HTML5 Geolocation

Chapter 1. Finding Our Way

As long as people have been traveling from one place to another on Earth, they have used a variety of methods, with varying degrees of accuracy, to calculate approximately where they are located at any given time. As our technologies have improved, so has our ability to detect our position accurately. The term geolocation is best described as the determination of the geographic position of a person, place, or thing. In our modern era this involves the use of Internet-enabled devices (computers, routers, tablets, etc.), smartphones, or GPS-based systems.

Geolocation in the Past

While now it is easy and convenient to identify our position using devices with built-in GPS capabilities, it has not always been the case. Over the millennia people have come up with many inventive solutions to calculate where they were, which is the essence of geolocation—figuring out your real-world geographic location with available technology.

Location B.C.E.

Thousands of years ago, people relied on visual forms of geolocation to help in orienting where they were in a given area. One of the earliest forms of visual location documented in history was the smoke signal. Recorded evidence indicates that ancient Chinese, Greeks, and Native Americans used smoke signals to aid navigation and to communicate over great distances (as far as the eye can see). Smoke signals assisted the navigator by providing a better frame of reference to similarly shaped terrain, and would also give a rough ...