Montana Elk Mystery Solved With GPS Tracking

Elk hunting is very popular in Montana, and the Lost Trail Wildlife Refuge near Kalispell never fails to disappoint. The lush forests of Montana are home to spectacular wildlife, including bears, wolves, moose, turkeys, bobcats and elk. The abundant population of wildlife make hunting a great part of the culture in the state. Elk hunting season occurs in the fall, when the local wildlife population is peaking. Hunters noticed that the elk seemed to disappear during the summer, but no one knew where they went. That is, until recently.

The mystery was solved by Stacy Courville, a wildlife biologist with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, with the help of GPS technology. Last February, she fitted three cow elk from the Hog Heaven area with GPS collars in order to track where they went during the summer. All three left Hog Heaven in April and travelled much further than anyone expected. One of the elk was tracked into Canada, around 60 miles from where it started.

“We knew they weren’t summering on the reservation,” said Courville. “I didn’t know we were collecting elk from that far north.” Many of the locals assumed the elk just moved a little further into the timber during the summer.

“The Lost Trail elk herd is one of the most popular hunts in Northwest Montana,” Jim Williams said, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region One wildlife manager. “Everyone had lots of theories about where they went … We always assumed they were in the timber somewhere, but lo and behold, they were wintering on the Flathead Nation.”

“Wildlife migrations are some of the greatest spectacles in nature,” Williams explained. “They are very variable. Some are very short, they can be extremely long, some are seasonal, some are one-way distances and some are two-way distances and others are just changes in elevations.”

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Montana Elk Mystery Solved With GPS Tracking

GPS Technology Used In Tomistoma Crocodile Conservation

“Very little is known about this species,” explained zoologist Anthony Pine, regarding the endangered Tomistoma crocodile. “There’s not much long-term funding for research and conservation.” Pine studied zoology and marine biology at college in Queensland, Australia, but now focusses on raising awareness for the Tomistoma species.

As part of his effort to raise awareness, Pine gives talks at local schools. “It’s kind of scary that we don’t know enough to conserve it,” he told an honors biology class at John W. North High School in Riverside, CA.

The class’ teacher, Lara Soldmann, was thoroughly impressed with Pine’s lecture. “He easily and quickly conveyed to students how you can’t go into any place and just tell them to stop killing crocodiles,” she explained. “You have to try to take a team approach and help them understand the need for a more sustainable planet.”

The Tomistoma species can grow up to 16 feet. “It’s unique,” Pine said. “Its coloration is unlike any other crocodile.” They have dark brown blotches along their bodies, and their snouts are slender. “The species can be true giants … The largest egg and skull of any crocodile living today is from this species.” Unfortunately, there could be fewer than 2,500 Tomistoma crocodiles left on the planet.

In order to better understand the habitat of this species, Pine travelled to Malaysia. The trip was funded by The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, a United Arab Emirates-based charity. He explored swamps and rivers where the endangered species has been spotted with GPS tracking equipment. Among many saltwater crocs, Pine only saw one Tomistoma during his trip.

Although he didn’t see many Tomistoma, the trip was successful in other ways. Pine made important contacts in Malaysia who are interested in collaborating on more extensive study of the species and habitat. They may use GPS devices to track individual Tomistoma crocodiles in order to gather more information about what is needed to conserve this endangered species.

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GPS Technology Used In Tomistoma Crocodile Conservation

GPS Technology Used in Canadian Forest Restoration Study

It’s incredible to think of all the different uses for GPS tracking today. Such a relatively new technology has revolutionized and aided so many aspects of our every day lives. We use apps that rely on the GPS technology in our devices, and emergency response teams use it to organize the fastest routes to help save lives. Another very cool way this technology is used is in wildlife research and conservation efforts. A current study hopes to help better understand the sensitive caribou population and their habitat.

Caribou and their forest habitats are in rapid decline in Alberta. Some herds are expected to die out within a generation if something isn’t done to intervene. One of the major hang-ups in aiding caribou recover their population is that they are notoriously adverse to human disturbance. Research shows that these animals will avoid even the slightest disturbance of their environment, including a narrow dirt path, by 500 meters. “We’re going to let the animals tell us when they’re no longer disturbed,” biologist and research supervisor Gordon Stenhouse said.

Carabou will be tracked with GPS collars. “We have all this incredibly detailed GPS data,” added Stenhouse. “We get a reading from them every hour as to where they are on the landscape.” In order to get an idea of how the animals are interacting with their environment, the area will be monitored with cameras on the ground, as well as high-tech laser imaging from space, called lidar. “You can measure tree heights. You can look at vegetation,” he said. “It helps us to understand how the vegetation is different on different lines.”

“The results of this work will probably be used to understand species at risk, their habitat needs and how resource development extraction may impact the needs of wildlife habitat,” Stenhouse said. “When we understand better what the animals do on recovered habitat, then we can better focus on restoration efforts.”

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GPS Technology Used in Canadian Forest Restoration Study

Wolves and Cattle Protected with GPS Technology

Cattle ranchers in Washington have turned to GPS tracking to help protect their livestock from wolf attacks. There is a growing wolf population in the state of Washington, and many wildlife and environmental activists are working to keep up that trend. Unfortunately, cattle ranchers and wolves have always been at odds. With a growing number of wolves, more cattle disappear, costing ranchers their livelihood.

One tried and true method of dealing with troublesome wolves has been to shoot and kill wolves that are attacking cattle. In 2012, government trappers and gunmen killed seven wolves from the Wedge pack for repeated attacks on a cattle ranch in Stevens County. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife received 12,000 emails in protest, calling for nonlethal solutions.

“I can’t fight that,” said cattle rancher John Dawson about the public response. “You have to meet in the middle; you have no choice. We put most of our cattle in wolf territory for the summer. I’ve been trying to learn as much as possible about wolves so we can meet them at the door.”

The Dawson ranch ran a successful pilot program using GPS technology and traditional range riders. A range rider costs $15,000 to $20,000 for the five-month grazing period, and is paid for by the state and individual ranchers. The range riders patrol the cattle on horse and ATV, watching out for wolves. They are also provided with daily updates of GPS data from local collared wolves, provided by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. When they see a wolf or pack, they scare them off with loud noises.

“We wanted to do what we felt was scientifically right, what was supported by the evidence, what people knowledgeable about cattle and wolf behavior were telling us,” explained Jay Kehne from Conservation Northwest, an environmental group based in Bellingham, WA.

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Wolves and Cattle Protected with GPS Technology

TomTom’s Runner GPS Watch

The TomTom NV company was originally founded in the Netherlands in the early 1990s as a provider of business-to-business order entry systems and readers for meters and bar codes. By the mid-1990s, the company had moved into the then-popular personal digital assistant device (PDA) market and led the market in that field by the end of the twentieth century.

In 2002, TomTom released its first GPS navigation product, TomTom Navigator, and their first truly portal navigation device (aka PND), the TomTom GO, came out in 2004.

Since then, according to their website, TomTom has become “the world’s leading supplier of in-car location and navigation products and services.” GPS navigation products available from the company include vehicular navigation hardware (both portable and built-in); apps for iPhones, iPads, and Android devices; customized devices; and, most recently, sports watches enhanced with GPS technology (the TomTom Runner GPS Watch, the TomTom Multi-Sport GPS Watch, and the Nike+ SportWatch GPS Powered by TomTom).

In August 2013, Mike Prospero of Tom’s Guide (www.tomsguide.com) published his review of the TomTom Runner GPS Watch. What did his findings reveal?

Of course, the watch provides GPS navigation while you run or cycle, plus an accelerometer and Bluetooth technology. It provides information on the user’s heart rate and calories burned and allows him to record information during his workout—and stores information from previous workouts that can be retrieved later. In addition, it can be synchronized to MapMyRun and other health-related sites.

The watch face shows not only the date and time but also information on battery life and data storage. The battery generally lasts from seven to ten hours if the GPS is turned on but lasts much longer if it is not activated.

In summary, Prospero praises the TomTom Runner GPS Watch as “a strong first effort, combining a light and water-resistant design with an intuitive interface.” The watch’s designers made sure the face was easy to read when running—a definite plus. Prospero suggests that it could be improved by having a better Bluetooth interface as well as allowing runners to have access to their split times.

TomTom continues to be headquartered in Amsterdam. The company sells its products in over 30 countries and employs well over 3,000 people. The company’s business units include Business Solutions, Automotive, Consumer, and Licensing.

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TomTom’s Runner GPS Watch

Texas County Equips Vehicles with GPS Devices

If asked to identify the largest canyon in the United States, few American school children would have difficulty doing so—the answer is obviously the Grand Canyon, located in Arizona. Ask them to name the second largest canyon in the US, however, and most school children (and adults) would be at a loss.

But the residents of Randall County, Texas, just south of Amarillo, would know the answer. Why? Because Randall County encompasses the town of Canyon (the county seat) as well as the Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge and Palo Duro Canyon State Park, location of the United States’ second largest canyon.

In the interest of keeping its officers safe across the county’s sprawling and varied terrain, the Randall County Sheriff’s Office is installing GPS devices in its vehicles. The technology is being made available through Motorola Solutions Computer Aided Dispatch. Installation began in the summer of 2013, and the goal for complete implementation was October 2013. All officers received training on the new technology.

The office leadership says that the new GPS devices will increase safety for county officers and will also improve the department’s effectiveness. Safety will be improved because dispatch personnel will be able to locate officers and their vehicles no matter where they are—even if the officer leaves his vehicle. In addition, the GPS devices include a camera on the car’s dashboard that can be remotely activated in situations in which an officer is unable to respond to a radio call.

How will the technology increase department efficiency? Officers explain that currently, when they need to find out information on a suspect, they must call dispatch and wait for the dispatch officer to look up pertinent information and then radio back with the details. The new GPS technology will allow officers to access suspects’ information on-screen from inside their vehicles. Officers hope that having this ability will cut down on well over 50 percent of time spent in routine traffic stops and other activities. In addition, information uploaded into the GPS computer can later be downloaded onto other devices, such as department laptops, and used later without having to be physically transferred or re-entered.

Randall County residents are sure to benefit from this great technological step forward for their peace officers.

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Texas County Equips Vehicles with GPS Devices

Tiny Telit: GPS Technology Downsizing

With the release of the smallest GPS receiver yet, GPS technology downsizing continues to amaze the world, presenting endless opportunities to developers as engineers solve enigmas that no one would have dreamed up a century ago. As major worldwide companies combine their efforts to offer GPS technology in a form that is affordable and applicable in countless contexts, the current receiver antenna, measuring less than 40 mm across, opens even more doors for the creative innovators exploring all the possibilities within a GPS technology directed world.

Retrofit Solution

According to new releases about the RAS 1575, the ability to retrofit a variety of GPS tracking systems are among the outstanding feature of this tiny new device. With the continual advances in GPS technology, updating remains a significant concern for those who are already dependent upon GPS direction and tracking for daily tasks and routines. Large systems, including those currently controlling significant traffic, can now receive the benefits of the latest as the tiny technology retrofits and updates.

Mobile Power

Since tiny usually means take-with-you, the latest also incorporates flexible, mobile powering. Powerful GPS technology now powered by USB connection expands the use and application of the technology to keep up with the expanding GPS market and the exploding mobile lifestyles of modern technology. Especially compatible with GPS devices developed to be worn or held, this latest in compact GPS technology has potential for markets spanning all the ranges of GPS uses. Embedding possibilities related to this new release are also found on the table of discussion as the antenna performs with pleasing results to manufacturers of many different products.

Stability Increase

Laura Burns, who heads a division of the business unit at Hirschmann Car Company, the manufacturer working with Telit on this new device, reports impressive improvement to the stability and accuracy of this newest GPS technology receiver. Applying experience from the past twenty years, according to Dominikus Hierl from Telit Wireless Solutions, this device signifies just the beginning of what both companies plan to continue to offer consumers interested in all types of GPS technology development.

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Tiny Telit: GPS Technology Downsizing

Supreme Court Rules on Warrantless Tracking

It’s a question that has been tossed back and forth by courts for some time now with various results: Should police officers be required to obtain a warrant before placing a vehicle GPS tracking device on the car of a suspected criminal? Various lower courts have offered their opinions on this question, and those rulings have sometimes made the difference between conviction and release for the suspects in question. At stake are both the ability of the police to uphold the law and the fourth amendment rights of citizens.

Those in favor of warrantless GPS tracking argue that a vehicle GPS tracking device cannot offer police any information that they could not obtain simply by watching the vehicle. The device cannot see inside the car or tell police what a person is doing inside a garage where the vehicle is parked. It does, however, allow police officers to monitor the location of vehicles from a remote spot using fewer officers and fewer man hours. It has also been argued that GPS tracking of vehicles without a warrant should be allowed under the automobile exception, a provision which allows officers greater leeway when searching cars than they would have for people or homes.

Those against warrantless GPS tracking argue that the police should not be able to track the movements of private citizens without the regulation and structure provided by a warrant. Under the fourth amendment, citizens have the right to “be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.” Without a warrant, police could hypothetically monitor the movements of a person indefinitely and without probable cause, which raises serious and frightening questions about privacy.

Last week, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of requiring the government to obtain a warrant in order to place a vehicle GPS tracking device on a person’s car. The ruling found that the automobile exception did not apply since a tracking device greatly extended the police presence past the time it would normally take to search a vehicle. It also found that probable cause did not negate the need for a warrant.

An ACLU spokesperson praised the ruling, saying that all Americans would benefit by requiring court supervision in order for police to use tracking technology to track citizens.

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Supreme Court Rules on Warrantless Tracking

Tennessee Town May Equip Vehicles with GPS Devices

GPS devices continue to increase in popularity. And, as with any relatively new technology, people continue to find uses for GPS technology beyond those that were initially part of the system’s vision.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) was initially developed in the 1970s and became fully operational in 1994. It was originally designed for military use, but various presidential administrations (notably Reagan and Clinton) decided that it should be openly available for civilian use.

GPS technology is now widely used for drivers to locate the shortest route to their destination, to plan a scenic drive, or to find the nearest fast-food restaurant. But, as mentioned above, people are finding additional ways to use the technology to provide efficiency, information, and accountability. One such example is the town of Newbern, Tennessee.

Newbern is located in western Tennessee and was founded in the late 1850s. The town is comprised of just over 3300 citizens and is home to the Newbern Illinois Central Railroad Depot, a golf course, and a “town triangle” with a fountain. The town hosts an annual Depot Days event featuring a pancake breakfast, parade, vendors, and other special activities.

In August 2013, the Newbern Board of Mayor and Aldermen met and discussed the possibility of equipping the city’s vehicles with GPS technology. The mayor, Olen Parker, brought the suggestion to city officials, stating that he and Jason Roberts, the town recorder, had been doing background work to look into the possibility of its implementation. The goal of the project would be to save the town expense and to help city employees to work more efficiently.

According to Parker, GPS devices could be affixed to all kinds of city-owned vehicles—not only cars and trucks, but also earth-moving equipment and even lawn mowers. Information from the devices would be sent back to a central dispatch location. Data received would tell not only the vehicle’s location but also whether it was in motion or idle, how much money was spent on fuel and how much fuel was used, and keep track of individual employees’ locations, providing accountability for the employees to the city’s leadership.

The city’s aldermen unanimously voted to allow Parker and Roberts to continue their research and to report back to the board on the costs associated with implementation of the GPS system.

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Tennessee Town May Equip Vehicles with GPS Devices

Shopping Your Way: GPS Makes Shopping Easier

Grocery shopping may get much easier soon. No more maneuvering a clumsy cart through crowded grocery store aisles searching for the items on your list. Getting groceries and more could be as quick as picking up a pizza at a fast food drive-through window, thanks to GPS locators.

Where is the Buyer?

Stores already track customer purchases through savings cards attached to individual accounts and through customer responses to email and text messaging. GPS tracking of a customer’s physical location is just another extension of marketing convenience to shoppers.

To further attract customers, grocery stores could release an app that shoppers could download onto a GPS device. The app would broadcast the location of the shopper in relation to the store. Based upon the proximity, workers would know when to get the customer’s previously purchased order ready for direct pickup.

Where is My Food?

Ideally, the order process would begin when the customer places an order online through a mobile phone and pays for it. The order is received by the store and placed on hold.

In order for speedy delivery to take place, the person placing the order must first download an app to her GPS enabled phone or device. Once the store’s receiver detects the GPS position of the phone and its user, it would alert customer care associates in the correct department. The workers would then compile the list of desired items and place them at the store’s checkout area at the front of the store. The customer can then enter the store and find her package of goods already bagged and ready to go.The merchandise would already have been paid for on a mobile device, so there would be no need to do anything more except to thank the worker.

Where is This System?

The get-in, get-out shopping experience is not yet available in the U.S., but is under development in one or more European countries. While some Asian companies already offer home grocery delivery, none yet meet the personalized shopping experience that is made possible by GPS phone broadcast and store receivers. Quick orders based upon your location and schedule are sure to make shopping a breeze.

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Shopping Your Way: GPS Makes Shopping Easier

SkyTraq Technology Introduces New, Faster GPS Receiver

This August, SkyTraq Technology introduced a new GPS/GNSS receiver that purports to be the fastest module on the market. The new module supports reception of multiple prominent satellite signals. It has a 50HZ update rate and RISC/FPU running at 100MHz. What that means for consumers is that it will communicate information about position and speed faster than ever before.

The new S1216F8 GPS receiver will deliver excellent results for competitive racers, for whom exact speed and position logs are essential. Speed boats, RC planes, race cars, and UAVs will benefit from the superior data logging capabilities of the S1216F8. The receiver can also be operated at lower update rates, making it a good choice for typical GPS tracking uses as well.

Based in Hsinchu, Taiwan, SkyTraq focuses on developing GPS chipsets for consumer GPS tracking and navigation devices. Their solutions target personal GPS tracking devices, smartphones, and other commercial applications.

Because GPS tracking has become a pervasive element of today’s culture, new and better innovations are essential for keeping the technology up-to-date and compatible with current advances in mobile technology. Current uses for GPS tracking vary widely and include cell phone tracking apps, sports and recreation data logging, personal safety, vehicle protection, law enforcement assistance and many more.

The S1216F8 GPS receiver will offer a faster update rate for those needing pinpoint accuracy and exceptional speed information. During a competitive speed boat race, for example, the exact location and speed of each boat can be determined precisely, allowing for accurate monitoring throughout the race, increased accuracy of predictions, and even decisive location data to determine the winner in the event of a close race. This type of data logging can also make operating UAVs and RC planes more accurate and precise. As more uses for these vehicles are developed, the accuracy of the GPS receivers associated with them will continue to take high priority.

While the new receiver represents an advance in speed as compared to previous modules, it can also be used for more common GPS tracking applications. As the latest in the latest introduction in the S1216 family of 50Hz GPS, the new receiver represents a step forward for SkyTraq. The S1216F8 receiver modules are currently in production.

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SkyTraq Technology Introduces New, Faster GPS Receiver

Knowing the Law

The recent firestorm regarding how invasive the government is becoming in the private lives of citizens has produced a cause for alarm in many people. One aspect of this concern is the use of GPS tracking and other GPS devices by law enforcement agencies. This is a highly controversial topic that has led to Supreme Court rulings and interpretations of how and when the law can resort to using GPS tracking for protection and evidential purposes.

The Fourth Amendment

The Constitutional heart of this matter is the Fourth Amendment, which is a citizen’s right against “unreasonable searches and seizures” from the government. The question is whether the use of GPS tracking devices, as used by law enforcement unbeknownst to suspects, equates to a violation of this Constitutional right.

United States v. Jones

A case was brought against the government before the Supreme Court in 2012 to challenge this usage of GPS tracking by law enforcement. At that point it was determined that the use of GPS without a court issued warrant was in violation of the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures because the placement of that device was considered to be a “search.” This outcome has effectively limited the use of GPS tracking devices in law enforcement efforts.

Ongoing Issues

While the Jones case settled the issue of using GPS tracking by law enforcement, it did not give a definitive answer to all possible uses of GPS tracking in law enforcement. Still to be answered is the use of tracking devices through cell phone technology and what to do if law enforcement has probable cause in regards to the use of GPS tracking. With these issues still to be determined, the government has to move cautiously when using GPS technology in its pursuit of criminals. The ACLU is at the forefront of trying to ensure the rights of citizens in other cases involving government surveillance.

While there are still many issues to work out, GPS tracking still has a future in law enforcement. Citizens still have their rights to privacy and against illegal searches. The powers that be need to be able to work out that delicate balance to make sure the peoples’ rights are guaranteed and still allow law enforcement to do its job.

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Knowing the Law

Making Better Memories With GPS Tracking

Most people have a love/hate relationship with vacation photos. They want to remember what they’ve seen and where they’ve been, but when they go back and look at those photos a year later, they often find themselves thinking “Which beach was that again?” or “Where was that building?” That’s why many photographers have begun relying on GPS tracking devices to help them organize their memories.

By keeping a tracklog of your locations, you can remember exactly where you were when you took that picture of the kids in front of the horse statue. Then, that information can be added to the picture itself, creating a permanent record of your travels.

Some cameras have GPS tracking devices built into them. They do the work for you by writing the location information directly to the picture file. These tend to be pricey, however, and casual photographers may not want to plunk down the extra dollars it will cost them. But not to worry. There are still ways you can record your travels without the expense of a GPS-enabled camera.

One way is to use your smart phone. When you snap the picture, your phone records the location for you. Beware of privacy concerns, however. If you’re using a geo-tagging app like Instagram, it’s a good idea to think twice before announcing your location to the world, especially if you’re on vacation and your home will be uninhabited for a while. You can also use your phone to take one reference photo at each location you visit and then use your regular camera for the rest of the photos at that location.

Another way to capture your location is to use a GPS tracking app or an external tracking device. The app or device will create a log of your locations at regular intervals, and you can import that data into a photo management program such as Adobe Photoshop Lightroom or Apple Aperture. These programs allow you to tag pictures with locations using the data from the GPS tracking device.

Tagging your photos with location data from GPS tracking devices is a great way to organize files and keep better tabs on the hodgepodge of photos cluttering up your hard drive. It’s one less thing you have to store in your brain, which frees up space in there for memories of the epic tickle fight or your girlfriend’s karaoke debut—things that can’t be captured on film.

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Making Better Memories With GPS Tracking

I’m In Hot Pursuit!

The immortal quote frequently repeated by the fictional Roscoe P. Coltrane has probably inspired many honorable men and women to enter into the law profession in the hopes of chasing and catching criminals. As Coltrane and his deputies managed to mangle many police cars in the original Dukes of Hazzard series, real police chases have often ended in the costly and sometimes tragic loss of property and life. Fortunately, high speed police chases and their resulting havoc may be a thing of the past with a new GPS tracking innovation created by StarChase.

The Problem with High Speed Chases

The script for a high speed chase often goes like this: A criminal breaks the law. An officer responds to the breaking of the law and the criminal predictably runs (or drives) away, as fast as he can. The officer chases the criminal at speeds well above the speed limit, endangering the lives of any and everyone who might be on the road or side of the road. The end result is often some kind of crash, because if you are running from the police, you are not planning on stopping willfully. If all that is damaged is property, it is not a problem – it can be easily replaced. Unfortunately, in too many cases it results in the loss of a life, usually of an innocent bystander.

The Solution to the Chase

Police in the city of Austin, Texas, have a solution to this problem. Using the GPS tracking technology put out by StarChase, police can air propel a GPS tracker that attaches itself to the suspect’s vehicle with a magnet. Once this happens, the police can back off and allow the suspect to drive away, which will cause the suspect to drive slower because no one is chasing him any more. Once the suspect comes to a stop, or perhaps at some kind of roadblock, the police can find him and arrest him without putting innocents at risk.

The Low Cost Solution to Save the High Cost of Life

The amazing thing with this technology is that the installation of the GPS technology and launcher only set back the people of Austin $5,000 per unit. The price is not cheap, but compared to the loss of life and property saved, it would appear to be an acceptable cost.

So if you are reminiscing about Roscoe P. Coltrane and his penchant for high speed chases, you might want to stick with what you see on TV. Car chases are a thing of the past. Protecting lives is the future.

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I’m In Hot Pursuit!

Indian City Fits Auto-Rickshaws with GPS Technology

In August, J. Jayalalithaa, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, announced that all the auto-rickshaws in Chennai would be fitted with GPS technology.

Chennai (also known as Madras) is a city of over 4.5 million residents and is located on the coast of the Bay of Bengal in South India in the state of Tamil Nadu. The city’s history goes back at least as far as the 1600s.

As is true of many Asian cities, residents and visitors to Chennai frequently employ rickshaws to meet their transportation needs. The term “rickshaw” comes from a Japanese phrase that literally means “human-powered vehicle.” Many rickshaws nowadays are no longer strictly “human powered” but may be powered by bicycle or by an engine or motor. (Some auto-rickshaws in India are even equipped with solar-powered motors.) Auto-rickshaws are known by numerous names, including three-wheeler, trishaw, tricycle, baby taxi, and rick.

What do all rickshaws have in common? Generally they are three-wheeled vehicles with a cabin for passengers, available for hire in a populous areas.

Jayalalithaa’s announcement regarding GPS technology and rickshaws was made in the context of an overall move on the government’s part to make sure rickshaw pricing is equitable and reasonable. The Tamil Nadu government has now set minimum meter rates and dictates how much is to be charged for the first few kilometers traveled, for subsequent kilometers traveled, and for waiting time. The goal is to curb abusive rickshaw charge rates that can take advantage of unsuspecting passengers.

GPS technology on the auto-rickshaws, however, will be provided free of charge to customers. It will allow rickshaw drivers to present to their riders, at the end of their ride, information on a printout that gives riders the price of the trip and the exact meters traveled. In addition, the vehicles will be equipped with a “panic button” that riders can press if the situation becomes dangerous in some way (e.g., a traffic accident, attempted robbery, physical illness, etc.) The GPS data will be monitored from a central location.

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Indian City Fits Auto-Rickshaws with GPS Technology

Has That GPS Been Tested?

With the continuing acceleration of dependence upon GPS for the most important functions of daily life, accuracy of GPS devices grows increasingly significant as well.  While accuracy—unprecedented accuracy—remains the very element in GPS technology that has led to the popularity and rapidly increasing application of GPS systems, precision demanded in multiple situations requires testing and calibrating options that provide security to the millions who now depend on GPS—whether they know that they are doing so or not!

Developing Technology Testing

As products are being developed with GPS technology used to control powerful vehicles and machines, GPS simulators can provide accurate feedback. By reviewing data that these simulators replay from captured recordings, developers can produce GPS guided vehicles, machines, or devices that have been tested and adjusted before they hit the market. With the relatively low cost of a GPS simulator such as LabSat, this developmental stage testing can be available to a broad market, resulting in the production of more stable GPS devices.

Commercial Test Driving

With GPS technology to cover nearly every aspect of driving, reliable simulators that enable a broad range of testing enable the quality and safety of GPS enhanced vehicles. A system such as the recently developed and released VBOX3i enables accurate testing and verification of GPS directed tasks related to driving as well as precise measurements of speed, angles, and distance. Enhanced by antennas and crafted to provide statistics on a broad range of driving contexts, this device records and reports the data that improves driving conditions for all types of consumers.

Off-Road and Water Calibrating

Since GPS devices become smaller and more portable, testing for proper calibration with a GPS simulator should also be available in portable devices. The VBOX provides the answer for this need. Simplicity and smallness combine in this popular calibrator that has multiple uses. Along with the standard validating of ADAS systems, testing of breaks, and anti-deviation or lane departure warning technology, the compact GPS simulator also provides needed services for all types of vehicles from bikes to boats—and more.

Expanding dependence on GPS demands expanding testing and calibrating tools. And the market appears to be keeping up.

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Has That GPS Been Tested?

How to Keep your Haul Secure

One of the worst feelings in the world is to have something stolen from you. One minute you have it and the next minute you don’t. After you have that momentary dread, one of the best feelings you can have is to have it all returned to you. That’s the feeling that was felt recently in Clarksville, Tennessee, when a truck hauling almost $140,000 worth of steel was found thanks to a GPS tracking device that led police right to the stolen vehicle.

GPS for Security

A GPS device installed on a vehicle can lead to a higher level of security. No one can ever know when they might be the victim of a theft. A moment is all a criminal needs. While it is practically impossible to prevent every attempted burglary, having the right equipment pre-installed on your vehicle can save the headache of trying to get it back. GPS devices come in many forms and brands, but once they are installed in your vehicle, getting it back is the easy part. Police can only do so much, but GPS devices can help bridge the gap between what the police know about criminals, and what the GPS technology can tell them about where the criminals are.

GPS for Business

A GPS device installed on your company vehicle can lead to a better chance for profit. Insurance only covers so much and the problem with insurance is that you always have to pay more for it whenever you need to use it. Why not stop the extra payments by equipping your fleet with GPS devices? The cost you incur by purchasing and maintaining the GPS devices will be repaid in finding lost equipment and also from the deterrent that can exist when someone knows that they might be tracked. Obviously, a trucking company can buy a lot of GPS devices with the savings from this thwarted theft.

GPS for Common Sense

A GPS device installed on your vehicles is only a practical thing. While it may seem odd to prepare for the possibility of having your merchandise stolen, It can be to your benefit if even one vehicle is returned to you. While the cargo was the most expensive item in the Clarksville case, the truck and trailer by itself were valued at over $50,000. Once it was gone, if not for the GPS device, it would have stayed gone. It would be extremely difficult to track the missing steel, and the vehicle would most likely have been chopped up for parts.

As a business or for an individual, there is little excuse to not equip your vehicle with GPS. The cost of the technology is low compared to the value of what is being protected: your peace of mind.

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How to Keep your Haul Secure

GPS Tracking Reunites Lost Phone With Owner

No matter how desperate you are for a phone, stealing one isn’t the answer. Morals aside, stealing a phone can land you in trouble with the law in a hurry, thanks to GPS tracking. Just about every phone on the market these days has a tracking device built in, which means they can lead police officers quickly and easily to the location of the perpetrator. And that’s just what happened one Wednesday in the town of Denville, New Jersey.

Most phone thefts aren’t that creative. The thief picks up a forgotten phone, slips it out of a pocket or bag when the owner isn’t looking, or in some cases, threatens the owner with harm if he doesn’t hand it over. But this case is a little different. The alleged perpetrators posed as solicitors, brazenly walked into the victim’s office, and walked out with the phone in hand. It’s a daring plan which could have worked if they hadn’t failed to account for the possibility of GPS tracking for phones.

The victim used the phone’s GPS tracking device to identify the location of the stolen property. Police were then able to apprehend two females and two males. Two arrests were made: one for stealing the phone and one for receiving stolen property.

GPS tracking for phones has played an important role in tracking down many would-be criminals, from run-of-the-mill burglars to car thieves. With the variety of GPS apps available (including a “Find My Phone” app that helps locate the device if it gets misplaced), it’s relatively easy for theft victims to find the phone on their own. Even without the app, however, a law enforcement office can still track a phone using its built-in tracking device.

GPS tracking for phones can be used in other ways as well. For instance, many parents rely on their children’s cell phone tracking devices to ensure that their children make it home safely from school, that they arrive safely to a friend’s home, or to check on them throughout the day. It’s an easy way to keep tabs without hovering.

Thankfully for most phone users, a stolen phone doesn’t have to be a complete loss. By taking advantage of the technology that’s already there, police can usually identify and locate the thief, returning the stolen device safely to its owner.

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GPS Tracking Reunites Lost Phone With Owner

GPS Tracking to Help Player Safety and Development

The NFL’s Buffalo Bills have spearheaded a GPS innovation that will soon have the rest of the league buzzing. For most of the past year, the Bills have used a GPS technology that allows them to track the individual movements of players by using a small device inserted into the padding or clothing of their uniforms during practices and games. The NFL issued a memo to the other 31 teams in August that this program would eventually be used by all teams, though the league would keep the records initially to itself.

Health Benefits

American football is a violent sport that requires sudden starts and stops, some voluntarily, but most at the insistence of opposing players. The NFL has increased its efforts over the years to bring a certain amount of safety into play despite the inherent dangers, and GPS innovation is one of them. The device is worn by players and can be easily removed at any time, docked to a receiving unit, and have its data uploaded to a computer for analysis. Teams will be able to eventually determine the exact movements of players to help gauge how much a player is moving around. In practice, that might help them understand where certain limits exist when players go back and forth between drills.

Team Benefits

This GPS innovation was started last year by the Bills and used by their training staff to evaluate the efforts of the players. Most players welcomed the use of the devices, especially since they are non-intrusive and about the size of a pager. Most athletes are familiar with having their speed expressed in terms of a 40 yard dash, but most of the runs on the football field aren’t run in a straight line. This device can help measure the explosiveness players possess in a way that can’t be measured with a stopwatch and a straight line.

Player Benefits

With the emphasis on player health and safety, players can benefit from not being overworked. It seems odd to be worried about overworking athletes who are competing for playing time and job security, but this might help players maintain an edge is positional competitions. That way, when a player is tired, he has data to back him up that he has been exerting energy at the highest level.

Players and teams can agree that this new GPS innovation is the kind of change that can only help improve the product put on the field.

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GPS Tracking to Help Player Safety and Development

GPS Tracking Gives Police a Safe Alternative to High-Speed Car Chases

High-speed car chases make-up some of the most intense action movie sequences on film. Movie-goers love the thrill of the chase as the good guys pursue the bad guys (or, in some cases, it’s the bad guys doing the pursuing) with bullets flying, tires screeching, and if you’re lucky, a jump, a crash, and an explosion. In real life, though, those kinds of car chases cause great collateral damage, including death of officers and innocent victims in the case of an accident. That’s why the St. Petersburg, Florida police department has begun testing a GPS tracking-based alternative to car chases.

GPS tracking and law enforcement have a long, somewhat rocky history as disputes about search warrants and privacy rights litter the legal landscape. But in this case, GPS tracking presents a common-sense solution that could save lives.

The danger of a car chase lies in its high speed and the recklessness of the car under pursuit. The new device would eliminate that threat by literally shooting a GPS tracking device onto the fleeing vehicle and then enabling officers to track the car’s course from a distance. Police cars would be equipped with a grill-mounted air cannon which could fire the unit. A soft adhesive would attach the GPS device to the other car, eliminating the need for a chase.

Of course, the idea isn’t without snags. One problem is that the police car would need to be relatively close in order to fire the air cannon accurately. Another is the potential cost of outfitting an entire fleet of vehicles with the new equipment. However, proponents argue that the potential for reducing the number of accidents sustained due to high-speed chases and for eliminating accident-related injuries and deaths would be worth the cost.

A third potential problem arises from the already sticky history of GPS tracking and law enforcement. Privacy laws in many states require an officer to obtain a warrant before placing a GPS tracking device on a suspect’s car. The question of whether a GPS tracking device fired from a cannon during a high-speed chase would run into that same problem is one that shouldn’t be dismissed lightly.

Still, the idea of reducing danger and preventing accidents, injuries, and deaths makes this new device an important innovation in terms of GPS tracking and law enforcement. Perhaps the Mission-Impossible type equipment could be the start of a newer, safer era for police officers.

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GPS Tracking Gives Police a Safe Alternative to High-Speed Car Chases

GPS Tracking Helps Apprehend Armed Robbery Suspects

Staring down the barrel of a gun isn’t the way anyone wants to start the day. But for a 27-year old student at the University of Delaware in Newark, that’s exactly what happened early one Monday morning. While sitting outside his apartment, the student was accosted by two men demanding that he hand over his belongings. When he protested that he had nothing with him, the two men entered his apartment, took his cell phone and a purse that belonged to a friend who was inside, and left the scene. And that’s when the student’s cell phone GPS tracking device went to work.

Unfortunately for the perpetrators, a cell phone GPS tracking device can pinpoint the exact location of the phone, making it easy for police officers to track it down. Less than an hour later, Newark police stopped a vehicle matching the description of the one that left the scene and discovered the cell phone and purse inside.

Just about every cell phone has a GPS tracking device installed, making it easy to find the phone if it gets lost or stolen. Most people won’t ever have the experience of being held at gunpoint, but the built in tracking device still might come in useful if the phone gets left in a taxi, dropped in a store, or lifted by a pickpocket. That’s why many cell phone owners download apps like Find My Phone, which allows you to view the phone’s location from a computer or tablet.

Using a cell phone as a tracking device comes in handy for keeping tabs on the people you love, too. You can track the location of a spouse, child, aging parent, or friend, ensuring that they are safe and where they said they would be. Apps like Find My Phone require the consent of the phone’s owner before allowing remote tracking, a measure that helps maintain security and privacy.

Hopefully you’ll never find yourself in the place of needing to track down a stolen phone, but if you do, GPS tracking will make the job a whole lot easier. By having the right information to give the police, you make it much more likely that your phone will be found and that the person responsible will be apprehended.

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GPS Tracking Helps Apprehend Armed Robbery Suspects

GPS Tagging to Help Police and Offenders

Some offenders of certain crimes have been wearing locators for years to help police make sure they don’t leave their home without permission. Police in Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom, are ready to use a new, advanced GPS tag on offenders that will be able to track them wherever they may go. Police and Crime Commissioner Paddy Tipping spent a week wearing the new tag to put its effectiveness on display. UK courts are allowing this new device, which should have many benefits, and not just to police.

Benefits to Police

Obviously, GPS tracking tags help police do their job more effectively. While keeping tabs on paroled offenders has historically been a tedious effort, GPS tagging takes the guesswork out of their job. Now, police can simply use the GPS tracking technology to keep tabs on offenders to make sure they are not where they are not supposed to be, but also to know better where they are going in general. This can also help police to eliminate some suspects because they can know if they were at the scene of a crime or not

Benefits to Offenders

While it might not seem to be beneficial to wear an anklet all day, every day, offenders will also benefit from this plan. It is a powerful crime deterrent to know that police are able to watch your every move. It’s one thing to tell someone not to go places that can get them in trouble, but it is another thing to be able to know for certain whether they obeyed. There is also the benefit that this will help some offenders maintain their innocence if they can be shown to have not been in a certain area when a crime was committed.

Benefits to Society

The bottom line is that this is good for society. If police are using their resources to prevent future crimes instead of tracking the whereabouts of former criminals, they can be more effective. If former offenders are kept from going places that will cause more trouble, that will also make society safer.

While there are some inconveniences in wearing GPS tags for former offenders, there are so many more benefits to the rest of society. While this help police a great deal, offenders will also receive benefits. This is really a win-win situation.

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GPS Tagging to Help Police and Offenders

GPS Technology Aids Winter Road Maintenance Teams

Being responsible for clearing hundreds or even thousands of miles of snow-covered highways in the dead of winter is nothing to sneeze at. But that’s exactly the responsibility that various cities and counties bear every winter.

For those living in the southern U.S., snowfalls tend to be infrequent and generally light. But those who live in the North expect lots of snow each winter, and they still have to get to work, church, school, and so on. So snowplows and other road-clearing equipment have to hit the streets . . . often in circumstances that are hazardous. It’s important for dispatchers to be able to know where vehicles are, and it’s also important to be able to keep track of which roads have been cleared, salted, and sanded. With the advent of GPS technology, all of this and more is now possible.

To address these issues, Cirus Controls unveiled the GPS DataSmart™ Reporting System in August 2013. According to the company, GPS DataSmart software can do all of the following for road crews and their dispatchers:

• Reduce costs by cutting down on labor and wasteful use of ice-melting materials by metering and controlling the spreading of salt, sand, and other ice-melting materials


• Generate maps showing which roads have been cleared and the methods used to clear them (i.e., plowing or spreading salt or sand, etc.). Mapping formats include Microsoft Map Point, GIS, and Google Earth.


• Generate reports on data received that are viewable from any computer in various formats (GPX, CSV, Excel, KML, and so on)


• Report vehicular speed and location


• Report the air temperature as well as the temperature of the driving surface


• Monitor not only the location of the snowplow but the position of the actual plow itself

Paul Mortell, president of Cirus Controls, recently stated, “”The introduction of GPS DataSmart and its unique reporting and mapping capabilities provides our customers with data that can be immediately used to make better winter road maintenance decisions.”

Cirus Controls is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company produce systems related to winter maintenance needs, including hydraulic systems, spreader controls, snowplow controls, and telematics systems. The DataSmart Reporting System GPS technology was developed and is owned by Cirus Controls.

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GPS Technology Aids Winter Road Maintenance Teams

Get in the Game: GPS Helps Athlete Performance

Quick Questions

How fast can your favorite basketball player run? How far can he pass the ball? How high can he jump?

It’s in the Box

These and similar questions can be answered by a GPS device that tracks players’ physical statistics during play. The candy bar-sized GPS body recorder works when it is clipped to the top middle of the back of a player’s jersey. As he runs, the GPS tracks his speed and location on the court. It also monitors his heart and breathing rates, along with temperature and stress. Over the course of a practice, a pattern of physical statics forms.

Using the Box

But data is only valuable if it is used correctly. To reach the goal of top team performance, coaches employ physical technician managers to compile the data and interpret it into suggestions for optimum use of team energy. Some players may tire easily and need a break. Other players may not be running as fast as they can. The data help coaches and trainers strengthen individual players and ultimately, the entire team.

As a team progresses in its play, new strategies will need to be developed. The GPS body recorder allows for collection of additional statistics. The new numbers can be analyzed against   former statistics stored in the computer software that collects the GPS statistics. Technical sports trainers can then see progress in performance and can identify future areas of improvement.

Unopened Box

The GPS device offers the opportunity to collect data that drives a team’s performance. This ability is currently restricted to practices and some pre-game matches though; the NBA does not currently allow the recorder box in season games. However, European and Australian soccer leagues have used the GPS box for a couple years already. Based upon positive results in game play, the NBA could see an increase in the fine-tuned performance of athletes and in overall game performance.

Open Box 

So next time you watch a basketball game and wonder how high the player jumped to make that slam dunk, know that the information is out there in a little box powered by GPS.

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Get in the Game: GPS Helps Athlete Performance

GPS Receiver with Startling Accuracy

As GPS devices enter nearly every sphere of our lives, the accuracy of a device’s GPS receiver has become more important. Although fairly accurate devices have been available for some time, a new system is being developed that can determine location with astonishing precision.

Current Systems

At present, GPS-enabled devices work using a fairly simple process. Numerous GPS satellites orbit the earth broadcasting their location to earth using wave signals. A GPS receiver on a device like a car navigation system senses signals from several of these satellites. It then uses algorithms to determine its own location based on the satellite signals it receives and the location of those satellites.

The Need for Accuracy

The wavelength of the signals emitted by satellites are nearly 1,000 feet long, which makes it difficult for a GPS receiver to determine a precise location. Car navigation systems, for instance, are typically accurate only within several yards. Minor inaccuracies are not particularly troublesome for obtaining driving directions, but some GPS applications need a much higher degree of accuracy. For instance, flying an unmanned aircraft based on an inaccurate GPS fix could result in an unexpected encounter with a building or power line. Some systems do exist to address this problem, but they are so expensive that they are only accessible to large corporations or governments. Even a model that is considered relatively inexpensive carries a price tag of nearly $15,000.

Piksi GPS

Recently, two individuals set out to develop a GPS receiver that would be both extremely accurate and affordable. To cut costs, they used open source software and commercially available processors to outfit their product. The new system, called Piksi, analyzes the GPS satellite signal waves more precisely than its typical counterparts. It determines the location code’s exact spot on the large signal wavelength from the satellite, then compares it with how the signal wave appears from another receiver at a fixed reference point. It then applies complex algorithms to determine its own precise location. The developers claim that their device is accurate within inches instead of yards.

Judging from the success of the Piksi GPS receiver on Kickstarter, the market is ripe for an affordable device of this nature. Unlike many potential projects on the entrepreneur website that struggle to raise the necessary funding, Piksi has raised nearly six times its fundraising goal. It is likely that this receiver and others like it will become common parts of our GPS devices in the future.

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GPS Receiver with Startling Accuracy

GPS for Paddlers

Brandon Nelson of Bellingham, Washington, is about to enter the Guinness Book of World Records for paddling his surf ski around Lake Padden (Washington) for 151.88 miles. The amazing effort, which set a new record for farthest distance travelled on flat water, was measured by his GPS tracking system. The event took place over a 24-hour period spanning August 20 and 21. This is another example of the benefits of using GPS tracking to help you achieve more.

GPS for Record Keeping

There is something to be said for having an accurate record of what you have done. When you get in your car, you can keep a close eye on how far you have gone by watching your odometer. However, once you leave your vehicle, it can be anyone’s guess as to how far you go. GPS tracking helps take the guesswork out of that. There are many kinds of handheld devices and smaller mountable units to help you with your needs to know where you’ve been and how far you’ve gone. GPS technology will help you take the guesswork out of traveling outside of your vehicle.

GPS for Athletes

One of the main benefits for athletes who use GPS tracking is to help them understand what they have achieved in their training. They can get the most out of their effort by knowing how far they have gone to help them meet their desired distances. The old way of driving a neighborhood to find out how far a route is can be thrown out. Using GPS tracking devices allows you to go off the beaten path and still maintain an idea of how far you’ve gone.

GPS for Everybody

So what if you aren’t an athlete and you have no need to break records? GPS tracking devices can still help you find your way around and make sure you don’t get lost. You can keep track of places you have been to make sure you are not traveling in circles.

The ongoing development of GPS devices is helping to take the guesswork out of many activities in everyday life. Brandon Nelson didn’t need his GPS tracking device to paddle around Lake Padden, but he wouldn’t have known just how far he went without one. Now the whole world does.

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GPS for Paddlers

GPS Guided: RV Touring Revised

The triumphs and trials of navigating any size RV may now be reduced to simple driving skills—as long as RV adventurers are willing to trust and follow a GPS device that has been specifically created just for them. Although this product release may take the fun out of RV adventures for some, most will probably jump at the opportunity to avoid common frustrations related to navigating a large vehicular home in tight places to unknown destinations. Perhaps the true adventures of destinations can now occupy the time of the RV explorers, rather than simply getting there.

© Tomasz Zajda – Fotolia.com

With the ability to input the exact model and size of the RV–technology that has already been highly successful with farm equipment–the newest GPS from Magellan enables RV drivers to figure out if they’ll fit through a given spot before they get stuck. Complete with a large touchscreen, updates for a lifetime, and programming covering North America, this GPS device also provides customized routes in response to the exact vehicle that is traversing the roads. With this new level of specificity, GPS can guide any RV safely to the right destination in the right time.

Campground Commodities Cornered

Anyone who has traveled through many campgrounds knows that finding facilities for the needs of RV cleaning and emptying can steal the joy from journey. The developers of GPS for RVs have obviously been in that position or have at least listened to the common talk of RV-ers. With features that include campground ratings, directories, and guides, any RV adventurer can choose the best place to camp ahead of time—and find the cheapest and easiest places to clean out and clean up during the tour.

Easy Exchange Enabled

Finally, some of the best news yet about this GPS device, the RV GPS doesn’t just have to be used for an RV. With the flexibility to adapt to other vehicles, the GPS made for RV owners can work on any number of cars or trucks or SUVs. In other words, purchasing one of these new-fangled applications of GPS technology doesn’t have to be for the full-time RV adventurers. The valuable information already programmed into this GPS device can travel anywhere. And anyone who invests in the latest and greatest GPS touring guide can enjoy the multiple benefits of camping and touring—with or without an RV.

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GPS Guided: RV Touring Revised

GPS Device Helpful in Protecting Autistic Children

In May 2013 the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5^th edition (DSM-5), was published and created big news in the autism community by combining what had formerly been disparate types of brain development disorders into one category called “autism spectrum disorder” (ASD).

So what is autism? It’s difficult to define simply. It refers to various complicated disorders that affect normal brain development. These conditions tend to reveal themselves in communication and social interaction difficulties, delayed intellectual and motor skills, difficulty with attention span, and in repetitive actions. At the same time, there are numerous documented cases of individuals with ASD excelling in certain areas, especially mathematics and the arts.

One particularly troubling way that autism manifests itself in some children is in a tendency to wander away from home, day care, church, school, and so on. That’s why it has been exciting to see the MedicAlert Foundation (a nonprofit, charity organization) release a new technology in August 2013: the MedicAlert® GPS + Essential. This GPS device allows parents to know exactly where their children are at any time. How does it work?

According to the company, the device is equipped with a feature they’ve dubbed the “Safety Circle.” This lets parents or other caregivers create a number of “circles” around the child’s home, educational institution, day care, place of worship, etc. When the child is wearing or carrying the device (which is very small and can be attached to the child’s clothing or placed in a backpack or pocket) and leaves a Safety Circle, the parent is immediately notified through email or text message. Since it’s a GPS device, it not only notifies parents that the child has left an allowed area, it also enables parents to know exactly where the child is—before he or she is in a dangerous situation.

One can imagine this type of GPS technology being helpful in a variety of situations, including being expanded to elderly patients suffering from dementia. This lifesaving application of GPS is gaining ground internationally, although some privacy groups advise caution when considering the tracking of individuals without their knowledge. Some police departments, for example, want to track seniors with dementia in their precincts in order to save time if they wander from home and require rescuing.

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GPS Device Helpful in Protecting Autistic Children

GPS Device Keeps Track of the Kids

As parents look for effective ways to protect their children, a GPS device may provide a useful solution. Some parents track their teenager using the GPS capabilities of his or her smartphone, but have no way of monitoring toddlers or other children too young for GPS-enabled phones.

Why the Concern?

When today’s parents and grandparents were young, it was common for kids to spend their days playing outside, seemingly coming home only for meals and bed. They rode their bikes through the neighborhood, built tree houses, played sandlot baseball, and made memories together. As the years have gone by, however, an increased awareness has arisen about the dangers connected with unsupervised young people. News stories of sexual predators and kidnapped children have made many parents keep their children close at hand. A toddler who wanders off in a crowded store or airport prompts instant panic and visions of worst-case scenarios. Even when parents know their children are at daycare or school, many continue to worry about the dangers.

One Potential Solution

One parent, Cathy Steinberg, has found a GPS device that has alleviated much of her worry. The unit is marketed by Amber Alert GPS and is attached to her 4-year-old daughter Eden.  The device has a number of features that have given Steinberg great peace of mind. First, she can use her smartphone to access the device’s website and view her daughter’s exact, up-to-date location. Next, she can program a safety zone and set alerts to be notified when her daughter leaves the preset area. For example, Steinberg has set Eden’s daycare as a safety zone. An alert that Eden has left the area enables her to immediately call the daycare and find out where she is. Steinberg can even program a speed limit to be alerted anytime Eden is traveling at over a specific speed. The program also allows her to view registered sex offenders in a given area, complete with pictures of the individuals. Steinberg’s favorite feature of the device is its communication feature. If Eden somehow gets separated from her mother or is uncomfortable in a situation, she can simply press a button on the device. This action triggers the device to dial Steinberg’s cell phone and enables her to speak directly with her daughter.

There are many other applications of this GPS tracking device besides keeping track of children. For instance, it could be very helpful to someone who is caring for an elderly person with dementia. In current culture, sexual predators are making effective use of technology like the Internet for their own perverted ends. It is important that law-abiding citizens make use of it as well to protect themselves and their families.

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GPS Device Keeps Track of the Kids

Go Hunt with GPS

Cool weather, falling leaves, harvested fields, fattened game—hunting season, the highlight of the year for many, has arrived again. Many seem to revel in the activity for the quiet and solitude that it provides in the midst of the modern world of activity and pressure, while others simply enjoy ranging the fields and woods to provide in a hands-on way for a basic human need. Whatever the motivation or the personal reasons each hunter has for hunting, using GPS tracking provides an opportunity to enhance the experience on several levels.

Identification of New Grounds

Whether hunting for squirrels, deer, moose, or buffalo, using GPS tracking enables hunters to identify land areas that can expand their hunting grounds. Knowing what type of habitat is home to the hunted animal usually becomes second nature to a hunter, so finding these refuges often presents the real challenge. Using GPS tracking to identify fields and woodlands opens up a new world of hunting possibilities. Cutting down on the time costly tramping through unfamiliar territory, GPS tracking devices allow preview trips from the comfort of home, the office, or the car. Once the hunters arrive, all they have to do is find the trees they claimed while they were planning the trip.

Intrigue for the Next Generation

Although hunting may be a family tradition passed on for generations, the current generation seems far less interested in any process that demands hours of focused waiting—especially if that waiting involves putting aside electronic devices. Using GPS technology to guide and plan a hunting trip could pique the interest of technology-saturated teenagers who may just happen to find an approach that could keep the tradition going—and teach the techno-savvy some of the benefits of outdoor hours and text-free fending for yourself.

Information for Emergency Situations

As countless news stories have recently reported, using GPS technology during any wilderness or secluded location experience can save lives in remarkable ways. The benefits of GPS tracking for individual hunters clearly involve safety precautions that have been unprecedented in the long history of hunting. Hunting alone is safer and locating buddies easier when GPS technology gets involved. And getting help for a wounded hunter becomes more efficient when emergency personnel can quickly identify his location using a GPS signal. Will GPS technology change the tradition of hunting? Perhaps, but currently, most of those changes seem for the better, changes that could play a significant role in keeping the tradition alive and making it safer—without altering the adventure.

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Go Hunt with GPS

Dibs with Data: GPS and Athlete Exchange

Competition within professional athletics has already reached media-drama highs. Players drafted and traded from one team to another with less and less control over career paths or team loyalties create heated reactions from fans and become the big topic on shows, news, and Hollywood releases.

And now there’s a new element to add to the mix, another factor that can play into the great players exchange: GPS technology.

Pressure to Perform

Despite the fact that pressure is already at an all-time high these days, GPS tracking stats will most definitely increase the performance pressure that athletes feel. To have a fighting chance in any of the pro sports, an athlete currently must have a healthy dose of dedication, discipline, and natural talent. With dreams of fame in a sports career driving thousands of young athletes in America, perhaps GPS data will be just one more way to filter through the dreamers and the doers.

Making the team might no longer be a political ticket for any player; hard facts on the individual output of each player—during each game and practice session—could replace or trump any recommendations or referrals.

Power to Predict

As European football teams have already found out, hard GPS data on a player’s abilities and output saves valuable time in recruiting efforts. Although privacy issues are still being sorted through, those teams and players that have opted for the release of the GPS data have seemed to benefit from the decision. Without spending lengthy sessions reviewing and previewing a player in action during a game, recruiters can gather valuable information that will accurately predict what kind of player they’re choosing to join their team.

Protection to Prolong

Perhaps the most exciting feature to many who work in the gamble of sports, the ability to proactively protect players from injuries or recurrent injuries allows for increased protection on multiple levels. With the careful monitoring of every movement that a player makes, the small GPS device can accurately report patterns, habits, or conditions that could lead to serious injuries or burnout.

As a seemingly appropriate balance to the increased pressure to perform in outstanding ways, the GPS data could alert trainers and coaches to dangerous symptoms in their best players. If they choose to respond appropriately to the collected data, the guesswork of reading a player may become a thing of the past.

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Dibs with Data: GPS and Athlete Exchange

A New GPS Watch on the Market

The GPS watch has become an almost essential part of any runner’s equipment. From fitness enthusiasts to competitive runners, accurate tracking of their runs is a near necessity. There are several brands of GPS watches that have been available for some time, but a new company has recently entered this competitive market.

Why a GPS Watch?

Some ultra-pure athletes advocate running “unplugged” – without tracking or listening devices. For many runners, however, knowing the statistics of their run is both satisfying and motivating. Keeping track of how far they ran and at what pace enables them to see their progress and set goals for the future.  For those running an unfamiliar route, distance features help them know when to turn around. Athletes who tend to run too fast or too slow appreciate the accuracy of the pace statistics that help them find the right speed. Although many smartphones have running applications that can supply some of these statistics, most runners prefer GPS watches because of their higher accuracy.

The TomTom Runner

TomTom is a relatively late entrant to the GPS watch market and thus will have an uphill battle to make its device stand out against its long-standing competitors. It does have a number of nice features, however, and boasts a simple to use interface. Like most GPS watches, the TomTom will keep track of the runner’s route, calories, time, and pace. It also has the ability to compare present and previous runs as well as providing audible alerts to mark the pursuit of specific goals. The watch has an easy-to-use 4-way button that makes adjustments simple, even when in motion. The device even claims to keep track of distance when running on an indoor treadmill by keeping track of the number and rate of arm swings. Of course, this feature would not be as accurate as actual GPS tracking.  In order to keep a permanent record of run statistics, the watch must be connected to a TomTom USB cradle and connected to a computer for download. A chest strap for heart rate monitoring is also available for purchase, or the user can opt for the more expensive TomTom Runner GPS HRM watch that includes a wireless heart rate monitor.

Although there are a number of similar devices on the market, it seems that the TomTom GPS watch is comparable to its competition. Time will tell if the company will become a major part of this important market or if its late entry will keep its status to a footnote.

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A New GPS Watch on the Market

Alabama School District Installs GPS on Buses

Boaz, Alabama is located in the northeastern quadrant of the state. Incorporated in 1897, the city now boasts a population of more than 9,000 residents. It is located in Marshall County. While in many ways this town exemplifies traditional small-town America, in at least one way it is looking to be ahead of the technological curve. Boaz in the process of joining the U.S. school districts with GPS-equipped school buses.

Known as “The City of Possibilities,” Boaz’s town tends toward a conservative point of view, limiting alcohol sales near schools and encouraging newcomers to visit the town’s many churches. Perhaps this characteristic has its basis in the naming of the town: Boaz is a character in the Old Testament, the husband of Ruth and an ancestor of Jesus Christ.

Although it was originally founded because of the area’s rich agricultural potential, Boaz now offers a diversity of reasons to visit, including outlet shopping in the Historic Downtown area as well as industries such as recycling, automotive parts, carpet yarns, and poultry.

Snead State Community College offers post-high school educational opportunities for residents. Various other offerings also make the town an appealing place for families: a local library, a senior center, a golf course, a movie theater, a campground, and restaurants.

The Boaz City School System’s logo emphasizes the district’s focus on “Expectations, Excellence, Everyday, Everyone.” One way the schools are beefing up their excellence is by installing GPS devices on their 21 school buses. As of August 2013, two buses had been fitted, with plans to fit the other 19 soon.

The GPS tracking devices will allow the administration to keep track of each bus’s location while on its route. The district’s transportation director also emphasized the importance of using the GPS devices to keep buses and their riders safe in the case of dangerous weather situations—allowing officials to warn the drivers to avoid risky situations.

The district is also planning to use the devices to give parents access to information on the exact location of their child’s bus each day, to and from school. For a nominal fee of five dollars each month, parents can keep track of their child’s bus’s location on their home devices—whether a tablet, a cell phone, a laptop, or a home computer.

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Alabama School District Installs GPS on Buses

GPS Tracking for Probationers

Many of the small-scale crimes that occur are committed by people who are on probation. This is not surprising, since paroled convicts clearly have a history of criminal activity. Police have always known about this issue, and struggle to balance the problem of prison overcrowding with the risk of convicts living in society. With so many probationers, especially in the Los Angeles area, it’s hard to keep track of them all. How can we attempt to resolve this problem? Using a tracking device on probationers will monitor those who tend to run off, reduce the population in the overcrowded prisons, and cut back on the work of the probation officers all at the same time.

First, tracking with GPS will monitor probationers who tend to run off. Retaining physical awareness of the location of probationers causes those who have the slightest inclination of running off to think twice before attempting it. A tracking device not only invokes a certain amount of fear, but could also potentially reduce the rate of additional crimes committed by probationers while on probation. This effect could, in turn, reduce the need for additional warrants.

Secondly, tracking with GPS technology will reduce the population in the overcrowded prisons. Keeping the population in county jails down is harder than ever now that a mandate for state criminals to be put in county jails is in effect. Another roadblock in this area is a bill that encourages California to clear 33,000 inmates from its prisons over the next two years. Tracking with GPS will produce a significant increase in progress with this bill.

Lastly, tracking with GPS will cut back on the work of the probation officers. Since the bill that demanded 33,000 prisoners be released within two years took effect, probation officers have been busier than ever. Being a probation officer is becoming a full time job that is primarily made up of tracking the nearly 16,000 prisoners on probation. Although a significant number of cases have been closed due to successfully completed terms of probation, probation officers still monitor more than 10,000 active cases. Adding to this number is the fact that in one month 367 warrants were requested for probationers.

Although tracking probationers is a full time job, it is an important one to not only the probation officers, but also the surrounding communities. Investing money in tracking devices for probationers will save time in the effort to keep track of run-offs, significantly reduce the population of overcrowded prisons, and cut down on the work of probation officers, allowing them to channel their abilities to focus on other areas of work.

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GPS Tracking for Probationers

Louisiana: Smartphone Robbers Nabbed Thanks To GPS

Yes, we are bringing you yet another story regarding catching the thief of a smartphone with the GPS device built in to the phone itself. You would think these criminals would learn a thing or two (or maybe they should keep up with the latest GPS news here at RMT!)

This time, the Jefferson Parish Sherrif’s Office in Louisiana were alerted of the theft of an HTC Evo on August 22^nd in Harvey, LA. The phone belonged to an employee of the parish’s Community Action Program, and was taken during his lunch break, according to Kriss Fortunato, parish spokeswoman.

The robber pulled a semi-automatic pistol on the victim at about 1:30 in the afternoon, and stole the phone along with additional items. Authorities knew exactly what to do, using an app that used the GPS device built in to the phone to find its location, locating it in Terrytown.

They determined it was a business, so they sent Detective Michael Cummings to investigate. After wandering around and talking to various customers, Cummings saw a phone matching the description of the stolen device, and did the best thing he could think to do to prove beyond a doubt this was the phone he was looking for: he called the stolen phone.

The phone, of course, began ringing in the thief’s pocket, who was later identified as Darrel Washington. The 22-year old criminal denied the allegations, but provided police with conflicting stories about how he ended up possessing the device. He was arrested and charged with possession of stolen property.

But the story doesn’t end there! While reviewing the contents of the phone, they discovered videos recorded after the theft occurred, featuring Washington and two other men. Of course, that means a second suspect was also involved, holding the phone to record the video.

Cummings was able to identify Joshua London as the cameraman, and he was also arrested for possession of stolen property. The armed robbery charges have not been filed yet, as investigators need to determine who was in possession of the weapon.

Maybe one of these days, criminals will learn to avoid any technology, such as smartphones and tablets, that contain built-in GPS devices.

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Louisiana: Smartphone Robbers Nabbed Thanks To GPS