GPS in the Year 2000 and Beyond

Extract

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a military positioning and navigation system that, like all radio navigation systems, will also be used by the civil community. The system has just completed a transition from the development phase into production. In order to speculate on how the GPS will look in the year 2000 and beyond, a determination must first be made on how the system will look in the 1990s after it has become fully operational and has gained some maturity. As the system is being fielded and after it is operational, certain pressures will be exerted to change the system. These pressures will tend to make it change, and various types of change could occur. These potential changes will be examined primarily from the point of view of the civil use of GPS. The pressures come from at least four sources: the military needs of GPS, money, technological innovation and user requirements. These pressures could also cause changes to occur in the various GPS plans and policies associated with civil use. The pressures and/or new policies and plans could affect the GPS hardware and software. In addition to system or policy changes, new applications of GPS will surface and new ways of installing and integrating GPS on various platforms will emerge.