It has long been known that baboons and humans share a lot of similar traits, and a study that was recently published in the journal Science found how the two are even more alike. This study, which involved placing GPS tracking devices on a group of baboons, revealed that these primates, like many humans, make democratic decisions as a group.

Here’s a glimpse into the study, including how it was executed and what the results were.

The Decision to Use GPS Tracking

Studies have been attempted in the past to determine how baboons act in their groups.

Do they select a certain group leader?

When there is a disagreement, what happens? Read the rest of this entry »

While we don’t want to rush the sendoff of summer, the reality is autumn is just around the corner. Now, is a great time to make changes to improve your fleet’s fuel savings this Fall.

Fuel usually makes up the biggest operating expense for fleets — and is often increasing. According to Car Care Council’s executive director, Rich White, many drivers are not aware that fuel consumption has a significant impact on your auto care and the amount of gas you use.

He says that although gas prices continue to climb, there are ways you can improve fuel economy and save money by properly maintaining your vehicle, including some of the below.

1. Keep Tires Inflated

One of the easiest and cheapest ways to cut on fuel costs is keeping tires inflated; however, this is often the most overlooked. When tires are below the recommended 4 to 5 psi manufacturer’s tire pressure, there can be as much as a 10 percent increase on fuel consumption, which can overall lead to a 15 percent reduction in the tread life of the tire. Read the rest of this entry »

Although faking a smile might be easy, you can’t fool your mobile phone.

Just when you think our phones know just about everything about us, they can now even detect when we are feeling sad, according to a new study from Northwestern University in Illinois.

To get a diagnosis of depression, you normally have to fill out a questionnaire giving details about your mood as well, as undergo long interviews with a psychiatrist. Now, however, some of this work can be handled through smartphone apps — or at least give you an indication if you are at risk of becoming depressed. This is done through collecting data as well as GPS tracking information, according to this study.

Researchers developed and tested an app called Purple Robot. It uses multiple sensors in the mobile phone to gather data about location, phone usage, movement and other activities to assess if the mobile phone user is indeed depressed.

According to Sohrob Saeb, Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine’s postdoctoral researcher and one of the Purple Robot developers, the main purpose of developing the app was to see if they could passively and objectively identify if people had depression. Read the rest of this entry »

GPS turns 20. Last month, clear across the globe, millions of people who are directionally-challenged celebrating its 20th anniversary.

The US Air Force made an official announcement on July 17, 1995, that the Global Positioning System was at full operational capacity. People who were prone to getting lost were undoubtedly grateful.

GPS tracking is an advancement that has become so embedded in our daily lives that it is a bit weird to think of it as being only 20 years old. It really feels as though GPS has been with us forever and is everywhere around us.

It kind of is, actually. There are four billion devices that are all locking on to our 24 solar-powered satellites, not to mention the five or more spares. It takes this many to offer us blanket coverage around the earth and make sure that signals will be received at any given point from four different satellites. Read the rest of this entry »

Many fleet businesses for years have been considering running a greener fleet. Among the first to embrace a stiff emissions goal was the state of California. However, other states may soon follow along. One particular question that fleet managers are likely to ask is what the first step is that they will need to take toward running a fleet that is more environmentally friendly. The simple answer: GPS fleet management.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, things like heavy trucks, light trucks, construction machines, garden and lawn equipment and other parts of the transportation sector is presently responsible for around 27 percent of all United States greenhouse gas emissions. This averages to over 1800 million metric tons of harmful emissions and carbon dioxide being pumped out each year of fleet vehicles.

Below are five ways that your business can produce a greener fleet through GPS fleet management. Read the rest of this entry »