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EDITORIAL INFORMATION

This book is an outgrowth of a GPS course presented by several colleagues and myself that was developed for the Boston chapter of the IEEE in November 1993. Sometime during the lenght of the course, I was contacted by Artech House and asked if I and the other lecturers would be interested in "putting the vugraphs to words".

In this edition, I have attempted to provide the necessary material to ensure a broad but comprehensive treatment of GPS. In addition to GPS, the Russian GLONASS system and forthcoming INMARSAT overlay are also covered.

(Extracted from the preface, by the editor).

GENERAL TABLE OF CONTENTS

-Contents.

-Preface.

-Acknowledgments.

-1- Introduction.

-2- Fundamentals of Satellite Navigation.

-3- GPS System Segments.

-4- GPS Satellite Signal Characteristics.

-5- Satellite Signal Acquisition and Tracking.

-6- Effects of RF Interference on GPS Satellite Signal Receiver Tracking.

-7- Perfomance of Standalone GPS.

-8- Differential GPS.

-9- Integration of GPS With Other Sensors.

-10- The Russian GLONASS System.

-11- INMARSAT Civil Navigation Satellite Overlay.

-12- GPS Markets and Applications.

-Bibliography.

-Appendix: Least Squares.

-Key Acronyms.

-About the Authors.

-Index.

OUR REVIEW

What began as a purely military satellite navigation system, a logical improvement of the old Transit ones, has ended up by becoming an authentic economical and social phenomenon. The American system of global positioning, together with its Russian counterparts, has created a whole industry from scratch, thus becoming one of technological businesses with the fastest development ever. It really gives the impression that GPS can be useful for anything at all in every field - car industry, sports, military, etc. - and its constant technical improvement suggests a brilliant future in all its applications. Its importance both at a short and at a medium term is such that the number of civilian receivers widely surpasses that of the military. Given this panorama, it is obvious that not only some lectures are necessary in this respect, but also some studies and textbooks become likewise necessary. The explosive expansion of GPS and its products will need technicians and experts in the matter. Books like Understanding GPS intend to fill a very important gap in this sense.

In it we will find everything we need to know so as to keep updated on this question, since it is directly aimed at the scientific and engineering communities, although it can be used in other areas. The work describes in full detail the principles of the working of the system, as well as its applications and the different constellations of satellites that nowadays can be found in orbit or that will soon be found there. Each one of the chapters has been written by true specialists in the issue at hand, who do their best to make Understanding GPS into one of the most complete books within this world. For those readers who have a not so technical, more commercial vision, there also is a chapter devoted to the market and direct applications of GPS, including lists of manufacturers, etc.