GPS tracking technology may soon be used to help keep autistic children safe.

Global positioning systems (GPS) are breaking ground in many areas, including improved navigation for civilians and military, helping researchers learn more about animals at risk of extinction, and keeping dementia and Alzheimer’s patients from becoming lost. Now, parents of autistic children may be able to rest a little easier knowing the same technology can someday keep their child safe.

The hope is that GPS trackers can be used for children who have autism and additional developmental disorders in order to locate them more quickly if they wander off and become lost.

Autism is a developmental disorder that affects the child’s ability to handle overstimulation. If they become lost in a city, the various sights, sounds and smells can trigger their sensory disturbances, making it very difficult to find a safe location on their own. Read the rest of this entry »

Cargo thieves who attempt cargo theft by dressing up as delivery drivers are being tracked by GPS.

The theft of trucks and their cargo has advanced in recent years as thieves become smarter and find new ways to get away with the heist. But technology is advancing even faster, so they need to think twice before attempting this crime.

One type of technology that is helping to prevent and catch thieves in their tracks is global positioning systems (GPS) technology. Originally used for military and civilians for navigation, GPS tracking technology is now helping local police find thieves and prevent crimes.

The most recent cargo thieves in Wichita, Kansas are going the simple route and dressing up as truckers to load freight from the cargo truck to their own, then simply driving off with the goods. But they don’t stand a chance against state-of-the-art GPS fleet tracking technology that helps track not just the truck, but the goods as well. These types of thieves are aware of GPS trackers, but not where they are located. They assume the cargo truck has the GPS tracker, but don’t’ realize the cargo containers have hidden trackers as well. Read the rest of this entry »

Local police put a stop to high-speed car chases with GPS tracking bullets.

Police departments across the country are no stranger to using GPS tracking to catch criminals, but its use has recently expanded and increased in Florida and Iowa.

Law enforcement in Florida and Iowa are using a GPS tracking system that shoot a dart-like tracker with compressed air at the vehicle being chased (similar to those T-shirt guns you see at a baseball game) and attach to the vehicle. This lets police track where the vehicle goes — without putting pedestrians and other drivers in danger.

High-speed car chases are extremely dangerous. They put police, drivers and pedestrians at risk for injury and even death. High speed chases often weave in and out of traffic, causing multiple car pile-ups and placing people walking on the streets in danger. Read the rest of this entry »

A federal appellate court has finally ruled on an issue previously left hanging by a Supreme Court verdict in 2012. That issue: Do law enforcement authorities need a probable-cause warrant to attach a global positioning system (GPS) tracking device to a suspect’s vehicle?

That issue has now been answered thanks to a federal appeals court ruling that ruled that U.S. law enforcement agencies must obtain a warrant before hiding a GPS tracking device on a target’s vehicle.

GPS has gone through many transformations over the last decade and is now frequently used by law enforcement to help track criminals and even prevent thefts and other crimes from occurring. One of the common uses for law enforcement has been to hide a GPS tracker on a suspect’s vehicle and track the vehicle and suspect’s location.

While it has shown to be incredibly useful, a federal appeals court in Philadelphia ruled in U.S. V. Katzin that authorities are disallowed from affixing a GPS tracker device to a suspect’s vehicle in the U.S. unless they have a warrant.

The case involved three brothers, Harry Katzin, Michael Katzin, and Mark Louis Katzin, Sr., who were suspected of a number of store thefts. Law enforcement placed a GPS tracking device on their car, then stopped the vehicle, and searched it after another local theft in their string of thefts. Law enforcement found stolen items in the vehicle, but the evidence was ruled inadmissible because of the use of the warrantless GPS tracking device. As such, the brothers had their convictions overturned.

Travel and transportation planning goes digital with the help of a GPS tracking devices.

A new travel survey being conducted in Albuquerque, NM is using advanced global positioning systems (GPS) tracking technology to determine what kind of transportation improvements need to be implemented. Over the course of a few months, select residents in the Albuquerque area will fill out information about all of the trips they take and what their form of transportation was.

This survey is being conducted by the Mid-Region Council of Governments (MRCOG) in order to obtain information about transportation issues in the city, including areas where there is a lot of traffic, lack of public transportation and where better roads should be built. Read the rest of this entry »