According to the New York Times, when Adam Savage, host of the popular science program “MythBusters,” posted a picture on Twitter of his car parked in front of his house, he let his fans know much more than that he drove a Toyota Land Cruiser.  Embedded in the image was a geotag, a bit of GPS data providing the longitude and latitude of where the photo was taken. Hence, he revealed exactly where he lived. And since the accompanying text was “Now it’s off to work,” potential thieves knew he would not be at home.

Geotagging is when a device such as an iPhone, Android smartphone or digital camera stores your location or geographical information, such as your GPS coordinates, within a photo or movie file (such as .jpg or .mov files). According to Wikipedia, a geotagged photograph is a photograph which is associated with a geographical location by geotagging.  Geotags are useful in helping people find a wide variety of location-specific information. For example, one can find images taken near a given location by entering latitude and longitude coordinates into a suitable image search engine.

The tricky thing about geo-tags is that they are invisible to the naked eye.   Geo-tags are part of the meta-data, or underlying data about the data, that accompanies each file. The problem occurs when you or someone you may know are geo-tagging your photos and then uploading them to the internet – especially social media sites like Twitter.  When social media users take a picture or video and upload it to their page, they are probably transmitting far more data than they think.

Browser plug-ins and certain software programs can reveal the geotag location information of your photos and movies to anyone who wants to see it. Location information (GPS coordinates) stored inside photos can reveal your home address, work address, places you visit often, etc.  Geotags can make it very easy for people – friends, family, bosses, spouses, parents – to know exactly where you are.

How to Protect Your Privacy and Disable Geotagging

iPhone – Go to Settings, General, Location Services. Here you can set which applications can access your GPS coordinates, or disable the feature entirely. If you use your GPS tracking your children’s whereabouts or to find local restaurants and services on the go – then don’t disable the features entirely.

BlackBerry – Click the camera icon, press the Menu button and choose “Options”. Set the “Geotagging” setting to “Disabled”. Save the updated settings.

Android -  Open the Camera application, select “Store Location” and set it to “Off”.

Facebook – removes geotags from uploaded photos, however other social networking sites do not. Look into your privacy settings and turn off location sharing.

Your Digital Camera and Mobile Phone – Make sure to turn off the location sharing settings in your camera and mobile phone. Be extra careful if you are uploading photos to a website where strangers will see them — such as Craigslist or Ebay.

Read further, here: NY Times.

T-Drive, complete with the capability to find real solutions to real street traffic situations. The software can determine what is the best route for a Beijing cab driver at any given time based on the accumulated Beijing cab drivers’’ knowledge of congested areas and shortcuts. According to Microsoft, “on average, the cabbies’ routes shave off 16 percent of a trip, saving 5 minutes for every 30 minutes of driving.”

T-Drive supposedly provides far more useful information than Google Maps or Mapquest. At least half the results provided by T-Drive were 20 percent faster than other tools, providing an overall time savings of 16 percent. That amounts to cutting your time behind the wheel by 5 minutes for every 30 minutes of traveling, according to the research paper.

Traditional online driving directions rely on the length of streets along with the posted speed limits but that approach has obvious flaws.  Most directions can’t account for even persistent traffic from things like the morning commute or a road closure but T-drive, which collected data on 3 months’ worth of cab rides, can.

The only bad news is that he system only works in Beijing and doesn’t include real-time info such as traffic accidents. But the researchers are confident the system will be able to provide real-time data in any city with a lot of cabs.

T-Drive is one of several mapping tools trying to make your commute easier and faster. University of California researchers are developing a system that uses GPS info received  from drivers’ cell phones.

Here are the complete Microsoft research paper (.pdf) outlining the findings.

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/11/cabbies-help-microsoft-improve-online-mapping/

Should law enforcement agents be required to get a warrant before placing GPS tracking devices in a vehicle?

Overall the legal system has been divided on whether the police must obtain a warrant before placing a GPS tracking device on a vehicle. In the most recent case, the FBI says it can place GPS tracking devices in a person’s vehicle and that they do not need a warrant. The FBI sees GPS as an electronic version of physical surveillance used to gather information for an investigation.  But civil rights groups consider the GPS devices more intrusive.

There will no doubt be many more federal and state court rulings about the constitutionality of warrantless GPS monitoring. It is never easy to fit modern technology into the broad privacy principles that the drafters of the federal and state constitutions laid out.

In some cases, if someone is caught doing something illegal, and 1) the GPS tracking system information was used to convict him or her and 2) the GPS tracking system was placed by law enforcement without a warrant,  convictions are not possible or overturned. But in other cases, courts have upheld the use of evidence obtained by placing a GPS device on a suspect’s car without a warrant.

For example, here are some recent legal decisions effecting the privacy rights of all people living in the U.S.

January 2010

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that it’s permissible for law enforcement to attach GPS tracking devices to vehicles without search warrants.

August 2010
Giving privacy-rights advocates an important victory, a federal appeals court ruled that police conducted an illegal warrant-less search by planting a GPS tracking device in a drug-case suspect’s car and tracking him for a month. The ruling said that the police violated the suspect’s Fourth Amendment rights. The judge said, “planting a GPS tracking device and then following that person for several weeks conflicted with an individual’s reasonable expectations for privacy.”

November 2009
New York State’s highest court ruled in 2009 that tracking a person via the global positioning system (GPS) without a warrant violated his right to privacy.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/08/07/129048117/police-use-of-gps-on-suspect-s-car-ruled-illegal-search?ps=rs

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130833487

Zakaria says that the key to getting growth and middle-class jobs back is that we make massive investments, investments in technology, investments in research and development, investments in infrastructure. That is in a sense, investing in the middle class, because that is investing in the industries of the future, the industries that will create middle-class jobs.  “Perhaps the most intelligent investment we can make is in human capital, particularly in talented people in science, math and computers,” said Zakaria.

According to Zakaria, “We used to spend 3 percent of GDP on research and development. We don’t do that now even though Obama has raised it a lot. I would argue that we actually need to do a lot more than we did in the 1950s, because in the 1950s there were millions of jobs for semiskilled labor, manufacturing jobs, making steel, making cars. All those jobs are under enormous competitive pressure from both technology and globalization.”

According to Zakaria,  “We need jobs in new industries, industries of the future, knowledge based industries, scientific industries, including telematics and GPS tracking system technology. To get those jobs and to make sure that American companies dominate them will take huge investments.”

1)  If you are going to be tracking a person or a small piece of property, ensure that you look for a small, inconspicuous, easy-to-install tracker.

2) For tracking a personal vehicle, you will want something that will track your vehicle both indoors and outdoors, and one that will run on the car’s battery so you don’t have to worry about replacing a dead battery.

3) If you are concerned with tracking a fleet of vehicles, you will need a tracker that will allow you to customize settings for different vehicles, that provides you with convenient text message and email alerts. Trackers like the FieldLogix GPS Fleet Management boast each of these features plus provides in-depth performance metrics,  identifies problems such as excessive speeding and idling, inaccurate time-sheets, unauthorized vehicle stops and personal vehicle use. Fleet GPS tracking systems should always be integrated with Garmin navigation and Google Maps.

The Best Value in Fleet GPS Vehicle Tracking Systems:

FieldLogix – No one else in the market has such a powerful, yet cost-effective solution for tracking fleet vehicles and equipment.

Southwest pilot Kent Perry said the changes are based on the same global positioning satellite (GPS) technology you might be using in your car, only more sophisticated. Now the landing points can be programmed into the plane’s computer before takeoff. Because of precise GPS data, the plane “knows” its position and altitude at all times. I’m not touching the throttles or the yoke,” Perry says as we “fly” over the lights of Chicago. “I’m basically running it with this panel up here.” The plane uses the information to approach the runway, and Perry takes over just before touchdown.

“If we save one minute off each flight — which doesn’t sound like a lot — we win,” said Newton, who’s been in charge of making the transition at Southwest. “We have 3,000 flights a day. You start adding all that up and it’s a significant amount of time in the air and gas used. Environmentally it’s better for everybody.”

“We’re changing the way Southwest Airlines flies,” said C. David Newton, Southwest pilot and program manager. “We’re modifying airplanes. We’re training crews. We’re building infrastructure.”

The flight is smoother. Air traffic controllers know exactly where aircraft are at all times, instead of having to wait for the relatively slow radar systems of the past.That means aircraft can use more direct routes and can fly closer together.

http://www.wfaa.com/news/business/GPS-serves-up-precision-to-shave-off-time-for-Southwest-flights-91757794.html

The GPS tracking devices are fitted into the rhino’s horn by drilling a small hole in the inert or dead part of the horn. As well as GPS tracking, the devices are equipped with an alarm system to notify game wardens of unusual Rhino movement or location. According to Rusty Hustler, head of security for North West Parks Board,”There are a number of alarms that can be programmed: one for excessive movement, so if the rhino starts running, and another that goes off if the rhino sleeps for longer than six hours, which is abnormal.” He added that in the future, the devices could even help to track rhino horns that were taken by poachers to help combat the illegal trade.

One rhino is killed every 30 hours, the worst case scenario in the last two decades, according to the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF). Over 200 Rhinos have been slaughtered in South Africa in 2010.  The animals are brutally being killed by poachers  killed because Rhino horns are sold on the black market for thousands of dollars.  Rhino horns are considered valuable because they are considered a prized ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine. In some parts of Asia, the local population believes that it can cure cancer.

90% of the world’s Rhino population lives in South Africa.  The remaining Rhino population is primarily in Vietnam and has been wiped out due to poaching.  According to Wikipedia, the two African species of Rhinos are the White Rhinocerous and the Black Rhinocerous. In 2007, the wild Rhino population was an estimated 17,480  animals. If the poaching continues, the animals could end up extinct over the next decade.

For more information, please go to:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9116000/9116106.stm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Rhinoceros

The five up and coming auto technologies highlighted in the Edmunds article include:

* Telematics and GPS Tracking – Voice activation, text-to-speech technology, audible RSS feeds, and vehicle tracking systems are being upgraded and developed.

* Connected Cars – Updated maps, local services and listings, real-time traffic information and much more are now available from your dashboard. Features like Ford’s Sync system and connected navigation such as Google Maps Navigation bring “cloud computing” to your car’s interior.

* Next-Generation Head-Up Displays – Holographic Laser Projection (HLP) display information on the windshield and infrared cameras “paint” the edges of a road during low visibility.

* Advanced Driver Assistance Systems – Lane-departure warning, forward-collision warning, blind-spot detection and pedestrian detection can help protect drivers from even themselves.

* In-Car Apps – Soon drivers will be able to download a wide variety of apps to create customizable dashboards, navigation, communication and entertainment options within their vehicles.

What is a Telematics System?

According to Wikipedia, vehicle telematics  can be described as: the integrated use of telecommunications and informatics, for application in vehicles and with control of vehicles on the move.  Telematics includes but is not limited to Global Positioning System (GPS) technology integrated with computers and mobile communications technology in automotive navigation systems.

Basically, vehicle telematics systems combine GPS navigation technology with the ability to communicate all kinds of information – to a computer software program, to a mobile phone, to someone in an email or text message, etc. Many people are familiar with, for example, the OnStar vehicle telematics system.

Not only is OnStar capable of providing basic navigation and driving directions, but the system can automatically notify emergency services of your exact location in case you get into an  accident.  The Onstar telematics/GPS system is now able to tie in with smartphone apps so vehicle owners can remotely access features such as door lock/unlock and remote air-conditioning/heating start-up for those unbearably hot or cold days.  Additionally, OnStar recently unveiled future features that will allow drivers to update their Facebook status and check their news feed using voice activation and text-to-speech technology. Imagine no more texting and driving – something that we can all benefit from!

For businesses who own or manage a fleet of vehicles, telematics enabled Fleet Management Systems such as FieldLogix are becoming a critical “must” to stay ahead of the competition by reducing fleet operating expenses and inefficiencies. FieldLogix is a “Green” GPS Fleet Management System that is based upon ground-breaking telematics technology. Not only does the FieldLogix telematics / GPS system track and navigate fleet vehicles, but the system can help business owners to reduce fuel costs, reduce vehicle emissions, improve customer service, reduce vehicle maintenance, and cut labor costs – amongst many, many other benefits.

On a typical day, the public school system in St. Paul is responsible for transporting an average of 38,000 students. The school’s transportation department often receive dozens of calls a day from parents complaining that the bus never picked up their child. Until recently, before the
GPS systems were installed, it was the school bus driver’s word against the parent’s. That has all changed since the school district installed a GPS fleet tracking system in every one of the school district’s 300 buses.

The St. Paul School District, which contracts with five bus companies, is now heavily relying on the GPS tracking data, because the data is so reliable and and accurate. The GPS tracking data simply cannot be disputed in a he-said she-said argument. According to Harold Turnquist, transportation director, “it gives us a medium to access where the bus is located at all times. If we get a parent that says we missed a stop, we know immediately if that’s in fact true.”

According to transportation coordinator Gary Cox, on a recent morning, he used the program to track a new bus driver who had gotten lost the day before. When that happens, supervisors are notified so they can get drivers back on track and avoid future problems. Until recently, they would have to dispatch a supervisor to a bus stop to make sure the bus was making its scheduled stops. That’s no longer necessary.

The district tested the GPS fleet tracking system for about 12 months on a handful of buses and then decided last year to purchase the GPS devices for its entire fleet. The school transportation department can now track the buses’ speed and location as well as the time it waited for a student. “The GPS tracking devices cost around $360 per unit,” Turnquist said. “That cost, along with a $1,400 per month tracking fee, is folded into the district’s contract with the companies.”

http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/105310563.html?page=1&c=y

The ruling, which sets precedent for Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, holds that “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures” doesn’t apply to driveways. But the Ninth Circuit doesn’t make precedent for the whole country, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia recently ruled that extended tracking via GPS requires a warrant. But, since conflicting precedent has now been set on the West Coast, this issue is bound for the Supreme Court.

In the case, DEA agents secretly planted a GPS vehicle tracking system on Juan Pineda-Moreno’s Jeep at night while it was parked outside his home, and then used it to pinpoint the illegal marijuana crop he was cultivating. Pineda-Moreno appealed the case on the grounds that the secret GPS tracking violated his Fourth Amendment rights, but a three-judge panel denied his appeal in January and a larger panel ruled this month against reconsidering the case.

This decision upsets years of legal precedent establishing “curtilage” (legalese for the property surrounding a house) as protected under the Fourth Amendment, and represents an officiously narrow interpretation of the “open fields doctrine” test established in United States v. Dunn in 1987. In that case, DEA agents tracked a large shipment of chemicals used to manufacture drugs to Mr. Dunn, a meth lab operator. Agents crossed his fence, looked through the barn window, found the meth lab, executed a search warrant and convicted Dunn of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine.

The prosecution argued that, as per Hester v. United States, Fourth Amendment protection does not extend to the “open fields.” Dunn argued that the case didn’t concern an “open field”; it concerned a barn surrounded by barbed wire. Dunn’s conviction was thrown out by the Supreme Court, and established the four-point test of whether curtilage privacy protections apply.

From the ruling, “curtilage questions should be resolved with particular reference to four factors: the proximity of the area claimed to be curtilage to the home, whether the area is included within an enclosure surrounding the home, the nature of the uses to which the area is put, and the steps taken by the resident to protect the area from observation by people passing by.”

In the majority opinion, the Ninth Circuit Court ruled that since Pineda-Moreno’s driveway wasn’t enclosed and was open to passersby like delivery men and neighborhood children, it didn’t pass the Dunn test for curtilage. Never mind that in the Dunn opinion, the majority writes “we do not suggest that combining these factors produces a finely tuned formula that, when mechanically applied, yields a “correct” answer to all extent-of-curtilage questions.”

For more information, visit:   Secret GPS Tracking is Legal