[electronic beeping, buzzing]
[indistinct chatter]
Came out four days ago. It's a little glitchy,
but it's a beautiful game.
[narrator] When first released in July of 2016,
Pokémon GO quickly becomes one of the most downloaded apps in the world.
[man] I've been outside every day, walking miles and miles,
trying to hatch eggs, catch Pokémon.
[narrator] In its first month, it breaks five world records,
becoming the fastest mobile game
to earn $100 million in 20 days.
Where'd the Venusaur go?
I've met so many random people in the park today.
I'm like, "What did you catch?" We were trying to find things.
[narrator] And this Pokémon craze is all thanks to a highly accurate technology
that's been released to the public, the Global Positioning System
or GPS.
Today, GPS is guiding and following pretty much anything that moves…
[geese honk]
…all around the world.
GPS is so accurate
it can track you down to the head of a pin.
An estimated four billion people, half the world's population,
use satellite navigation worldwide.
It's added $1.4 trillion in economic benefits to the US alone.
That's the price tag of NASA's annual budget 60 times over.
When location tracking is on,
your phone can capture your exact position every two seconds,
24 hours a day.
Over 90% of new cars sold in America have built-in GPS,
transmitting your data
that can be sold
to the highest bidder.
[electronic beeping]
GPS is everywhere,
even places we don't realize.
But is this ultimate disruptor helping show us the way
or lose it?
The invention of GPS has totally transformed our lives.
It doesn't just help you navigate.
It guides weapons,
steers cars, tracks packages and even money.
It helps us find friends,
get in shape, recover stolen property.
It's hard to imagine a world without GPS.
Before, for most of human history,
to find a location, you unfold a paper map.
And if you're lucky,
you can fold it back up again.
[man 1] You'll find it pays to have a compass
if you do a great deal of traveling in open country.
[narrator] But that all changes in October 1957.
The Soviets shock the world by launching the first-ever satellite, Sputnik,
proving a simple radio transmitter can work from space.
[man 2] Today, a new moon is in the sky.
A 23-inch metal sphere placed in orbit by a Russian rocket.
[narrator] In America,
physicists William Guier and George Weiffenbach
are messing around with some home-recording gear,
listening to Sputnik's beeps,
when they realize something huge.
[man 2] You are hearing the actual signals
transmitted by the Earth-circling satellite.
[narrator] By measuring the change in frequency of Sputnik's beeps
as it passes overhead,
they can pinpoint exactly where the satellite is.
Their boss has an even bigger idea.
What if they flipped this discovery on its head?
Could tracking a beep from a satellite with a known trajectory
allow them to pinpoint the location of a receiver
anywhere on Earth below?
Turns out,
with a lot of maths, you can.
The discovery is huge news for the US military,
especially one branch.
[beeping, radio chatter]
To launch their missiles more effectively,
the Navy wants a targeting system that, unlike sonar, is invisible to the enemy,
so they get to work on a satellite program named Transit.
[man] A 265-pound, 36-inch sphere
that will serve as a space beacon for navigation on Earth.
[narrator] By the mid-'60s, they've got six satellites in orbit,
but accuracy is initially off by more than a mile.
Still, navigation by satellite works.
It just needs to work better.
Over a steamy Labor Day weekend in 1973,
inside the Pentagon,
Colonel Brad Parkinson organizes a top secret meeting of engineers
to cook up some kind of satellite "global positioning system."
The plan, called Navstar, goes like this.
They'll need 24 satellites.
Each one will circle the planet twice a day
in one of six fixed orbits to achieve 24-7 global coverage.
On board, ultra-precise atomic clocks will send signals,
giving their exact position and time, reaching the Earth at the speed of light.
Below, a GPS receiver will take signals from at least four available satellites
and measure its distance from each one to calculate its exact location,
giving the entire US military a navigational edge in the water,
in the air, and on land.
In 1978, the first Navstar satellite reaches orbit.
[man] This unique system will provide ships, aircraft, and land vehicles
equipped with inexpensive receiving equipment
to determine their positions to an accuracy of less than 30 feet.
[narrator] Parkinson thinks GPS
will also improve the target accuracy of weapons systems,
making them more humane by reducing collateral damage.
In the late '70s, F-4 jets test this theory
by using GPS to drop sand bombs in the desert
at the proving test range near Yuma, Arizona.
Skeptics are invited to take a seat,
right beside the target,
in the "doubters chair."
Sure enough, the jets repeatedly hit the same target
within just five to ten meters.
The system requires massive, power-hungry receivers on the ground,
but it's still a huge moment.
GPS works.
[electronic buzzing]
It soon becomes clear
that GPS could be as useful in saving lives as in taking them.
[beeping]
My fellow Americans,
I'm coming before you tonight about the Korean Air Line massacre,
the attack by the Soviet Union
against 269 innocent men, women, and children
aboard an unarmed Korean passenger plane.
[narrator] It's a huge diplomatic crisis.
But it's believed that the pilots failed to notice the plane deviating
from its preplanned route
into prohibited Soviet airspace.
Access to GPS could have averted the tragedy.
So, on September 16th, 1983,
President Reagan makes a historic move that will transform life for everyone.
He signs an executive order
allowing the first-ever civilian use of the Pentagon's GPS system for free,
well, paid for by US taxpayers,
so such a disaster will never happen again.
-Thank you very much, sir. -[crowd cheering]
[narrator] What he doesn't say
is that civilians will get a separate signal from the military,
one that isn't quite as good.
But Reagan's announcement is huge.
It means worldwide navigation and aircraft control now become safer
thanks to GPS.
[buttons click]
Two years later, he opens up GPS even further
by allowing private companies to produce GPS receivers for the public.
Boy, what a story!
[narrator] It's a great start-up opportunity.
In 1988,
Magellan markets the NAV 1000 for $3,000,
a big hit with surveyors.
And Garmin sells GPS receivers to anyone with a boat,
plane, or just a love of the big outdoors.
Japanese company Mazda is the first to crack the obvious car market
with their luxury coupe, the Eunos Cosmo.
Only available in Japan,
Mazda manages to sell a whopping 8,875 of them.
Clearly, GPS is still mostly just a toy for the rich.
As commercial receivers steadily improve,
the US military realizes that GPS could be offering its enemies
a strategic advantage.
[cheering and applause]
But the genie's out of the bottle,
so they decide to make the nonmilitary signal even worse.
They call it Selective Availability.
It works like this.
There have always been separate satellite signals,
one for the military and one for civilians.
[whirring]
On March the 25th, 1990,
engineers flip a switch,
deliberately scrambling the civilian signal.
Accuracy goes from around ten meters out to 100.
[car horns beep]
Immediately, drivers with GPS systems start missing their turns.
The military signal, however, remains extremely accurate,
and early the following year, it's called into action.
During the first Gulf War,
America's military GPS system revolutionizes the battlefield.
It guides smart weapons in surgical strikes on Iraqi targets
and gives lead US mobile units a powerful strategic advantage,
letting them navigate the desert at night, giving them the crucial element
of surprise.
If it had been our intention to take Iraq, we could've done it unopposed.
[narrator] But regular soldiers operating in the featureless desert
want a navigational boost too,
so they write home to their families,
asking them to send commercial GPS devices.
Commanders now have a problem.
[explosion, gunshots]
You can't coordinate a battlefield when not everyone's using the same signal.
So, temporarily,
the US switches off Selective Availability,
and temporarily, civilians get a taste of the good stuff.
♪ La-la-la-la-la-la-la ♪
♪ Sha-la-la-la-la-la ♪
[narrator] Of course, after the Gulf War is over,
the government flips the switch back.
[static hums]
But the public now knows what's possible.
[sobbing]
[group] Three, two, one, zero.
[narrator] By 1995,
the US's GPS system has 24 satellites,
offering complete global coverage for both military and civilian use.
Consumer GPS devices are steadily dropping in size and price.
In 1998,
the StreetPilot becomes the first portable car-friendly satnav device.
[computerized voice] Recalculating. In 300 feet, turn right.
[narrator] Though, at $400 a pop, it's still out of reach for many,
but the days of reading maps are numbered.
GPS is now doing a job that was once one of humanity's greatest talents.
[gulls squawk]
[waves crash]
Historically, humans have navigated
thousands of miles over water without technology
by reading the sun, sea, and stars.
Over land, we've covered huge distances with natural navigation,
plotting routes with landmarks or creating a mental map in our brains.
Even today,
trained London cab drivers can remember up to 25,000 distinct streets.
[car horns beep]
GPS starts to replace those human skills with technology,
making navigation much easier with less effort required.
[church bells ring]
Through the 1990s,
people grow more dependent on GPS.
And other nations want their own GPS systems.
Russia completes their military-only GLONASS in 1993.
In 2000,
China launches their first BeiDou satellite
with coverage limited only to China.
But international competition is inevitable,
and private enterprise is demanding a more accurate and consistent signal.
On May the 2nd, 2000,
President Clinton bows to corporate pressure
and turns off Selective Availability for good.
In plain English, we are unscrambling the GPS signal.
[narrator] Overnight, the GPS system improves by a factor of five or better.
Sales of GPS receivers take off,
disrupting how we work and play.
[man] It's really easy to convince the purist to get into this
because it makes the fishing easier.
[narrator] Emergency services and search and rescue teams add GPS
to their lifesaving operations.
GPS helps develop systems for commercial aircraft
to make safer precision landings on hard-to-reach airstrips.
And satnav sales boom,
competing to offer fancy new features.
[woman 1] One of the new functions with GPS is being able to talk to the GPS
as well as it talking back to you. Find nearest coffee.
[GPS beeps] Would you like to begin navigation?
Yes.
[woman 2] Reality View provides realistic 3D images
of complex highway interchanges,
so it makes your life as a driver as stress-free as possible.
[narrator] People soon realize GPS isn't just good for finding your way
but also for keeping an eye on others,
from young children to teenagers with newfound freedom.
A lot of people use this device for 16-year-old kids
who are just getting their permit, ready to get their license.
A parent wants to have better control
to make sure that their kids are not speeding, for example.
[narrator] But the GPS revolution really takes off in 2008
with the release of the Internet-enabled iPhone 3G.
GPS receivers in our pockets will soon become mainstream
and at no additional cost.
Location-based apps in the mid-2010s connect us in new ways,
transforming how we socialize and find love.
[woman] With more than 600,000 fans pouring into Brazil for the World Cup,
Tinder says usage and downloads here have jumped 50%.
[narrator] GPS even finds itself put to use in sports.
We can give you a pretty holistic view on your overall performance on the pitch.
[narrator] With so many potential applications,
it's no surprise the GPS economy just keeps on growing.
Over half of our business now has nothing to do with automotive,
which is where we made a name for ourselves.
[narrator] If it moves, GPS will find a way to track it
in creative and unexpected ways.
Drones with GPS alert lifeguards to sharks approaching the shore.
[drone hums]
Helicopters use GPS to map the spread of forest fires
for better use of firefighting resources.
In London,
pigeons wearing sensors and a GPS tracker have monitored poor air quality.
[pigeon coos]
And in India,
GPS snakebite apps speedily connect victims with antivenom,
saving lives.
By the late 20-teens, GPS is deeply embedded in our lives
through a new generation of apps
that help connect us with people and resources.
They make everything from sharing food,
travel, photos, and information
easier and more fun.
But are we trading speed and efficiency for a loss of privacy?
Warehouse managers can use GPS tags
to direct workers along the most efficient routes,
but it means that they can also monitor their bathroom breaks.
Isn't that a form of surveillance?
Marketers are following our movements too.
When location services are on,
they track data we may assume is private.
[electronic whirring]
And that kind of information is gold for the growing industry of data brokers,
who use it to predict our behavior.
Over 4,000 companies are bidding for your location data.
It's anonymous,
but by crunching updates every two seconds,
they can figure out who you are
and gather intimate details about your life.
So don't be surprised if a tailor-made ad pops up on your phone
when you go past a store.
Most of us don't even think about how much information we're giving away,
and the industry is completely unregulated.
By June 2020,
China's BeiDou system has 35 satellites,
more than the US GPS system,
offering the world's most complete coverage.
It now guides robotic taxis on the streets of Beijing,
as driverless cars take another step towards reality.
Self-driving vehicles,
robotic tractors,
delivery drones, and flying transports using GPS
are all on the horizon,
which begs a scary question.
What if the system crashes?
If the US GPS system suddenly went down,
the world could experience an economic meltdown.
[men shout]
The US could lose $1 billion a day,
more if planting season were disrupted, and it's very possible.
Today's GPS system could be neutralized by a hostile attack
or by something as innocent as a solar storm.
And while backup systems are being developed,
before they're available, whole cities, even countries, could grind to a halt.
The more dependent we are on GPS
and the less we use our own sense of direction,
the more vulnerable we are when technology eventually fails.
So if we want to be able to truly find our place in the world,
we might try turning off the GPS for a while.
[downtempo electronic music plays]