GPS tracking leads the way to a bike sharing program at the University at Buffalo.
The University at Buffalo (UB) has been working on a system that will allow students to share bicycles, instead of worrying about bringing their own. The new program is called Buffalo BikeShare, and utilizes GPS technology for tracking down the bicycles.
The program has been in developments for several months, and just beginning a beta stage. UB’s Transportation Services and Office of Parking have been working closely with the Office of Sustainability in order to perfect the program.
This innovative program uses bicycles which have GPS trackers installed on them. This lets users of the BikeShare program track down a bicycle that they can rent as transportation throughout the Buffalo campus and surrounding areas. The beta test phase currently underway involves students at UB entering information into a computer in order to activate the GPS technology, and find the nearest bicycle that was available to rent. Another way to rent the bicycles, is through a keypad that is on the bicycles.
$120 million has been awarded to Lockheed Martin Space Systems for new GPS satellite systems.
The US Air Force wants four new global positioning system (GPS) satellites built and are willing to pay for it. They have awarded $120 million to Lockheed Martin for four new satellites as part of the GPS III program (also known as the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth next generation Global Positioning System satellites.) Lockheed Martin will design, construction, assemble and test the new GPS satellites at their facility in Jefferson County, Colorado.
“As our world becomes increasingly dependent on GPS technology, the new GPS III satellites will be a critical element of both our national and economic security, and we are committed to achieving mission success for the billions of military, commercial and civilian users worldwide,”
said Keoki Jackson, vice president of Lockheed Martin’s Navigation Systems mission area.
GPS tracking reaches new heights with the ability to track free-roaming land crabs on Christmas Island.
Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Germany are studying the long-term movements and migration habits of the coconut crab (Birgus latro).
The Coconut crab is a crustacean living on various tropical islands in the Indo-Pacific, prominently on Christmas Island. With help from scientists at the Zoological Institute at the University of Greifswald, researchers from the Max Planck Institute is incorporating advanced GPS tracking technology in hopes of monitoring the crab’s behavior.
The Burgus latro crab is the largest land-living arthropod in the world at approximately 4 kg. It is appropriate nicknamed the giant robber crab and can live up to 60 years. The robber crabs have a leg span of approximately 3.3 feet and belong to a group of exoskeleton animals, including arachnids, insects, and crustaceans.
