Vets groups use radar, GPS to locate WWII remains

Backed by U.S. veterans groups, researchers said they used ground-penetrating radar and GPS technologies to locate the remains of 139 missing U.S. Marines killed in the Battle of Tarawa in November 1943. An organization called History Flight (Marathon, Fla.) along with WFI Research Group (Fall River, Mass.) said Monday (Nov. 24) they used ground-penetrating radar with 250 and 500 MHz antennas and a surveyor-quality Trimble GPS system to locate the remains. The partners said the 139 Marines were discovered in eight separate mass burial sites on Tarawa Atoll in the central Pacific Ocean.

Veteran groups estimate there were a total of 541 U.S. Marines missing after the Battle of Tawara. WFI said it conducted two surveys of the Pacific island, completing the second on Nov. 8. "e;All [of the remains] are believed to be the Marines and sailors from the actual battle and not later casualties. Five of the eight burial sites have had U.S. Marine remains accidentally dug up during the extensive construction activity on the island,"e; WFI said in a statement. Among those found was Marine 1st Lt. Alexander Bonnyman, who was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Source:EE Times- November 24, 2008

GPS tethers gain popularity as alternative to jail

As municipalities nationwide struggle to slash expenses and balance their budgets in the tough economy, communities are left with fewer available beds in their county jails and state prisons -- a fact that has law enforcement officials turning to cost-saving GPS tethers in record numbers. Local agencies and national experts say that the tethers -- which track suspected and convicted criminals' whereabouts via global positioning satellite signals -- are expected to become even more prevalent in coming years.

"e;The budget crisis creates an incentive to expand a relatively small program,"e; said Paul Taylor, chief strategy officer with the Center for Digital Government, a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies. "e;In this economy, you can't just hire more officers, build more jails and have more beds."e; The boom already is apparent in metro Detroit, especially in Wayne County, which last year expanded its tether program to include persons charged with nonviolent felonies. Previously, county-issued tethers were available only to those charged with misdemeanors.
Source:Detroit Free Press- November 23, 2008

Police find victim by using his phone GPS

A shooting victim who called 911 from his cell phone while locked in a shed at an East Side industrial park Saturday night was discovered by police after dispatchers used the phone's Global Positioning System to pinpoint the wounded man's location. The 37-year-old victim, who was shot in the neck, was in critical but stable condition at Christiana Hospital with injuries that did not appear life threatening, said Master Sgt. Steven Barnes, Wilmington police spokesman. Barnes did not identify the victim. The call to New Castle County's 911 center came in at 6:21 p.m., said Cpl. Peter T. Small, spokesman for county Emergency Medical Services. The victim did not know where he was, Barnes said, but information from the phone's GPS helped dispatchers determine about where the call came from and they sent officers and paramedics to the 1100 block of E. Seventh St.
Source:Delaware Online- November 16, 2008

Truckers refine GPS applications

Transportation companies have primarily applied GPS (Global Positioning System) technology to track the whereabouts of trailers and containers, but as operational efficiency becomes increasingly important the uses of GPS have become more advanced, according to a recent report by ABI Research Inc. While in some parts of the world, GPS-enabled trailer tracking is driven by threats of hijacking and theft, security is not so much the driver anymore in North America, said David Alexander, principal analyst for commercial telematics with Oyster Bay, N.Y.-based ABI Research. “There is added value of having more information about the trailer itself, not just where it is but whether the door has been opened, whether the trailer is moving, what the temperature is inside the trailer,” said Alexander.
Source:IT World Canada- November 12, 2008

GPS saves man bitten by snake

The 27-year-old man was camping alone near Tharwa, some distance from the nearest road. He was able to direct a helicopter and an ambulance to his campsite using his portable GPS. Paramedic Helen Petro took the triple-0 call and reassured the man for an hour-and-a-half until help arrived. "e;He was by himself and he'd been out camping, he'd just started to boil his billy for a cup of tea and the snake came out, chomped him on the leg and slithered off,"e; she said. "e;He was a good kilometre-and-a-half from the nearest road, so we had a good job trying to find him."e; Ms Petro says the man offered to walk to the road but she advised him against doing so. "e;The more activity you engage in the faster you spread venom,"e; she said. "e;One of the most important things you can do after you've been bitten, be it spider, snake, dog, it doesn't matter, is to remain calm and to remain still."e;
Source:ABC News AU- November 12, 2008

Project turns GPS phones into traffic reporters

Researchers from Nokia and the University of California in Berkeley will go live with a new project next week that aims to cull GPS data from thousands of mobile phones in order to tell drivers which San Francisco Bay Area roads are backed up and which are moving along. Called Mobile Millennium, the project will be opened to the public on Monday.

Read the latest WhitePaper - Protecting Data on Laptops: Why Encryption Isn't EnoughResearchers hope that thousands of volunteers will download a free Java program that figures out by their movement and location when they are driving, and then transmits that information to the project's servers, which then crunch it into a Bay Area traffic map. The software uses algorithms to determine when people are moving or if they are stuck in traffic or stopped by the roadside, for example. California has already invested heavily in sensors that help monitor traffic conditions on major roadways, but they're not everywhere. By collecting traffic information from GPS (Global Positioning System) phones on roads that don't have sensors, the team hopes to gain insight into places that are now blind spots for most commuters.
Source:Network World- November 6, 2008

UDOT using GPS to help clear snow more efficiently

A little blast of winter for some areas in the state has the Utah Department of Transportation bringing out the snowplows, and it is trying to get more high-tech in how the clear off the snow. More than 500 UDOT snow plows are ready to go, and UDOT spokesman Nile Easton says some of the plows are now equipped with a Global Positioning System (GPS) so a supervisor can see exactly where the plows are. He says, "e;If he sees an area that's getting hit, he can find out who is the closest plow and send him right out."e;
Source:KSL.Com- November 5, 2008

Sexy Lingerie With Embedded GPS

Wearable computing is here and it is not exactly what many technology enthusiasts may have had in mind. Brazilian designer Lucia Loria has designed lingerie that comes with a GPS tracking system. The designs aimed at "e;modern, techno-savvy women"e; are drawing strong protests from feminists, says The Daily Mail. The lingerie line called 'find me if you can' features a set consisting of a lacy bodice and a bikini bottom with a GPS device embedded near the waist. It's not a modern chastity belt, says the designer, but instead could become a lifesaver, as a safety device on a night out. The tacky lingerie, with its clunky GPS system, comes with a hefty price tag. The set costs between $800 to $1000.
Source:Wired Blog Network- November 3, 2008

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