Introduction to Navigation

Abstract

People routinely seek navigation assistance to find their way from one location to another. In particular, knowing one’s current location and finding ways to get to another location in unfamiliar geographic areas (e.g., a person visiting a city for the first time) can be daunting tasks. For thousands of years, humans have been building devices to provide navigation assistance, as reliable way-finding is important to everyone. Early navigation devices were based on the advanced technologies of the time which were mainly mechanical in principle and were not based on maps. As technologies further advanced and new technologies emerged, new navigation devices were developed. Current navigation devices enjoy a range of new and advanced technologies which are based on electronic principles and maps. Of the advanced technologies that provide the foundation for navigation gadgets, Global Positioning System (GPS) is the one which has had the greatest impact on the increasing popularity of navigation systems. Navigation technology for use in the outdoors can be grouped into four generations. Navigation technology for use in the indoors has a shorter life span and can be grouped into two generations. There are differences between navigation in outdoors and in indoors including the requirements for navigation assistance and the types of technologies and maps.