GPS navigation software
Encyclopedia
GPS navigation software usually falls into one of the following two categories:
  1. Navigation
    Navigation
    Navigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...

     with route calculation
    Calculation
    A calculation is a deliberate process for transforming one or more inputs into one or more results, with variable change.The term is used in a variety of senses, from the very definite arithmetical calculation of using an algorithm to the vague heuristics of calculating a strategy in a competition...

     and directions from the software to the user of the route to take, based on a vector-based map
    Map
    A map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes....

    , normally for motorised vehicles with some motorised forms added on as an afterthought.
  2. Navigation tracking, often with a map "picture" in the background, but showing where you have been, and allowing "routes" to be preprogrammed, giving a line you can follow on the screen. This type can also be used for geocaching
    Geocaching
    Geocaching is an outdoor sporting activity in which the participants use a Global Positioning System receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", anywhere in the world....

    .

Track

A track is a trace of somewhere that you have actually been (often called a "breadcrumb trail"). The GPS unit (external or internal) periodically sends details of the location which are recorded by the software, either by taking a reading based on a set time interval, based on a set distance, based on a change in direction by more than a certain angle, or a combination of these. Each point is stored together with its date and time. The resulting track can be displayed as a series of the recorded points or a line connecting them.

Retracing your steps is a simple matter of following the track back to the source.

Route

A route is a preset series of points that make up a set route to follow for your destination. Most software allows the route and the track to be displayed at the same time.

Waypoint

Waypoints are used to mark particular locations, typically used as markers along the "way" to somewhere. They are either key entered by users or downloaded from other sources, depending upon the sophistication of the device. Although not linked to tracks or routes, they can be used to simplify the construction of routes, by being able to be re-used. Frequently, waypoints serve a "safety" purpose, enabling a route to be taken around obstacles such as shallow water (marine navigation) or streams/cliffs/other hazards which may prevent a safe passage directly from point "A" to point "B".

Platforms

Software can be used on a laptop computer with an attached GPS receiver. Most commercial software runs only on Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...

 and Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...

, yet some projects have started to support Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...

 as well. For most daily use however, a PDA
PDA
A PDA is most commonly a Personal digital assistant, also known as a Personal data assistant, a mobile electronic device.PDA may also refer to:In science, medicine and technology:...

, a dedicated device, or a smartphone
Smartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...

 might be handier. These devices can often also be used as a wireless modem
Wireless modem
A wireless modem is a type of modulator-demodulator which connects to a wireless network instead of using telephone or cable television lines...

 for a computer, so that routing information can be uploaded
Uploading and downloading
In computer networks, to download means to receive data to a local system from a remote system, or to initiate such a data transfer. Examples of a remote system from which a download might be performed include a webserver, FTP server, email server, or other similar systems...

 or created tracks can be downloaded.

Software

There is a number of navigation software products available. Primary distinction is between navigation software designed for use on land and for use on the water.

Land-based navigation software

Commercial navigation software with embedded maps:
  • DeLorme
    DeLorme
    DeLorme is a major vendor of business-to-business and consumer mapping and GPS products and technologies. It is based in Yarmouth, Maine, United States....

     Street Atlas USA and Topo USA
  • Destinator
    Destinator
    The original "Destinator" was a trademark for mechanical roller-curtain type destination signs used on public transit vehicles, intercity buses, etc....

  • Microsoft Streets and Trips
    Microsoft Streets and Trips
    Microsoft Streets & Trips, known in Europe as Microsoft AutoRoute, is mapping software developed and distributed by Microsoft. Functionally the latest version is a subset of Microsoft MapPoint targeted at the average consumer to do a variety of map related tasks in the North American region...

     2009
  • Navigon
    Navigon
    Navigon GmbH is a Hamburg, Germany-based manufacturer of GPS devices and GPS navigation software. It is privately owned, however in June 2011 it was announced that Navigon is to be acquired by a subsidiary of Garmin...

  • Nav N Go (iGO)
  • NDrive
    NDrive
    NDrive Navigation Systems, SA is a worldwide provider of navigation services to mobile platforms. Founded in 2001, the company has a staff of 60 people and is headquartered in Porto, Portugal with sales offices on all continents....

  • ROUTE 66
    ROUTE 66 (company)
    ROUTE 66 Geographic Information Systems B.V. is a privately held company. ROUTE 66 specializes in navigation soft- and hardware products....

  • TomTom Navigator
  • TomTom Mobile
  • TeleType WorldNavigator
    TeleType Co.
    TeleType Co., Inc. is a privately held company in the United States, specialized in developing software for GPS devices. It was founded in 1981, under the name TeleTypesetting Company and it is based in Boston, Massachusetts. The company's product line includes automotive and commercial GPS...



Commercial navigation software with scanned or downloaded maps and orthophotos stored in the computer (independent, stand alone system):
  • OziExplorer
    OziExplorer
    OziExplorer is raster navigation and mapping software for Windows. It is very popular among off-roaddrivers and adventure travelers as it allows to use and create custom maps for remote locations that are not fully covered by major map providers like Tele Atlas...



Free open source navigation software (independent stand alone system):
  • Navit
    Navit
    Navit is an open source and free, modular, touch screen friendly, car navigation system with GPS tracking, realtime routing engine and support for various vector map formats...

     (Cross-platform) open source
    Open source
    The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...

     and free
    Free software
    Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...

  • Waze
    Waze
    Waze is a free GPS application featuring turn-by-turn navigation, developed by the Israeli start-up Waze Mobile for mobile phones. It currently supports iOS, Android, Windows Mobile, Symbian, and BlackBerry. Waze differs from traditional GPS navigation software as it is a community-driven...



Navigation software with maps downloaded from a remote server:
  • Google Earth
    Google Earth
    Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program that was originally called EarthViewer 3D, and was created by Keyhole, Inc, a Central Intelligence Agency funded company acquired by Google in 2004 . It maps the Earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite...

     (Windows, Mac, Linux)
  • Google maps
    Google Maps
    Google Maps is a web mapping service application and technology provided by Google, free , that powers many map-based services, including the Google Maps website, Google Ride Finder, Google Transit, and maps embedded on third-party websites via the Google Maps API...

     (platform independent)
  • Navit
    Navit
    Navit is an open source and free, modular, touch screen friendly, car navigation system with GPS tracking, realtime routing engine and support for various vector map formats...

     (Cross-platform) open source
    Open source
    The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...

     and free
    Free software
    Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...

  • VZ Navigator
    VZ Navigator
    VZ Navigator is a GPS navigation software for Verizon Wireless phones that turns the phone into a GPS navigation device. It is a white label product based on Networks in Motion's AtlasBook mobile navigation platform. It is compatible with many recent Verizon GPS Phones, and available through Get It...

     (smartphone)

Marine navigation software

Navigation software for use on the water has many features in common with land-based GPS navigation software. It can use electronic navigation chart or raster charts, usually provides user ability to plan routes and set waypoints, and may have live GPS tracking capabilities. In addition, marine navigation software often has option to control external autopilot
Autopilot
An autopilot is a mechanical, electrical, or hydraulic system used to guide a vehicle without assistance from a human being. An autopilot can refer specifically to aircraft, self-steering gear for boats, or auto guidance of space craft and missiles...

 for automated boat navigation. It may incorporate GRIB
GRIB
GRIB is a mathematically concise data format commonly used in meteorology to store historical and forecast weather data...

 weather overlay on the chart, Tide
Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....

 predictions and other related information services of additional use to mariners.

Aeronautical Navigation Software

This kind of software usually creates a modern glass cockpit
Glass cockpit
A glass cockpit is an aircraft cockpit that features electronic instrument displays, typically large LCD screens, as opposed to the traditional style of analog dials and gauges...

 and uses more than just a single GPS sensor to assist the navigation. Such sensors are Attitude and Heading Reference Systems
Attitude and Heading Reference Systems
An attitude heading reference system consists of sensors on three axes that provide heading, attitude and yaw information for aircraft. They are designed to replace traditional mechanical gyroscopic flight instruments and provide superior reliability and accuracy.AHRS consist of either solid-state...

 (AHRS) and Inertial Measurement Unit
Inertial measurement unit
An inertial measurement unit, or IMU, is an electronic device that measures and reports on a craft's velocity, orientation, and gravitational forces, using a combination of accelerometers and gyroscopes. IMUs are typically used to maneuver aircraft, including UAVs, among many others, and...

(IMU) sensors.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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