Today is the opening game of the 2014/2014 NFL season, and GPS trackingtechnology is poised to pave the way toward advanced statistics for the upcoming season, reports the USA Today.

For the upcoming 2014/2015 NFL season, the players will each be wearing something new. It’s not a new jersey or helmet, but a sensor similar to a personal GPS tracking devicethat is underneath their shoulder pads. The motion-tracking RFID tag is going to track each player’s motion, activity, and up-to-date statistics about their performance and agility throughout the game.

The tracking devices utilize global positioning software (GPS) in order to track information like their acceleration, position, and what kind of distance they are covering on the field. All of this information is going to be available in real-time where not just coaches and players get the information, but so do fans. Read the rest of this entry »

TheMay 18, 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption, the most significant geological event in U.S. history, took the life of USGS scientist David A. Johnston, who was monitoring the volcano, along with 56 other people. Today, we have the technology to save those lives while still monitoring and learning from volcanoes in moments of activity as well as inactivity in the form of GPS tracking technology.

Monitoring Movement on the Ground

LiveScience.com reports that the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory tracks movement at active volcano sites throughout the state with more than 60 GPS sensors. They are very much like the sensors most people have in their auto navigation systems, only more sensitive. Having equipment “on the ground” means that fewer people must be close by to actually monitor or watch the volcano. The equipment does it for them allowing people to remain a safer distant away from areas of imminent danger in the event of an eruption. Read the rest of this entry »

According to recent tracking data, seals are finding prey at local wind farms at the coasts of the North Sea.

Current Biology has published data following a GPS tracking project that examined where seals go during the day and how exactly they find their prey. The data shows that they are finding offshored wind farms at the North Sea coasts, including the Dutch and British coasts.

At both of these sites, the GPS tracking data showed that the seals were traveling in straight lines between turbines, going in a grid-like patterns, in order to focus on the prey, like cod and whiting.

Deborah Russell is a researcher at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. She told reporters that they believe this tracking study is the first of its kind to find that marine mammals, such as seals, are using wind farms to find their prey and feed in these areas. Read the rest of this entry »

Families of dementia patients will soon be able to track their loved ones in Calgary with GPS tracking devices for the elderly with dementia or Alzheimer’s.

Hospital and health facilities in Calgary are working hard to get a new program started that will offer GPS tracking for their dementia and Alzheimer’s patients. According to recent studies, there about 300 people every year that go missing from Calgary health facilities. Many of them are Alzheimer’s or dementia patients that wander off and are unable to find their way back. Not only is it scary for their loved ones and puts the patient in jeopardy, but it costs a lot of time and energy tracking them down.

Now with the GPS program, Calgary health officials are hoping to make it a simple process for everyone involved. The dangers of wandering patients with dementia puts themselves into worrisome situations. It is not uncommon for them to walk into busy city streets, in front of vehicles, or not take their coat and head out into the bitter cold weather. Some patients have been found with severe frostbite or worse, just because of how long it took to find them. Other investigations were never closed because the person could not be found. Read the rest of this entry »