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DEFINITION AND SCOPE OF GIS

A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a system designed to capture,
store, manipulate, analyse, and present spatial or geographic data. GIS
applications are tools that allow users to create interactive queries (user-
created searches), analyse spatial information, edit data in maps, and present
the results of all these operations GIS sometimes refers to geographic
information science , the science underlying geographic concepts, applications,
and systems. Since the mid-1980s, geographic information systems have
become valuable tool used to support a variety of city and regional planning
functions.
SCOPE: The implementation of a GIS is often driven by jurisdictional (such as a
city), purpose, or application requirements. Generally, a GIS implementation
may be custom-designed for an organization. Hence, a GIS deployment
developed for an application, jurisdiction, enterprise, or purpose may not be
necessarily interoperable or compatible with a GIS that has been developed for
some other application, jurisdiction, enterprise, or purpose. Many disciplines
can benefit from GIS technology. An active GIS market has resulted in lower
costs and continual improvements in the hardware and software components
of GIS, and usage in the fields of science, government, business, and industry,
with applications including real estate, public health, crime mapping, national
defence sustainable development, natural resources, climatology, landscape
architecture, archaeology, regional and community planning, transportation
and logistics. GIS is also diverging into location-based services, which allows
GPS-enabled mobile devices to display their location in relation to fixed
objects (nearest restaurant, gas station, fire hydrant) or mobile objects (friends,
children, police car), or to relay their position back to a central server for
display or other processing
 Geographic Information System Five Components.
1. Hardware:
2. Software:
3. Data:
4. People:
5. Methods:

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Hardware: Hardware is Computer on which GIS software runs.

Nowadays there are a different range of computer, it might be Desktop
or server based. ArcGIS Server is server based computer where GIS
software runs on network computer or cloud based. For computer to
perform well all hardware component must have high capacity. Some of
the hardware components are: Motherboard, Hard driver, processor,
graphics card, printer and so on. These all component function together to
run a GIS software smoothly.
1. Motherboard: It is board where major hardware parts are installed or It is
a place where all components gets hooked up.
2. Hard Drive: It is also called hard disk, place to store data.
3. Processor: Processor is the major component in computer, it performs
calculation. It is called as Central processing Unit (CPU).
4. RAM: Random Access Memory (RAM) where all running programs load
temporarily.
5. Printer: It is output device and used to print image, map or document.
There are various type of printer available in market.
6. External Disk: These are portable storage space such as USB drive, DVD,
CD or external disk.
7. Monitor: It is a screen for displaying output information. Nowadays there
are various type of monitor: CRT (cathode ray tube), LCD (Liquid Crystal
Display), LED (Light Emitting Diodes) and more.
 Software: Next component is GIS software which provide tools to run
and edit spatial information. It helps to query, edit, run and display GIS
data. It uses RDBMS (Relational Database Management System) to
store the data. Few GIS software list: ArcGIS, ArcView 3.2, QGIS,
SAGA GIS.
Software Components:

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1. GIS Tools: Key tools to support the browsing of the GIS data
2. RDBMS: Relational Database Management System to store GIS data. GIS
Software retrieve from RDBMS or insert data into RDBMS.
3. Query Tools: Tools that work with database management system
for querying, insertion, deletion and other SQL (Standard Query Language).
4. GUI: Graphical User Interface that helps user and Software to interact well.
5. Layout: Good layout window to design map.
 Data: The most important and expensive component of the Geographic
Information System is Data which is generally known as fuel for GIS.
GIS data is combination of graphic and tabular data. Graphic can be
vector or raster. Both type of data can be created in hous e using GIS
software or can be purchased. The process of creating the GIS data
from the analog data or paper format is called digitization.
Digitization process involves registering of raster image using few GCP
(ground control point) or known coordinates. This process is widely
known as rubber sheeting or geo referencing . Polygon, lines and
points are created by digitizing raster image. Raster image itself can
be registered with coordinates which is widely known as rectifying the
image. Registered image are mostly exported in TIFF format. As
mentioned above, GIS data can be Raster or Vector.
 GIS Data Types:
1. Raster: Raster image store information in a cell based manner. It can be
aerial photo, satellite image, Digital Elevation Model (DEM). Raster images
normally store continuous data.
2. Vector: Vector data are discrete. It store information in x, y coordinate
format. There are three types of Vector data: Lines, Points and Area.
People: People are user of Geographic Information System. They run
the GIS software. Hardware and software have seen tremendous
development which made people easy to run the GIS software. Also
computer are affordable so people are using for GIS task. These task may
be creating simple map or performing advance GIS analysis. The people
are main component for the successful GIS.
Spatial data comprise the relative geographic information about the earth and
its features. A pair of latitude and longitude coordinates defines a specific
location on earth. Spatial data are of two types according to the storing
technique, namely, raster data and vector data.
Raster data are composed of grid cells identified by row and column. The
whole geographic area is divided into groups of individual cells, which
represent an image. Satellite images, photographs, scanned images, etc., are
examples of raster data.

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Vector data are composed of points, polylines, and polygons. Wells, houses,
etc., are represented by points. Roads, rivers, streams, etc., are represented
by polylines. Villages and towns are represented by polygons.

Non spatial data :The data describing the spatial data is called non spatial data or
attribute data. For example, if you have a map showing positional location of your
school, you can attach information as the name of the school, number of students in
each class, available facilities like library, labs, etc. In other words, you will be defining
the attributes of the spatial data. Thus, non spatial data is also known as attribute
data

 What is data processing?

Data processing occurs when data is collected and translated into usable
information. Usually performed by a data scientist or team of data scientists, it is
important for data processing to be done correctly as not to negatively affect the
end product, or data output.
Data processing starts with data in its raw form and converts it into a more
readable format (graphs, documents, etc.), giving it the form and context
necessary to be interpreted by computers and utilized by employees throughout
an organization.

 Six stages of data processing

1. Data collection
Collecting data is the first step in data processing. Data is pulled from available
sources, including data lakes and data warehouses. It is important that the data
sources available are trustworthy and well-built so the data collected (and later
used as information) is of the highest possible quality.
2. Data preparation
Once the data is collected, it then enters the data preparation stage. Data
preparation, often referred to as “pre-processing” is the stage at which raw data
is cleaned up and organized for the following stage of data processing. During
preparation, raw data is diligently checked for any errors. The purpose of this
step is to eliminate bad data (redundant, incomplete, or incorrect data) and begin
to create high-quality data for the best business intelligence.

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3. Data input
The clean data is then entered into its destination (perhaps a CRM
like Salesforce or a data warehouse like Redshift), and translated into a
language that it can understand. Data input is the first stage in which raw data
begins to take the form of usable information.
4. Processing
During this stage, the data inputted to the computer in the previous stage is
actually processed for interpretation. Processing is done using machine
learning algorithms, though the process itself may vary slightly depending on the
source of data being processed (data lakes, social networks, connected devices
etc.) and its intended use (examining advertising patterns, medical diagnosis
from connected devices, determining customer needs, etc.).
5. Data output/interpretation
The output/interpretation stage is the stage at which data is finally usable to non-
data scientists. It is translated, readable, and often in the form of graphs, videos,
images, plain text, etc.). Members of the company or institution can now begin
to self-serve the data for their own data analytics projects.
6. Data storage
The final stage of data processing is storage. After all of the data is processed, it
is then stored for future use. While some information may be put to use
immediately, much of it will serve a purpose later on. Plus, properly stored data is
a necessity for compliance with data protection legislation like GDPR. When data
is properly stored, it can be quickly and easily accessed by members of the
organization when needed.
Data processing may involve various processes, including:
6. Validation – Ensuring that supplied data is correct and relevant.
7. Sorting – "arranging items in some sequence and/or in different sets."
8. Summarization – reducing detailed data to its main points.
9. Aggregation – combining multiple pieces of data.
10. Analysis – the "collection, organization, analysis, interpretation and
presentation of data."
11. Reporting – list detail or summary data or computed information.
12. Classification – separation of data into various categories.
 Applications:

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 Commercial data processing

Commercial data processing involves a large volume of input data, relatively

few computational operations, and a large volume of output. For example,
an insurance company needs to keep records on tens or hundreds of
thousands of policies, print and mail bills, and receive and post payments.

 Data analysis
In science and engineering, the terms data processing and information
systems are considered too broad, and the term data processing is typically used
for the initial stage followed by a data analysis in the second stage of the
overall data handling.
Data analysis uses specialized algorithms and statistical calculations that are
less often observed in a typical general business environment. For data
analysis, software suites like SPSS or SAS, or their free counterparts such
as DAP, gretl or PSPP are often used.

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UNIT II

GEOREFERENCING
Geo referencing means that the internal coordinate system of a map or aerial
photo image can be related to a ground system of geographic coordinates. The
relevant coordinate transforms are typically stored within the image file
(GeoPDF and GeoTIFF are examples), though there are many possible
mechanisms for implementing geo referencing. The most visible effect of Geo
referencing is that display software can show ground coordinates (such as
latitude/longitude or UTM coordinates) and also measure ground distances
and areas. In other words, Geo referencing means to associate something
with locations in physical space. The term is commonly used in the geographic
information systems field to describe the process of associating a physical map
or raster image of a map with spatial locations. Geo referencing may be
applied to any kind of object or structure that can be related to a geographical
location, such as points of interest, roads, places, bridges, or buildings.
Geographic locations are most commonly represented using a coordinate
reference system, which in turn can be related to a geodetic reference system
such as WGS-84.
Examples include establishing the correct position of an aerial
photograph within a map or finding the geographical coordinates of
a place name or street address (Geocoding
 Need:
13. Geo referencing is crucial to making aerial and satellite imagery, usually
raster images, useful for mapping as it explains how other data, such as the
above GPS points, relate to the imagery.
14. Very essential information may be contained in data or images that were
produced at a different point of time. It may be desired either to combine or
compare this data with that currently available. The latter can be used to analyse
the changes in the features under study over a period of time.
15. Different maps may use different projection systems. Geo referencing tools
contain methods to combine and overlay these maps with minimum distortion.
16. Using georeferencing methods, data obtained from surveying tools like total
stations may be given a point of reference from topographic maps already
available.
17. It may be required to establish the relationship between social survey results
which have been coded with postal codes or street addresses and other
geographic areas such as census zones or other areas used in public
administration or service planning

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 Methods:
There are various GIS tools available that can transform image data to some
geographic control framework, like the commercial ArcMap, PCI Geomatica,
TNTmips (MicroImages,Inc) or ERDAS Imagine. One can georeference a set of
points, lines, polygons, images, or 3D structures. For instance, a GPS device will
record latitude and longitude coordinates for a given point of interest,
effectively georeferencing this point. A georeference must be a unique
identifier. In other words, there must be only one location for which a
georeference acts as the reference.
Images may be encoded using special GIS file formats or be accompanied by
a world file.
To georeference an image, one first needs to establish control points, input the
known geographic coordinates of these control points, choose the coordinate
system and other projection parameters and then minimize residuals. Residuals
are the difference between the actual coordinates of the control points and the
coordinates predicted by the geographic model created using the control
points. They provide a method of determining the level of accuracy of the
georeferencing process.

UNIT III
Image interpretation :
Image interpretation is defined as the extraction of qualitative and quantitative
information in the form of a map, about the shape, location, structure, function,
quality, condition, relationship of and between objects, etc. by using human
knowledge or experience. As a narrow definition, " photo-interpretation " is
sometimes used as a synonym of image interpretation.

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Image interpretation in satellite remote sensing can be made using a single scene of a
satellite image, while usually a pair of stereoscopic aerial photographs are used in
photo-interpretation to provide stereoscopic vision using, for example, a mirror
stereoscope. Such a single photo-interpretation is discriminated from stereo photo-
interpretation
Image interpretation elements :
Location
There are two primary methods to obtain a precise location in the form of
coordinates. 1) survey in the field by using traditional surveying techniques
or global positioning system instruments, or 2) collect remotely sensed data
of the object, rectify the image and then extract the desired coordinate
information. Most scientists who choose option 1 now use relatively
inexpensive GPS instruments in the field to obtain the desired location of an
object. If option 2 is chosen, most aircraft used to collect the remotely sensed
data have a GPS receiver.

Size
The size of an object is one of the most distinguishing characteristics and one
of the more important elements of interpretation. Most commonly, length,
width and perimeter are measured. To be able to do this successfully, it is
necessary to know the scale of the photo. Measuring the size of an unknown
object allows the interpreter to rule out possible alternatives. It has proved to
be helpful to measure the size of a few well-known objects to give a
comparison to the unknown-object. For example, field dimensions of major
sports like soccer, football, and baseball are standard throughout the world. If
objects like this are visible in the image, it is possible to determine the size of
the unknown object by simply comparing the two.
Shape
There is an infinite number of uniquely shaped natural and man-made
objects in the world. A few examples of shape are the triangular shape of
modern jet aircraft and the shape of a common single-family dwelling.
Humans have modified the landscape in very interesting ways that has given
shape to many objects, but nature also shapes the landscape in its own ways.
In general, straight, recti-linear features in the environment are of human
origin. Nature produces more subtle shapes.
Shadow
Virtually all remotely sensed data are collected within 2 hours of solar noon
to avoid extended shadows in the image or photo. This is because shadows

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can obscure other objects that could otherwise be identified. On the other
hand, the shadow cast by an object act as a key for the identification of the
object as the length of the shadow will be used to estimate the height of the
object which is vital for the recognition of the object. Take for example, the
Washington Monument in Washington D.C. While viewing this from above, it
can be difficult to discern the shape of the monument, but with a shadow cast,
this process becomes much easier. It is a good practice to orient the photos so
that the shadows are falling towards the interpreter. A pseudoscopic illusion
can be produced if the shadow is oriented away from the observer. This
happens when low points appear high and high points appear low.
Tone and color
Real-world materials like vegetation, water and bare soil reflect different
proportions of energy in the blue, green, red, and infrared portions of the
electro-magnetic spectrum. An interpreter can document the amount of
energy reflected from each at specific wavelengths to create a spectral
signature. These signatures can help to understand why certain objects
appear as they do on black and white or color imagery. These shades of gray
are referred to as tone. The darker an object appears, the less light it reflects.
Color imagery is often preferred because, as opposed to shades of gray,
humans can detect thousands of different colors. Color aids in the process of
photo interpretation.
Texture
This is defined as the “characteristic placement and arrangement of
repetitions of tone or color in an image.” Adjectives often used to describe
texture are smooth (uniform, homogeneous), intermediate, and rough
(coarse, heterogeneous). It is important to remember that texture is a
product of scale. On a large scale depiction, objects could appear to have an
intermediate texture. But, as the scale becomes smaller, the texture could
appear to be more uniform, or smooth. A few examples of texture could be
the “smoothness” of a paved road, or the “coarseness” a pine forest.
Pattern
Pattern is the spatial arrangement of objects in the landscape. The objects
may be arranged randomly or systematically. They can be natural, as with a
drainage pattern of a river, or man-made, as with the squares formed from
the United States Public Land Survey System. Typical adjectives used in
describing pattern are: random, systematic, circular, oval, linear, rectangular,
and curvilinear to name a few.
Height and depth
Height and depth, also known as “elevation” and “bathymetry”, is one of the
most diagnostic elements of image interpretation. This is because any object,
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such as a building or an electric pole that rises above the local landscape will
exhibit some sort of radial relief. Also, objects that exhibit this relief will cast
a shadow that can also provide information as to its height or elevation. A
good example of this would be buildings of any major city.
Site/situation/ Association
Site has unique physical characteristics which might include elevation, slope,
and type of surface cover (e.g., grass, forest, water, bare soil). Site can also
have socioeconomic characteristics such as the value of land or the closeness
to water. Situation refers to how the objects in the photo or image are
organized and “situated” in respect to each other. Most power plants have
materials and building associated in a fairly predictable manner. Association
refers to the fact that when you find a certain activity within a photo or
image, you usually encounter related or “associated” features or activities.
Site, situation, and association are rarely used independent of each other
when analysing an image. An example of this would be a large shopping mall.
Usually there are multiple large buildings, massive parking lots, and it is
usually located near a major road or intersection.

UNIT IV
GPS:
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation and surveying
system
for determination of prise position and time, using radio signals from the satellites, in
real-
time or in post-processing mode. GPS is being used all over the world for numerous
navigational
and positioning applications, including navigation on land, in air and on sea,
determining the

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precise coordinates of important geographical features as an essential input to

mapping and
Geographical Information System (GIS), along with its use for precise cadastral
surveys, vehicle
guidance in cities and on highways using GPS-GIS integrated systems, earthquake and
landslide
monitoring, etc. In India also, GPS is being used for numerous applications in diverse
fields like
aircraft and ship navigation, surveying, geodetic control networks, crustal
deformation studies,
cadastral surveys, creation of GIS databases, time service, etc., by various
organisations.
The Navigation Satellite Timing and Ranging Global Positioning System (NAVSTAR
GPS)
developed by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to replace the TRANSIT Navy
Navigation
Satellite System (NNSS) by mid-90’s, is an all-weather high accuracy radio navigation
and
positioning system which has revolutionised the fields of modern surveying,
navigation and
mapping. For every day surveying, GPS has become a highly competitive technique to
the
terrestrial surveying methods using theodolites and EDMs; whereas in geodetic fields,
GPS is
likely to replace most techniques currently in use for determining precise horizontal
positions of
points more than few tens of km apart. The GPS, which consists of 24 satellites in
near circular
orbits at about 20,200 Km altitude, now provides full coverage with signals from
minimum 4
satellites available to the user, at any place on the Earth. By receiving signals
transmitted by
minimum 4 satellites simultaneously, the observer can determine his geometric
position

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(latitude, longitude and height), Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and velocity
vectors with
higher accuracy, economy and in less time compared to any other technique available
today.
GPS is primarily a navigation system for real-time positioning. However, with the
transformation from the ground-to-ground survey measurements to ground-to-space
measurements made possibly by GPS, this technique overcomes the numerous
limitations of
terrestrial surveying methods, like the requirement of intervisibility of survey
stations,
dependability on weather, difficulties in night observations, etc.. These advantages
over the
conventional techniques, and the economy of operations make GPS the most
promising
surveying technique of the future. With the well-established high accuracy achievable
with GPS
in positioning of points separated by few hundreds of meters to hundreds of km, this
unique
surveying technique has found important applications in diverse fields.
 APPLICATIONS OF GPS:
Due to the high accuracy, versatility, ease and economy of operation, and all-
weather
operation offered by GPS, it has found numerous applications in many fields, ranging
from the
mm-level high precision geodesy to the several-metre level navigational positioning.
Some of
these applications are:
- Establishment of high precision zero order Geodetic National Survey Control
Network
of GPS stations.
- Strengthening, densification and readjustment of existing Primary Control Networks
using GPS stations.
- Connecting remote islands to mainland Geodetic Control Networks.

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- Determination of a precise geoid using GPS data.

- Earth rotation and Polar Motion Studies from GPS data.
- Estimating gravity anomalies using GPS.
- Marine Geodesy : positioning of oceanic stations, buoys etc.
- Earthquake monitoring : Crustal movements of the order of few cm/year can be
monitored using GPS method, thus making GPS most suitable for monitoring
continental drifts, neotectonic / seismotectonic movement, etc.
- Vertical Control Network : High accuracy of few mm in heights achievable with GPS
at much less cost and time compared to levelling to make GPS method most suitable
for establishing lower accuracy vertical control networks.
- Geophysical positioning, mineral exploration and mining.
- Survey control for topographical and cadastral surveys.
- Ground control for photogrammetric control surveys and mapping.
- Offshore positioning : Shipping, offshore platforms, fishing boats etc.

GPS Segments: The Global Positioning System basically consists of three

segments: the Space Segment, The Control Segment and the User Segment.
Space Segment:
The Space Segment contains 24 satellites, in 12-hour near-circular orbits at altitude
of about
20000 km, with inclination of orbit 55°. The constellation ensures at least 4 satellites
in view
from any point on the earth at any time for 3-D positioning and navigation on world-
wide basis.
The three axis controlled, earth-pointing satellites continuously transmit navigation
and system
data comprising predicted satellite ephemeris, clock error etc., on dual frequency L1
and L2
bands
Control Segment:
This has a Master Control Station (MCS), few Monitor Stations (MSs) and an Up Load

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Station (ULS). The MSs are transportable shelters with receivers and computers; all
located in
U.S.A., which passively track satellites, accumulating ranging data from navigation
signals. This
is transferred to MCS for processing by computer, to provide best estimates of
satellite position,
velocity and clock drift relative to system time. The data thus processed generates
refined
information of gravity field influencing the satellite motion, solar pressure
parameters, position,
clock bias and electronic delay characteristics of ground stations and other
observable system
influences. Future navigation messages are generated from this and loaded into
satellite memory
once a day via ULS which has a parabolic antenna, a transmitter and a computer.
Thus, role of
Control Segment is:
- To estimate satellite [space vehicle (SV)] ephemerides and atomic clock behaviour.
- To predict SV positions and clock drifts.
- To upload this data to SVs.
User Segment:
The user equipment consists of an antenna, a receiver, a data-processor with
software and a
control/display unit. The GPS receiver measures the pseudo range, phase and other
data using
navigation signals from minimum 4 satellites and computes the 3-D position, velocity
and
system time. The position is in geocentric coordinates in the basic reference
coordinate system:
World Geodetic reference System 1984 (WGS 84), which are converted and displayed
as
geographic, UTM, grid, or any other type of coordinates. Corrections like delay due to
ionospheric and tropospheric refraction, clock errors, etc. are also computed and
applied by the
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user equipment / processing software

FUNDAMENTALS :
The GPS concept is based on time and the known position of GPS
specialized satellites. The satellites carry very stable atomic clocks that are
synchronized with one another and with the ground clocks. Any drift from time
maintained on the ground is corrected daily. In the same manner, the satellite
locations are known with great precision. GPS receivers have clocks as well, but
they are less stable and less precise.
Each GPS satellite continuously transmits a radio signal containing the current
time and data about its position. Since the speed of radio waves is constant
and independent of the satellite speed, the time delay between when the
satellite transmits a signal and the receiver receives it is proportional to the
distance from the satellite to the receiver. A GPS receiver monitors multiple
satellites and solves equations to determine the precise position of the receiver
and its deviation from true time. At a minimum, four satellites must be in view
of the receiver for it to compute four unknown quantities (three position
coordinates and clock deviation from satellite time).
Each GPS satellite continually broadcasts a signal (carrier
wave with modulation) that includes:
18. A pseudorandom code (sequence of ones and zeros) that is known to the
receiver. By time-aligning a receiver-generated version and the receiver-
measured version of the code, the time of arrival (TOA) of a defined point in the
code sequence, called an epoch, can be found in the receiver clock time scale
19. A message that includes the time of transmission (TOT) of the code epoch (in
GPS time scale) and the satellite position at that time

Conceptually, the receiver measures the TOAs (according to its own clock) of
four satellite signals. From the TOAs and the TOTs, the receiver forms four time
of flight (TOF) values, which are (given the speed of light) approximately
equivalent to receiver-satellite ranges. The receiver then computes its three-
dimensional position and clock deviation from the four TOFs.
In practice the receiver position (in three dimensional Cartesian
coordinates with origin at the Earth's center) and the offset of the receiver
clock relative to the GPS time are computed simultaneously, using
the navigation equations to process the TOFs.
The receiver's Earth-centered solution location is usually converted
to latitude, longitude and height relative to an ellipsoidal Earth model. The

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height may then be further converted to height relative to the geoid, which is
essentially mean sea level. These coordinates may be displayed, such as on
a moving map display, or recorded or used by some other system, such as a
vehicle guidance system.
 User-satellite geometry Edit
Although usually not formed explicitly in the receiver processing, the
conceptual time differences of arrival (TDOAs) define the measurement
geometry. Each TDOA corresponds to a hyperboloid of revolution
(see Multilateration). The line connecting the two satellites involved (and its
extensions) forms the axis of the hyperboloid. The receiver is located at the
point where three hyperboloids intersect.
It is sometimes incorrectly said that the user location is at the intersection of
three spheres. While simpler to visualize, this is the case only if the receiver has
a clock synchronized with the satellite clocks (i.e., the receiver measures true
ranges to the satellites rather than range differences). There are marked
performance benefits to the user carrying a clock synchronized with the
satellites. Foremost is that only three satellites are needed to compute a
position solution. If it were an essential part of the GPS concept that all users
needed to carry a synchronized clock, a smaller number of satellites could be
deployed, but the cost and complexity of the user equipment would increase.
 Receiver in continuous operation
The description above is representative of a receiver start-up situation. Most
receivers have a track algorithm, sometimes called a tracker, that combines
sets of satellite measurements collected at different times—in effect, taking
advantage of the fact that successive receiver positions are usually close to
each other. After a set of measurements are processed, the tracker predicts the
receiver location corresponding to the next set of satellite measurements.
When the new measurements are collected, the receiver uses a weighting
scheme to combine the new measurements with the tracker prediction. In
general, a tracker can (a) improve receiver position and time accuracy, (b)
reject bad measurements, and (c) estimate receiver speed and direction.
The disadvantage of a tracker is that changes in speed or direction can be
computed only with a delay, and that derived direction becomes inaccurate
when the distance traveled between two position measurements drops below
or near the random error of position measurement. GPS units can use
measurements of the Doppler shift of the signals received to compute velocity
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accurately More advanced navigation systems use additional sensors like

a compass or an inertial navigation system to complement GPS.
 Non-navigation applications:
GPS requires four or more satellites to be visible for accurate navigation. The
solution of the navigation equations gives the position of the receiver along
with the difference between the time kept by the receiver's on-board clock and
the true time-of-day, thereby eliminating the need for a more precise and
possibly impractical receiver based clock. Applications for GPS such as time
transfer, traffic signal timing, and synchronization of cell phone base stations,
make use of this cheap and highly accurate timing. Some GPS applications use
this time for display, or, other than for the basic position calculations, do not
use it at all.
 Although four satellites are required for normal operation, fewer apply in
special cases. If one variable is already known, a receiver can determine its
position using only three satellites. For example, a ship or aircraft may have
known elevation. Some GPS receivers may use additional clues or
assumptions such as reusing the last known altitude, dead
reckoning, inertial navigation, or including information from the vehicle
computer, to give a (possibly degraded) position when fewer than four
satellites are visible.

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