Beloved Father of GPS Dies
3 Jul 2014The chief inventor and designer of GPS technology has passed away in his New Hampshire home.
The passing of Roger Easton, one of the primary developers of GPS technology, has affected people all over the world. Easton and his team paved to the way toward advanced navigation for civilians and military, highly advanced GPS tracking, and even improving the safety of children and adults with disabilities, all thanks to global positioning systems (GPS).
Easton passed in his home in Hanover, New Hampshire on May 8th. The announcement was released by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington where Easton was an employee for 37 years and worked on much of the GPS advancements from.
Easton was a trained physicist in the 1940s, where he worked for the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC. The beginning of the GPS developments began in the 1950s for the Vanguard Project satellite program. There was an issue with timing synchronizations at the tracking stations and Easton was the one who presented a new type of technology called Timation, which offered Time Navigation. This was really the basis for the system that became known as GPS in the 1970s.
He was not only involved in the GPS systems, but held 11 other U.S. patents as well. They were all for various inventions, including the Navigation Systems Using Satellites and Passive Ranging Techniques. In the 1970s and 1980s, Easton won multiple awards. Then he won the prestigious Robert J. Collier Trophy aviation award in 1993 due to his work on the GPS technology. Additional awards included receiving the National Medal of Technology in 2004, appearing on the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame in 2010, and three years later, receiving the Infomatic Badge of Honor.
Easton retired from the Naval Research Laboratory in 1980, though he continued working independently to help improve GPS. He encouraged the use of solar energy by installing solar cells on the roof of his own garage. He was also a member of his local New Hampshire Legislature for two terms.
One of the major developments that Easton can be thanked for is in GPS fleet tracking. Many people believe fleet tracking would not exist if it weren’t for his dedication, intelligence, and innovative thinking.
His improvements to the timing,tracking and structure of GPS over the years defines him as one of the principal inventors of GPS as it is used today. From his involvement, comes a wide variety of GPS tracking applications, including tracking of fleet vehicles, tracking movements and behaviors of animals at risk of going extinct, helping individuals track everything from valuables to stolen luggage, and much more.
Easton passed in May and was survived by his wife, Barbara, of 68 years. He is also survived by sons Richard Easton and Roger Easton, Jr., and daughter Ruth Easton.
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