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This week in GPS is a weekly link roundup of (mostly) GPS related odds and ends, from GPS Tracklog and other places around the Web. This week’s featured image is from the new Detour app, which provides GPS-powered audio tours of San Francisco.
Here are some other things that happened this week in the world of GPS: read more
While not directly related to the kinds of GPS articles we normally write, location accuracy in emergencies is a pretty hot and important topic in the world of GPS and is definitely something worth talking about. This topic has actually been in the news several times in the last year, as it was discovered that 911 emergency calls made from cell phones don’t provide the same location information to dispatchers as landlines.
As it turns out, cell phones really only provide a three to four block radius for possible location to dispatchers, requiring them to either try and figure out where a caller is vocally or to simply search for the person. However, an app has been recently released that utilizes GPS to provide better location to dispatch during emergencies. read more
Andrew Mason, one of the founders of the popular group coupon app, Groupon, recently launched a new app that utilizes GPS and interesting historical facts and annotations to create audio tours to take locals and visitors to little known locations with local history. The app is very new and is currently only available on iPhones, with Android support expected soon.
“Most of the audio tours that exist today are about what’s popular inside museums,” Mason told US News. “What we are trying to do is turn the world into a museum.” read more
Nature is a precious thing and it saddens me to see how poorly some people care for it. We’ve only got one Earth, so doesn’t it make sense to protect it? I think that Geocachers in particular are more appreciative of the natural beauty and fragility of the environment, and geocaching.com has sponsored an international “Cache In, Trash Out” (CITO) event to help do their part. read more
TomTom is one of the leading mapmaking companies in the world, and its database covers more than 44 million kilometers of road and around 4.2 billion people–more than half of the world’s population. TomTom has fully navigable maps for around 126 countries, with more added every year.
Late last week, TomTom announced that it will be updating several maps around the world including pedestrian maps for several cities and more address points in Europe. The updates should be available soon. Here are the updates TomTom has released: read more
The quadcopter that crashed on the White House lawn last week. Photo: U.S. Secret Service
Drones are a pretty contested topic in the government right now, as the public calls for laws and exemptions for use and the FAA cries that they don’t know what to do and it might be a long time until they get it together.
So, in an exemplary form of judgment, a government employee decided to fly his friend’s drone in Washington D.C. and accidentally crashed it on the lawn of the White House. The employee, reports say, was off duty and was not in a department related to drones at all. He was, however, drunk and obviously not thinking very clearly. By itself, that isn’t really news. However, in light of this incident, Phantom drone maker DJI has decided to add Washington DC to the list of no-fly zones for their drones. read more
Last year, a Soyuz rocket launched two Galileo satellites into the wrong orbit due to a a malfunction. In November, one of the two satellites was able to correct its orbit to a lower than initially intended, yet far more usable orbit. This month, the second errant satellite has begun its maneuvers to a more circular and usable orbit. read more
This week in GPS is a weekly link roundup of (mostly) GPS related odds and ends, from GPS Tracklog and other places around the Web. This week’s featured image is a geocache! Adrian outlined some fantastic ideas for getting everyone ready for the geocaching season this spring in his article, which you can read here.
Here are some other things that happened in the world of GPS this week: read more
As far as navigation goes, the only thing that smartphones do better than more traditional GPS units is mapping. Which, of course, is actually pretty important. Most cell phone mapping programs update twice as frequently as dedicated units do and since navigation is really only as good as the map its based on, it was something of a boon to smartphone app makers. Note the past tense
TomTom, one of the three biggest mapping and navigation juggernauts in the world, announced yesterday that they, too, are going to have maps that update faster and flag changing conditions. And, just like a lot of smartphone app developers, they’re going to do it via crowdsourcing. In a press release, TomTom introduced their new Map Input Tracker API. This feedback tool can be integrated into existing product lines and will allow customers to share map feedback via their smartphone, tablet, laptop or even in-dash navigation. read more
With spring looming, a new season of geocaching is nearly upon us. With it comes an influx of new people to the hobby. Regular geocachers will be familiar with the concept of a geocaching kit bag but for the benefit of those just starting out, this month we’re going to go over the basic items you need to geocache efficiently and safely. read more
