In this lesson, students find their location on a map using Latitude and Longitudinal coordinates. They determine where they should go to be rescued and how best to get there.

Study of physical effects in the vicinity of a black hole as the basis for understanding general relativity, astrophysics, and elements of cosmology. Extension to current developments in theory and observation. Energy and momentum in flat spacetime; the metric; curvature or spacetime near rotating and nonrotating centers of attraction; the Global Positioning System and its dependence on general relativity; trajectories and orbits of particles. Subject has online component and classroom lectures are replaced with online interactions: manipulation of visualization software, access to websites describing current research, electronic submission of homework, and structured online discussions between undergraduates and alumni and with instructors and graduate specialists in the topics covered.

Students design their own logo or picture and use a handheld GPS receiver to map it out. They write out a word or graphic on a field or playground, walk the path, and log GPS data. The results display their "art" on their GPS receiver screen.

This is a freshman advising seminar. The professor of a FAS is the first year advisor to the (no more than 8) students in the seminar. The use of Global Positioning System (GPS) in a wide variety of applications has exploded in the last few years. In this seminar we will explore how GPS works, the range of applications, and the conflict between civilian users and military planners. This seminar is followed by a UROP research project in the spring semester where results from precise GPS measurements will be analyzed and displayed on the web.

Students familiarize themselves through trial and error with the basics of GPS receiver operation. They view a receiver's satellite visibility screen as they walk in various directions and monitor their progress on the receiver's map. Students may enter waypoints and use the GPS information to guide them back to specific locations.

Students go on a GPS scavenger hunt. They use GPS receivers to find designated waypoints and report back on what they found. They compute distances between waypoints based on the latitude and longitude, and compare with the distance the receiver finds.

During a scavenger hunt and an art project, students learn how to use a handheld GPS receiver for personal navigation. Teachers can request assistance from the Institute of Navigation to find nearby members with experience in using GPS and in locating receivers to use.

This website provides an overview of the GeoPad project, the software and hardware components of the unit, and a listing of publications, presentations, and case studies. The GeoPad is a TabletPC equipped with wireless networking, a portable GPS receiver, digital camera, microphone-headset, voice-recognition software, GIS software, and supporting, digital, geo-referenced data-sets. The unit allows scientists to go out in the field as a group or individually, collect GPS-referenced data and share the data instantaneously with each other and with data fusion "collaboratories" hundreds of miles away. It also provides on-demand access to the large database, data summarization and visualization resources at these distant centers to request site-specific information.

This team-taught subject is for doctoral students working on emerging technologies at the interface of technology, policy and societal issues. It integrates concepts of research strategy and design from a variety of disciplines. The class addresses problem identification and formulation of research topics, the role of qualitative and quantitative research methods, and the use of various data collection techniques. Coursework focuses on students' thesis proposals, faculty-student study panels, critical evaluation of research design, and ethical issues in conducting research and gathering data.

In past times, ocean navigators tossed a piece of wood over the side of their ships and noted how long until the ship passed the wood. They used this time measurement and the length of the ship to calculate their speed and estimate how far they had traveled. In this activity, students act the part of a GPS signal traveling to the receiver to learn how travel time is converted to distance.

Introduces the concepts and applications of navigation techniques using celestial bodies and satellite positioning systems such as the Global Positioning System (GPS). Topics include astronomical observations, radio navigation systems, the relationship between conventional navigation results and those obtained from GPS, and the effects of the security systems, Selective Availability, and anti-spoofing on GPS results. Laboratory sessions cover the use of sextants, astronomical telescopes, and field use of GPS. Application areas covered include ship, automobile, and aircraft navigation and positioning, including very precise positioning applications.

Find out more about geospatial technology.

Learn more about atomic clocks and try to understand how a GPS determines location.

For thousands of years, navigators have looked to the sky for direction. Today, celestial navigation has simply switched from using natural objects to human-created satellites. A constellation of satellites, called the Global Positioning System, and hand-held receivers allow for very accurate navigation. In this lesson, students investigate the fundamental concepts of GPS technology trilateration and using the speed of light to calculate distances.

This course is broad, covering a wide range of topics that have to do with the post-PC era of computing. It is a hands-on project course that also includes some foundational subjects. Students will program iPAQ handheld computers, cell phones (series 60 phones), speech processing, vision, Cricket location systems, GPS, and more. Most of the programming will be using Python®, but Python® can be learned and mastered during the course. This course was also taught as part of the Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA) programme as course number SMA 5508 (Pervasive Computing).

In this unit, students learn the very basics of navigation, including the different kinds of navigation and their purpose. The concepts of relative and absolute location, latitude, longitude and cardinal directions are discussed, as well as the use and principles of a map and compass. Students will discover the history of navigation and learn the importance of math and how it ties into navigational techniques. Understanding how trilateration can determine one's location leads to a lesson on the global positioning system and how to use a GPS receiver. The unit concludes with an overview of orbits and spacecraft trajectories from Earth to other planets.

The aim of this course is to introduce the principles of the Global Positioning System and to demonstrate its application to various aspects of Earth Sciences. The specific content of the course depends each year on the interests of the students in the class. In some cases, the class interests are towards the geophysical applications of GPS and we concentrate on high precision (millimeter level) positioning on regional and global scales. In other cases, the interests have been more toward engineering applications of kinematic positioning with GPS in which case the concentration is on positioning with slightly less accuracy but being able to do so for a moving object. In all cases, we concentrate on the fundamental issues so that students should gain an understanding of the basic limitations of the system and how to extend its application to areas not yet fully explored.

This unit teaches students how and why engineers design satellites to benefit life on Earth as well as allows students an opportunity to explore motion, rockets and rocket motion. Students discover that the motion of all objects including the flight of a rocket and even the movement of a canoe is governed by Newton's three laws of motion. Space exploration is a huge consideration for aerospace engineers, and this unit introduces students to the challenges of getting into space for the purpose of exploration. The ideas of thrust, weight and control are covered, allowing students to fully understand how and why rockets are designed with these concepts in mind. Also, students learn about the engineering design process and re-engineering as they design and build their own rockets after learning how and why the experts make specific engineering choices. Lastly, students explore the concept of triangulation that is used in navigation satellites and global positioning systems designed by engineers. And, by investigating these technologies, they learn how people can determine their position or the location of someone else.

Fundamentals of satellite engineering design, including distributed satellite. Studies orbital environment. Analyzes problems of station keeping, attitude control, communications, power generation, structural design, thermal balance, and subsystem integration. Considers trade-offs among weight, efficiency, cost, and reliability. Discusses choice of design parameters, such as size, weight, power levels, temperature limits, frequency, and bandwidth. Examples taken from current satellite systems. Satellite Engineering introduces students to subsystem design in engineering spacecraft. The course presents characteristic subsystems, such as power, structure, communication and control, and analyzes the engineering trades necessary to integrate subsystems successfully into a satellite. Discussions of spacecraft operating environment and orbital mechanics help students to understand the functional requirements and key design parameters for satellite systems.