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  • GNSS in our Economy and Society

    Paper number

    IAC-09.E5.4.10

    Author

    Ms. Stephanie Wan, George Washington University, United States

    Coauthor

    Mr. David Kuan-Wei Chen, Institute of Air and Space Law, McGill University, Canada

    Year

    2009

    Abstract
    Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) have become vital to our everyday lives, whether we find it in our cars navigating us to our destination or in our ATM machines. The United States GPS System, the Global Positioning System, has become the generic term for GNSS, while the underlying notions of Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) which dictates all GNSS functions is relatively unknown. Nonetheless, the properties within a GNSS system remain the same and have yet to be fully valued by the public.
    
    Little do most know how GNSS has become infused into the global economy and society, whether it is saving energy or saving lives. From tracking rare species of wildlife to tracking friends (or fugitives), more applications are created each year to improve our precise knowledge of the world, for better or for worse. 
    
    Societal dependency on GNSS is a possible cause for alarm. While car navigation systems calculate the best routes drivers to pursue, it has also become a careless distraction, causing some to focus on the navigation screen rather than traffic safety. Various potential legal issues also come into play, especially relating to matters of privacy and liability.
    
    This paper seeks to present the benefits of how GNSS has become vital to the market and public. The paper also hopes to also dig deeper into the implications and effects it has on society when such an important asset goes awry.
    
    Abstract document

    IAC-09.E5.4.10.pdf

    Manuscript document

    (absent)