In honor of Fall, which arrived promptly on September 22, 2013 at 4:44 P.M EDT, here is a story about a favorite fall family activity and GPS tracking of course.

Every Fall, a variety of corn mazes are created to entice and delight children, adults, and entire families. They are the perfect way to celebrate the fall season, but how are they made?

As you might expect, they are a lot of work to put together, but with the help of  GPS tracking technology, landowners have the ability to create elaborate corn mazes through various applications.

Prior to using modern technology, corn mazes were created through sketches on graph paper and measured manually into the field. Now, a lot of this additional labor is saved with GPS.

What is a Corn Maze?

A corn maze is a large maze that is created using tall fields of corn. It promotes fresh air, exercise, and a fun and safe family activity. You’ll likely hear about several corn mazes in your local area, as farm and land owners often provide corn mazes during the fall season.

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Parents and children in Boston are no longer sitting around wondering where the school bus is, thanks to a new GPS tracking system being used in the public schools in the area.

Boston public schools are now using GPS tracking technology to help parents monitor buses that their children are on, not to mention easing students in the morning as they wait for their bus. It is all done through a newschool bus website that lets families plan for their day and know exactly where the bus is and when it will arrive. An added benefit is parents knowing the bus is on its way to school and when it gets there.

Parents and students are already seeing a great improvement after the GPS school bus tracking system was implemented. John. St. Amand, represents 11,000 special needs students in the Boston public school district. He has found that the other students and his own daughter have found relief in knowing exactly where the bus is and when it will arrive.

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Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, requires GPS tracking devices for all players during workouts and training.

Players of the Mavericks, the National Basketball League (NBA) team in Dallas, TX, are accustomed to Mark Cuban’s unordinary methods. He is no stranger to trying new antics in order to improve his player’s performance and win more games.

Mark Cuban, who is also an investor, philanthropist, and Shark Tank cast member, purchased the Mavericks in 2000 from Ross Perot, Jr. for $285 million. After taking over the Dallas Mavericks, they have won approximately 69 percent of their games during the regular season, reaching the playoffs each and every time.

Mark Cuban’s newest method for success uses GPS tracking technology. The technology, in a device called OptimEye, was created by Catapult Sports, based in Australia. The players are all required to wear a GPS tracking device attached to their body, that tracks various data during workouts, drills, and training. The devices will attach to player’s upper back, as to not get in the way of their game. It will be just under their jerseys and track their movement throughout the game. Read the rest of this entry »

Food waste in China is improved by using GPS tracking devices on waste collection trucks.

In China, the oil sold and used for residential cooking and in restaurants and hotels is a major concern. Here lies the rub:  the waste that should be in the garbage is collected and turned into gutter oil.

Gutter oil is an illicit form of recycled cooking oil, which is illegally gathered by collecting waste, including as oil waste from factories, restaurants, canteens and sewage facilities. It also comes from restaurant fryers and grease traps. It is reprocessed, packaged and resold more cheaply as normal cooking oil, offering profits to its manufacturers.

It is estimated that 10 percent of China’s cooking oil is gutter oil. Because wok-style cooking is so popular in China, cooking oil is a hot commodity.

The Problem with Gutter Oil

The problem is that gutter oil is unhealthy and toxic– and illegal in China. It can cause abdominal pain and diarrhea. What’s worse, there’s a concern that it may be linked to liver cancer, in addition to developmental problems in newborn babies and children.

Because it is a growing concern, the city of Wuhan has developed a new system for monitoring all waste on waste collection trucks. It is using GPS tracking devices, along with a digital weighing device, to reduce how often gutter oil is made from collected waste.

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Bikes with GPS tracking units are being used to bait criminals and make arrests.

College students find bicycles to be useful as transportation, not only because they are affordable, but they are easy to ride throughout larger campuses, and are better for the environment. Unfortunately, criminals take advantage of how easy they are to steal.

According to the FBI, bicycle thefts cost bike owners about $350 million every year, in the United States alone. This assumes each bike was around $250. While this may not seem like a lot compared to a car, it is a lot for a full-time college student who has a part-time job and groceries to buy. The National Bike Registry claim that bicycle theft is the biggest theft issue on college campuses.

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