I thought I had heard it all, until I read this article by The Daily Yomiuri. Apparently, a 30-year old man named Mitsuhisa Kobayashi was arrested for a series of car thefts in Japan. The interesting part? He used GPS to do it. Mitsuhisa would place a GPS tracking device on a rented car and after it was returned to the rental company, used a key that he had copied beforehand from the car to steal it. The devices were hidden in the dashboard panel of the rental cars with batteries so that the whereabouts of the car could be determined without the car having to be on. He told police he had stolen eight cars since last spring with the help of his two former wives.
At the time of his arrest, he had three of the eight cars. The remaining five were sold over the Internet. He told police, "I wanted to drive my favorite cars. I sold the other five cars on the Internet." One of the cars, which was stolen on February 8th, was worth two million yen, which is the equivalent of $20,000. Another car, which was stolen in December, was worth 2.5 million yen, which is about $23,000. Ironically, his two ex-wives provided the means for Mitsuhisa's arrest. When asked for their licenses by the rental companies, they presented older ones that hadn't been updated to reflect their divorce, which listed Mitsuhisa's address.
This post is sponsored by GTX Corp, a company that produces GPS tracking devices.
We live in the digital age: Information is shared in mere seconds, load times are a thing of the past, and the Internet is a common necessity of any household. This recent advent in technology has changed who we are both personally and as a society. As any MySpace or Facebook user would know, so has the amount of personal information made available for others to see. In this short essay, I'll be discussing if GPS is just another breach in privacy.
Is GPS a blessing, or a curse? I've covered many areas of why it's changing the way we live for the better. It can be used to find us in hairy situations, play games, and track medical patients. The uses are endless. Some privacy advocates think differently. Seeing as most people carry their cell phones on them wherever they go, are we giving "Big Brother" a peak into our privacy? Who can access this information? During a recent court hearing on February 2nd in the 7th Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals, it was ruled that GPS is not an unconstitutional search. The police hadn't obtained a warrant to track the defendant's car using GPS, but they did have reasonable suspicion that the defendant was involved in criminal activities. Incidentally, they were correct. As I've already discussed, GPS is used by police agencies quite religiously. As United States citizens, we're protected by the Fourth Amendment against unreasonable searches and seizures. In this case, the judge ruled that tracking the car didn't constitute as unwarranted searching. Different courts are split on the issue. Some think that tracking a car with GPS is like police following a car, which isn't illegal. Other courts have ruled that police agencies are not allowed to use GPS information without actual evidence of wrongdoing. As you can see, it's a very split issue.
I want to hear your thoughts! Do you think the government using GPS information is another way for tabs to be kept or used in important situations, such as emergencies?
This post is sponsored by GTX Corp, a company that produces GPS tracking devices.
You've heard me say that GPS has a ton of practical uses; it's starting to sound like a broken record. In the face of crime, however, new uses are being developed everyday. I read an interesting article about how the police and other law enforcement agencies are using GPS tracking devices to combat crime. According to a recently written article by GovPro, the number of local and federal law enforcement agents using GPS has "skyrocketed" recently. In 2007, there was a 260% jump of GPS use by police than in 2006, with more than 1,000 units being given out to 200 local and federal agencies.
One way police are using GPS is tracking ex-convicts who are on parole. It works like an electronic fence. Police can see where parolees are at all times, such as when they're at work or going to potentially off-limits areas, such as schools. Suspected criminals can also be tracked. Although some might think this is an invasion of privacy, which I'll be writing about in a future post, it can lead to convictions and aid in the investigation. Another interesting example is how the police department of San Fransisco has recently created an online map detailing areas of recent crime over the past 90 days. The idea behind this is to give the public a better idea of where crime is occurring so that they can possibly avoid those areas. How do you think GPS can be implemented in law enforcement? Shoot me an email or leave a comment below!
This afternoon I received an email from Richard Vahrman about yesterday's post, "We got one!". Richard started a company called LocoMatrix, which has created a platform that allows everyone to create their own games to be played over GPS devices. The idea came around with the recent obesity problems in America amongst children. As we've become a more technologically savvy society, we've been spending increasingly more time in front of the computer screen or television rather than being outdoors. Richard and his wife, Moira, looked into ways that could allow children to enjoy video games while getting the proper amount of exercise. The solution? GPS modules that would be connected to each other using Bluetooth technology. Right now, the company is looking towards expanding into other countries and using the platform in areas such as art, education, and other types of sports. One area I think LocoMatrix should look into is creating a social network that allows users to share games that they create, subscribe to each other's latest game releases, and add friends - some sort of YouTube-like service, except instead of sharing videos, users share gaming ideas. A highscores page could also be made that allowed players to track each other's scores and compete to be the best. Like Glofun, I believe that LocoMatrix is stretching the limitations of GPS to make it a bigger part of our lives.
This post is sponsored by GTX Corp, a company that produces GPS tracking devices.
While I was waking up this morning, sipping on some coffee, I came across another interesting use of GPS - this time, in gaming. Glofun Labs has designed a game called RayGun, which is played on a cell phone and utilizes GPS. The idea behind the game is a bit of a Ghostbusters knock off. Your phone emits "special energy" that allows you to attract and track ghosts. When you come across an evil one, you aim your cell phone at it and zap! It's gone. As you get better, you'll be able to attract ghosts. It's a cheesy idea, but it seems like a fun way to get in shape and pretend you're some unemployed parapsychology professor who remove ghosts from the world.
The company also produces another game called GPS Fishtrap. The aim is to build your fortune by catching exotic fish as you walk to different places in the real world, say to work or school, and sell them on the market to become a rich tycoon. There are over 150,000 species of fish who all have their own population levels, trapping rates, and market values. As you walk, the program uses your GPS in your phone to calculate your physical location thus navigating you through the virtual sea. You also lay traps as you walk to your destination. The amount of fish you catch depends on where you're walking and how easy or hard that species is to nab. If you're tired of watching Deadliest Catch, this might be a fun game to get into. Both of these games are great examples of how diverse the uses of GPS technology are.
This post is sponsored by GTX Corp, a company that produces GPS tracking devices.
My apologies for the lack of activity. My ISP has been giving me trouble connecting and my Internet connection has been non-existent for a week. The issue was thankfully resolved this afternoon. Happy to be back on the web, I came across an interesting patent that was filed back on November 13, 2000. The idea behind the patent is to use GPS technology in athletics, more specifically, bicycle riding. A computer attached to the bike would store speed, distance, direction, and even bio-information such as pulse rates and blood pressure. The computer would store all of this information to memory and transmit it over the Internet, where it could be accessed later, according to the patent. However, I don't think it'd be very efficient sending information over the Internet because when you're exercising on your bicycle, you aren't exactly near a WiFi hotspot. Some cell phone providers allow you to use your cell to connect to their towers and thus gain Internet access through those means, but that's not very economical. Besides, a built-in Internet adapter would just up the price. Rather, how about simply inserting an USB key into the portable computer, storing the information there and upload it onto your computer when you get back home? GTX offers a number of location based services, but I think this is one idea they might want to look into. A software solution could also be provided that could interpret the data, create graphs, ect. Food for thought?
Sailing has always been one of my favorite hobbies. I've been at it for about seven years and I've sailed a variety of boats - from sunfish, which I learned to sail on, to 420's. It's a passion that nearly everyone in my family shares. My mother and uncle are both champion sailors who were taught how to sail when they were children. Their father, my grandfather, also has been sailing since he was a child. They've all won numerous awards and trophies for winning different races and events. It's certainly something that I aspire to.
One of the great things about sailing is it gives me sometime to think alone, out on the usually serene waters of the ocean. My usual choice to take out on the waters is a 420, a small and sleek boat designed for a crew of two. I normally sail solo, although I don't recommend you try it until you have a number of years of experience under your belt. Despite that, I take a precautions. I wear a dry-suit to keep me dry should I fall into the water, a life jacket, and a flare. One thing that I'm planning on using in my next expedition is a device called "GPS candy". It's a small GPS device that can be clipped onto clothes or life jackets that is tracked by a GPS satellite - they're even water-proof! In the case of an emergency, they're imperative. The next time you're out on the water, make sure you're safe.
