While we often have a lot to say about GPS trackers for your business, covert tracking operations, and personal protection, we haven’t discussed much about GPS tracking in sports. Here’s the latest: We just read that multiple NFL teams, including the Dallas Cowboys and the Baltimore Ravens are using GPS tracking devices to track players during some games and practices. Although it may sound like it, the tracking devices aren’t to make sure the players make it to practice–or are where they say they are. Turns out, NFL teams are using the tracking devices to glean important data about how much players exert themselves during select games and practices.
Using a small tracking device placed inside pads on the player’s back and special GPS tracking software, coaches and medical staff then have answers to questions such as how far a player is running in practice, how fast they are running, exactly where they are on the field during plays, and more. By scoring the amount of effort a player is exerting, it is easier to determine which players are at risk for injury. For example, if a specific player is found to have higher exertion on too many consecutive days, coaches reasonably assume that the player is at greater risk for injuries, and actually reduce the risk of injury by assigning the player to lighter practices.
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A New Jersey man who installed a GPS jammer on his vehicle in hopes of outsmarting his bosses has instead been fined $32,000. Turns out his GPS jamming device also interfered with the testing of GPS tracking systems on planes at an airport near his location. GPS jammers (illegal in the United States) are devices which block GPS signals from being sent to or from a vehicle.
Here’s a link to a previous post on GPS tracking for employees.
Officials in Steamboat Springs, Colorado hope that real time GPS tracking systems deployed on city buses will allow citizens to minimize outdoor wait times in chilly winter weather. The city is set to have GPS tracking devices installed on all 20 of their public transportation buses later this year. By allowing bus riders to monitor the location of their buses, and thereby delays in the schedule, patrons will be able to plan accordingly. The estimated cost of the program is $82,000, with $65,000 coming from state grant funding.
Take a look at another post on GPS tracking systems for public transportation.
Source: http://www.9news.com/news/local/article/347451/346/Real-time-GPS-tracking-coming-to-Steamboat-buses
Correctional News is reporting an increase in the number of paroled SC offenders tracked via GPS. Numbers are up from 400 tracked offenders in 2011 to 600 tracked offenders in 2013, all of whom must pay a weekly $40 fee for tracking. The report states that most of South Carolina’s tracked parolees are sex offenders, citing the state’s passing of Jessica’s Law in 2006 which mandates GPS tracking of specified sex offenders based on their crimes against minors. The state employs 160 individuals to monitor the tracking devices via GPS tracking software, respond to violations, and make home visits if necessary.
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The Enduro Pro offers features not typically found on GPS tracking systems in the same price range and of comparable size. Gilbert Walz, CEO of TrackingTheWorld, said the tracker is also known for its versatility. “The EnduroPro tracker is used for a number of applications, including asset tracking, covert tracking, and personal protection.”
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An ultra-compact tracker, the EnduroPro weighs 60-grams, and measures 67.5mm x 40mm x 21mm. Additional technical specifications include Quad-Band 850/900/1800/190MHz operation, GSM phase 2/2+ compliance, a 1300mAh, 3.7V Li-polymer backup battery, 50-channel all-in-view tracking, and a uBlox 6 GPS receiver. Designed for use with TrackingTheWorld’s GPS tracking software, the Enduro Pro provides fixed-time reporting, geo-fencing, emergency alerts, and customized reporting options.
Interface options include a mini-USB port for PC connection, an LED indicator for power, GSM, and GPS statuses, power and function buttons, and an MMCX RF connector for utilization of an external GPS antenna.
Here’s another bit of GPS tracking news…after police suspected a pair of Michigan men of breaking into homes and stealing valuables, they obtained a search warrant to place a covert tracking device on the suspect vehicle. Some time later, the vehicle was determined to have been at another home which had also been burglarized. Utilizing the vehicle tracking device and GPS tracking software, authorities were able to apprehend the suspects (after one fled), who later confessed to a string of burglaries. Both men have since been sentenced to prison.
Source: http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2013/07/gps_tracker_leads_to_prison_ti.html
The University of Kentucky recently was awarded a USDA grant totaling more than $100-thousand to use GPS trackers to study the patterns of adolescents and their parents when it comes to when, where, and how they buy food, and how their surrounding environment influences those choices. Known as the “Adolescent and Parent Food Activity Patterns as Drivers of Food Choice and Behaviors” project, officials hope to use the GPS tracking data to gain insight into buying habits and diet choices.
Scientists may soon be using GPS tracking technology to monitor and track hurricanes, according to a recent report published in Radio Journal. By utilizing a GPS tracking receiver in hurricane hunter aircrafts to measure disruptions in the sea and then comparing the data to that which is received from GPS tracking satellites, scientists can determine the strength of a storm, including wind speeds accurate within 11 mph. Using GPS tracking systems to track hurricanes may also be more cost effective than dropsondes, tubes containing scientific measuring devices dropped from planes directly into hurricanes, which cost more than $700 dollars each. However, GPS tracking for hurricanes is only effective for hurricanes at sea, not those which have already made landfall, and is somewhat less accurate than current methods.
Teachers in one Texas school district will soon be receiving GPS tracking necklaces in an initiative aimed at improving school safety, according Dallas Observer blog. According to the report, Carroll ISD teachers will receive GPS tracking devices equipped with panic buttons allowing them to more quickly summon help in the event of an emergency. The district ordered 100 of the GPS trackers which are programmed to alert help with the location and a photo of the wearer when the emergency feature is activated.
India just launched one of seven satellites as part of its IRNSS positioning system which is due to be completed in 2016. While U.S. initiated GPS tracking satellites cover India, the new system will provide more options to those within 1,500 miles of the mainland of India. The system is designed to be accurate within 20 meters or less.
Photo: Engadget
