On the inclusion of geographic information systems (GIS) in global navigation satellite systems (GNSS)

Abstract The latest innovation of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) technologies plays an important role in improving the quality and safety of modern life. Most of the applications evolved from the integration between GNSS, geographical information systems (GIS) and wireless communications and networking (WCN) systems. The wide spread applications that are using these technologies include: the automatic vehicle location (AVL), tracking systems, navigation systems, pedestrian navigation systems, intelligent transportation systems, precise positioning, and emergency callers, among others. The location‐based services (LBS) are possible only by the combination of GNSS, GIS and WCN. The growing need for commercial LBS has forced cellular‐phone and network manufacturers to concentrate on positioning solutions, which are even more precise than the regulatory mandates for positioning of emergency callers and other user services and applications. In this paper, we will present a literature review of the GNSS, the three satellite systems GPS, GLONASS and Galileo, which are aimed to support GNSS services, and a comparison between them and their role in creating a GIS. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.