The Global Positioning System (GPS) was first deployed in the 1990s and has since become one of the most indispensable pieces of technology in our modern world. This global network of satellites has helped us make weather predictions, track hurricanes, locate oil spills, locate missing people, watch and monitor activity around the globe, and a lot more. But although GPS tracking can be used for a great number of public and private purposes, it is also used for a private eye. Many people, in the name of finding lost friends or relatives, hire private detectives to track down people that they have lost touch with.

Tracking devices such as the Global Positioning System – Advanced Baseline Imager are used for this purpose. A tracking device, such as the one described above, has the ability to measure the direction and velocity of an object in space. When a GPS track goes out, someone will usually hear something like “breaking up”, “closing in”, or “starting to slow down”. This is because a small portion of the earth’s surface is being covered by the track. For instance, if the track pointed North and was broken up by local clouds, there would be less light reaching the device, thus less information would be recorded.

When an object moves, it emits a radiation signal, similar to how an angry cat meows. In the case of a moving vehicle, the radiation comes from the car’s tail lights, radiator, headlights, taillights, and tires. Earthlings, on the other hand, radiate heat, which means that they emit heat energy. Thus, when cars and trucks move, they cause the earth to warm up, causing an increase in the temperature of the air. Such a phenomenon is called geostationary operational phase.

GPS technology is based on a relatively uncomplicated physics concept: gravity will always act in the same way no matter what is launched into space. Geostationary satellites are launched close to the equator, which is where the most accurate readings are taken. Thus, every time a vehicle or any other object is moved by local winds, the satellites will move with them. Once the satellites have determined that the local winds are moving the correct way, the system will determine the latitude of the point where the satellite needs to be positioned to obtain the data that it needs. Thus, when a vehicle is moved by local winds, the location of the vehicle becomes its reference point, to prevent calculation of errors caused by declination.

ABI, a GPS/RFID hybrid application, which stands for Global Positioning System + Information Service, is designed to facilitate the detection of erratic changes in the Earth’s global positioning system. The term “abi” comes from the Arabic language meaning “a little distance.” Thus, the term “abi” translates as “little distance”. This is different from the GPS receivers used by military and emergency response teams, which use a more conventional system based on triangulation. In the GPS/RFID hybrid system, a small antenna located in the western hemisphere will receive signals from orbiting satellites, whereas the larger antenna located in the eastern hemisphere will pick up signals from any direction away from the equator.

ABI was developed by Northrop Grumman Limited, a leader in the communications and networking industry. The system is currently undergoing field testing to determine whether it is effective in providing adequate positioning data. If the tests are successful, the technology will be introduced to the U.S. Department of Defense, which has plans to purchase a variety of small satellites to position its own advanced baseline imager equipment in areas where it is necessary to locate and track long-term surveillance and tracking equipment. Once deployed, the advanced baseline imager can perform in-flight operations in support of tactical operations without requiring military personnel to physically locate, identify and track all of the equipment being tracked.