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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.
This week American researchers at Ohio State University revealed they have a new tool for detecting illegal nuclear explosions: the Earth’s global positioning system (GPS). The discovery was announced this week at a Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) meeting.
Researchers have discovered that nuclear tests leave a mark on the part of the upper atmosphere known as the ionosphere. After a nuclear explosion, there is a change in ionospheric electron density, as a bubble of disturbed particles spread out from the test site and across the planet. As the GPS signal passes through the edge of the bubble, the change in electron density disturbs the signal in a noticeable way.
Even though the GPS system was designed for location purposes, the technology has always been especially sensitive to atmospheric disturbances, said Dorota Grejner-Brzezinska, a professor of geodetic science at Ohio State University. The GPS system can help confirm that a nuclear test has taken place – especially when the test was underground, so that its effect in the air is very subtle, and otherwise nearly impossible to detect.
An all-new Green GPS system, developed by computer scientists at the University of Illinois, is able to calculate the most fuel-efficient driving routes, saving as much as 13 percent over other routes in initial tests.
“Unlike existing Internet services, such as Google Maps and MapQuest, which provide either the fastest or the shortest route between two points, a Green GPS system collects the necessary information to compute … the most fuel-efficient route” explained Ph.D. candidate Raghu Kiran Ganti, one of three student researchers working with Principal Investigator and Associate Professor of Computer Science Tarek Abdelzaher. “The most fuel-efficient route between two points may be different from the shortest and fastest routes.”
For example, taking the fast route on a freeway may not be economical because fuel consumption increases in a non-linear manner with speed, or because the route is longer. Similarly, the shortest route, over city streets, may be objectionable because of downtown congestion and traffic.
In the state of California, convicted sex offenders and high-risk gang members are monitored with GPS tracking systems when they get out of prison on parole. But parole officers have become over-burdened and claim that there are too many parolees to keep track of.
California has come up with a viable solution. The state has decided to hire a private company to take over some of the work. The Department of Corrections is hiring the companies that provide the GPS tracking systems to also monitor and screen the alerts. They will send only the high priority problems to parole officers.
GPS tracking systems are currently installed in the “official” vehicles of legislators in Costa Rica. This week 29 of the 55 Legislators announced that they want the GPS tracking systems removed from their cars.
According to Mendoza and the Legislature’s executive director, Antonio Ayala, they have seen a significant fuel savings in travel and legislative budget since the installation of the tracking system. Maybe this is where the problem lies, legislators cannot anymore “fudge” their travel expenses and can be located – at least their vehicles – at any given time, the Costa Rica News reported.
Reverend Robin Hoover, a human-rights activist, is supplying men and women in the business of smuggling illegal immigrants across the US and Mexico border with GPS tracking devices, hoping to prevent the migrants from dying on the journey, according to a recent story in the Christian Science Monitor. As summer approaches, temperatures near the California, Arizona and Texas borders are well above 100 degrees, and can be very dangerous.
It is not uncommon for migrants to die while attempting to illegally cross the border. During the past decade, authorities have recovered over 2,000 bodies in the desert.
Tigers are one of the Earth’s most endangered species. At the beginning of this century there were about 100,000 wild tigers. Today there are less than 5,000 of these beautiful creatures alive, making tigers one of the world’s fastest disappearing species.
Two weeks ago a very rare tiger was killed by poachers on the Indo-Nepal border, according to wildlife officials. The adult male tiger’s body was found last week, approximately June 1, 2011. A WWF survey carried out in 2008 found just 121 adult tigers of breeding age in Nepal, so this is a real tragedy.
The tiger had been fitted with a collar carrying a GPS tracking system. The GPS tracking system enabled scientists to monitor the tiger in the wild.
According to Tikaram Adhikari, a warden at Bardia National Park in Nepal, the endangered tiger was last traced by the tracking system on May 9.”Next two days, we could not locate it. Then, early this week, we found that it had been killed by poachers,” he said.
“The tiger was moving towards human settlements. After seeing the tiger, the poachers offered him poisoned beef. It died after consuming the food… Four locals have been arrested on suspicion of poaching,” Adhikari said.
Gas prices have continued to decrease this week. Many experts are expecting prices to continue fluctuating with an overall downward trend.
Drivers and businesses affected by gas prices have been pleasantly surprised because gas prices typically rise during the month of May. The current peak national average price for this year was $3.98 on May 5th, 2011.
In mid-May, Neil Gamson, an analyst for the Energy Information Administration, said “It is possible we have reached our peak.” However, that could change if the violence in the Middle East gets worse or if there is a bad hurricane season.
Currently the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded is $3.78, down 3 cents from last week and 18 cents from one month ago according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report. Although this month’s decreases are good news, prices are still up over $1.00 from one year ago. Diesel fuel is currently averaging $4.00 per gallon, down 16 cents from one month ago.
Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ:GRMN), recently announced they are going to launch a new and improved version of their best-selling eTrex handheld GPS device. Garmin’s eTrex is one of the most popular handheld GPS devices on the market.
The all-new eTrex GPS system will be redesigned and upgraded with new features – enhanced ergonomics, an improved interface, paperless geocaching and in certain models, a 65k color screen with expanded mapping capabilities.
The eTrex is an entry-level device that is designed especially for outdoor enthusists that enjoy activities such as hiking, biking and camping. The eTrex GPS system is very affordable, will fit in your pocket and is easy to use. It only has five buttons, making it easy to use with just one hand – the left hand, so lefties should be aware.
Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is a leader in bringing innovative safety and driver technology in mainstream vehicles. This week, Ford demonstrated how far they’ve come in car-to-car communication technology. Ford also showed what the future of driving may look like with talking vehicles that can warn of hazards and traffic ahead. Ford is one of the first automakers to build prototype vehicles demonstrating this exciting new technology.
With vehicle-to-vehicle communication, intelligent cars talk to each other wirelessly, warning drivers of potential dangers. Utilizing advanced wi-fi technology and GPS, intelligent vehicles will help drivers identify and respond to potential dangers as well as identify conveniences while on the road. With this technology cars will be able to send messages to other cars about where they are and where they’re headed.
If there is an accident or any other potential driving hazard coming up, vehicles will be able to instantly receive information about the upcoming dangers, giving drivers more notice and time to respond. The new technology is called a DVI system – which stands for Driver Vehicle Information. This technology provides either audible or visual cues to alert drivers of what potential dangers coming ahead.
