How does GPS navigation work? One of those short questions that has an extremely long answer.
So we’ll try to do our best to answer it without going on and on and on and on about GPS (Global Positioning System).
At the heart of our in-car and smartphone navigation devices is the GPS receiver, which has the simple task of finding at least three GPS satellites out of the 27 currently orbiting the earth.
GPS fix
When you switch your Navman on, it starts searching for satellites to get its GPS fix – and remember to be stationary, otherwise you will not get a fix.
The Navman receiver then calculates how far it is from each of the satellites. It does this by multiplying the time it took for each signal to reach the receiver by the speed of light.
Once it has done this for each of the satellites it has found, it typically establishes your position to an accuracy of within just 5 metres.
Now that it knows where you are, your Navman displays that information on its map, so you have a nice and easy way to see your location.
Best routing
With that information safely stored in its memory, the inbuilt computer plans the best route to your chosen destination.
Throughout your journey, the Navman will continue to be in contact with the satellites and provide you with additional and helpful information, such as how far you’ve travelled and your ETA, for example.
What’s more, the optional T1 Traffic Pack delivers real-time traffic updates to your compatible Navman, so you can avoid any problems and re-route your journey as needed.
Points of Interest
The Navman’s computer stores Points of Interest (POIs) and also lets you add your own POIs, such as safety camera locations.
These are then added to the maps on the Navman, so you can choose to visit them as part of your journey or even have them as a destination. On certain Navmans, you’ll find Active POIs which alert you whenever you are near a point of interest.