“Seen & Heard” is a monthly feature of GPS World magazine, traveling the world to capture interesting and unusual news stories involving the GNSS/PNT industry.
Lost and found
Taking video from an airplane window 300 feet up carries its share of risks, discovered Brazilian documentary filmmaker Ernesto Galiotto. The bad news: A strong wind snatched his iPhone 6 from his hand. The good news: GPS enabled him to recover the phone, which suffered only a minor crack in its protective cover. The best news: The phone captured the entire 15-second drop on video. The incident happened over Peró beach 75 miles east of Rio de Janeiro, reported Brazilian news outlet G1.
Photo: Land Life Company via Trimble
Finding particular trees in the forest
Locating and documenting a single tree in a forest planting can be difficult. Technicians at Land Life, an Amsterdam-based land restoration company, have switched from using QR codes and readers for tree identification to GNSS. By replacing the QR codes with accurate GNSS positioning, Land Life produced a four-fold increase in monitoring productivity. The company measures sapling height and health and combines that data with tree species, location, soils and environmental conditions to support planning and care. Field teams now use a Trimble R1 GNSS receiver to stream positioning data via Bluetooth to their smartphones.
Screenshot from video of Escoffier’s rescue/VendéeGlobe
Answering an SOS
Yacht skipper Kevin Escoffier faced disaster during the Vendée Globe solo round-the-world sailing race. His yacht was pounded apart in raging seas 840 nautical miles southwest of Cape Town, South Africa. Once his raft hit the water, its rescue beacon activated. Through the Cospas-Sarsat service, the signal moved from Galileo satellites to ground stations in Toulouse, France, to Canberra, Australia, then to race directors, who sent the closest competitor to assist.
Photo: yogesh_more/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images
No stopping required
India will be free of toll booths in two years, said Nitin Gadkar, the country’s transportation minister. According to the Times of India, the government will roll out GPS-based tolling across its national highway sytem. Tolls will be deducted directly from drivers’ bank accounts based on distance traveled. While commercial vehicles registered after January 2019 have tracking systems, the government has yet to outline plans to install GPS receivers in older private vehicles.