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Fleet management systems have been around a while and have become so complex that it has evolved into Field Resource Management. This article explores 5 reasons why all fleets need at least a basic Field Resource Management system.
LightSquared has been under major scrutiny after FCC tests concluded that the company’s high-speed broadband wireless LTE network was interfering with the global positioning system (GPS). LightSquared has now agreed to change their original plans and will use a different block of spectrum to avoid interfering with GPS system signals in space and on the ground.
The company told reporters that their new plan is expected to reduce the risk of interference to 99.5 percent of GPS devices.
However, some members of the GPS industry are still concerned that the LightSquared interference issues will continue. They believe that testing should continue to ensure public safety, as the GPS system affects thousands of applications that people depend on everyday.
In today’s world, technological innovations are created at a light speed pace, which – generally speaking – is a good thing. But Smartphone technology and other mobile devices are developed so quickly and intelligently that lawmakers have struggled to keep up with the implications of modern technology. This has become a big problem for society. […]
Sprint and LightSquared have agreed to jointly develop and operate LightSquared’s 4G LTE network. The deal is expected to give Sprint an edge in competing with AT&T and Verizon.
LightSquared executives are scrambling to find a solution for its network, after its spectrum has been shown to interfere with the global positioning system (GPS). The company asked the FCC for an extension on the mandatory GPS system tests. Members of the GPS Coalition called Save Our GPS were outraged the the FCC gave Lightsquared an extension after initially failing the GPS system interference tests.
Sprint’s deal with Lightsquared is an indication that nothing bad is in the near future for LightSquared’s plans to develop their network. Many people are speculating that Sprint has agreed to absorb some of the costs to build out the LightSquared network and as a result it will get privileged rates to become the network’s largest LTE wholesale customer.
GPS system signals are everywhere and the technology is used for literally thousands of applications, not just navigating drivers on the road. GPS technology is used to land airplanes, control financial services such as ATMs and stock trading, navigate ships and cargo, synchronize data on wireless networks, manage loads on power grids, etc.
Jamming the GPS system can wreak havoc on society in literally thousands of ways. Ways many people are not even aware of.
According to an article recently printed in the New Scientist, a British magazine, a global positioning system outage happened because the Navy accidentally jammed GPS signals in downtown San Diego in 2007.
New Scientist magazine wrote in its March 2011 edition: “It was just after midday in San Diego, California, when the disruption started. In the tower at the airport, air-traffic controllers peered at their monitors only to find that their system for tracking incoming planes was malfunctioning. At the Naval Medical Center, emergency pagers used for summoning doctors stopped working. Chaos threatened in the busy harbour, too, after the traffic-management system used for guiding boats failed. On the streets, people reaching for their cellphones found they had no signal and bank customers trying to withdraw cash from local ATMs were refused.”
The problem with the article in New Scientist is that most of what it reported wasn’t true. Although the Navy did admit to accidentally jamming GPS signals in San Diego in 2007, the outcome wasn’t anywhere nearly as catastrophic as the magazine made it out to be.
Representatives of a wide variety of industries and companies, including Garmin (NASDAQ: GRMN) and TomTom, have joined a Coalition called “Save Our GPS” to resolve a serious threat to the reliability and viability of the Global Positioning System (GPS) – a national utility upon which millions of Americans rely every day. The GPS coalition is […]
Garmin Ltd (NASDAQ: GRMN), the global leader in GPS navigation devices, announced they have purchased one of their biggest competitors in Europe – Navigon AG. Garmin’s interest in Navigon seems to be mainly for its smartphone apps and in-vehicle GPS systems, particularly in the European market where Navigon has invested heavily and built relationships with a number of vehicle manufacturers.
Navigon is well known in the iOS community for its very popular MobileNavigator series of turn-by-turn GPS apps. Navigon also manufactures a number of portable navigation devices as well as developing software for PNDs and other smartphone platforms.
Acquiring a company that is popular for navigation apps is definitely a smart move f0r Garmin. Although one of the largest GPS navigation product manufacturers, Garmin was relatively late in releasing its own turn-by-turn GPS app for the iOS platform, debuting its StreetPilot application for iOS only six months ago after an earlier announcement in November that it was abandoning its own Nuvifone GPS smartphone product.
Even though gas prices have been coming down over the past few weeks, gas prices are still very high when compared to the the past few years. In many states, gas prices are still averaging over $4 per gallon. According to a recent article from Popular Mechanics, there are several things drivers can do to save money on fuel. Here are some driving tips from the Yahoo Autos article combined with a few tips from FieldLogix.
Driving Tip No. 1: Invest in a More Fuel Efficient Vehicle
Next time you go shopping for a new (or used) car, consider fuel economy when making your purchase decision. One great car for fuel efficiency is the Ford (NYSE:F)Focus SFE. It gets 28 mpg in the city and a whopping 40 mpg on the highway. With its sculpted flanks and radical windshield slope, the Focus looks like a 21st-century small car. The SFE model is tricked out for fuel economy. The 2.0-liter engine features direct fuel injection—good for a 10 percent efficiency gain, Ford says—and is coupled to an automated twin-clutch six-speed gearbox that drives low-rolling-resistance tires. Ford also includes stuff like Sync, LED interior lighting, Millennium Falcon instrumentation and with a $20,780 as-tested price, the Focus becomes impossible to ignore.
Driving Tip No. 2: Coast to a Stop
We all know brakes are necessary, but they’re incredibly wasteful. Accelerating until the last moment then braking hard to stop is less efficient than slowly coasting to a red light. Whenever possible, anticipate that a light will turn red and ease off the gas. Generally, the less you have to brake, the better your fuel economy.
Whether you are a road biker or a mountain biker, most cyclists agree that GPS technology can make your life better. This week a new mobile phone app for cyclists designed for the Google Android smartphone was released by a company called Strava. The new Android app for cyclists is free!
Cyclists with an Android phone can now track their power, speed, climb, and more in real-time on their cell phone – for free! Users can analyze their bike rides and compare their results on climbs and sprints to other local riders.
The market for GPS-based mobile phone applications is huge and growing bigger everyday. East Coast Diversified Corporation (OTC:ECDC), a leader in GPS-based RFID solutions, recently announced they are considering developing social networking and mobile applications based on GPS tracking technology. A subsidiary of ECDC, EarthSearch Communications, has developed a new division to explore the opportunities in this exciting new market.
Based on current estimates, there are 300 million cell phone users in the US, with 5 billion cell phone users globally. The majority of cell phones come with GPS navigation capabilities pre-installed, so the market potential for GPS-based mobile apps is enormous.
Many people have already heard of Foursquare, the GPS-based social networking application. Foursquare is great for keeping in touch with friends and family on the go, but there are many more useful possibilities for GPS-based cell phone apps. With GPS devices already in most cellular users pockets, uses for GPS related mobile applications could really be left up to ones imagination.
