Technology
Curious About GPS
In this episode of the Curious Kid Podcast, we explore the fascinating world of GPS technology. From its origins during the Cold War to its modern-day applications, listeners will learn how GPS works ...
Curious About GPS
Technology •
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Interactive Transcript
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Hello and welcome back to the Curious Kid Podcast.
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Technology is amazing.
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There are things that exist today that I couldn't have possibly imagined when I was a kid.
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And I'm not even that old. I was a kid in the 1980s. Things like smartphones, self-driving cars,
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and artificial intelligence were the stuff of science fiction movies when I was a kid.
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Growing up, if my family was driving somewhere and we were lost, we would have a paper map
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and we would open the map up and try to get to our destination using the map.
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That's why when I first saw the technology we're getting curious about today, my mind was blown.
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These days, many cars already come with the technology installed. Any idea what I'm talking about?
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Let's find out!
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Mailbag!
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Mailbag!
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Hello Olivia and Jacob, my name is Alana and my brother's name is Albert.
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I am 9 years old and my brother is 6 years old. We are from Pretoria, South Africa and
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currently live in Japan. We love the podcast and listen to it every day in the car or before bedtime.
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We learn a lot. I am curious about GPS and my brother is curious about rugby and rugby league.
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We are also curious about computers, phones, cars, satellites, and the army. I hope you can get
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curious about one of these topics soon. Holy smokes! It's so exciting to get messages from
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beautiful Japan. It still surprises me that we have listeners that enjoy the podcast from places
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near and far. We are so pumped to get curious about GPS this week for Alana and Albert.
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By the way, if you are like Alana and Albert and you are curious about computers,
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phones, cars, or satellites, we covered all those topics in previous episodes. So give those
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episodes a listen. It's time to buckle your seat belts or you know, just sit down comfortably
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and let's explore the world of GPS. What's the question of the week? In the United States,
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the most common GPS device people own is their smartphone. That being said, 170 million
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Americans own GPS devices other than their smartphones. Which three other types of GPS devices
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do at least 25% of Americans own. There are so many different types of devices
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that have GPS capability. So it's going to be interesting to see how many people
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answer the question correctly. Okay, let's start simple. What actually is GPS? GPS stands for
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global positioning system and it's a network of satellites in space that help us figure out
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exactly where we are on Earth. There are at least 24 main GPS satellites orbiting the Earth at all
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times. They're flying about 12,550 miles above us, zooming around 8,700 miles per hour.
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That's faster than mom drives when we're running late for a soccer game. That's true.
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Each of the satellites sends out a signal and your GPS device, like your phone, listens to at least
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three of them. By figuring out how long it takes the signals to reach your phone, your device can
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figure out where you are. It's called trilateration. Ooh, fancy word alert. Is that like when you try
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to figure out where the smell of pizza is coming from using all your senses? Pretty much. But
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instead of your nose and stomach, GPS uses math and science. Okay, so where did all of this
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spacey positioning stuff come from? Like who looked up at the stars one day and said,
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we should totally use those to find the nearest taco truck. It actually started during the Cold
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War. In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first ever satellite. American scientists realized
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they could track Sputnik by measuring its radio signals. That gave them the idea. If you can track
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a satellite from Earth, maybe you can also use satellites to track something on Earth.
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Fast forward a couple of decades and the US Department of Defense created GPS to help the
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military know where their tanks, ships and troops were. The full system became operational in 1995.
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And in the year 2000, President Bill Clinton made GPS signals fully available for civilian use.
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Thanks Bill, because without GPS, we wouldn't know how to get anywhere because my dad has a terrible
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sense of direction. She's not wrong. Dad, earlier you said our phones figure out where we are by
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listening to satellites. But how exactly does that happen? It feels like magic or at least super
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genius science. You could say it's sweet technological magic. Each GPS satellite constantly broadcasts a
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signal that includes the satellite's position and the time the signal was transmitted. Your GPS
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receiver, legging your phone or car, listens to those signals. When it hears the signal, it notes
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the exact time those signals arrive. So your phone is basically timing messages coming from space.
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By comparing how long the signal took to travel and knowing the speed of light, your phone figures
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out how far away that satellite is. But one satellite alone only says you're somewhere on this fear
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around it. With two satellites, you narrow it down to a circle. With three, you get two points.
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By the time you're using four satellites, you can pinpoint your exact location. Latitude,
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longitude and altitude. Four satellites to place you anywhere on earth with 10 meter accuracy.
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Modern GPS systems like the ones used by the US military can get accuracy with an inches
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using special signals and correction systems. Maybe that's good enough to help me find the
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socks that somehow go missing every time I do the laundry. GPS relies on super precise atomic
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locks on board each satellite and signal correction systems on the ground. Without those, you'd be off
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by several miles in just one day. Now that you know how it works, what can GPS help you do
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about everyday life? Well, maybe more than you think. Let's start with the obvious one.
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Driving directions. Whether using Google Maps or Waze, that turn-by-turn voice is powered by GPS.
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Mr. Turn, your GPS quickly recalculates so you don't end up lost. But GPS isn't just for cars.
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It helps runners track their pace. Hikers mark trail points and even ship captains cross oceans.
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Farmers use GPS to guide tractors with precision, planting crops roby-row without missing a spot.
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Animals use GPS too. Scientists tag animals like turtles, birds, and sharks with GPS
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trackers to monitor their movements. That helps us to understand migration patterns, habitat use,
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and how to protect them. GPS helps in emergencies as well. Many phones automatically
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send your coordinates to emergency services when you call 911. That can be life-saving if you
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can't explain where you are. Even drones use GPS to hover and deliver packages.
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It really is amazing what GPS can do. Here's one of the coolest facts. GPS satellites control time
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on Earth. That's right. The thing you use to find your way also keeps your clock accurate.
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Those satellites have atomic clocks. So precise, they lose a second every 30 million years.
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They send time stamps with every GPS signal. Ground stations sync to that time,
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and our devices recalibrate to match. That's why we consider our watches by phone.
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Or order stuff online at exactly 3pm and trust that your order was tagged correctly.
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Even the financial world relies on this. Stock markets in London, New York, and Tokyo use GPS
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timing to time stamp every transaction. It's serious business. Can you even imagine what it would
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be like if we suddenly lost GPS? Aviation would slow as planes revert to ground-based navigation.
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Ships would rely on stars and landmarks again. Even daily routines would change. You wouldn't be
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able to track your workout runs. And search parties for lost hikers would go old school with
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compasses and trail signs. That's why many systems now rely on backup systems just in case.
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Like radio navigation, land beacons, and even QR codes in cityscapes.
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Here's another twist. Some animals like migratory birds and sea turtles navigate using stars
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and magnetic fields. Humans need to rely on satellites. Nature is so cool.
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Scientists are even experimenting with sending GPS to other planets. They call it
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interplanetary GPS. We're basically turning the universe into a giant coordinate grid.
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So someday future NASA explorers might say turn left at crater 47b.
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Here comes Noah, who also goes by the initials GPS. Generally pretty stinky. Just kidding.
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Here with 5 unbelievable facts you need to know about GPS is Noah. Take it away Noah!
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Fact number 1. GPS signals are so weak that they have less power than a 40 watt light bulb.
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But they still travel through the atmosphere to your device. Fact number 2. GPS is free to use for
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anyone anywhere in the world. Fact number 3. GPS is also used in earthquake monitoring and
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tracking the movement of tectonic plates. Fact number 4. Astronauts can use GPS in space.
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But only near Earth. Once you're heading towards Mars, you're on your own buddy.
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Fact number 5. GPS is also being used in sports. For example, video assisted review in soccer,
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AR and tennis and goal-mind technology all use some form of GPS technology.
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Wow, great facts Noah. Even though GPS technology is relatively new, we use it in so many
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different ways today. Olivia, according to data from earlier this year, which GPS devices,
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aside from smartphones, do at least 25% of Americans own. It turns out that 29% of Americans
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have a smartwatch. 28% have a vehicle tracker and 27% have a fitness monitor. All of those devices
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use GPS. Other less common GPS devices that many people have include pet trackers and medical
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alert devices for seniors. With amazing advances like GPS that were not around when I was a kid,
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I can only imagine what new advances might be around 40 years from now that we couldn't possibly
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dream up today. Well that's a wrap for this week's episode. Thanks so much for listening to this
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week's podcast number 326 on GPS. Great job Olivia and great job Alana and Albert. I was lost
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until you gave us a great episode topic suggestion to learn about. Before we wrap things up for this
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week, we have an amazing listener to thank. We want to thank user name KimB1341 for the five-star
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review. The review says magnificent. It's another entry in our one-word review challenge.
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For those of you that don't know, we got a review a few months ago that was one word long
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and that word was good. Then we put out a challenge to our listeners to think of a one-word
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review that was better than good. We got a second one-word review that was fantastic. This time around
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the one-word is magnificent. What do you think Olivia? Is magnificent better than good and fantastic?
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It absolutely is. I think we have a new number one. Nicely done KimB. Do you think you can come up with
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a one-word review better than magnificent? Let's see what you've got. Join us next week when we
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will get curious about composting for listeners in Georgia, Florida and Illinois. As always,
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thank you so much for listening and getting curious with us.