Keeping workers on an electronic leash is the latest trend used by management in local governments and throughout corporate America. Before GPS tracking technology, supervisors had limited tools in their toolbox to monitor employees and check up on workers or fleet drivers to ensure they were doing what they were supposed to be doing. However, GPS tracking devices have changed all that. And for some enterprises, employee GPS tracking appears to be working well.

After having their workdays monitored with global positioning system (GPS) tracking devices, two employees received a significant pay cut and one employee resigned. This came after the State Alcohol and Tobacco Control Commissioner of Louisiana, Troy Hebert, installed the GPS devices on employees’ vehicles.

The GPS devices were installed in an attempt to compare employees’ logged hours compared to their actual working hours. As Hebert suspected, a handful of employees were incorrectly logging hours and earning pay for hours they were not actively working. GPS devices have advanced tracking technology that is able to monitor movement and location. While most of his agents abided by company policy, at least three employees were found to be reporting to work late, taking long lunch breaks, or not reporting to work at all. One employee took every Wednesday off without mentioning it to his superiors. Read the rest of this entry »

Suppose you had a friend or loved one who was visually impaired, and suddenly was able to utilize a new, modern technology device for the ease of getting around on their own? That’s what the newest shoes  —  referred to as bluetooth shoes — developed by Anirudh Sharma is set to provide.

The visually impaired will soon have more to choose from, besides walking canes or guide dogs; they’ll be able to walk and travel on their own  — thanks to state-of-the-art GPS technology installed in none other than the person’s own shoe.

With more than 285 million people in the world without sight, there’s a surprisingly small amount of tools to aid them in their daily lives. But with the ingenuity of Sharma, a 24-year old computer engineer from India, there’s additional help on the way. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re a rental car agency owner or manager, handing over the keys to one of your vehicles, especially a high-priced exotic vehicle — to a customer can evoke feelings of uneasiness. Will the customer treat the rental vehicle with tender loving care or will the customer liken the rental car to a Go-Kart or Off-Road Vehicle? While you hope the former is the case, the latter occurring is certainly not out of the question. Just Google rental car abuse and YouTube videos for a boatload of evidence.  Well, there is a solution, and its called GPS tracking.

Common rental car abuse includes the following:

• Speeding
• Bad breaking behavior
• Excessive engine revving
• Bad driving behavior
• Moving violations
• Excessive swerving
• Driving in unauthorized or off-road area

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Anyone who is even remotely familiar with modern technology, knows what GPS tracking software can do. But new developments are in the works that will expand GPS applications for commercial and military use even further — and help transition to Global Positioning System Next Generation Operational Control System– dubbed GPS OCX.

Three U.S. firms that are teaming up to work with the U.S. Air Force in a contract for GPS tracking and GPS ground hardware for a number of space vehicles. The team — consisting of Boeing, Harris Corp. and Raytheon — have formed a control segment now being known as GPS Control Segment Sustainment Contract (GCSS).

“This team brings together the best of industry in the current GPS sustainment effort and ensures a smooth transition to the next-generation system,” said Sparky Olsen, director of Boeing Missions Operations. “This team brings together the best of industry in the current GPS sustainment effort and ensures a smooth transition to the next-generation system,” Olsen further commented. Read the rest of this entry »

Cute, cuddly, and teddy-bear like are just a few or the words to describe the giant panda. Endangered is another one.

Giant pandas, which are named  as such to distinguish them from red pandas, can live between 20 and 30 years. Unlike other types of bears, pandas don’t hibernate during the winter. Instead they move to lower elevations, which have warmer temperatures. Rather than picking one home or den, they prefer to roam. Pandas are one of the most solitary animals in the wild, and while they don’t have one home, they often have a defined territory. Pandas have long since been a popular symbol of Chinese culture, and beloved by children and adults across the world.

These exotic animals, well-recognized for their large black patches over their eyes, live in the forests and broadleaf, preferably at elevations over 5,000 feet and under 10,000 feet; mostly in China. Their diets consist largely of bamboo. Read the rest of this entry »