Applications and technology projections for GPS civil user equipment

Summary form only given, as follows. The author discusses GPS (Global Positioning System) civil user equipment technology, system architecture, and the influence on the equipment design of the requirements associated with the various applications for the equipment. Projections are given for the characteristics of the future equipment based on equipment development trends. In particular, the receiver architectures and processing techniques used in current equipment and the promising system techniques that are planned have been considered. The evolutionary trends associated with the principal categories of GPS civil user equipment are discussed. The current and planned applications for GPS civil user equipment are presented, with emphasis on those which may become economically viable with the high production rates and low costs associated with the GPS engines entering production