How can you be sure that the package you sent was delivered to the correct house or business? This is where GPS System & Address Validation comes in handy. With this system, the delivery person uses a cell phone like device to make a enter the package identification code from the drive of the place of delivery and the GPS system marks the location of the delivery, effectively validating that the package was delivered to the correct address.
GPS service allows for very precise location on the face of the earth. Some units are precise enough that they can be used in land surveying. A unit can give a very precise location of the delivery truck when it is in front of a home making delivery or even at the door of the place where the unit is being delivered.
When expensive equipment is being delivered to a customer by a delivery service, this puts an end to a customer claiming to have never received the equipment. The carrier has GPS documentation that the delivery was made to the correct address. If delivery was made to the wrong address, then the carrier can return to that address to reclaim the equipment that was wrongly delivered.
Another use of this equipment is in the delivery of court papers to an individual. In addition to the manual address verification, the person serving the papers can have GPS address validation that the papers were served to the correct address.
The GPS system was first used experimentally by the US navy in 1960. Since that time several other satellites have been launched. These satellites have been used for airplanes and ships in navigation for years. In more recent times hand held units have become popular and today, many cell phones have included a GPS locator. These much smaller units have made it possible to allow GPS technology to be used for such things as address verification.
One thing that should be taken into consideration is that the US government has a built in error in the system that can cause it to be off as much as 100 meters (over 300 feet or the length of a football field). This error was included in order to prevent take over of the system by enemy forces and use in directing munitions sent by forces attacking the United States. This error must be taken into account in the address verification system. Thus it may not be possible to determine if a package was delivered to your home your next door neighbors, simply due to the fact of the built in error.
Overall the address verification GPS system is a good system. It can give directions to the route driver for the next delivery. However, the driver must still use clues such as street signs and address markings to ensure that the package is delivered to the correct location.
The technology is available to make this system work very precisely. However, there are still a few bugs to work out and one of those bugs is the error that was built into the system by the US government.
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GPS systems are getting cheaper everyday. It's not hard to find where you need to go using address validation and spatial data . There are even systems that incorporate postal code map !