Category Archives: GPS Tracking In Sports

GPS Tracking Leads the Way in Exciting Fans of 2010 Winter Olympics Torch Relay

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When the Olympic Torch was on its way to the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, I heard on the radio that it would pass near my home at the time in Coronado, California. Like many thousands of others who wanted to witness the historic flame, I staked a prime viewing spot on the sidewalk and waited. And waited. And waited some more.

There was no live radio or TV coverage of the torch procession. So when the flame finally whizzed by on its way to the San Diego-Coronado Bridge and beyond, only those of us fortunate enough to have arrived early got a clear view.

Things probably will be much different for flame aficionados when the torch treks across Canada for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia. There’s a good chance the torch will have a GPS tracking device embedded in it, allowing fans of the flame to see where it is in real time. Technology similar to GPS fleet tracking will display a flame icon on a Google Map to indicate where the torchbearer has been and where he or she is headed along the predetermined route.

Some folks still will get out early to claim a viewing spot. But GPS fleet tracking will let anyone with Internet access on a PC, smartphone or PDA know precisely where and when they can catch a glimpse. They’ll probably even snap a photo or two from the same handheld devices.

The Vancouver Organizing Committee has already built a cool website with an interactive map for the torch relay from next October 29 to February 12, 2010. It gives Canadians can a good sense of when the torch will be in their community on any given day. But if the map displays a GPS “breadcrumb trail” like this one for a one-man fundraising walk, it’s certain to build excitement. When someone sees in real time that the historic symbol is actually near them, you can bet they’ll race over to see it.

GPS fleet tracking can’t hold a candle to the excitement the torch generates, but it should excite any fleet manager who wants better routing, lower fuel costs, speeding alerts and much more.

Party On with More Cool Uses of GPS Fleet Tracking

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Who would think Mardi Gras parades and snowmobile races have anything in common? Well, both involve fleets (parade floats, snowmobile teams). Both involve a lot of noise (revelers, snowmobiles). And now you can monitor the progress of both online thanks to GPS fleet tracking-style technology.

A New Orleans TV station has a parade tracker on its website to follow the many Mardi Gras processions, which kicked off February 7 with the glitzy Krewe Du Vieux and continue through February 24. Revelers on the go don’t need a computer; they can use Twitter on their cell phones to receive text messages about parade locations.

The next day, about 4,500 miles northwest, the Tesoro Iron Dog snowmobile race roared out of Sarah Palin’s town, Wasilla, Alaska, for a grueling 1,971-mile trek through the state’s wilderness to downtown Fairbanks. The 42 two-vehicle teams are competing in the “World’s Longest, Toughest Snowmobile Race” for six days. GPS tracking relay teams’ positions in real time every five minutes to fans online.

But GPS fleet tracking means more than just an icon on PC screens. It also alerts race officials if a rider crashes or stops before reaching a race checkpoint, so they can send assistance based on the last known position. This replaces manual entry of GPS coordinates by race volunteers and gives more accurate positions to emergency crews.

Thinking about making more efficient use of your vehicle fleet? Don’t let the parade pass you by and don’t be left out in the cold. See how GPS fleet tracking can ensure a smoother ride for your company’s bottom line.

GPS-Enabled Jacket Gives Skiers a Run for Their Money

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Ever been driving around in your GPS tracking-enabled fleet vehicle, wishing you could use GPS to retrace the route you carved last time you were out on the ski slopes? To borrow a phrase from the new man in the Oval Office, yes you can.

Action sports manufacturer O’Neill has introduced the NavJacket, a GPS-enabled GORE-TEX garment that lets you navigate your way around the mountain with just a tap or two on the sleeve. As the company says on a web page where you can enter a contest to win one, “Your days of wind torn maps are over.”

This gadget jacket provides several options for the well-heeled skier. It lets you download trail maps from hundreds of resorts around the world. Once you arrive, the integrated GPS device knows exactly where you are. Just activate the navigation function and illuminated arrows on the sleeves point you in the right direction. If you have the appropriate cell phone, you can view imagery of the slopes on its screen.

To geo-record a route you take, just tap another button on the sleeve at regular intervals and that route is stored for later use. You can upload the route to a dedicated website as a map to share with others enthusiasts. And since this is a GPS jacket, you also can keep track of your speed, time, distance, direction and altitude. Preloaded maps include information along the way, such as rest stops, chairlifts and places to eat.

Another feature is the “friend finder,” which helps you locate buddies in the vicinity who happen to be wearing the same outer garment. At $1,635 per jacket, you probably won’t be running into too many of them. No word on if the finder will help the ski patrol find you if you get lost. At that price, it should brew you a cup of hot cocoa while you’re waiting to be rescued.

Still riding around, thinking about how to record your ski trails? Just remember, someone may be recording you.

GPS Officer Tracking Helps Police Boost Performance

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Finding a police officer just got a little easier for dispatchers in Paterson, New Jersey. The state’s third-largest city has pumped up its police department with a digital recordkeeping and GPS fleet tracking system to instantly locate squad cars on patrol. New squad cars in Paterson are being fitted with GPS tracking devices, with the entire fleet getting into the system by 2011.

The goal is to decrease response times, transmit relevant information to officers and assess their individual performance. GPS fleet tracking is just one component of the system but its impact is already being felt. The issue of privacy has cropped up, as expected. One officer quit because he didn’t want to be tracked. But another officer was suspended because GPS tracking revealed his underperformance.

GPS tracking is “a safety factor first, and it also helps with accountability,” says the police chief of a neighboring Elmwood Park, which also tracks its men and women on patrol. “Officers may think twice about sitting in their car for an hour with a cup of coffee.” He estimates that GPS tracking has boosted the department’s performance by at least 20 percent. Now dispatchers can route calls faster by following cars on a large digital map at police headquarters.

Of course, police aren’t the only entities that can benefit from GPS fleet tracking. It’s easy to install GPS trackers in any vehicle fleet. Each vehicle’s location, speed and idle time are among the factors that can be tracked. The results can be reviewed with each driver to help improve performance. Need a demo? Just click here.

Find Yourself on Skis with GPS-Based Snocator

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Now that the federal government has officially reduced maps to holiday gift-wrapping paper, we all might as well go out and get a GPS navigation device. And a GPS tracking device so people can find us – or, at least, our fleet vehicles. We hope you’ll buy one of our GPS fleet tracking products, of course. But if you have an iPhone 3G, that’ll do. Especially if you’re a skier.

Knowing exactly where you are on the slopes is a skill that usually occurs after you’ve been skiing an area for a long time. But what if you’re at a ski resort for the first time and want to figure out how to schuss over to a straight downhill run?

With Snocator installed on your iPhone, you’ll not only see your exact location but you’ll also be able to check the latest snow reports, surface and weather conditions, view GPS trail maps and find out where to get a warm latte at the end of your run.

The $5.99 application ($2.99 during the holiday season) is another innovative example of GPS tracking for the rest of us. It draws from a database of hundreds of resorts, including weather forecasts and downloadable maps. And its GPS function will soon let you track your speed, altitude and direction on a map.

Snocator is available at the iTunes Store. Keep in mind that you have to buy a new version at the beginning of each new ski season.

As some viewers noted in replies to a story about Snocator on a Denver TV station’s website, you might have some trouble tapping the iPhone’s screen while wearing ski gloves. But hey, you don’t have to fold it up like a real map. But then again, you can’t use an iPhone as gift wrap. Not yet, anyway.