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Using GPS to Predict a Tsunami

August 31st, 2012

Who can forget the devastation of the tsunami that hit Indonesia in 2004 or the one that swept over Japan in 2011? There were hundreds of thousands of lives lost and billions of dollars in damage sustained. Although these natural disasters cannot be prevented, people are asking if there is a better way to predict these events and thus prevent such catastrophic losses. Scientists see hope for a better warning system in the implementation of GPS technology to detect a tsunami in its infancy.

NASA researchers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California plan to use the GPS data gathered from specialized ground receivers capable of detecting even the minutest changes in the ionosphere, a part of the upper atmosphere. Even far out to sea, the rippling changes in sea level created by a tsunami send invisible waves through the atmosphere and into the ionosphere, nearly 217.5 miles above sea level, where they are recorded through global positioning system tracking. The scientists can then map these waves and anticipate the swell and power of a tsunami.

JPL actually had the opportunity to test its theories with the immense earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan. Reviewing data collected from 1,200 GPS receivers along the coast of Japan, researchers were able to distinguish the seismic waves of the earthquake and the effect they had on the ocean’s currents but not in time to provide adequate warning.

At the University of Hawaii—Manoa (UHM) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, researchers are looking at the possibility of getting GPS tracking systems placed on all commercial shipping vessels. One of the organization’s research vessels actually detected a tsunami initiated by an earthquake in Chili in 2010 on its voyage between Guam and Hawaii, and scientists believe that had ships in the Indian Ocean been equipped with this technology, the people of Indonesia may have had another hour to flee to safety before the 98-foot waves hit.

Surveyors and geodesists have long used GPS tracking in their fields of study for accuracy in measuring and analyzing. Now, advances are also being made in the early detection of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions as well as tsunamis. Researchers at JPL are working tirelessly to collect real-time GPS measurements from around the world in an effort to establish a global tsunami warning system that they hope will help save lives in the future.

GPS Keeps on Truckin’ with Rand McNally

August 16th, 2012

Professional truck drivers depend on GPS technology to get them to their destinations safely and in a timely manner. Rand McNally understands the unique needs of these drivers, and they have developed a line of GPS devices specifically designed for truckers, including their newest unit, the IntelliRoute TND 720.

Introducing the Main Feature
Rand McNally looked at tens of thousands of “TellRand” submissions by professional drivers to improve its GPS tracking systems, and one of the top requests was for a device that could keep truckers up-to-date on current and predicted weather conditions along with other real-time information necessary for safe and effective driving. The CEO of Rand McNally reported, “We understand the unique challenges unforeseen weather presents to professional drivers. Our new weather solution will enable drivers to proactively manage this issue.” The TND 720 provides Wi-Fi connectivity and allows drivers to see real-time weather reports on not only wind speeds and precipitation but also storm systems along their route. The driver need only connect a smart phone to the GPS device.

Adding New Features
Along with the Wi-Fi connectivity for real-time weather and traffic, the TND 720 features enhanced truck routing that allows drivers to avoid troublesome roads, including state roads or dirt roads that will slow them down. An Exits Quick View button helps drivers locate exits along a designated route that are convenient for trucks. The GPS-enabled device can also track the purchase and use of fuel as well as record and display the driver’s routes to help maximize efficiency. Drivers can customize their maps, use icons specific to their needs, and import third-party POI devices. The 7-inch unit has a rugged case for better handling and increased durability. The device also features a brighter screen and video input.

Preserving Old Features
With all the new features, it is easy to overlook the old features that make Rand McNally GPS systems invaluable to professional truck drivers, including driving timers and mileage recorders, information important to all involved in the trucking industry. The TND 720 incorporates a Virtual Dashboard as well as a junction view with lane assist for negotiating the big cities. The unit still gives the driver the ability to download construction and software updates with advanced routing options specifically for truckers. In fact, Rand McNally devices provide 35% more truck-specific routes than other GPS systems. The IntelliRoute TND 720 GPS device keeps truckers trucking in the right direction.

Hobbyists Have Fun with Improvised GPS Device Games

December 19th, 2010

Can playing free games with a GPS tracking device actually be fun? While upon first glance, the answer might be “Huwha?!” the actuality is not as crazy as it sounds. Many individuals have taken up “geocaching,” or finding hidden gems with their GPS tracking systems.

Geocaching works by taking old maps and superimposing them on top of more recent maps in GPS tracking systems. For example, a recent article in The New York Times described a 13 year old boy who used his GPS tracking devices to find an 18th-century graveyard near a suburban shopping center. “We never would have found the place if it weren’t for geocaching,” the boy’s mother said about geocaching.

The hobby is an incredibly affordable one, as it only requires an existing GPS tracking device. Websites include lists of treasures and hidden gems to find – for example, there are 21,000 within 100 miles of Times Square – so geocaching is a cheap and easy hobby that proves to be quite informative.

In addition to old historic places, geocaching has now started to include actual stashes of toys. These stashes are hidden by current geocachers, and their coordinates are placed in registries of geocaching locations. Children and teens find these geocache treasures to delight and happiness.

“It’s become a very family-oriented, safe game,” one geocacher, a president of a High School, told the New York Times. “Most children get the concepts almost immediately; you can hand them a GPS receiver, or a GPS cellphone, with a map, and they know what to do,” another geocacher said.

Article Written by Greg Minton

Smart Business Owners Embrace GPS and Increase Profits

July 6th, 2010

When difficult economic times hit, most businesses that were hanging on by a thread folded. The ones that remain have learned how to cope by making significant changes in their operations. Is there more than can be done? Certainly, there is always room for improvement.

Smart Businesses Save Money with GPS

Now that businesses have taken every conceivable action to stay in business, attention turns to the little things. Taken together, these can help keep the wheels turning for a long period of time.

Avoid Hiring

Payroll is the biggest expense for most businesses. The need to bring another person on must be weighed against the expense. There is not only the pay, but also the benefits. And future consideration must be given to health care costs. That uncertainty alone makes it worth holding off on hiring. If you must have a real person to help you consider two alternatives: part-time help or contractor assistance. Neither of these require payment of benefits and you can terminate the arrangements much easier.

Watch Small Expenses

Every expense must be scrutinized. Right down to the utilities that you consume. If you own your own building, put in water-saving toilets. Make sure electrical items that are not necessary to run the business are turned off while you are done for the day or weekend. Turn down your water heater so that it supplies water temperatures that are slightly above warm. Shop for a new bank account that charges lower and/or fewer fees. Credit unions are a good place to look for that. Print fewer documents on your printers. All of these together make up significant savings to your bottom line.

Downsize Major Expenses

Is it time to move into a smaller space from which to run your business? Consider that rent payments often make up thousands of dollars per month. Calculate how much a move would cost you, and then compare that to what a smaller location would compare to your current rent. This would allow you to see how long it would take to make up that money that you spend to move and then begin to save over time. If you own or lease major assets, think about downsizing those or getting rid of some that you no longer use regularly. If you have vehicles, look into used versus new.

Implement Technology

There are two technology implementations that you should consider. First, is an 800 number and associated PBX (phone answering) system. These are so common today that most people do not mind using them. And, once they are programmed correctly, they allow callers to route their own calls and leave messages on voicemail boxes and send pages, etc. You can replace a full-time receptionist with one of these at a fraction of the cost.

Look into GPS Tracking systems. If you own assets that are used outside of the physical confines of your business, tracking them with these devices makes a lot of sense. Should you need to know where a vehicle is (for example), you can look it up on any Internet connection. If one is stolen, you can recover it quickly. Plus, your insurance company might provide a cut on your premiums.

All of the above are not hard to implement. It takes time and will power to make it happen. But, you can make it happen and that might be all it takes to keep your business solvent until better economic times bring more sales.

Houston Police Put On Demonstration

July 3rd, 2010

Car Safety

When discussing car safety and auto-theft protection many experts will usually discuss GPS tracking systems, car alarms or more simple steps such as parking a vehicle in the garage or locking doors. The experts will usually share statistics about the increase in car burglaries, and some helpful tips on how to prevent the problem.

GPS & Auto Theft

Taking a more hands-on approach to the problem with car-theft and burglary, the Houston Police Department decided to give people a demonstration on how quickly and efficiently the bad guys operate. With the assistance of State Farm Insurance, who provided the police a demo vehicle, the Houston Police staged a mock break-in.

How the demonstration worked was outside of city hall some city officials gathered in a parking lot. An officer, dressed as a civilian, played the role of a car burglar. As the pseudo car burglar approached the vehicle he tapped the passenger windshield with a tool that caused the window to spider web crack. This made little to no noise, surprising many of the people viewing the demonstration. The pseudo car burglar then quickly brushed away the glass and stole items that were inside the vehicle, showing the audience how quick and easy it is for a bad guy to enter a vehicle without causing a scene.

The Houston Police also stated that the car burglar could have easily hot-wired the vehicle and stole the automobile just as easily.

The point of the demonstration was to draw attention to the fact that in Houston nearly half of all burglaries are auto-related incidents. Car burglars will often spot laptops, computer equipment, GPS navigation devices or other valuables. They then target these vehicles late at night.

Although police have stated that it can be difficult to completely stop these acts of criminal behavior, they have expressed that the use of GPS tracking devices and car alarm systems can help prevent the likelihood of the vehicle being stolen.

Ryan Horban is a guest author who specializes in writing about GPS technology and monitoring devices for Tracking System Direct.

Attacking Domestic Violence

June 26th, 2010

New CT Bill Aims To Keep Victims Safe

With one stroke of the pen, Governor M. Jodi Rell signed in a new law that would hopefully reduce domestic violence in Connecticut with the use of GPS tracking system technology. In response to her actions, Rell explained the pain and damage caused from domestic violence, and how it was necessary for additional appropriate steps to be made to help eliminate or at lest reduce the problem.

Domestic Violence & GPS Tracking

After a number of high profile domestic violence stories began making headlines in the West Haven and Fairfield regions earlier this year, many people in Connecticut began asking lawmakers to step-up with new and better legislation aimed specifically at the problem of domestic violence. One of those incidents involved a man who shot his wife multiple times before turning the gun on himself. The man, Selami Ozdemir, had a history of domestic violence.

The new legislation attacks the problem of domestic violence in a variety of ways. First, the bill begins with education and teaching teenagers the dangers and warning signs surrounding domestic violence. The next step would involve the actions of a task force designed specifically to target the issue, discovering what are the triggers, causes and best ways to help victims who feel helpless in their most desperate of moments.

GPS tracking systems will also be used to monitor the movements of habitual or high-risk offenders. These people could be classified as individuals with a prior record of abuse, or who violate restraining orders. In response to a question regarding the bill, Gerald Fox explained that the tools provided by the government and legal system to help reduce domestic violence must be strengthened in order to greatly reduce the problem.

GPS monitoring units equipped to the domestic violence offenders will transmit the location of a person, vehicle or asset in real-time. It is a tool that many states have implemented to strengthen their efforts in protecting their community. GPS tracking keeps abusers accountable and retrievable at a moments notice.

Hopefully, the new legislation will usher in a new era of reduced domestic violence in the state of Connecticut and other states will follow this high-tech trend.

Ryan Horban is a guest author who specializes in writing about GPS technology and monitoring devices for Tracking System Direct.

GPS Tracking and Car Alarms Prevent Car Thefts

June 25th, 2010

Car Safety

Stolen and Stripped Autos & GPS

Outside of city hall city officials gathered in a parking lot for the demonstration. An officer, dressed as a civilian, played the role of a car burglar. As the pseudo car burglar approached the vehicle he tapped the passenger windshield with a tool that caused the window to spider web crack. This made little to no noise, surprising many of the people viewing the demonstration. The pseudo car burglar then quickly brushed away the glass and stole items that were inside the vehicle, showing the audience how quick and easy it is for a bad guy to enter a vehicle without causing a scene.

The Houston Police also stated that the car burglar could have easily hot-wired the vehicle and stole the automobile just as easily.

Ryan Horban is a guest author who specializes in writing about GPS technology and monitoring devices for Tracking System Direct.

GPS Tracking is Technology to Build Your Business Around

June 5th, 2010

Managing assets is the same whether you have a small business or are in the accounting department of a large corporation. Keeping track of the things that are used outside of the walls of your business is a major task. That’s why GPS Tracking is an important addition to any business.

GPS Tracking & Business

For many large corporations, physical assets make up millions and millions of dollars on a balance sheet. For that reason alone, tight control and close management are mandatory. That is why GPS Tracking systems should be instituted into all businesses that are tasked with managing mobile or near-mobile assets. Anything that can easily be moved should be outfitted with a GPS Tracking device.

Protect Assets. When these systems are implemented, location is never a question. Even if the models that just allow for periodic checking on location are used, then that makes them worth the money.

Movable and Mobile. If the assets in question are vehicles, then that is all the more reason to get GPS Tracking systems. Not only can location be ascertained, but also direction of travel and speed as well. Part of managing vehicles is making sure that they are properly cared for on an on-going basis. That is what you get with GPS Tracking systems.

Lower Insurance Premiums. Lowering insurance costs means mitigating risks inherent in the managing and deploying of assets. If lower risk from theft occurs, or even if GPS Tracking systems means finding stolen property sooner, then the cost is worth the investment.

Theft Recovery. If asset are stolen which are being tracked via GPS Tracking systems, then they can be recovered in days, not weeks, months or even years. Or , worse yet, not at all. Theft occurs not only from without, but within a company, too. So, weeding out those types of employees is a positive step, as well.

Maintenance Monitoring. Close control of assets means tracking and scheduling their maintenance. This helps increase the longevity of the assets with saves money in the long run by not having to replace it sooner because of misuse. It is like money in the bank.

Increased Profitability. GPS Tracking systems are like adding profit to your bottom line because of the savings you can realize in other areas of asset management. Fewer employees can manage more devices.

When GPS Tracking systems are added to a business, you achieve a balanced and controlled organization with accountability at its core. The more you use GPS Tracking systems, the more you realize that you cannot be successful without them.

GPS Tracker Leads Police To Keno Robbers

May 22nd, 2010

According to the odds, Keno is one of the worst casino games a gambler can play. With the odds of hitting 10 numbers on a Keno card being over 8,000,000:1, losing at this casino game is a pretty easy thing to do. Although the odds of winning at Keno may be low, people gather at Keno parlors everyday to play the game with the hope to have some fun or strike it rich. However, one group of men had a full-proof way to beat the odds at a Big Red Keno Bar in Omaha, Nebraska when they walked into the facility with a weapon and robbed the casino at gunpoint.

Tracking Gambling Thieves

When 5 men organized a plan to walk into a Big Red Keno Bar in Omaha and steal some cash they probably had no idea how that many casinos and banks are now using GPS tracking system technology to protect cash from thieves. After the robbers walked into the keno bar and stole thousands of dollars in cash they likely thought they got away Scott-free. However, quick-thinking employees at the keno bar placed a GPS tracking system with the cash the robbers walked out with, allowing police to easily follow the movements of the criminals.

With the help of the vehicle tracking device, local police were able to quickly track down the robbers and arrest them without serious incident.

Earlier Thursday morning, the accused men faced an Omaha judge where three men of the five men were charged with felony counts of robbery and use of a weapon. The other two accused individuals are being charged with felony counts of robbery without the use of a weapon.

One of the accusers arrested, Demitrius Alston, was denied the opportunity for bail because when he took part of the robbery he was on parole.

When asked about the case, the police who made the arrest stated that they would have never been able to bring the criminals to justice so quickly if it weren’t for the help of the GPS tracking device.

Ryan Horban is a guest author who specializes in writing about GPS technology and monitoring devices for Tracking System Direct.

The One Safety Feature You Need in Your Next Vehicle

May 18th, 2010

by James Neely, freelance writer: click | HERE | to check out GPS products from Rocky Mountain Tracking

A certain manufacturer of American vehicles includes a GPS tracking system on-board which provides many useful functions. These systems are usually subscription-free for the first year and then around $15.00 per month thereafter. Is it worth the cost? Just ask someone who has been in an accident and has been able to notify emergency agencies when the system is automatically activated after an emergency.

GPS Tracking for Automobiles

Does it have its downfalls? Of course, and you need to know what they are before you make a purchase decision.

On-board GPS Systems are dependent on a third party to make them fully functional. Unfortunately, you cannot bring up a web page and track your vehicle. You are depending upon the ‘central monitoring office’ to do that for you. And, unfortunately, it is not something that can be done instantly. There’s a series of checks that need to be instituted before tracking can be commenced. And, in that time, anything can happen. Dedicated tracking systems put you in control and allow you to make the best decisions from the data supplied.

On-board GPS Systems are only available on certain makes of vehicles. If you do not like this brand of vehicle, then there go your chances to get one of these systems. It cannot be retrofitted into any other make or model.

On-board GPS Systems are not user serviceable or able to be modified in any way. You cannot download apps or other software to this system to customize it and allow you to add functionality that you need. Smart phones are the best devices that allow this to be done.

On-board GPS Systems can be rendered inoperable by cutting power to the main battery of the vehicle. If a thief wants to steal your vehicle that has a system like this, then all that they need to do is cut power to the vehicle and then transport it to their chop shop. This is being done on a daily basis to the most expensive makes and models of this manufacturer.

On-board GPS Systems have some very useful functions and have played a positive role in helping accident victims to get help and in some cases have helped those who have had their vehicles stolen get them recovered quickly.

Dedicated GPS Tracking devices offer better benefits. Retrofitting to any vehicle, providing instant location and direction of travel and even including ignition cut-off are some of the best reasons to get one. Then, you can use your cell phone as your communications device of choice inside of your vehicle.