What will gps be like in the future

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But what can we expect in the next few decades from the technology. Meaning, soon your phone may be getting even smarter. The first thing that people might be used to doing is accessing maps on their phones. That is something that depends on satellite positioning using GPS satellites.

These days, large shipping companies use satellite positing to determine where their trucks are. And you can keep track of all your vehicles from a central location, which is huge for enabling more efficient transportation. Satellite positioning has revolutionized how large scale agriculture is taking place. Fertilizer is very expensive, the old way of doing things you would apply the same amount of fertilizer for a whole field. A firefighter appears in the exhibition highlighting how satellite positioning allows vehicles to get to places faster because they know the routes and have the on-board mapping information.

Furthermore, the precise GPS time signal, derived from atomic clocks, is embedded in critical economic activities such as synchronising communication networks, managing power grids, and authenticating electronic transactions. The main focus of the new GPS program is to add new signals to the satellite constellation. As of February , there are 31 operational GPS satellites in the orbit.

Nineteen of these satellites broadcast L2C and the other twelve broadcast L5 signals. The new constellation of satellites will enhance signal reliability and accuracy and have a year design lifespan. Seven billion GPS receivers are being used in all sorts of vehicles and devices in , and it is supposed to reach ten billion by After the deployment of new satellites, the accuracy, uptime and accessibility of GPS will improve all around the world.

Technology has been moving at a rapid pace in the 21st century, and GPS is no exception. Inertial navigation is what takes over when in-car navigation devices lose the GPS signal inside tunnels Credit: Alamy. The UK is developing a backup system for the timing synchronisation services that GPS provides in the form of The National Timing Centre program , the first such national service in the world. When it becomes operational in , it will involve sets of precise atomic clocks at distributed, secure locations across the UK, providing timing signals via cable and radio services.

The idea is that if satellite signals go down, there is no single vulnerable centre that could be brought down by an accident, technical glitch or cyberattack. Ultimately no single system may be able to replace the power of satellite navigation systems such as GPS, and we may end up with a mix-and-match of different solutions for ships, planes and cars. There is a real question though over whether any alternative will be in place soon enough.

We are becoming ever more reliant on accurate navigation. Self-driving cars, delivery drones, and flying taxis are expected to appear on and above our roads over the next decade. All of them will be dependent on GPS. As Curry notes, one person with a powerful jammer in a could knock out GPS across an area the size of London from the right place.

Unless adequate backup systems are developed, in the future whole cities might grind to a halt at the flick of a switch. Join one million Future fans by liking us on Facebook , or follow us on Twitter or Instagram. If you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc. What would the world do without GPS? Share using Email. By David Hambling 5th October Satellite navigation systems keep our world running in ways many people barely realise, but they are also increasingly vulnerable.

What could we use instead? A massive solar storm, one like the Carrington Event of , could bring down the entire GPS satellite network. Around the BBC.