All articles tagged with #gps tracking
Kent Kubasta, a 72-year-old Ohio man, pleaded no contest to illegally tracking a Pokémon card delivery driver using a GPS device. He received 12 months of probation, a $500 fine, and mandatory electronic monitoring. The case highlights extreme measures taken by collectors to secure high-demand cards during the franchise's 30th anniversary.
Pixel Watch 5 is a solid upgrade that brings on-device Gemini, notably faster tasks, refreshed Gemini UI, improved GPS accuracy, and strong battery charging, while maintaining a similar form factor to Pixel Watch 4. Key new features like the workout builder and blood pressure/insulin trend reports are delayed until September, and some users may face a steep setup with additional app updates. The watch offers two-day battery life alongside a replaceable screen and battery, and includes handy gestures and a revamped At A Glance system, but its AI-created watch faces are more of a novelty than a necessity. Overall, it justifies the $50 price bump for many users, though upgrade from Pixel Watch 4 isn’t essential.
Researchers fitted five Australian magpies with GPS trackers to map movements, but within minutes untagged flockmates helped each other remove the harnesses, turning a failed tracking pilot into a notable observation of cooperation and highlighting how tracking gear can affect behavior and data in social animals.
Fi unveils the Fi Ultra GPS collar, the first dog tracker to combine GPS with a cellular modem and Starlink satellite connectivity, so owners can see real‑time location data via an app even where cellular coverage is absent. When out of range, the device uses Starlink direct‑to‑mobile to relay a dog’s position, with geofencing alerts, and it can emit vibrations or sounds to coax the pet home, all powered by a multi‑day battery.
Scientists confirmed how the famous sailing stones at Racetrack Playa move: during a rare winter, a shallow pond freezes into a 3–6 mm ice sheet that cracks into panels; a light breeze pushes these panels, sliding heavy rocks across the mud at a walking pace. The 2013–2014 study installed a weather station, time-lapse cameras, and GPS loggers, capturing major moves (one rock ≈65 m in 16 minutes; total trails up to 224 m) and showing that movement is episodic and dependent on precise conditions, while older theories of hurricane winds or thick ice are unlikely. The finding explains many trails, though not all on the playa, and highlights how subtle forces can shape dramatic landscapes.
Greenland is gradually shifting northwest and changing shape due to ice accumulation, melting, and geological forces, which could impact navigation and understanding of climate change effects. Researchers used 20 years of GPS data to analyze these movements, revealing complex interactions between tectonics, glacial rebound, and ice melt, with implications for future modeling and navigation in the region.
A PhD study tracked Australian bearded dragons with tiny backpacks containing GPS and sensors, revealing that faster lizards were more likely to die young, contrary to expectations. The research highlights complex survival strategies and the challenges of tracking small animals in the wild.
The Apple Watch Series 9 disappoints by not including dual-frequency GPS, a feature that would provide more accurate location tracking. While many fitness brands have already incorporated this technology into their watches, the Series 9 only offers GPS-only tracking, which can be unreliable and result in diverging mileage. The addition of dual-frequency GPS would not only improve accuracy but also put pressure on other smartwatch makers to follow suit. Location accuracy should be the norm rather than a niche tool in mainstream smartwatches.
Fitbit's latest update for the Sense 2 and Versa 4 introduces a new "dynamic GPS" feature that uses a user's phone to track movements instead of the smartwatch's built-in sensors, helping to preserve battery life. The update also includes additional features such as daily readiness scores and menstrual cycle tile information, new watch faces, and bug fixes and improvements.
A study of GPS tracking data on land animals during Covid-19 closures showed they roamed farther and appeared more relaxed without humans around to bother them. The study involved 175 wildlife researchers and tracked 2,300 terrestrial mammals, including bears, deer, elephants, and giraffes. The research suggests that even small changes in human behavior could be quite beneficial for wildlife. The anthropause allowed ecologists to show how perceptive other creatures are to the presence of humans and how quickly they can alter their behavior when we aren’t bothering them.
The anonymous client who hired a detective to track Reno's mayor with a GPS device is arguing in Nevada's Supreme Court that he has a First Amendment right to remain anonymous. The client's lawyers argue that the First Amendment protects anonymous political activity and that the use of private investigators to investigate elected officials is just politics as usual. The client is seeking to overturn a Washoe County judge's order that he name the person who hired him to keep tabs on Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve and a county commissioner before the November election.
A rare black bear, the first to make its home in the Santa Monica Mountains in decades, has been tagged for research by National Park Service biologists. The male bear, estimated to be 3 or 4 years old, was captured and fitted with an ear tag and GPS radio collar. Biologists think the bear could be the cub that made headlines in July 2021 wandering through a Thousand Oaks neighborhood. The Santa Monica Mountains haven’t had a resident bear population since the late 1800s, when grizzly bears last inhabited the region before they were hunted to extinction in California.
New York City will distribute 500 free Apple AirTags to residents to combat the rise in car thefts, with a focus on precincts with the highest number of grand larceny auto thefts. The GPS tracking devices can be hidden in a vehicle and will automatically trace it if it is stolen. The AirTags were donated by a local nonprofit, and the NYPD’s Crime Prevention Unit is working on a plan for equitable distribution. Car thefts in the city have risen by over 13% this year, with the 43rd Precinct in The Bronx hit particularly hard.
The United States Drug Enforcement Agency used an AirTag to track illegal drug making paraphernalia sent from China to a narcotics manufacturer in the U.S. The DEA opted to stick an AirTag inside the package to track its movements, which appears to be the first time an AirTag has been used in such a way. The recipient of the package was ultimately not charged in federal court, but he did end up being charged by the state of Massachusetts where the package was delivered.