24 satellites that orbit the Earth
Ground control stations which monitor the satellites
GPS receivers can be attached to persons or animals, or mounted on object, such as a vehicle The satellites are synchronized to emit encoded navigational information (exact positioning and exact time). Any vehicle equipped with a GPS receiver will intercept these transmissions. Using a simple mathematical formula derived from triangulation,* the receiver is able to calculate its own longitude, latitude, velocity and even altitude. For companies implementing GPS applications, this information, most often, would be transmitted to a central dispatch or control location.