AmberWatch Mobile GPS tracking service June 25, 2007
Posted by Rich in : GPS tracking cell phones,GPS tracking children , 3 comments
The nonprofit AmberWatch Foundation has announced the new AmberWatch Mobile GPS tracking service for cell phones, designed to help protect children from sexual predators and other risks.
Scheduled to become available beginning in September 2007, AmberWatch Mobile’s services will include text-message, voice, web and email alerting systems that provide:
- Alerts: Individuals will be able to send alerts, which include their GPS location, to family and friends to indicate that they need assistance.
- Location Views: Select family and friends who will be able to view a loved one’s location on a map from a PC or mobile phone.
- Scheduled Checks: Parents will be able to set up “scheduled checks” so they will be automatically notified that their children are where they should be, like arriving at home from school.
- Phone Tree: When a loved one feels threatened and sends an alert, if their primary contact is not reachable, the system will continue to be active until a secondary contact is reached.
Zoombak GPS pet tracking device June 8, 2007
Posted by Rich in : GPS pet tracking , 1 comment so far
UPDATE: Reviews are starting to appear online and I’ve posted links in a new and thorough post looking at the the Zoombak GPS dog collar.
A new entry in the GPS pet tracking market turned up this week — the Zoombak, and while its not on store shelves yet, it is winding its way through the FCC clearance process. You can check out a PDF version of the owners manual here. No word yet on street date, cost of the device or service fees. It appears that the collar device will report locations back via cell carrier.
Project Lifesaver moves to GPS tracking June 2, 2007
Posted by Rich in : GPS tracking elderly , 2 commentsProject Lifesaver International, a public safety oriented nonprofit, has announced that they will add the latest in cellular and global positioning system (GPS) technology to their product line. Used to track Alzheimer’s and dementia patients and others, Project Lifesaver currently relies on radio technology.
The new system will use GPS tracking and cellular technology developed by Locator Systems Corporation
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Inject your kids with a GPS tracking chip May 16, 2007
Posted by Rich in : GPS tracking children , 84 commentsIt’s good that there is no such thing as a subcutaneous GPS tracking chip, because some crazy Brits would inject them into the country’s kids! Geez, and I already thought that kid-tracking cell phones might be a bit overboard. The scary thing is that someday we might actually have subcutaneous trackers.
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GPS fleet tracking – who uses it and why May 14, 2007
Posted by Rich in : GPS fleet tracking,GPS vehicle tracking , add a commentI came across an interesting article today about who uses GPS fleet tracking and why they use it. Especially useful is their list of eleven reasons why. It’s easy to see why they say the pay back period on GPS fleet tracking systems is 6-12 months. Here’s a short summary:
- Reduced costs due to speeding, excess wear and tear etc.
- Improved vehicle maintenance due to automatic reminders
- Insurance discounts
- Productivity gains
- Improved customer service
- Better record keeping
- Improved ability to analyze trends
- Better overtime management
- Eliminated the need to track down employees
- Improved asset management
- Elimination of driver logs
Maptuit selects NAVTEQ to power NaviGo May 5, 2007
Posted by Rich in : GPS asset tracking,GPS fleet tracking , add a commentMaptuit, a provider of GPS fleet and asset tracking solutions, recently announced that they have chosen NAVTEQ TRANSPORT™ truck attributes for their latest fleet navigation product, NaviGo (PDF). NaviGo features real-time mapping and navigation; commercial-grade routing and re-routing; text-to-speech turn-by-turn directions; and a large moving map format as well as a truck-specific dynamic road network.
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OpenGTS – Open source GPS fleet tracking for free April 29, 2007
Posted by Rich in : GPS fleet tracking , 2 commentsThis is one of the more interesting options I’ve come across – OpenGTS – an open source GPS fleet tracking solution. Yes, open source, as in free. Now I’m not sure how many companies will actually take this on. Just ask your CTO about doing it and see what he/she says!
OpenGTS uses a Google Maps interface (as shown below), though their site says you can use other mapping interfaces if desired. Geofencing can be used to provide arrival / departure information.
OpenGTS supports devices using Open DMTP, the Open Device Monitoring and Tracking Protocol, a companion project. The system can currently be used with the Palm Treo 650 and the HP hw6945.
The costs of GPS monitoring of criminals April 21, 2007
Posted by Rich in : GPS tracking and public safety,Uncategorized , add a commentNewsday reports on one Long Island community’s probation department that says they don’t have enough officers to track GPS monitored offenders.
John Desmond, director of Suffolk’s probation department, told his staff to stop recommending GPS devices as a condition of probation because the department does not have enough officers to supervise more accused and offenders.
“Additional cases at this time would pose a serious challenge to our ability to respond appropriately to alerts,” Desmond said in the March 9 memo obtained by Newsday.
Currently, 10 probation officers working in three shifts track the whereabouts of 50 criminals and defendants around the clock to ensure they don’t go where they’re not supposed to, Desmond said.
AT&T partners with TeleNav on GPS workforce management solution March 31, 2007
Posted by Rich in : GPS fleet tracking,GPS tracking employees , add a commentAT&T has announced a partnership with TeleNav, to implement a workforce management solution utilizing TeleNavTrack:
TeleNav Track is an affordable enterprise-grade application for companies of all sizes and includes multiple features, such as GPS-enabled location-tracking, mileage-tracking, wireless time sheets, alerts and detailed location-reporting to capture field data. A premium version of TeleNav Track is also available with features including wireless forms, dispatching, barcode- scanning support and voice and on-screen turn-by-turn GPS directions. Initially, TeleNav Track is available on the new BlackBerry® 8800 and HP iPAQ hw6920 Mobile Communicator, both of which have integrated GPS.
TomTom unveils GO 715 March 21, 2007
Posted by Rich in : GPS fleet tracking , add a comment
TomTom has announced the TomTom GO 715, a new GPS receiver that is integrated into the TomTom WORK Compact GPS tracking solution.
The TomTom GO 715 is limited to to Western Europe however, and the company has not announced plans to expand it to North America. A more comprehensive solution, TomTom WORK active, is available in the U.S., Canada and Europe. It utilizes the TomTom GO 510, 710 and 910. Here is a a link where you can compare the features of these two TomTom WORK GPS fleet tracking options.
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