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Top 10 Remarkable Facts About Bradford Parkinson, Inventor of GPS

The GPS, or Global Positioning System, is a vital component of contemporary life, offering crucial navigation and location services across the globe. However, who invented this ground-breaking technology that powers everything from aeroplanes to smartphones today? GPS is credited to Bradford Parkinson, an electrical engineer with expertise in guidance systems, as its principal designer and motivator. These ten amazing facts about the trailblazing inventor who invented GPS technology will pique your interest. Humanity’s orientation to place and space was revolutionized by Parkinson’s vision of precise positioning that was not limited by weather or geography. His unwavering quest for what appeared to be unachievable led to the creation of an invention that completely changed the definition of possible. Parkinson represented engineering at its most admirable: producing for the benefit of others rather than oneself

1.He Was Born In 1935

USAF Colonel Bradford Parkinson. , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Madison, Wisconsin was the place of Bradford Parkinson’s 1935 birth. He studied at the U.S. Naval Academy, earning a B.S. in General Engineering in 1957. Later, in 1961 and 1963, he graduated from Stanford University with an M.S. and a Ph.D. in aeronautics and astronautics, respectively. His early proficiency with guidance and navigation systems served as a springboard for his creative work with GPS. Parkinson has always been interested in positional awareness and navigation. This natural curiosity about specialized knowledge at the cutting edge of location tracking capability was formally fostered by his academic training. Parkinson’s scientific vision enhanced his engineering prowess to create systems never before imagined. It was this powerful blend of technical know-how and limitless creativity that drove his groundbreaking GPS work.

2. Parkinson Headed The GPS Development Team

In 1972, Parkinson, then a colonel in the U.S. Air Force, was chosen to lead the GPS development team. For more than a decade, he oversaw the program’s development from a basic idea to an operational international system. Parkinson put forth a great deal of effort to advance GPS and win the Department of Defense’s continued financing and support for the project over its protracted development. He was able to bring together the top technical minds for GPS innovation by coordinating across branches thanks to his military leadership. Parkinson encouraged team members to work together, which contributed to GPS’s development through collective creativity. With his guidance from conception to implementation, GPS evolved from a concept into an unmatched tool that would support both military and civilian objectives.

3. It Took Overcoming Significant Technological Challenges To Create GPS

Global Positioning System. , , via Wikimedia Commons

It took overcoming significant technological challenges to create GPS. In order to provide precise location services, the system required extremely accurate atomic clocks on satellites. Parkinson’s group also needed to create inexpensive, basic receivers that could be used by many. His tenacity propelled the technological advancements that made GPS go from a concept to an operational reality. Parkinson persevered in the face of doubters and inspired partners to work together to solve the difficult technical riddles necessary for GPS success. Every obstacle he faced strengthened his determination to realise the enormous potential of the technology. Under Parkinson’s direction, people began to believe that the creative minds gathered could conquer any obstacle. His steadfast trust in GPS enabled the group to surpass obstacles and achieve a potential that would define a new epoch of navigation.

4. He Is Recognized For Many Breakthroughs

Any form of satellite navigation was practically nonexistent before the invention of GPS. Parkinson’s groundbreaking work on the development and testing of GPS signals, satellites, and control systems made possible the first satellite navigation network in history to operate flawlessly. He is recognized for having made many breakthroughs that laid the groundwork for current GPS capabilities. The difficulties of trying to pinpoint locations from space did not stop Parkinson. His perseverance and problem-solving skills produced innovative fixes for the timing and positioning accuracy of GPS. Additionally, he supported concepts such as signal spreading to strengthen GPS’s immunity to interference. Parkinson’s engineering prowess and tenacity propelled advancement on the enormous technical obstacles necessary to make GPS a reality.

5. Bradford Parkinson Is Commonly Referred To As The “Father of GPS”

Professor Bradford Parkinson, known as the 鈥淔ather of GPS鈥�., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Bradford Parkinson is commonly referred to as the “Father of GPS” due to his pivotal role in the development of GPS technology. He came up with the name “Global Positioning System” and managed its development into an application that has radically changed the global navigation, timing, and location-based services industries. Parkinson’s work opened up GPS to users worldwide, military and civilian. While Parkinson did not create GPS by himself, his foresight and guidance were crucial to its accomplishment. Parkinson served as an example of how transformative technology necessitates teamwork by promoting collaboration and uniting bright minds. Although he is proud to be referred to as its father, he understands that GPS was the result of group innovation motivated by a common goal: advancing humankind into the future.

6. He Served As Presidential Advisor

In addition to his achievements as an engineer, Parkinson provided senior government officials with GPS development advice. He gave President Ronald Reagan a briefing on the revolutionary potential of the new GPS technology. Parkinson’s recommendation played a major role in Reagan’s 1983 executive order permitting GPS access for non-military purposes. Parkinson recognized early on that GPS should not be restricted to military use but rather should be made available to the public to encourage innovation in all spheres of society. His early advice to Reagan helped pave the way for a new wave of GPS applications that have improved timing services, navigation, and other areas. Parkinson not only helped shape GPS’s technical foundations but also championed the free and open use of this revolutionary technology for the good of humanity.

7. Parkinson Is A Recipient Of Many Lifetime Awards

Parkinson’s distinguished career and contributions have been recognized through numerous awards and honors over his lifetime. He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame and the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame. Parkinson also received the Draper Prize and Charles Stark Draper Prize for Engineering 鈥� two of the engineering field鈥檚 most esteemed awards. Beyond these accolades, Parkinson cherished the opportunity to see GPS grow from an early-stage research project into an essential global utility. He takes pride in stories of lives saved and discoveries enabled by the technology he birthed. While honored by his own recognition, Parkinson is most gratified to see his life’s work benefiting humankind worldwide. For him, GPS is its own greatest reward.

8. His Colleagues Viewed Him As A Practical Visionary

GPS Receiver. , CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Parkinson is characterized by colleagues as a practical visionary who is motivated by creativity and problem-solving. His leadership played a crucial role in removing obstacles and maintaining the intricate GPS initiative’s progress. Parkinson’s technical brilliance and foresight produced innovations like the miniaturization of GPS receivers, which made the technology useful and widely available. Those who had the pleasure of working with Parkinson remember how he encouraged teamwork and brought together specialists from various disciplines to produce creative solutions. He was able to persuade doubters and obtain funding for a project that many thought was unfeasible thanks to his charm and engineering skills. Parkinson was a true trailblazer in engineering who never lost sight of the potential GPS has to change people’s lives. Beyond developing a technology, his vision included how GPS could lead humanity to a better future. Even in retirement, Parkinson continues to advocate for strengthening and advancing GPS to fulfill its full potential.

9. He Has Left A Lasting Global Impact

A conservative estimate places the number of active GPS devices in use today at over 4 billion globally. These devices are integrated into a plethora of applications, ranging from everyday consumer smartphones to highly accurate aircraft navigation systems. Bradford Parkinson probably had no idea how big GPS technology would eventually become in terms of global integration and societal use when he started leading the GPS development effort decades ago. But because of his visionary perseverance, GPS has managed to become a ubiquitous part of modern life and a vital global utility that helps people all over the world. GPS’s ubiquitous availability of precise location, timing, and navigation data has revolutionized a number of fields, including geography, urban planning, transportation, emergency services, science, and defense capabilities. Parkinson’s groundbreaking GPS invention is becoming more and more prevalent in cutting-edge technologies like autonomous vehicles. 

10. He Is Credited With The First Iteration Of The Bar Code Wand Scanner Technology

The Bar Code. , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Parkinson is credited with many more inventions besides the enormous GPS system. Additionally, he designed and built the first iteration of the bar code wand scanner technology. Parkinson painstakingly created the first handheld wand device intended to read and capture bar code patterns, which at the time was still a completely new concept, building on his engineering insights. His DIY wand scanner prototype would later play a pivotal role in the eventual broad commercial development and uptake of barcode scanning systems and tools, which became practically standard in a variety of industries and applications such as retail checkout, inventory management, logistics tracking, and medical records. Overcommunications systems, information processing hardware and software, data transmission protocols, and other critical engineering disciplined his illustrious career, Parkinson has accumulated more than a dozen key patents in the crucial technological domains of satellite navigation systems, communications systems, information processing hardware and software, data transmission protocols, and other critical engineering disciplines.

Once upon a time, GPS’s extraordinary accuracy, usefulness, and accessibility were only dreams. Bradford Parkinson’s vision and tenacity in creating the first satellite navigation system opened the door for one of the world’s most revolutionary and extensively utilised technologies. He is regarded as one of the most influential engineers and inventors in history due to his impact on GPS.