In North Austin, police are seeing an increase in car theft. But thieves are not opening unlocked doors or breaking any windows to steal vehicles. They are instead, using inexpensive, yet high-tech gadgets.

Last month, Steve Meyers had his Volkswagen stolen right from his driveway in Mesa Park. In fact, until he took his dog out on Sunday morning for a walk, he didn’t even notice it was missing.

According to Meyers, it was one of those moments when you are like ‘uh-oh, what is going on here’.

He called the police at that very moment and used the GPS tracker in his SUV to find its location. Tracking data showed the SUV was just north of the airport at an auto body shop and still in perfect condition.

Meyers said there were no signs of a break in and no damage. He then realized that he had just witnessed a key fob attack.

His SUV has keyless ignition and keyless entry which both make a perfect target for thieves. Read the rest of this entry »

New research indicates that fishing quotas may be needed to protect keep shark species who are threatened in the North Atlantic Ocean. These sharks feed in the same locations that are frequented by fishing vessels, which puts the sharks in harm’s way.

In a study  published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, GPS tracking devices were placed on fishing vessels that fish the targeted areas in the North Atlantic Ocean. Tracking devices were also placed on the sharks who feed in the same area.

According to the data that was collected by the GPS tracking devices that were placed on both the sharks and the boats, there is a significant overlap between areas where there are high amounts of shark activity and fishing activity. Read the rest of this entry »

Fleet managers can get an abundance of data to stay informed and monitor their operations through GPS fleet tracking systems. GPS tracking systems can send managers real-time alerts the minute any specified activity happens.

Whether you have an HVAC fleet, pests control fleet, or a carpet cleaning fleet, It’s the perfect way for you to monitor your fleets effectively and stay on top of the needs of your business. This type of system presents you with a huge advantage over your competitors who are not using GPS fleet tracking who are unable to get fleet information in real-time. Read the rest of this entry »

Looking at the mid-Missouri herd of cattle, you might notice some of them have collars on. These collars are equipped with GPS tracking devices that track the cattle all day long. This data is being used by the University of Missouri Extension in order to figure out what their grazing preferences are.

Tracking cattle through GPS could be important to feeding the growing population. Over the next decade, there is expected to be a 30 percent increase in the demand for livestock products.

According to MU Extensions forage specialist, Rob Kallenbach, there is a great deal of pressure being put on pasture systems to be more efficient and productive because of this demand.

He says that the cattle are pickier than you might believe, and tends to be more uniform throughout the entire herd instead of individually. Read the rest of this entry »

In 2014, a report released by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) on heavy equipment thefts, illustrates that this type of theft is a growing problem in the United States. The report, which was created with the assistance of the National Equipment Register (NER,) used data provided by law enforcement agencies regarding the thefts of this type of equipment, including the states and the cities where the thefts occurred, as well as the months when thefts were most prevalent.

Below are the heavy equipment theft report.

States with the Most Heavy Equipment Theft

Texas
North Carolina
Florida
South Carolina Read the rest of this entry »