GPS and GNSS for Geospatial Professionals

Catalog description

Cultivates a working knowledge of current and future capabilities of GPS and the emerging Global Navigation Satellite System. GEOG 862 GPS Modernization for Geospatial Professionals (1) Topic: The Global Positioning System (GPS) includes a constellation of earth-orbiting satellites that broadcast their locations in space and time, a network of ground control stations, and military and civilian receivers that calculate ground positions by trilaterating satellite positions. Geospatial professionals need to posses a working knowledge of current and future GPS capabilities because GPS positioning is so prevalent in geographic information systems (GIS) applications in government, industry, and academia. GPS has always been a dual use system, military and civilian. From the beginning, GPS signals have been available with no direct user fees. GPS is used now in all of transportation-aviation, maritime, railroad, highway and mass transit. Satellite positions also plays critical roles in telecommunications, land surveying, law enforcement, emergency response, precision agriculture, mining, finance, and scientific research. It controls computer networks, air traffic, power grids, and so on. As the scope of GPS has expanded, the system continues to evolve. Course Objectives: GEOG 862 provides students with an opportunity to develop an in-depth understanding of the Global Positioning System that exceeds the basic awareness that is cultivated in prerequisite courses. For example, while it is useful to know that a minimum of 24 GPS satellites ensure 24-hour worldwide GPS coverage, it is equally important to understand why there are more than the minimum on orbit. Students in GEOG 862 learn that redundancy is necessary in a system upon which much of the U.S. economy now depends. Society's reliance on satellite positioning mandates GPS modernization. Student Activities: The course consists of four weekly lessons. Each lesson will require a minimum of 8-12 hours of activity. Lessons will include weekly lectures (via synchronous Web conference and/or streaming video), threaded discussion, readings, two quizzes and two writing assignments about concepts and tools in GPS Modernization. These assignments are designed to help students progress towards successfully completing the objectives for this course. * Class Participation: Individual participation via online discussion. Students will be encouraged to post and respond to questions and comments in online discussions forums. *Quizzes: There will be a mid-course quiz at the end of Week 2 and a final quiz at the end of Week 4 to test the students' comprehension of class materials and other reading as required. *Papers: There are two writing assignments in this course. The first falls after Week 1 and asks students to prepare a 1200 word paper on one topic covered in "Basic GPS," The first lesson. The second falls after Week 3 and asks the students to prepare a 1200 word paper on one topic covered in either Week 2 or Week 3.