Smartphone GPS Tracking Intro

Several worthwhile technical capabilities related to GPS mobile phone tracking to think about include: Tracking Application “Persistence”. The tracking software on a cell phone typically must be enabled by the user. Depending on the mobile phone, the application may persist – remaining enabled when the phone is turned on after having been turned off. This feature can be particularly important if phone tracking is relevant and you do not want to require the person using the phone to turn tracking on and off. Another thing relevant to Tracking Application “Persistence” and smartphone GPS location is the possibility of battery drain. It is important to be able to remotely adjust how often of taking GPS position. Selecting real-time or periodic sampling affects both the resolution of finding position as well as how long the battery will last. One typical means of minimizing battery and data use is Passive Tracking. Some handset GPS tracking devices will record location data internally so that it can be downloaded

later. Also referred to as “data logging,” it can keep position data even when the device has traveled outside the wireless network. Passive tracking is not a universal feature built-in to standard handset, but the most recent smartphones tend to have Passive tracking features.

A lot of the discussion surrounding GPS tracking, mobile GPS and cell phone tracking software could be helped by a GPS Satellite primer.

GPS satellites broadcast signals from space that GPS receivers utilize to determine three-dimensional location (latitude, longitude, and altitude) plus precise time. GPS stands for Global Positioning System and is a network that is composed of 3 main segments: Space Segment, Control Segment and User Segment.

The GPS Space Segment made up of twenty-four to thirty-two satellites that orbit the earth at a height of about 12,000 miles. These satellites are also known as as the GPS Constellation, and they make an orbit twice a day. They are not parked over one spot, but rather move at over 7,000 mph. They are solar powered but have battery reserve for when they are on the dark side of the earth. They are positioned so that there are at least 4 satellites ?visible? from any point on earth. Small rocket boosters on each satellite keep them properly positioned. The satellites have a lifetime of about 10 years until all their fuel is exhausted.

GPS Satellites are not communications satellites. Geostationary or communications satellites are at a much higher orbit of about 22,300 miles above the equator. These satellites are used for weather forecasting, satellite TV, satellite radio and most other types of global communications. At exactly 22,000 miles above the equator, the earth’s force of gravity and centrifugal forces are canceled and are in equilibrium. This is the best location to park a stationary satellite. The earth rotates at about 1,000 miles an hour, and because of their high earth orbit the earth-synchronous satellites need to travel at about 7,000 mph to maintain position. This is approximately the same speed as GPS satellites, but since stationary satellites are 10,000 miles further away they don?t move relative to the earth.

The GPS Control Segment is composed of Master Control Station, an Alternate Master Control Station, and a host of dedicated and shared Ground Antennas and Monitor Stations that work together to make sure the satellites are working to specification and the information they send to earth is accurate.

The GPS User Segment made up of of GPS receivers taking the shape of cell phones and , laptops, in-car navigation devices and hand-held tracking units along with the people that use them, and the software programs that make them work.

GPS receivers sometimes take a long time to become ready to navigate after it’s turned on because it must acquire some basic information in addition to capturing GPS satellite signals. This delay can be caused if the GPS cell phone has been unused for days or weeks, or has been transported a far distance while unused for. The GPS must update its almanac and ephemeris data and store it in memory. The GPS almanac is a set of data that every GPS satellite transmits. When a GPS receiver has current almanac data in memory, it can capture signals and calculate initial location faster.

In the event that satellite signals are not accessible, or accuracy is less important than battery life, employing Cell-ID is a good alternative to GPS smartphone tracking. The location of the mobile phone can be calculated by the cell network cell id, which determines the cell tower the cell phone is connected to. By knowing the position of the tower, you may know approximately the place that the device might be. But, a tower can cover an enormous area, from a few hundred meters, in high populationdensity regions, to several kilometers in lower density regions. This is why location CellID accuracy is lower than GPS accuracy. Having said that monitoring from CellID still presents a truly viable substitute.

Smartphone GPS Tracking Intro