Rocky Mountain Tracking » GPS Tracker

GPS Helps Make Snow Manageable in Midwestern County

John Chapman — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:57:55 +0000

In Winnebago County, Wisconsin, winter hits hard. Citizens deal with the elements in ways familiar to most of us in the lower 48: snow pelts the landscape. Until the slat trucks and plows get the roads clear, the county is shut down. Meanwhile, employees struggle to make it out of their driveways and get to work through the same impossible storm weather, year after year.

Modern technology has no cure for bad weather. However, GPS technology is helping the county’s salt trucks get Winnebago County’s citizens to work in a more efficient manner. Winnebago has installed GPS tracking devices on all of its salt trucks. The new tools promise to help Wisconsin get back on its feet as the weather takes hold.

The GPS trackers do more than just keep tabs on the salt trucks. The county’s highway leaders can also track how much salt is applied to the streets and what kind of salt is used. Winnebago County can then crunch those numbers to map out the most efficient method possible of getting all of its nearly two thousand miles of road cleared.

Managing winter weather is absolutely crucial to the economic function of any region—especially the American Midwest. While winter is simply a part of the culture there, and the people of Winnebago have created a culture of integrating the weather into their life pattern, it is impossible to predict function. Weather ebbs and flows; there are still winter storms so horrid that even the experts in Winnebago, Wisconsin may be nonplussed. A county that cannot move food trucks, sell gas, teach its children, and maintain law enforcement due to weather is always at a greater risk. The faster Winnebago gets back on the road, the better.

GPS technology promises to make Winnebago’s winter months more manageable, thanks to the improved function of its salt distribution trucks. The method for getting the roads clean hasn’t changed; but the method will become more efficient thanks to what modern GPS technology has brought to the county of Winnebago, Wisconsin.

Dramatic Increase in GPS Tracker Sales

Mark Rummel — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:00:56 +0000

Of all the potential uses for GPS location technology, few are as controversial–or popular–as the ability of authorities to follow the movements of the people that answer to them. Parents of driving children love the idea of pulling up their car’s location on their smartphone at any time, businesses enjoy more control over the activities of company cars, and government agencies at the local level across the country have been experimenting with trackers to keep taxpayer-funded projects accountable. At one small electronics store in Texas, the spreading popularity of GPS trackers is translating into a welcome sales boost during difficult economic times.

The owners of Baldwin Electronics in Odessa, Texas report a dramatic increase in GPS tracker sales–at double the rate they experienced last year, in fact. The customers range from families hoping to improve car use accountability to businesses looking for a way to reduce wasteful habits on the part of employees driving company cars.

Why the sudden interest in this piece of advanced technology? The primary factor appears to be a significant price reduction since its invention. Whereas a tracker would have cost a customer at least five hundred dollars in past years, it is now available for just a hundred. The combination of GPS technology with smartphone applications has also eliminated the need for a separate receiving device, lowering equipment expenses even further. Parents and supervisors can now pull up the location of any fitted vehicle instantly with the touch of a button using a device they already own.

GPS trackers still carry a certain amount of controversy related to privacy issues. Children may simply resent their parents’ close control, but employees have legal privacy rights that can easily be violated by employers who track them via GPS. One current hot-button issue, for example, is whether employers must inform employees when they are tracking them. Businesses keep a close eye on court cases and lawsuits to get an idea of when, how, and for what purposes they will be allowed to track their workers.

As one of the fastest-moving fields in technology advancement, GPS offers powerful supervision capability and cost savings, at a price that most small businesses and even concerned parents can afford. In an economy that does not allow most customers to indulge in many of the high-end products sold at small electronics, the proprietors of Baldwin Electronics are thankful to have at least one highly desirable, low-cost device on their shelves.

GPS Involved In Leopard Killing Controversy

Mark Rummel — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:00:08 +0000

Numerous animal conservation efforts around the world have discovered the usefulness of GPS technology for the purpose of keeping track of individual members of endangered species. By attaching a tracker to an animal, project supervisors can give it freedom to roam naturally while keeping an eye on its movement. If the animal wanders into a dangerous area like a highway or village, they can quickly recapture it and return it to safety.

This was the method in use during a program to study a population of about 500 extremely rare, critically endangered leopards in South Africa. About 23 of the leopards now wear GPS trackers, and there are also infrared cameras hidden in their habitat to provide even more detailed information on their activity. The program, led by a conservation group called the Landmark Foundation, gets assistance from a government organization, CapeNature. Under normal circumstances, the partnership works well.

In September 2011, however, an official with CapeNature ordered that one of the tracker-fitted leopards be shot after it killed two calves belonging to a local farmer. Judging that the predator’s presence in the area posed an unacceptable threat to local cattle farmers, the official gave the order and the leopard was killed.

Conflict between farmers and endangered predators is not a new or local problem. Further north on the African continent, lions and humans are in constant tension in many areas, struggling to balance habitat preservation with the safety of both farm animals and humans. In some cases, a single problem animal can be transferred to another area, but a South African leopard expert says that relocation does not usually work with leopards.

Obviously, this situation has created a rift between the Landmark Foundation and CapeNature. The Landmark Foundation is indignant over what it labels an illegal killing of an extremely rare animal, while CapeNature insists the killing was the only possible solution to the problem. This disagreement places the entire study in danger, as cooperation between the two groups is necessary for success. It appears that there may be additional problems with communication, as the Landmark Foundation says that it would have been willing to pay for protection for the farmer’s cattle in the form of an electric fence and even guard animals. They say the leopard was so valuable to the species’ recovery that any expense would have been acceptable in order to keep it alive.

GPS Now Viable as a Theft Prevention Method

John Chapman — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 17:00:23 +0000

It wasn’t very long ago that the idea of a handheld device that could show you exactly where you were on the planet, down to a range of ten feet or so, was revolutionary. Next, that technology was incorporated into a tracking system consisting of a transmitter (attached to the thing you wanted to track) and a receiver, that showed you on a display exactly where the tracked object was. This tracking system is now used in multiple fields, from keeping tabs on paroled convicts, to monitoring use of city-owned vehicles, to checking up on teenagers whose use of the family car may push the boundaries of parental guidelines. Now, one GPS device manufacturer is advertising that its trackers are a cost-effective way for retailers to combat theft.

At first, placing a GPS tracker on individual items in case someone steals them might seem grossly inefficient. After all, these devices are still relatively pricey. But exceptionally expensive items, like vehicles, cutting-edge electronics, and jewelry, just might be good candidates for tracker installation. The manufacturer, GPS Intelligence, advertises trackers that are smaller than ever before, making them easy to hide and hard for a thief to notice and dispose of. If a store owner can pull up a map showing the current location of a stolen item, his chances of recovering it and/or helping police capture and prosecute the thief are very good. In addition, notifying the public that GPS trackers are in use would be a powerful deterrent to professional shoplifters looking for an easy target.

Another valuable use for retailers is tracking shipments and containers, rather than individual products. Organized crime groups sometimes steal entire shipments en route from factories and distribution centers to stores. If these shipments contain a large number of expensive products, the loss can be devastating for its owners. A single GPS tracker hidden inside a shipment could allow its owner to keep an eye on its progress and recognize immediately if it was being taken off its original route. Quick action by police would recover the stolen goods as long as they could find them before the thieves discarded the GPS tracker.

Executives at GPS Intelligence, LLC, an Arizona-based tracker manufacturer, hope that by informing retailers of this valuable application of their products, they can sell more of their devices and help make a dent in the annual retail loss rate—currently estimated in the billions of dollars.

Runner Finds Motivation in Unusual Places

Mark Rummel — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:00:01 +0000

Running can be an arduous task, but with a little bit of motivation, runners can get the help they need to improve their performance and increase their mileage. A Nike+ GPS tracker user recently went for a run in her usual attire, but this time, her running clothes were accompanied by an extra piece of jewelry; her favorite pair of earrings. By the time she realized that she still had her earrings on, it was too late to go home to remove them, with no place to put them, she tucked them up under her running hat, and she continued her run.

After a few miles, she started to heat up and took off her running hat. As she did this, one of her earrings fell to the ground without her knowledge. After running another half mile or so, she realized that she was missing an earring, and she turned around to find her the missing piece to her favorite set of jewelry. After jogging back a few miles, she saw something sparkling and picked up the missing earring.

Her regular 3-mile loop seemed easy, even with the extra running due to the extra motivation of finding her lost earring. With this motivation, and the Nike+ GPS tracker, she was able to track her run and realize that she ran over 6 miles. The GPS tracker in the Nike+ GPS app provides the user with all kinds of information about his or her progress. Not only did she run twice as far as she would normally run, but she ran at a pace 20 seconds faster than her usual running speed. Because of this extra motivation, she was able to bump her run up in the following weeks, and she has started running a somewhat quicker pace. Like this runner, you too can get the little inspiration that you need to get off the couch and start running. Anything can motivate you, and if you find a “pair of earrings”, you can improve your fitness regimen and enjoy exercise more than ever.

Scientists Measure Wobble in Earth’s Rotation

Marisa O'Connor — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 16:00:20 +0000

GPS tracking and navigation technology has become a valuable part of our modern society. It has helped us respond to emergencies faster, recovery stolen property, and navigate air and ground traffic more safely. These are only a few of the important functions GPS tracking serve. The technology is only possible because of a constellation of satellites orbiting our planet. Signals are sent from devices on Earth up to the satellites in space, which are used to measure exact location data.

As we’re all taught in grade school, the Earth spins on it’s access once every 24 hour period, which is why the sun rises and sets so regularly. The Earth also rotates around the sun over a period of a year. GPS tracking and navigation data depends on accurately predicting the position of Earth on its axis. Unfortunately, small and large forces cause Earth to wobble, which affects the accuracy of GPS navigation systems. Factors such as gravity, atmospheric pressure, wind and earthquakes all affect Earth’s position on its axis.

Scientists are working hard to predict the actual location of Earth on its axis. In the mid-1990s, researchers from Germany and New Zealand joined forces to track the Earth’s wobble. “We also wanted to develop an alternative that would enable us to eliminate any systematic errors,” said Karl Ulrich Schreiber. “After all, there was always a possibility that the reference points in space were not actually stationary.” The team did encounter its share of skepticism. “At the same time, we were almost laughed off. Hardly anyone thought that our project was feasible.” Schreiber stated.

By the turn of the century, the team began work on the world’s most stable ring laser in the Wettzell Geodetic Observatory in Southeast Germany. “The principle is simple.” Schreiber explained. “The biggest challenge was ensuring that the laser remains stable enough for us to measure the weak geophysical signal without interference — especially over a period of several months.” The project was successful, but Schreiber is still looking for ways to make the data more accurate. “In [the] future,” said Schreiber, “we want to be able to just pop down into the basement and find out how fast the Earth is accurately turning right now.”

Photo by TonyneTone Through Flickr Creative Commons

iPhone Helps Police Too

Harriette Halepis — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 16:00:32 +0000

You probably already know that the iPhone comes equipped with a handy GPS tracking device (once activated). But, did you know that iPhone owners aren’t the only ones who reap the benefit of this tracking device? Police are now discovering that a simply iPhone can help catch robbers of all kinds. Case in point: Montgomery County police were led directly to a thief’s apartment (containing lots of stolen property) thanks to an iPhone that the unlucky thief stole.

After the iPhone owner discovered his phone was missing, police tracked the phone to the thief’s apartment. There, police found a large stash of stolen goods that would never have been discovered if it weren’t for the stolen iPhone. When the iPhone first came out, law enforcement officials were somewhat annoyed that they would have to track down all these phones (after all, theft in some cities, like NYC, occurs at a very rapid rate). Many people even reported problems with trying to get police to track a stolen phone.

Now, however, police are learning that the same thieves who steal iPhone tend to steal other objects as well. In fact, this rings true for any kind of thief – - not just an iPhone thief. For more examples of instances where police were brought directly to a large cache of stolen goods, take a look at some of our press releases. As it turns out, thieves are no match for GPS!

Trip Journal App Updated, Offered for Free

Khristen Foss — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000

iQapps, creators of the award-winning Trip Journal app, has released version 7.1 which updates the app for iOS 5 and announced that the app will now be offered free for users of Android, Facebook, Bada, iPhone, and Symbian.

The app was created to allow users to record all aspects of their trip, document important happenings along the way, and share these moments with family and friends. The updates enable the app to pinpoint your location on a map and track your travels around town even if the app is closed. Users are able to add video content or photos taken during their travels with ease, anywhere along their route, and sharing via sites like Facebook, Twitter, Picassa, Google Earth, or even email a snap.

Winning a Google award back in 2009 for top app for innovative concept and design (and a not too shabby $100,000 grand prize), Trip Journal remains one of the best. As Valentin Vesa of iQapps says, “This update further solidifies Trip Journal’s status as the ultimate travel app…Trip Journal is not only functional and feature-filled, but it’s now free to download.

That means everyone can easily create a rich media travelogue of their travel experiences, record their trip with GPS tracking, add their favorite places and destinations, and do so much more. [It] makes traveling a fun, interactive, collaborative, mobile and memorable digital media experience – and it’s so easy and enjoyable to use!”

Since winning the award, Trip Journal has been downloaded to the smartphones of thousands of users in locations all over the world, whether a travel expert or average everyday citizen. Download the app for your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad running iOS 4.0 or later.

Customs Bureau proposes RFID Technology in EU

Lynetta Bowen — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 16:00:35 +0000

GPS tracking has long been used for the purpose of tracking cargo shipments. By giving shippers the ability to monitor a cargo location at any point in its journey, tracking technology can save money, prevent theft and smuggling, and ensure timely delivery of cartons around the world. But despite their stellar track record, the devices may soon decline in use, at least among shippers in the European Union.
Customs Commissioner Rozzano Rufino B. Biazon has proposed that cheaper, less sophisticated radio frequency identification (RFID) technology be used alongside GPS systems in order to evaluate whether the costlier devices actually offer substantial benefit. RFID readers would be installed in ports and warehouses, while cargo shipments would be equipped with chips that could be scanned at each departure and arrival. This information would allow authorities to flag shipments if they took longer than expected to reach an intended destination and to investigate causes for delay.

The problem, in the minds of many industry leaders, is that RFID chips do not provide real-time location information. Unlike GPS devices, RFID technology can only supervise expected arrivals and departures, with no way to pinpoint locations in between. If a shipment is diverted, stolen, or lost, the recovery procedure becomes much more complicated without a real-time location to monitor.
The goal of the Customs Bureau is to increase the security and efficiency of shipping procedures while at the same time reducing costs. If the plan of the Customs Commissioner goes through, it will stipulate that RFID devices be used alongside current GPS technology in order to determine whether GPS tracking could be replaced while still maintaining the same level of security. As departments across the spectrum face budget cuts, Commisioner Biazon must find ways to perform the duties of the Customs Bureau at lower cost.
Proponents of GPS tracking, however, argue that this is one area which cannot afford the decrease in security that would accompany the RFID technology. The EU stands ready to provide logistical information regarding the use of GPS technology in order to demonstrate its benefits as compared to RFID chips and readers. The proposal is still in the information-gathering stage, and no final decisions have been made regarding which steps the Customs Bureau will take. Ultimately, GPS offers the ability to more closely monitor shipments in transit, an essential part of reducing theft and smuggling as shipments enter and leave EU nations.

Photo by Motiqua via Flickr Creative Commons

Tracking People: Convenient or Creepy?

Marisa O'Connor — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 16:00:32 +0000

GPS tracking is incredibly powerful and versatile technology. Hundreds of stolen vehicles, laptops, smart phones and even pets have been recovered with the help of GPS tracking. People hopelessly lost in snow-covered forests have been located and rescued by tracking the GPS chip in the victim’s cell phone. As useful and wonderful as this technology is, however, there is a darker, potentially creepy market for it: following people. DetectiGo was developed as a discrete GPS tracking device, which not only tracks, but also listens in on the target.

“I use it for safety for my kids. it gives me an opportunity to know where they’re at, what they’re doing and when they’re doing it,” said Gustavo Roldan, one of DetectiGo’s first customers. In addition to tracking location and transmitting audio, the device can also be set to a maximum speed. If the device is detected going above the programmed speed, an alert is sent to DetectiGo’s monitor.

Soon, the device will also feature real-time GPS monitoring and the ability to establish a geofence, so that a notification is sent if the device travels outside the boundary. No doubt DetectiGo will be worth every penny if anything ever happened to Roldan’s children, but I can’t help but cringe at the thought of parents using this technology to catch their kids in some punishable offense.

“Why shouldn’t you have the right to know what you need to know?” asked Delaossa. The question sounds obvious. Of course people have the right to know what they need to know, but who determines what someone needs to know? “The typical, average response by women is, ‘I need this.’ The response of men is, ‘You’re killing us,’” said DetectiGo employee, Yesenia Hernandez. Perhaps women and men feel they have the right to know what their spouses are doing, but wouldn’t that also apply to their spouses knowing that they are being spied on? Surely, more communication, and not a $149 tracking device, is the answer to relationship problems.