在西元20世紀期間,全球衛星定位技術的成本高昂,幾乎只有用在軍事用途上,一般大眾能夠使用的機會相當少,但這幾年來,由於美國政府將影響定位精準度的選擇性可用度干擾碼(Selective Availability)解除,以及民間企業積極投入GPS產品研發,GPS的應用已經越趨低價及普及。在GPS的應用中,電子地圖扮演著最重要也是最基本的角色。Google Maps,它提供了高解析度的衛星影像,並且擁有高精確度的地圖資訊,只要有網路的地方就可使用,是一個十分適合一般大眾或是學術研究使用的電子地圖。本研究提出一套方法程序,結合GPS與Google Maps做軌跡追蹤之應用,把GPS的座標製成軌跡,再將相片結合座標與軌跡整合到Google Maps上,相信對旅遊紀錄、學術研究、實地探勘都會有相當大的幫助。
During the 20th century, the costs associated with Global Positioning System (GPS) technology were prohibitively high, limiting its use almost solely to military applications, with individuals having few opportunities to make use of it. However, in recent years, as the US government has eliminated the selective availability safeguards that affected the precision of GPS systems , and as private companies have aggressively pursued the development of GPS products, costs have declined and adoption of the technology has become more widespread. Electronic maps play the most important and basic role in real-world applications of GPS. While Google Maps provides high-resolution satellite imagery, as well as detailed maps, available for use wherever there is Internet access. Google Maps is well suited for use by the general public as well as by academic researchers. The current study proposes a procedure for combining GPS and Google Maps for tracking applications. The procedure entails using GPS coordinates to mark out routes, and then combining photographs with these coordinates and routes for display with Google Maps. This procedure should prove useful for documenting travel routes, for academic research, and for geographic field surveys.