You've taken a flight from Pittsburgh to the Bahamas, renting a car once there for the family. However like many people, you aren't the best with maps, and you become lost in a city or back road. You have to backtrack and take hours out of your vacation to find the hotel, testing everyone's patience in the process. This scenario could also easily be played out just a few miles out of common travel routes at home. However, you can save yourself time, gas, and patience with GPS navigation systems.

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p>How GPS Works

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p>GPS utilizes three or more orbiting satellites to pinpoint your exact location on Earth with trilateration, a fancy geometry term to explain how the waves of energy (microwaves in the case of GPS) intersect. By measuring the length of time it takes for the microwaves to reach the satellites, integrated computers can also measure very precise speed. However, GPS navigation systems have many more features beyond telling you your position and speed, and they are too numerous to list.

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p>A Friendly Navigator

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p>GPS navigation systems feature a navigational tool that takes your destination and finds the fastest route to driving there. Some high-end models even include up to the minute updates about roadwork, accidents, and other obstacles, automatically calculating a new route to keep driving time to a minimum. Also, GPS navigation systems speak the directions out loud, allowing you to keep your eyes on the road without having to look at the map display, although you can always turn the voice off.

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p>Voice recognition has become a fairly solid technology in the past few years. As computers are faster than they used to be (in addition to being capable of more accurately interpreting distinct sound waves), many GPS navigation systems now allow users to simply speak which destination they would like to reach, and the computer will calculate a travel route. The user never has to touch a keypad or type in a destination, and as voice recognition becomes even more common, even more models will be outfitted with this invaluable tool.

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p>GPS is a relatively new technology, and only recently has it been introduced into the mainstream, with many auto manufacturers including such devices as available components to add. However, the verdict by all accounts is that this wonderful new technology is available for the average consumer. As prices come down and the technology matures, GPS navigation systems are the maps of the future.