Triangular Lateration

For centuries and centuries, man has all been about following nature and her intended course. Navigators knew how to read the stars to chart their courses in the sea. Hitchhikers had found themselves led outside a deep forest thanks to moss that always grows north and the river that guides them to a town. Although all of these are reliable, they are not really that accurate. The GPS system has given numbers to locations uncharted.

For now, there is a technique that all receivers use to calculate the precise location of its holder. This mathematical principle Is called trilateration. Trilateration comes from the word tri which goes with "three" and this uses three distinct spheres to determine the intersection, of which usually happens to be your location. By intersecting three points of differing circles, a location can be determined.

The operation requires three distinctly positioned circles, which are all represented by the three satellites that return the signal to the receiver. When the receiver sends a request to the nearest satellite, it returns a positional coordinate and a time stamp. This location is the center of that sphere. How far you are from center of the sphere is determined by the time lag it takes for the satellite's signal to arrive to your receiver. The time stamp and the time it takes to arrive to your receiver is used to calculate your own distance from the location of the satellite in terms of geography.

An example is, satellite A returns with an estimated 600 miles from the center, while satellite B returns with 400 miles. You'd know that you are between two satellites that are 600 and 400 miles away from you, but at what direction? Perpendicular? Parallel? Adjacent? You need a third sphere to have two dimensions from your distance. Are your towns parallel from each other or adjacent?

As A and B determines the height, C will determine the width. This gives a clearer picture as to where you are located right now. Constant movement reflects upon the streamed data from the satellite and you'd immediately get an update from where you're going. 3 coordinates make up the x and y coordinates made only possible by an eye in the sky.