A waypoint is a reference point in physical space used for purposes of navigation. Table of geography, hydrography, and navigation, from the 1728 Cyclopaedia. ...

Concept

Waypoints are sets of coordinates that identify a point in physical space. For the purposes of terrestrial navigation, these coordinates usually include longitude and latitude, and sometimes altitude (particularly for air navigation). Waypoints have only become widespread for navigational use by the layman since the development of advanced navigational systems, such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) and certain other types of radio navigation. Waypoints located on the surface of the Earth are usually defined in two dimensions (e.g., longitude and latitude); those used in the Earth's atmosphere or in outer space are defined in at least three dimensions (four if time is one of the coordinates, as it might be for some waypoints outside the Earth). Table of geography, hydrography, and navigation, from the 1728 Cyclopaedia. ... Longitude is the east-west geographic coordinate measurement most commonly utilized in cartography and global navigation. ... This article is about the geographical term. ... Altitude is the elevation of an object from a known level or datum. ... GPS redirects here. ...

Although the term waypoint has only come into common use in recent years, the equivalent of a waypoint in all but name has existed for as long as human beings have navigated. Waypoints have traditionally been associated with distinctive features of the real world, such as rock formations, springs, oases, mountains, buildings, roadways, waterways, railways, and so on. Today, these associations persist, but waypoints are more often associated with physical artifacts created specifically for navigation, such as radio beacons, buoys, satellites, etc. “Rock” redirects here. ... A natural spring on Mackinac Island in Michigan. ... For the English rock band, see Oasis (band). ... For other uses, see Mountain (disambiguation). ... Telegraph Signal Tower at Cobbs Hill, near New Market, Virginia, 1864. ... A sea lion on navigational buoy #14 in San Diego Harbor Green can #11 near the mouth of the Saugatuck river. ... For other uses, see Satellite (disambiguation). ...

In the modern world, waypoints are increasingly abstract, often having no obvious relationship to any distinctive features of the real world. These waypoints are used to help define invisible routing paths for navigation. For example, artificial airways—“highways in the sky” created specifically for purposes of air navigation—often have no clear connection to features of the real world, and consist only of a series of waypoints in the sky through which pilots navigate; these airways are designed to facilitate air traffic control and routing of traffic between heavily traveled locations, and do not reference natural terrain features. Abstract waypoints of this kind have been made practical by modern navigation technologies, such as land-based radio beacons and the satellite-based Global Positioning System (GPS). In aviation, an airway is a designated route in the air. ... GPS redirects here. ...

Abstract waypoints typically have only specified longitude and latitude or UTM coordinates, and often a name if they are marked on charts, and are located using a radio navigation system such as a VOR or GPS receiver. A waypoint can be a destination, a fix along a planned course used to make a journey, or simply a point of reference useful for navigation. Longitude is the east-west geographic coordinate measurement most commonly utilized in cartography and global navigation. ... This article is about the geographical term. ... A transverse Mercator projection is a map projection similar to the Mercator projection in that it is a projection of Earth on a tangent cylinder by rays radial with respect to the cylinder. ... Radio navigation is the application of radio frequencies to determining a position on the earth. ... D-VOR (Doppler VOR) ground station, co-located with DME. VOR, short for VHF Omni-directional Radio Range, is a type of radio navigation system for aircraft. ... A course, in navigation, is the direction of travel. ...

Waypoints and GPS

GPS systems are increasingly used to create and use waypoints in navigation of all kinds. A typical GPS receiver can locate a waypoint with an accuracy of three metres or better when used with land-based assisting technologies such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). Waypoints can also be marked on a computer mapping program and uploaded to the GPS receiver, marked on the receiver's own internal map, or entered manually on the device as a pair of coordinates. WAAS System Overview The Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) is an extremely accurate navigation system developed for civil aviation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a division of the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). ...

If the GPS receiver has track-logging capabilities, one can also define waypoints after the fact from where one has been. For example, marine GPS receivers often have a “man overboard” function, which instantly creates a waypoint in the receiver for the boat's position when enabled and then begins displaying the distance and course back to that position.

In GPS navigation, a “route” is usually defined as a series of one or more waypoints. To follow such a route, the GPS user navigates to the nearest waypoint, then to the next one in turn until the destination is reached. Most receivers have the ability to compute a great circle route towards a waypoint, enabling them to find the shortest route even over long distances, although waypoints are often so closely spaced that this isn't a factor. A great circle is a circle on the surface of a sphere that has the same diameter as the sphere, dividing the sphere into two equal hemispheres. ...

Many GPS receivers, both military and civilian, now offer integrated cartographic databases (also known as base maps), allowing users to locate a point on a map and define it as a waypoint. Some GPS systems intended for automobile navigation can generate a suggested driving route between two waypoints, based on the cartographic database. As one drives along the route, the system indicates the driver's current location and gives advance notice of upcoming turns. The best of these systems can take into account traffic restrictions such as one-way streets and intersections where left or right turns are prohibited when computing the suggested driving route. Cartography or mapmaking (in Greek chartis = map and graphein = write) is the study and practice of making maps or globes. ... This article is about computing. ... A one-way street is a street on which vehicles can only move in one direction. ...

Most GPS receivers allow the user to assign a name to each waypoint. Many models also let the user select a symbol or icon to identify the waypoint on a graphical map display from a built-in library of icons. These include standard map symbols for marine navigation aids such as buoys, marinas and anchorages, as well as such land-based symbols as churches, bridges, shopping centers, parks, and tunnels. Nuvola icons for KDE are available as PNG images, which come in six sizes, and SVG images, which are scalable On computer displays, a computer icon is a small pictogram. ... A small marina at Brixham, Devon, England. ... For the architectural structure, see Church (building). ... This article is about the edifice (including an index to articles on specific bridge types). ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... A disused railway tunnel now converted to pedestrian and bicycle use, near Houyet, Belgium A tunnel is an underground passage. ...

GPS receivers used in air or marine navigation may contain large databases of standard, named waypoints that can be used to coordinate navigation with other aircraft or ships in the area. Some receivers are integrated into autopilots or flight management systems that will pilot an aircraft or ship along a planned route without human intervention. The routing information for the flight plans used in modern aviation often consists of a list of the waypoints that the flight will follow. Most waypoints used by aviation GPS receivers correlate with waypoints established on charts and other navigational documentation. An autopilot is a mechanical, electrical, or hydraulic system used to guide a vehicle without assistance from a human being. ... A Flight Managment System is a little computer onboard almost every aircraft that will guide the aircraft to it designated destination. ... An aeronautical chart is a map designed to assist in navigation of aircraft, much as nautical charts do for watercraft, or a roadmap for drivers. ...

Waypoints without GPS

Waypoints can be used with other navigational aids besides GPS, although the concept been greatly popularized among non-specialists by the development of the GPS.

In aerial celestial navigation, waypoints are precomputed along an aircraft's great circle route to divide the flight into rhumb lines and allow celestial fixes to be more rapidly taken using the pre-computed intercept method. For the Brisbane bus routes known collectively as the Great Circle Line (598 & 599), see the following list of Brisbane Transport routes A great circle on a sphere A great circle is a circle on the surface of a sphere that has the same diameter as the sphere, dividing the... Line crossing all meridians at the same angle. ...

In air navigation, waypoints are sometimes defined as intersections between two VOR radials, or in terms of specific distances and headings towards or away from a radio beacon. For visual air navigation (see the article on VFR), waypoints may be directly associated with distinctive features on the ground that are easily identifiable from aircraft, such as stadiums, power plants, racetracks, etc. Temporary waypoints are sometimes defined as traffic requires, e.g., air-traffic controllers may instruct a pilot to reference a terrain feature at “your ten o'clock position, two miles.” The Verein für Raumschiffahrt (VfR - Spaceflight Society) was an association of amateur rocket enthusiasts active in Germany from 1927 to 1933. ...

Waypoints and aviation

In aviation, area navigation (RNAV)—a method of navigation that permits aircraft operation on any desired flight path within the coverage of station−referenced navigation aids or within the limits of the capability of self contained aids, or a combination of these—relies heavily upon waypoints. RNAV is increasingly used as the primary method of navigation for aircraft. Look up aviation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Two aviation RNAV systems being used simultaneously aboard a light general aviation aircraft Area Navigation (RNAV) is a method of air navigation that allows an aircraft to choose any course within a network of navigation beacons, rather than navigating directly to and from the beacons. ... Area Navigation (RNAV) is a method of air navigation that allows an aircraft to choose any course within a network of navigation beacons, rather than navigating directly to and from the beacons. ...

In the RNAV context, a waypoint is a predetermined geographical position that is defined in terms of latitude/longitude coordinates (altitude is ignored). Waypoints may be a simple named point in space or may associated with existing navigational aids, intersections, or fixes. A waypoint is most often used to indicate a change in direction, speed, or altitude along the desired path.

Aviation RNAV procedures make use of both fly−over and fly−by waypoints. A fly-over waypoint is a waypoint that must be crossed vertically by an aircraft. A fly-by waypoint is a waypoint that marks the intersection of two straight paths, with the transition from one path to another being made by the aircraft using a precisely calculated turn that “flies by” but does not vertically cross the waypoint.

Waypoints and SMS

Establishing waypoints in real-time and transmitting them via GSM cellular telephone networks using the Short Message Service (SMS) is referred to as Gps2sms. Some vehicles and vessels are equipped with hardware that is able to automatically send an SMS text message when a particular event happens, such as theft or anchor drift. The receiving party can ring an alert sound or store the waypoint in a computer system or draw a map indicating the location. Recreational use of GPS2SMS is used by travellers who want to show their digital breadcrumbs on a map. Global System for Mobile communications (GSM: originally from Groupe Spécial Mobile) is the most popular standard for mobile phones in the world. ... SMS may refer to: Short message service, a form of text messaging on cell phones Sega Master System – an 8-bit video game console from the 1980s Seiner Majestät Schiff, His Majestys Ship in the German Kaiserliche Marine and the Austro-Hungarian Navy SMS (comics), a British comic... SMS may refer to: Short message service, a form of text messaging on cell phones Sega Master System – an 8-bit video game console from the 1980s Seiner Majestät Schiff, His Majestys Ship in the German Kaiserliche Marine and the Austro-Hungarian Navy SMS (comics), a British comic... SMS may refer to: Short message service, a form of text messaging on cell phones Sega Master System – an 8-bit video game console from the 1980s Seiner Majestät Schiff, His Majestys Ship in the German Kaiserliche Marine and the Austro-Hungarian Navy SMS (comics), a British comic...

See also

Nautical Portal

Look up Waypoint in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Airway (aviation)
• autopilot
• Geo (microformat)
• geotagging
• Global Positioning System
• GPX (XML schema for interchange of waypoints)
• Instrument Flight Rules
• landmark
• map
• Point of interest
• Visual Flight Rules

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ... In aviation, an airway is a designated route in the air. ... An autopilot is a mechanical, electrical, or hydraulic system used to guide a vehicle without assistance from a human being. ... Geo is a microformat used for marking up WGS84 geographical coordinates (latitude;longitude) in (X)HTML. This allows parsing tools (for example other websites, or Firefoxs Operator extension) to extract the locations, and display them using some other website or mapping tool, or to load them into a GPS... Geotagging, sometimes referred to as Geocoding, is the process of adding geographical identification metadata to various media such as websites, RSS feeds, or images. ... GPS redirects here. ... GPX, or GPS eXchange Format is an XML schema designed for transferring GPS data between software applications. ... An XML schema is a description of a type of XML document, typically expressed in terms of constraints on the structure and content of documents of that type, above and beyond the basic syntax constraints imposed by XML itself. ... It has been suggested that Air traffic control#Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) be merged into this article or section. ... Taj Mahal Big Ben Saint Basils Cathedral Azadi Square in Tehran For other senses of this word, see landmark (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Map (disambiguation). ... A point of interest, or POI, is a specific point location that someone may find useful or interesting. ... Visual flight rules (VFR) are a set of aviation regulations under which a pilot may operate an aircraft in weather conditions sufficient to allow the pilot, by visual reference to the environment outside the cockpit, to control the aircrafts attitude, navigate, and maintain safe separation from obstacles such as...

External links

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• POI66, a series of waypoint collections
• TierraWiki: Digital database for outdoor activities.
• UK Mountain Waypoints & GPS Routes , Waypoint collections of UK Mountains
• Recombo WAYPOINT: Digital Signature & Online Agreement Software
• Using and Sharing GPS Data: Saved vs. Active Tracks