GPS reviews, news, tips, tricks and deals
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 drone created by Northrop Grumman, who was accused of faking tests on GPS units installed in thousands of drones and other tech. read more
Everyone knows that teen drivers sometimes are not the safest, and no one can deny how nerve-wracking it can be handing your keys to a new driver and watching them drive off by themselves for the first time. So, Agilis Systems, LLC, a fleet management and asset tracking company, came up with a solution created specifically for consumers–the MOTOsafety Teen Driving Coach.
The MOTOsafety driving coach is actually two separate parts—a GPS device that hooks into your teen’s car and various notifications, alerts and daily driving reports sent directly to you to help monitor your child’s driving habits. The device can be plugged in or hardwired to the car and provides realtime tracking so parents always know if a child has arrived safely. Parents can set interactive map boundaries with alerts if they are crossed and track speeding and other bad driving habits. read more
TomTom has expanded their product portfolio this week with the introduction of free internet-based mapping and routing. The TomTom Route Planner was introduced yesterday and is available on any internet-connected device. Functioning similar to Google Maps or other mapping programs, this free online route planner relies on TomTom’s extensive map database and is available in several countries worldwide. read more
Coursera has a free course in GPS available right now. The course is titled “GPS: An Introduction to Satellite Navigation, with an interactive Worldwide Laboratory using Smartphones” and will run from October 13 to November 24—a total of 6 weeks. The course will cover the fundamentals of GPS and how it works, along with ‘backyard’ laboratory experiments using GPS enabled Android smartphones.
While the course has technically already begin, free enrollment is still open. I’d recommend jumping on now if you are at all interested. Students who complete the course with certain eligibility will receive a Statement of Accomplishment. This course is free and will be taught by Stanford professors Per Enge and Frank van Diggelen. read more
So, I definitely missed the boat on this one (pun intended), but apparently last month NOAA updated their Whale Alert App. The app uses GPS, wireless internet and nautical chart information to help mariners see where the whales in their vicinity are in order to avoid them. Depending on where you sail, this app might be just as important for your navigation as an actual GPS unit, as hitting a whale not only harms these endangered creatures, but can also be dangerous for your boat and anyone on it. read more
This drone is one of many Northrop Grumman vehicles that have the LN-100 unit installed.
U.S. defense contractor Northrop Grumman has been accused of faking ‘pass’ results for the acceptance test procedures (ATPs) on their popular LN-100 Inertial navigation System/GPS navigation systems. The LN-100 has been used on various manned and unmanned vehicles sold to the U.S. government over the years including drones, submarines, missiles, helicopters and more.
The whistleblower on this potentially fraudulent practice was a Northrop Grumman plant manager named Todd Donaldson, who originally filed the complaint in 2012. The case was kept under seal from the company and from the public for two years, and was only recently unsealed on the order of a Utah District Judge.
The case filed by Donaldson asserts that the LN-100 units typically failed the GPS Communication Test, and that technicians were instructed to manually key in the ‘pass’ grade without actually conducting the tests. read more
They say that the real joy of gifts is giving them, not receiving them. But what if you could make opening a gift just as much fun as the actual gift itself? Now, with the successfully funded Kickstarter project, GPS Adventure Box, you can! Despite the slightly lame name, this clever little box would be a fun gift for just about anyone—not just GPS lovers.
This neat little box has a GPS chip and can be programmed with a series of coordinates and then locked with a gift inside. Before the locked box will open, recipients must take the box to the correct locations and press the button on top of the box to get the next clue. Once all of the coordinates have been visited, the box will unlock and the recipient can have their gift. 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 shows the erroneous orbits of the two wayward Galileo satellites. This week, the board finally announced the cause behind the malfunction. Read on for this and more GPS news! read more
This illustration, released by the ESA, shows the erroneous satellite orbit in red, and the intended orbit in dashed green. The other two lines represent current Galileo satellite orbits
Nearly two months after the two Galileo satellites were deployed into an erroneous orbit nearly 2,000 miles off course, an independent inquiry board investigating the cause has finally determined the reasons for the mistake and outlined solutions to prevent further mishaps.
Last week, it was reported that a frozen pipe was to blame for the mishap, but official comments from the inquiry board had not been released. GPS World reported yesterday that the board had determined that the anomaly was not caused by an operator error or by satellite behavior, but by a design flaw in the rocket. read more
In honor of the Alabama Park System’s 75th Anniversary, a new app has been released that will give users comprehensive guides to all state parks in Alabama in one app. The Alabama State Parks Pocket Ranger app joins a suite of apps mapping out state parks, fishing guides, hunting guides and more for nearly 30 states. These apps provide not only a wonderful tool for exploring your state parks, but they are all free on iTunes and Google Play. Just search “Pocket Ranger” with your state name. read more
