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 »

California and Florida reach the top of the list for the most watercraft stolen in 2013.

Every year, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) releases reports on the most stolen vehicles and watercraft. It has recently released the statistics for watercraft theft, as well as recoveries, in the U.S. in 2013.

The data collected for the report comes from the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It included the types of watercraft stolen and their manufacturers.

In 2013, 5,537 watercrafts were stolen, according to those that were reported. This is a six percent drop from 2012, when there were 5,870 watercraft thefts.

Where Watercrafts are Stolen

Florida and California top the list for the most watercraft stolen in 2013, at 1,310 and 628, respectively. Following them was Texas with 382 thefts, Washington with 208 thefts, and Georgia with 182 thefts. The District of Columbia and Hawaii had zero thefts of watercrafts for the year. Read the rest of this entry »

Pulling events together takes a lot of people working together to make it happen. Unfortunately, that leaves a lot of moveable parts and personnel to keep up with. GPS tracking systems can help you keep up with where your people and equipment are so you know what’s going on at all times. This vital information can be viewed at any time – either remotely from computer, or on-site via Internet accessible tablet devices and smartphones.

Monitor Equipment Location

While not all of the moving parts are vehicular in nature, GPS tracking, when combined with the power of RFID scanning, can help you monitor the location, movement, and placement of the costly equipment that helps you manage your events.

Of course, there is the added benefit of placing GPS tracking devices on valuable equipment to deter theft and facility fast recovery of expensive equipment. You can even set up text alerts that let you know, instantly, if equipment begins to move when it should not be moving. Read the rest of this entry »