Global Positioning System (GPS)
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Citizen Cartographers Fill The Gaps In Maps
...[M]aps are a vital resource, especially when deciding what infrastructure to build or in the event of a humanitarian crisis. Now teams of mappers are working to chart some of the most obscure corners of the developing world using OpenStreetMap (OSM), the citizen-mapping tool that today has over 1 million registered users.
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Crowd-Sourced Maps May Help When Disasters Hit
A free online map of the world that is created by its users is helping developing nations become more resilient to disasters, the Open Source Convention in Portland, United States, heard last month (22-26 July). Read More »
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Dadaab: Using Mobile Technology For Large Surveys In Emergency Settings
In August 2011, Internews led a joint communication and information needs assessment with Radio Ergo / International Media Support (IMS) and Star FM of Kenya, with significant support from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). This assessment aimed at understanding the information needs of refugees in Dadaab and exploring ways to improve the flow of communication between refugees, aid agencies and host communities. Read More »
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Data.gov Moving To An Open Source Platform
The team that manages Data.gov is well on its way to making the government data repository open source using a new back-end called the Open Government Platform, officials said during a Web discussion Wednesday. Read More »
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Facebook Acquires ProtoGeo, Maker Of Activity Tracking App Moves
Social networking giant Facebook has acquired Finland-based fitness app maker Protogeo for an undisclosed sum, according to a blog post from ProtoGeo. The company’s high-profile app, called Moves, passively tracks a user’s daily activity using the phone’s built-in accelerometer in order to provide all-day tracking without killing the phone’s battery.
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Freematics - Vehicle Telematics With Open-Source Hardware
Making it possible, accessible, and affordable to carry out vehicle telematics projects with open-source hardware and mobile gadgets Read More »
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Get Ready For Some Really Bad Space Weather
That’s the message from four space scientists at the John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory who warned of increased solar activity -- which can disrupt all types of communications, including GPS signals -- with the sun pumping out more solar flares over the next five years than any time since 2003. Read More »
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Global Geospatial Group To Promote Equitable Data Access
A high-level global group promoting geospatial information could help developing countries gain better access to data to help tackle issues such as climate change, conservation and disaster management. Read More »
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Mexican Team Builds Navigation Device For Blind People
Mexican researchers have developed an artificial intelligence navigation system for partially or totally blind people that can sense its surroundings in three dimensions. The prototype device is designed to allow users to freely move from one point to another avoiding both static and moving obstacles, and can learn to recognise colours and utility bills. Read More »
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Networked Intelligent Bicycles Are Transforming Urban Riding
The world’s first open source piece of hardware was the bicycle, according to the Open Source Hardware Association. To be more precise, it was the draisine, introduced as a two-wheeled human-propelled walking machine in 1817. Read More »
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No Existing Technology Can Ensure Drone Safety, GAO Official Says
No suitable technology currently exists to ensure that drones will “sense and avoid” other aircraft, Gerald Dillingham of the Government Accountability Office recently told lawmakers, adding that the Federal Aviation Administration lacks sufficient dedicated frequency spectrum to operate unmanned aircraft systems in domestic airspace. Read More »
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Obama: Technology Will Make Health Insurance Transparent
President Barack Obama signed an executive order in May that made all federal data freely accessible in a form that can be used by software developers, which has come to be known as “machine-readable format.” [...] Read More »
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Seven Ways 3D Lidar Is Transforming Our Physical World
Picture a technology that creates perfect 3D replicas used for archeological discovery, crime-scene investigation and virtual-reality entertainment—and I'm not talking about the Enterprise Holodeck. Far from science fiction, it already exists and it's called lidar. [...]
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Student Proposes Open Source Alternative To GPS Based On Seismic Waves
Global positioning system (GPS) satellites are great for getting around and looking up directions and smartphones and tablets, but they are controlled by the US Defense Department, which has degraded public signals in the past, and one European art student thinks that an open source alternative based on ground vibrations would be better. Read More »
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We're Close To Strengthening The Privacy Of Your Cell Phone's Location (But Only In California)
On Wednesday, an American legislature took the most affirmative step so far to limit cell-phone location tracking by law enforcement. The California Location Privacy Act, passed with bipartisan support by the state's Assembly, could protect the location data created by citizens' cell phones, tablets and computers. Read More »
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