GPS mapping refers to the generation of map by knowing the exact and and accurate location of an object using GPS technology. As we all know that Mapping is the graphical representation of the surface of the earth. GPS is a very newly emerged sophisticated branch of information technology. GPS collects information of the ground surface as well as the surrounding atmosphere. The technology implies is the capturing precise microwave signals from at least 24 medium earth orbit satellites. And thus GPS enables the users to obtain the information about location of any object.
In a Global Positioning System(GPS) there are three segments namely –
- The space segment – it is composed of 24 GPS satellites. These satellites are again equally distributed among six circular orbital plane.
- Control segment – It consists of the monitoring stations situated in Colorado springs, Colorado, Hawaii, Ascension Island, Diego Garcia, Kwajalein etc. which observes the flight path of satellites. Those informations are operated by NGA and sent to the Air Force Space Command.
- User segment – In GPS Service user segment consists of a receiver . It receives the frequency of signals which helps to determine location of an object.
With the help of this object GPS Mapping is done. Therefore by obtaining the locational information we may produce spatial as well as textual information of the area represented in digital maps well as hard copy maps, which is a very advantageous side of GPS Mapping. Before getting any information from GIS (Global Positioning System, which is another technology associated with GPS Mapping ), there are few steps that should be operated on. These are –
- Preprocessing of raw data to remove error
- Enhancement of image for better visual representation
- Classification of data
- Analysis of data
Applying this technique we can obtain a accurate easy to understand GPS Map . In general GPS Mapping includes the digital maps produced by using GPS technology. These maps are also called desktop map or PC map. In GPS Mapping there is a facility, using which we may directly load the GPS Maps on the GPS receiver. Well that may be called a GPS Mapping in real sense. Mainly in software development Garmin and Magellan are the two companies who are well known for GPS Mapping. The GPS Maps of Garmins’s and Magellan’s are known as Mapsource and MapSend respectively. There are three important steps that should be kept in mind before starting a GPS Mapping. These are –
- Drawing of map for GPS Mapping
- Compilation of map data into native format of GPS unit
- Uploading the map into the GPS unit
GPS Mapping Software :
Mapwel is a most sophisticated software which is used for GPS mapping at a maximum rate. The reason for its gaining popularity are assisted with some reasons like –
- it allows the user to perform the aforesaid operation in one step to minimize time and cost.
- Mapwel is a very user friendly software for drawing and editing map in a vector format. scanned bitmaps, waypoints, imported tracks are stored in a single file.
- Compatibility refers to the programing that facilitate the advantage of holding different file format, with stand hold facility. it also support the ESRI file type.
- Zoom level allows user to see object at various zoom level.
- Add map function allows user to upload map in GPS receiver along with other existing maps. Other software delete other existing maps.
GPS Mapping is used vigorously now a days for various mapping purpose. And all these are associated with locational information.
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