It has been a while since we took a look at some upcoming GPS technology on Kickstarter, so I decided to take a peek and found a promising pet tracker called Pip. Created by PetSimpl, this tracker is advertised as having a GPS chip that is accurate to within five feet, but also uses cell data to inform you of geofence breaches, etc. And the coolest part? If your furry friend goes wandering, then the unit will work with your phone to give you GPS directions to your pet in real-time. The unit also has a really long battery life–an expected three months before needing a recharge–and is waterproof and rugged so your pal can romp and play without worry. read more

I’ve written about GPS art a few times in the past, mostly because I find the marriage of art, technology and exercise both interesting and beautiful. So, while Veteran’s Day has already passed, when I read this story about a disabled war veteran creating a poppy on the streets of London to help raise money, awareness and support of war veterans around the country, I had to share it.

In the US, UK, Canada and several other countries around the world, red poppies have become to represent remembrance of the fallen soldiers and the sacrifices by those in the military service in defense of their country. These little red flowers are often handed out by military veterans and adorn windows around the middle of November, thanks to a poem written by John McCrae called “In Flander’s Fields.”

This year, 27-year-old British war veteran Ben McBean ran a total of 31 miles to draw the outline of a remembrance poppy on the streets of London. Then McBean, who was grievously injured in Afghanistan in 2008 and has a prosthetic leg, called to the public to run around the city and color in the flower. The public took up the call and ran more than 7,500 miles, coloring in the poppy almost completely as of yesterday and raising more than $23,000 (£ 15,000).

McBean told The Mirror in an interview that he wasn’t doing it to get press–the project was all about honoring veterans.

“I want people to do it, I think the main thing is remembering what happened 100 years ago… Even now [after Iraq and Afghanistan], the parents of soldiers who have died in battle are living with that, that’s why I did the run, it’s all about remembering,” McBean said.

WWII Loran recievers like this one used the Loran system, which recently got an upgrade and revamp to be used as a backup for GPS.

GPS is a wonderful tool, but as it becomes more and more prevalent in technology, it becomes harder and harder to navigate without it. The BBC reported last week that the General Lighthouse Authorities have installed a system called eLoran in seven ports across Britain to use as a backup in case of a GPS outage.

The eLoran system is a resurrected and revamped version of the Long Range Navigation system (Loran) used in WWII by the US Navy to guide warships. The eLoran system has, of course, been upgraded to make it more accurate and renamed and rebranded. Unlike GPS, the eLoran system is ground based and uses completely different kinds of signals to GPS, meaning that a blackout of both systems is highly unlikely. read more

A company called Wearable Experiments has announced their newest wearable GPS product concept: a jacket designed to vibrate to give you directions around select cities. Creatively named the “Navigate” this wearable tech is designed to be fashionable (although I think it looks pretty awful, actually) and help tourists experience the city without being tied to a screen. read more