Threats to GPS

 The Sunday NY Times has a guest column by Kate Murphy that explains why we need to update, strengthen and supplement our GPS network. She mentions attacks and interference. And, since we land planes with GPS, you should care. But she didn't mention the FCC as a potential threat, as they are handing over some of those public airwaves to private interests.

As a guest column, she also didn't have space to talk about supplements to GNSS, like RTK networks.

A threat to GPS

Should the FCC let a company use more of the commercial spectrum to support broadband wireless communications even if it potentially compromises GPS? With over 5 billion GPS receivers in use around the world, it is a big issue. Last year that question emerged as Ligado sought permission despite initial opposition. Now an engineering panel has found that indeed it would be a conflict. Remember that your autonomous car or the airplane you are on rely on strong GPS signals, so this isn't just about hikers.

Keep an eye on this one.

UAV/GPS Workshop at Rutgers

 Are you interested in learning how to use your smartphone or tablet as a GPS or GIS data collector while you’re out in the field? Are you curious about Drone Mapping? Join us on Monday, December 11th and Tuesday, December 12th for informative and interactive day long workshops.
To register, please visit http://gps-mapping.com/workshops/.


On December 11th, the workshop will explore the growing trend of using smartphones and tablets in the field as GPS/GIS data collection devices (BYOD – Bring Your Own Device). Carrying a specialized “GPS handheld” is no longer necessary to collect high-accuracy, feature-rich data. How accurate is the GPS chip inside your iPad? How can you get sub- meter or centimeter accuracy using your iPad, iPhone or Android device? Which software should you use on your smartphone/tablet to collect GPS/GIS data?

On December 12th, learn about how you no longer need a traditional FAA Pilot license or a $50,000 drone to start using UAVs for mapping and inspection. The FAA rules changed last summer so it’s much easier to start flying now.  Consumer drones are getting better, faster, less expensive and easier to fly.  The workshop will explore the current FAA rules for flying drones and what it takes to obtain a drone pilot certificate. It will also offer a discussion about different types of drones, costs, and capabilities. By attending you will learn about examples of products and data you can produce with an inexpensive drone.

Registration questions? Call Eric at (541) 829-3443 or ericpg@gps-mapping.com
Click here to see a flyer for more information and for a mail in registration form.

Social GPS versus local residents

That great cut through that helped shave several minutes off your commute is no longer a secret due to Waze. The residents of the cut through neighborhood may be more upset than you. And, as the Washington Post writes, some of them have started fighting back by posting false information.

GPS position at NJ American Water

New Jersey American Water is looking for an Operations Technician GPS/Asset Control. This is an opportunity to spend some time outside while also getting GPS/GIS experience. 

Here goes German

It looks like Here is going to be German. That is big news in the geospatial business world. Trust me.

Satnav maps

PC Pro offers a in-depth look behind the curtain of SatNav maps.

GPS and privacy

A NJ Appellate Court judge has ruled that, under certain circumstances, planting a GPS tracking device in a car does not violate that driver's privacy. This case is about a cheating spouse where both spouses have an ownership interest in the car, so they could be arguing that they are just keeping track of their own car.

While the long-term implications of the ruling may still take some time to play out, the media attention this case has gotten this week, added to the recent iPhone privacy issues, is another demonstration of the level of interest people have in the link between GPS and privacy. 

You could just click on this little logo to see how we are tracking you RIGHT NOW!

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Save GPS

Do you really want you next flight to be based on sight instead of GPS?  If not, you might want to check out the Coalition to Save Our GPS.  The good news is that this appears to primarily be a problem in the US (it is a problem being created by the FCC), so wars overseas and international flights should be unaffected.

Did the earthquake mess up GPS?

Actually, just a little says Slate.

Too much GPS?

Now that GPS underlies 6-7% of GDP in Europe, things are great, right?  The BBC says it is a problem.

Not so private

Can your cell phone provide give your location history to the authorities without a warrant?  Maybe.

1:1 mapping

This GPS Drawing from Warwick required 238 miles of walking.

Tracking people and things with GPS

The NY Times' David Pogue files one of his patented video reviews of a consumer-grade GPS tracker called Zoombak. It makes the technology seem like it has really arrived, even if so much of the data we all want is still actually hard to get.

GPS as paintbrush and exercise coach

The NYTimes published a lengthy piece on GPS as a tool for running. I know that if I am ever going to get back into running it is going to take something more than GPS. But the Times talks to an artist who runs in the shape of drawings - he draws with GPS. This isn't a new phenomenon (gpsdrawing.com has been online for years), but the ubiquity of GPS is changing things.

For instance, one runner used it to raise money for charity. And the article points to Arizona researchers fighting childhood obesity with GPS:

As part of a $1.5 million grant from the Department of Agriculture, the researchers plan to use GPS drawing to help fight obesity by luring children into fitness with technology.

But one ne'er-do-well turned Ft McHenry into a big flower.

The GPS satellites are starting to reach an age where the network isn't as robust and reliable as it used to be. But these satellites, property of the United States that is shared freely with the world, aren't free. And now some are failing.

Wired Epicenter looks at the matter and points out that a) we can lose a few sats and still have a complete network, but b) a GPS tax might be the best thing for GPS.

In any case, after you read their short piece and the longer GAO review, you should come up with a solution, or pretty soon the only GPS receivers we'll be looking at will be museum pieces like this one from the Smithsonian.

Slashdot takes a look at the bigger picture and suggests that the overall satellite constellations will be changing towards larger but fewer sats. That just doesn't work for GPS right now.

GPS on school buses

New York is debating whether they should invest in the technology to track their school buses. It turns out to be a tiny bit more complicated than they first thought.

Geocaching as a gentle digital sport

The Medium in today's Sunday Times Magazine is a feature on the GPS-based sport of geocaching. While the author, Virginia Heffernan, seemed a bit puzzled at first she also clearly warmed to the activity, which involves using a handheld GPS unit to guide you to a hidden treasure. By the end she calls it "sweet" and likened it to an "earnest guidebook to life on Earth." But there is no mention of how new GPS tools, like GPS-enabled phones, are being used.

GPS for kids

PBS' Dragonfly recently ran an episode in which kids compared GPS with a compass and map.

GPS Phones vs. GPS Navigation

It is a little hard to be sure about this trend (as measure by Google Trends), but it looks like GPS phones are catching up with GPS navigation as search terms. Which means that they are increasingly becoming part of the everyday American experience.