Tsunamis can be deadly, and often without much warning. However, according to a new study published by researchers at the University of Hawaii – Manoa (UHM) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, using real-time GPS tracking on commercial ships could be a cost-effective and better way to track tsunamis and warn of their danger.

Currently, tsunami detection consists of tide-gauges and seismic stations on land coupled with a buoy pressure sea-floor sensor system located deep in the ocean and land-based GPS tracker networks. There’s also the natural warning of an approaching tsunami: the ground near the coast may shake, water my withdraw far from the shoreline, or there may be an unusual ocean disturbance.

Unfortunately, even with all of these current methods to detect a looming tsunami, the devastating waves of a tsunami continues to wreak a deadly path. Read the rest of this entry »

Personal GPS tracking devices and applications are expected to grow at least 40 percent per year, according to technology marketing intelligence firm ABI Research. Additionally, the combined market for personal GPS tracking devices and their applications is expected to exceed one billion dollars by the year 2017, reports the firm.

While a National Defense Magazine study predicts that by the year of 2014 one million personal GPS tracking devices will be in use, ABI Research expects that 2.5 million units will be in use by 2017.

What are the areas of usage expected to see the most growth? Elderly, remote workers, and healthcare will likely see the most growth. Insurance companies will continue to encourage the use of dedicated and approved personal GPS tracking devices to decrease liability. Other markets that will be using GPS personal trackers in increasing numbers include pet, offender tracking, and luggage tracking. Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever had the sneaky suspicion that when you handed over your car keys to the valet parking attendant, that maybe…just maybe…he took your wheels for a joyride? And if your car is an exotic and flashy sports car…well, then it may be all the more likely that your car took a detour on its when to its intended parking spot.

It turns out that this is exactly what happened in a Port Canaveral cruise shuttle passenger discount parking lot. WFTV Eyewitness News out of Florida received a tip that Jay Nieves, owner of Premier Parking Spot in Cocoa, had a habit of not only taking a customer’s car key, but taking their car for a joyride too. Read the rest of this entry »

Lots of us rely on GPS navigation technology for directions around unfamiliar towns and cities. And fleet managers, law enforcement, parents, pet owners, and many others rely on GPS tracker devices for monitoring and tracking pets, loved ones, children, criminals, and employees. But GPS tracking has largely been confined to outdoors, where global satellites can work.

But a new service could soon be giving you direction inside, as well as tracking your footsteps indoors. It’s referred to as IPS, or indoor positioning service, and you’ll soon be hearing more buzz about it.

IPS is a broad term used to describe the network of devices used to wireless locate people or objects inside a building. Read the rest of this entry »

GPS trackers have been used to catch car thiefs, track convicts, and monitor domestic abuse offenders, and now they’re being used to crack down on graffiti vandals in several California locations, including San Diego and Los Angeles.

From written words to elaborate and detailed wall paintings, graffiti is done illicitly on public and private domains. But by using a gps tracking-like program, law enforcement can map graffiti locations and “tag” them. Commonly, graffiti bandits don’t make their mark only once. Rather, they strike multiple times, using the same type of “artwork”.

As a result, police can analyze tagged data and predict where the perpetrator will go next — similar to methods use to track and predict actions of serial killers. Graffiti tracking can also help to increase the arrest of graffiti vandals. Prior to this, graffiti was painted over, leaving no evidence of the crime. Read the rest of this entry »