Global Position System(GPS)for Safeguards Applications

摘要

Verification of State Declarations requires a good knowledge of the location of facilities.Planning and conduct of on-site inspections requires accurate maps,the ability to navigate to and from sites, and to track where the inspector has been.The recent revolution in satellite based navigation and positioning stimulated by the American Global Positioning System(GPS)provides inexpensive location,navigation,tracking,mapping and timing information 24 hrs a day,everywhere around the world.Originally designed as a military navigation system,GPS has come into widespread use for commercial and civilian use.There were approximately 143 million GPS units in existence in 2006 and more than 5 million units will be added in 2007.With these volumes come an increasing number of suppliers,rapidly increasing capabilities,decreasing size and cost,and many new applications.This paper briefly reviews the operation of the GPS system and its history,references some important practical uses such as tracking of vehicles or containers containing nuclear material, and provides an annotated reference list of websites providing free or low cost maps and relevant software.An example illustrating the application of GPS and a simple custom map to relevant location,navigation,tracking and mapping tasks is intended to serve as a useful introduction to inspectors and others who do not have hands-on experience with GPS navigation.