Learning to use GPS with Arduino

Arduino is an open source electronics prototyping platform that was designed to make electronics more accessible to artists, designers, hobbyists, and anyone interested in creating interactive environments or objects. In this tutorial, we will learn how to use GPS with Arduino.

Getting to know the GPS

The GPS, or Global Positioning System, is a system that allows you to determine the position of an object anywhere on the planet. It uses a network of satellites to provide accurate location data. To use GPS with Arduino, we will need a GPS module.

GPS module

A GPS module is a device that combines a GPS receiver and a GPS antenna into a single unit. GPS modules are typically used in vehicle tracking, navigation and mapping applications. For this tutorial, we will be using the NEO-6M GPS module.

Connecting the GPS Module to the Arduino

To connect the GPS module to the Arduino, we need 4 connections. The GPS module's VCC connection goes to the Arduino's 5V pin, the GND connection goes to the GND pin, the RX connection goes to digital pin 4, and the TX connection goes to digital pin 3.

Programming Arduino to use GPS

To program the Arduino to use GPS, we will need a library called TinyGPS++. This library is used to decode GPS data. To install the library, go to Sketch -> Include Library -> Manage Libraries, search for TinyGPS++ and install it.

Code

To read the GPS data, we need to start the TinyGPS++ library and define the RX and TX pins. Then, in the main loop, we read the GPS data and print it to the serial monitor.

#include 
#include 

// Define the RX and TX pins
#define RXPin 4
#define TXPin 3

// Start the TinyGPS++ library
TinyGPSPlus gps;

// Start the serial
SoftwareSerial ss(RXPin, TXPin);

void setup() {
  // Start the serial
  Serial.begin(9600);
  ss.begin(9600);

  // Check if GPS is working
  if (!gps.begin(ss)) {
    Serial.println("GPS not found");
    while(1);
  }
}

void loop() {
  // Read GPS data
  while (ss.available() > 0) {
    gps.encode(ss.read());
  }

  // Print GPS data
  if (gps.location.isUpdated()) {
    Serial.print("Latitude: ");
    Serial.println(gps.location.lat(), 6);
    Serial.print("Longitude: ");
    Serial.println(gps.location.lng(), 6);
  }
}

Testing the GPS

To test the GPS, load the code into the Arduino and open the serial monitor. If everything is connected correctly you should see the latitude and longitude being printed on the serial monitor. Remember that the GPS needs a clear view of the sky to work properly.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we learn how to use GPS with Arduino. We saw how to connect a GPS module to the Arduino, how to program the Arduino to read GPS data using the TinyGPS++ library, and how to print this data to the serial monitor. With these skills, you can now incorporate GPS functionality into your own Arduino projects.