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Are you over-reliant on GPS? What if it fails?
- TAGS:critical infrastructure, eLORAN, GPS, GPS tracking, Insider Content, LORAN, safety, Satellite navigation, satellite navigation system, terrorism
- IT TOPICS:Cybercrime & Hacking, Emerging Technology, Enterprise Apps, Government & Regulation, Government IT, Healthcare IT, Infrastructure Management, LAN/WAN/Broadband/Wireless, Mobile, Mobile Apps, Security
Failure of the satellite-based Global Positioning System is a bit of a worry, to put it mildly. Enterprises use GPS for far more than driving directions. We've sleep-walked our way into a big reliance on GPS and its timing accuracy. But GPS is not robust: there are plenty of failure modes. People might die, or at least lose money.
By Richi Jennings. March 8, 2011.
An in-depth report makes frightening reading for any organization that's reliant on the Global Positioning System. The report, published today in the UK, makes the point that your business may completely rely on GPS without even knowing it, and that the financial or safety consequences of a GPS failure can be fatal. This isn't just about finding a route in your car. Let's dig into the detail, in The Long View...
In what's clearly a well-researched report, The Royal Academy of Engineering shines a spotlight on "The use of [GPS] for deriving position, navigation and timing (PNT) data." The non-profit institute highlights the fact that GPS is relatively fragile: it doesn't take much to corrupt GPS data or disable GPS receivers.
Britain’s national academy for engineering also cautions against throwing out older, land-based technologies -- which could be used as a backup -- but this is precisely what the U.S. and Canadian governments have done.
Read on...
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