eyes and ears that enhance
driving safety and convenience but that also increase the potential for
surveillance. Privacy advocates say that the rise of the automotive
technologies, including electronic toll areas, location-tracking
devices, "black box" data recorders like those found on
airplanes and even tiny radio ID tags in tires, are changing the nature
of Americans' relationship with their cars.
4. GPS and Privacy in wireless
devices
·
As one of the first major
telecommunications carriers to adopt federally mandated pinpointing
technology for wireless calls, Sprint will face serious consumer concerns about how caller privacy will
be affected by the inclusion of Global Positioning System (GPS) technology in
its wireless phones.
- What is Future of GPS
and where do we draw the line.
Would you want to be tracked without your knowledge by a
government agency, debt collector, or even a friend or loved one
checking up on you?
5. Is GPS equivalent to Big
Brother?
- Big
Brother? What is wrong
with a business monitoring their vehicles? Or making sure their
employees are doing what they’re being paid to
do? Who owns these vehicles, anyway? Does the owner have a right to know
how they’re being used?
- Technological advances in GPS may be used to
invade a person's privacy, bring up many Privacy
Concerns. Regardless, people
already should be questioning who has access to their location data and
for what purpose.
- In
Britain, the
government recently decided to deploy global positioning system (GPS)
technology to track every vehicle in the U.K. every minute of the
day. In the United
States, President Bush is acting
under apparently self-granted powers to ``authorize'' the National
Security Agency (NSA) to spy on Americans. Does US and UK Spying
equate to George Orwell's vision of Big Brother?
6. GPS and Privacy in the
workplace
- Although most
companies use GPS fairly, there are some companies that do misuse
GPS. Introducing GPS into the workplace
without notifying employees, monitoring workers during off hours and
using GPS data to set unreasonable quotas can "diminish the inherent
dignity of an employee”.
- MSNBC reports that as
well as taxi cabs and delivery vehicles, News Crews are amongst the
latest workers to have GPS placed in their vehicles. This brings up issues of privacy, but
can increase efficiency. Once
the government starts tracking people's whereabouts, it starts raising
concerns, but it can also be used to keep tabs on employees. Automated
Waste Disposal Inc. caught one worker speeding, while Metropolitan
Lumber & Hardware in New
York found a delivery driver goofing off.
- GPS technology poses a
risk to individual privacy and should be carefully monitored, according
to an article by The Beacon
Journal. Tracking devices
have become increasingly available to consumers, but the law has yet to
explore the ramifications of using them to secretly monitor individuals,
legal experts say
7.
GPS and Privacy: Court
decisions
- In a recent Court case
a US.
Federal Judge decided to pass a law allowing police officers to
attach GPS devices without having a warrant. Civil liberties advocates believe the
decision “opens the door for increased government surveillance.”
- Satellite
Snooping is another term for the law enforcement’s
use of GPS. GPS is becoming increasingly popular with law
enforcement due to the practice of secretly tagging Americans' vehicles
without adhering to the procedural safeguards and judicial oversight
that protect the privacy of homes and telephone conversations from
police abuses.
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