GPS

GPS stands for global positioning system, as system by which a handheld GPS unit uses information from satellites to determine the user’s exact spatial coordinates. This process is called triangulation, and information from at least four satellites is required for an accurate position. GPS was first developed by the Department of Defense in the eighties. In 2000, GPS signal degradation called Select Availability was removed, and this technology became available for civilian use.

GPS has many practical uses for hikers or anyone without a sense of direction, but the geocaching is the most interesting use! Geocaching is a global treasure hunt. First, geocachers look online for a set of co-ordinates in their area (start at www.geocaching.com), and then they use a GPS to find that site.

It seems like there would be no challenge in reading a set of co-ordinates and walking to that location, but, the GPS only shows you the most direct route to your destination, regardless of any obstacles, like buildings or rivers, in your path. Also, a good GPS is accurate to about ten or twenty feet, so even after locating the coordinates, the geocacher still hasn’t quite found the cache. Nearby structures like buildings and trees can interfere with the satellite signal, too, making it even less accurate, so a GPS isn’t any good for finding your car at the mall.

Once the cache is found, geocachers can see what’s inside! Caches always have a logbook, where finders can sign their names or leave a message for the next explorer. Some caches contain trinkets, like little toys or burned CDs, or a “hitchhiker,” something that travels from cache to cache (think of the world-traveling garden gnome in Amelie, only with geocachers photodocumenting it’s journey on www.geocaching.com).

Geocaching is proof that even tech geeks leave the house sometimes.