Wednesday, April 8. 2009

GPS-enabled....inhalers

David Van Sickle, an epidemiologist from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has rigged up asthma inhalers linked to GPS devices. The idea is to locate where asthma sufferers are when they need their medication. For now, he's looking for 31 volunteers in a trial of the devices which are about the size of an inhaler paired with a nine-volt battery. In time, he hopes to have folks all over the country tracking where attacks happen.

- Discovery

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Tracking, GPS at 06:00 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

Monday, March 16. 2009

LOCINT? GEOINT? It's getting confusing

I read this FOX News report on True Position's new location platform called LOCINT that is designed for the tracking and location of cellular phone calls. The FOX News item seems to be confusing the product name with the broader category of "location intelligence" used by Directions Media's as the name for our Location Intelligence Conference and others in describing the use of location technology for a variety of information technology applications. FOX News likes to inject its "fear and greed" factor by describing the technology as one used to track terrorists...but only where it's legal. The news report goes into detail on why it can't or shouldn't be used in the U.S. For purely biased reasons, I found the report confusing but are we naming for the sake of naming: LOCINT...Do they mean GEOINT?

Posted by Joe Francica in Tracking, LBS, Location Intelligence at 08:55 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

Wednesday, February 4. 2009

Keep Your Face Private from CCTV, but Share Your Location

Closed circuit TV and personal privacy don't mix too well. So, scientists at HP have devised a way to keep your face off the CCTV tapes. Basically, you install an app in your phone that tells the system where you are, and it blurs your face. Ideally, you'd need to pay a fee for such privacy. While technically this works - including in crowds, many think privacy should be opt-in by default, not the other way round.

- New Scientist

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Tracking at 06:00 | Comments (3) | Trackbacks (0) |

Tuesday, January 27. 2009

Why sex-offender tracking doesn't always work

Government Technology examines the pitfalls of programs across the country. Bottom line: the technology is not perfect, those managing the implementations are not on duty 24/7 and legislators are not aware of the limitations. Another challenge: more and more paroles are homeless, making "confinement" unworkable.

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Tracking at 07:07 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

Wednesday, January 21. 2009

Hybrid Positioning Market Prediction

In a press release I must have missed from last week but which I think is significant, ABI Research offered predictions on the market potential of hybrid positioning systems. That is, when one form of position determination is not available, others must be available on the same handset. Dominique Bonte, ABI's principal analyst for telematics and navigation (see my podcast interview with him from last August on LBS) states that, "Users expect a seamless and transparent location experience regardless of application or environment...Since no single positioning technology can provide this, the future will be about hybrid positioning systems, combining A-GPS, Cell-ID, Wi-Fi, cellular, motion sensors, and even TV broadcast and proximity technologies such as Bluetooth, NFC and RFID. A-GPS, Wi-Fi and Cell-ID will be the winning combination offering accuracy, availability, interoperability and short fix times at low cost. It will represent 25% of all positioning solutions by 2014. Stand-alone Cell-ID and/or Wi-Fi will remain important in regions with low GPS handset penetration."

So, here are a few questions:

1. What's the size of the handset or chip set that must be equipped with all of these various positioning options?

2. Will there eventually be a nationwide network of just one or two technologies that win out over the long term?

Posted by Joe Francica in RFID, Tracking, LBS, GPS, Wi-Fi at 09:38 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

Thursday, January 15. 2009

Washington State Legislators Propose Studying Implanted GPS for Sex Offenders

Since bracelets are not working the Washington State House of Representatives is considering a bill to study the cost and feasibility of implanting GPS devices in the worst offenders. Civil rights supporters are expected to advocate against the bill. Jerry Dobson's term "geoslavery" always creeped me out; so does contemplating this type of tracking.

- King5

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Tracking, GPS, Crime at 06:00 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |