Positioning and Navigation
The ability to locate oneself on the earth and in its vicinity and navigate over its surface is knowledge that has fascinated humankind for millennia. This is a core theme of Geomatics Engineering. It covers airborne positioning and navigation, precise static and kinematic land positioning for vehicle and other applications, positioning on and under the oceans (hydrography), industrial metrology and the mathematical tools to calculate and analyze positioning systems and their measurements. Many of these techniques are based on the use of the satellite-based Global Positioning System (GPS). The department has contributed in a major way in making Calgary a world centre of excellence in the development of GPS products which are sold all over the world
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a navigational tool that uses signals from satellites orbiting the earth. A GPS receiver can calculate its position based on the time differences of signals obtained from accurate clocks aboard the satellites. Apart from its main use for navigation, GPS is also used as an accurate time reference and to obtain position for surveying and other purposes.