| Summary: | Navigation has been a cornerstone of human civilization since the first great migrations of Humanity. Over time we have developed various methods of Navigation, first we navigated by sight, then by whatever tools nature gave us, such as using the stars for celestial navigation via inventions such as the sexton. Maps were also rather rudimentary in the past, mainly made by Cartographers using high vantage points.
Navigation has continued to improve time, but none was so drastic as the advent of the Global Positioning System (GPS), which is part of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). GNSS encompasses GPS, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), Galileo and BeiDou. These systems were created by the United States of America, Russia, European Union and China respectively. Of all these, GPS is by far the most widely used.
GPS has now become an integral part of life nowadays, it is hard to imagine life without it, especially after the turn of the century. Whether we know it or not, we are dependent on this in one way or another, either directly or indirectly.
Till today, GPS receivers are mostly hardware based. Recently, there has been growing interest in the development of Software GPS receivers. Hardware receivers by their very nature are restricted in some way, Software receivers however, are more versatile and allow for user modifications. Also, can be ported onto different devices. This greatly enhances user flexibility in adjusting various parameters. Also the enactment of new algorithms is generally thought to be easier on Software Receivers rather than onto Application Specific integrated circuits.
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