Tag: gps tracking watch

Keruve 2010 GPS Tracking Systems For Kids and Alzheimer Patients

Keruve, a Spanish GPS tracking device manufacturer, has recently announced its Keruve 2010 GPS tracking system. This system will build off of its already existent GPS tracking watch and portable GPS tracking receiver. The way the current model works is that the person who needs to be tracked wears the GPS wrist watch that is part of the system. Then, when the tracker wants to know where the trackee is, they just press a button on the receiver and they are given the person’s location to the nearest street address.

This is a relatively simple concept to those that are familiar with personal GPS tracking systems, but something that might sound revolutionary to those just becoming aware of this powerful technology.

But the new Keruve 2010 improves upon this design in several different ways. For starters, there has been improvement on the appearance of the GPS tracking watch that is part of the system. Now there are far more models to choose from including three watches for men, two for women, and a unisex model. All watches now have larger numbers for easier reading by young and old users alike.

It also now includes no less then four positioning systems to cycle through in cases where, for whatever reason, the most accurate GPS system is not available. While the most accurate is still going to be GPS bases, it also features a Keruve indoor position finder when the personal GPS tracking watch is unable to find a GPS signal, a VisionCellid location system, and a GSM network system. This is very useful because in almost any circumstance you are going to have some idea where the watch is.

They have also made some significant improvement to the GPS tracking receiver. There are now clearly labeled buttons on the touch screen, making it easier to find what you are looking for. They have expanded the display to 4.2″ and increased the font size of the displayed addresses to improve readability. A new ergonomic design rounds out the receiver improvements.

While the already existing model was a solid, though expensive, real time GPS tracking system, the improvements introduced by the Keruve 2010 should provide a better user experience in both terms of ease of use and functionality.

Keruve GPS Tracking System Marketing

Below are a few of the ways in which the Keruve tracking watch was marketed in the native Spain. The commercial below is in Spanish, but I have translated the information about the video into English using Google Translate with some minor clean up:

Presentation Keruve. Keruve as a direct locator specialist for people with Alzheimer’s disease in the first stage. With the Keruve GPS watch, a person with Alzheimer’s can continue walking as they did before, and the family with the receiver can know where the Keruve watch is whenever they want.

As you can see, people on the other side of the Atlantic run into the same problems that Americans do. We all have children that can get lost in the mix and milieu of people in our modern societies. We have older relatives whose bodies have outlived their minds and suffer from the crippling disease of dementia, with the most common manifestation being Alzheimer’s.

The next video is more of a news story and is particularly focused on the use of the Keruve GPS tracking system in Alzheimer’s patients:

Demonstration of the Keruve personal locator at the residence Santa Elena in Seville, Spain. Video provides an explanation of performance and interview with one of the inventors and the director of the association of relatives of Alzheimer patients in Seville, Spain.

Now that we have seen that this device is marketed both as a child tracking system and an Alzheimer’s tracking system let’s briefly discuss both of these applications.

Keruve GPS Tracking System For Kids

Tracking systems for kids are nothing new on GPS For Today. We have seen the Amber Alert GPS tracking system and how it tries to provide reliable information for parents on the location of their children. Unlike the Amber Alert GPS, the Keruve GPS tracking system for kids uses a watch rather than a stand alone tracking unit. This has its advantages and disadvantages.

The first advantage is that the watches are now much more natural looking than they were before. One of the biggest issues that people have with GPS tracking watches for kids is that they are often too bulky and obviously a safety device. Not so with the Keruve GPS watch. It has a sleek design that makes it look like a real watch. Though it might be too large for the wrists of the smallest children, it should work fine for teenagers and some pre-teens.

Another advantage of a watch is that they are usually on the wrist of your child. Sure, sometimes kids take off a watch when they play – but the Keruve is not able to be taken off unless they have a special tool to do so. Without that tool your child will be wearing that watch until you take it off from them.

Some disadvantages of a watch are that they are easily discovered and removed by kidnappers, they suffer some serious wear and tear if your child is a boy and they like to adventure, and that they must be worn to be effective. While these disadvantages can all be avoided, it does take a considerable amount of effort to do so.

Keruve GPS Tracking System For Alzheimer’s

A relatively new and novel idea is to use GPS tracking for Alzheimer’s patients. This is a great idea since a good portion of those that suffer from this form of dementia will “wander” at some point. There can be little that is more disturbing than loosing a elderly relative who appears to be healthy and sane but is unable to remember the recent history. They can sometimes suffer greatly when they are lost and separated from their loved ones and familiar surroundings. Real time GPS tracking systems are designed to help track down Alzheimer’s suffers quickly so that they can be restored to comfortable and safe surroundings.

GPS tracking watches for Alzheimer’s patients work well because they are attached to the wrist and if the patient has had a long history of wearing a wrist watch they should have no problem wearing this GPS device. If they do not regularly wear a watch then it might be difficult to get them to do so on their own. If this is the case you might want to pursue other avenues of tracking them or talk with your doctor to come up with ideas on how to introduce a new routine into their life.

Keruve 2010 GPS Tracking System Screen Shots

Here are some screen shots from the Keruve 2010:

Keruve 2010 GPS Tracking System Larger Numbers

Keruve 2010 GPS Tracking System Location ProcessKeruve 2010 GPS Tracking System Look and Feel

As you can see the Keruve 2010 GPS tracking system is an interesting bit of technology. Marketed as a child and Alzheimer’s GPS tracking watch it offers effective tracking services in a user friendly and Internet-less environment. Wherever you have a cell phone signal you can use the Keruve GPS tracking system, making it great for those in urban settings who want to track a person via GPS.

GPS Tracking Watches

GPS tracking watches combine the power of GPS tracking technology with the usefulness of personal time pieces. They are small, highly portable, and extremely useful in several different applications. In many cases, these watches can be a bit bulky – but they are still usually lightweight and agile. Some of the latest devices produced by Garmin are the same size as a “normal” sport or fitness watch, even with the GPS device built in.

When you step back and get the big picture about GPS tracking watches you will find the most GPS watches fall within one of two main categories: kids watches and fitness watches.

Contents:

GPS Tracking Watches for Kids

GPS tracking watches for kids are all about one thing: safety. These devices are meant to connect parents to their children in such a way that parents are continually aware of their child’s location and in the unlikely event of an abduction or kidnapping the parent will have enough information to locate their child quickly with the help of the police or other law enforcement agency.

These devices are extremely difficult to find, but there are some available at online retailers. Brickhouse Security, as an example, does have a GPS tracking watch designed for kids that is featured in the picture to the left. This little device is extremely powerful – not only does it provide very precise location information, but it also has a distress Alarm and a built-in cellular speakerphone that will allow your child to contact you, the police, or emergency personnel if the need ever arose.

Not many companies have created such fine watches. One reason why these devices are so difficult to come by is that for them to work effectively at making the GPS information available to parents is that they must find a way to transmit the signal out to a data processing center. The watch must be a data pusher rather than just a data logger (like fitness GPS tracking watches).

Turning a watch into a data pusher is no small feat. The best devices for this are GPS tracking cell phones – mainly because they already have cell phone technology built in and can leverage it to transmit position information to a central processing station (the does use cell phone technology in their wrist watch to push location data out). What would a cell phone look like if it was attached to your wrist? Pretty bulky, my friend. Pretty bulky.

So the technological problem of turning a watch into a cellphone-like device is one major hurdle that GPS manufacturers have had to overcome; and they have done so with very limited success.

Another main reason why GPS tracking watches for kids have not taken off and become extremely popular is that they suffer from some serious detection flaws. What I am talking about here is not GPS signal detection, but bad man detection.

Will someone taking your child really ignore the bulky device on their wrist? Will the locking mechanism really keep the watch from being removed? Won’t someone evil enough to steal a child also be evil enough to remove a hand to remove the watch that will get them caught?

It is nearly impossible for a child to hide the watch, especially if it is locked on to their wrist. This creates some serious safety issues and can essentially negate any benefit that GPS tracking might provide in this terrible situation.

These are the two main issues with kids GPS watches. These issues can be solved by creating smaller, “normal” looking devices that still have all the power of GPS tracking and a cell phone.

GPS Tracking Watches for Fitness

Fitness is a huge industry in the United States where billions of dollars are spent annually on fitness equipment, clothing, gym memberships, and fitness accessories. One small portion of this very big pie are GPS tracking watches.

In order to get a piece of this pie, several major players have arisen in the GPS watch market. There is one GPS manufacturer that has taken their product and converted it into GPS tracking watches as well as a few watch companies that have incorporated GPS in their design. The major players are Garmin, Suunto, Timex, and Polar.

There are two major methods of translating GPS tracking into fitness watched: integrating the GPS directly into the watch or using a GPS pod to collect that location data.

Garmin and Suunto have watch models that integrate the GPS receiver directly into the watch. The most recent Garmin model is the GARMIN Forerunner 405 Black GPS Enabled Sports Watch/ HRM. This is a fully integrated GPS watch that also sports a heart rate monitor (HRM). Many reviews of this device have been particularly favorable as it has a sleek, “normal” design that actually looks like a wrist watch might (unlike some of the previous Garmin Forerunner models). It is relatively lightweight at 2.1 ounces, making it easy to use during a long run or other outdoor activity.

The heart rate monitor is another great benefit to using a fitness GPS tracking watch like the Garmin Forerunner 405. This small add on will give you immediate feedback on how hard your body is working and if you are getting a good workout while you are on your run. But the benefit doesn’t end there. Once you are home you will be able to sit down in front of your computer and get a bird’s eye view of your workout, giving you a better understanding of what you need to work on to continue to improve your fitness level.

The other way that companies have made GPS available or fitness watches is via a GPS pod that you attach to your shoe or waist. These devices then capture the GPS signal and transmit it up to the watch which then takes the information and stores and displays it to you, the user. Many of these watches also come with a heart rate monitor.

Here is a robust list of fitness GPS tracking watches found at Amazon.com divided up by their brand:

Buy A GPS Tracking Watch

Buying a GPS tracking watch is certainly not a necessary purchase – not for child safety nor for physical fitness. However, these devices can be extremely fun and enjoyable if you want to know more precise information about your fitness routine or you feel a need to know your child’s location on demand. Make sure you consider all your options carefully before buying a GPS tracking watch.

GPS Tracking For Kids

Check out one of the smallest and most powerful GPS trackers for children: AmberAlert GPS

If you have ever found yourself wishing that you knew at any moment where your child was with an accuracy of up to 3 meters, then GPS tracking for kids might be something that you want to take a look at.  GPS has been around since the 80s when it was released for public use (before the Global Positioning Satellite system had been reserved solely for the military), but has only recently been made available for use by private persons for the tracking of the people closest to them – their children.

Before GPS tracking devices were simply too bulky to be of much use on a child – they were either too heavy to be safely and continuously carried, too large to be of much use for covert, safety oriented tracking, or they were too inaccurate to be of much help to consumers or their kids.  All this has changed in the last 5-10 years as technology has become increasingly smaller and more efficient.

Let me explain this with a similar bit of technological breakthrough that we have had in the same amount of time – namely that of computer storage. 10 years ago it would have a pipe dream to have a desktop computer with 160 GB of storage space – now iPods come with that much memory.  In the same way that computer technology in general has advanced so rapidly, GPS tracking technology has made leaps and bounds as well – becoming increasingly smaller, more power, more efficient, and more accurate.

All of these changes have been good for parents looking to keep tabs on their children with a technological solution.  But this begs the question, why should any child be tracked with GPS?

Reasons to Choose GPS Tracking For Kids

As far as I can tell, there are three main reasons to use GPS tracking for your kids: safety concerns, behavior problems, and paranoia.

Safety is probably the main reason most parents are going to want to use GPS to keep tabs on their children.  They want something that will quickly and accurately locate their child at a moments notice.  Is the child supposed to be at home but hasn’t been heard from in over an hour?  Are they supposed to be at Tim’s house to hang out after school and do some homework but a call to Tim’s parents reveals that your child never arrived?  Do you worry that something could happen to your child as they wait for you after baseball practice in the park by the canyon?  If any of these situations have happened to you then you know that you wish there was some way to find out where you child is right away.  GPS tracking for kids can provide accurate and reliable information for you in a way that is actionable and useful.

Take a moment and imagine that your child did not come home on time like you were expecting, fear is gripping you as you wait by the window for their arrival.  It could be that they simply hung around too long after school playing tether ball with their friends or took too long in the park as they cut across it on their way home.  You want to find out where your daughter is right now.  You run to your computer and you log in to your child’s GPS tracking watch provider to get a look at their position.  Your heart breathes a sigh of relief as you see that they are on their way home traveling at 2 mph about 2 blocks from home – they must have lingered too long at the park.

Now imagine that same situation where you find that your child is traveling 65 mph on a major highway heading away from home?  You’d dial 911 in an instant and you could be able to give the police some seriously useful information that would likely lead to the recovery of your child – all thanks to a GPS tracking device in your child’s backpack.

Another important reason to use GPS tracking for kids in some circumstance is behavioral problems or mental disabilities.  A child that is prone to wander because they suffer from some sort of behavioral or mental disorder is someone that you want to find and find quickly.  Short trips to the supermarket, or family vacations, or even simple trips to the park can become living nightmares as you search frantically for the child that has wandered off and slipped out of your site.  Child locators, a certain type of GPS tracking device, work great in this situation where quick feedback without the use of computer is necessary.  They are not always the best solution for families since they do have some issues and cell phones are becoming internet capable in a big way – making the obstacle of internet access to use location information much smaller.

And the final reason to get a GPS device to track your child is because you are paranoid and need to find someway to calm your own fears just a little bit.  The fact is that the vast majority of children have no need for GPS tracking.  They will go through their lives and never need the safety of always having their location just a moment away from being known by their parent.  Running a little late, being alone at a park after baseball practice, and playing hooky with a friend instead of being where they are supposed to be are all  normal activities for kids to be doing at some point in their life.  You probably did the same thing and your parents didn’t need a GPS device to keep tabs on you.

However, if you are person who works in Mexico City or some other place that routinely has kidnappings then it might be a good idea to get a GPS tracking device for your children so that when Man on Fire happens to you and your family, your Denzel Washington will be able to kick the crap out of the bad kidnappers who stole your Dakota Fanning.

Now that we have established three legitimate reasons to go out and purchase some sort of GPS tracking device for your child, it  begs the question, “What devices can I get that will provide GPS tracking for kids?”

Device That Use GPS Tracking For Kids

There are three main devices that you are going to find around the web and in stores that will assist you in keeping tabs on your child: gps tracking watches, covert GPS trackers, and kids GPS phones.

GPS tracking watches are a small, reliable, and kid friendly option for parents seeking to use GPS tracking with their children.  These devices are exactly what their name sounds like – they are a GPS tracking device that fits on the wrist of your child.  There are a couple of different brands available, but none of them are household names (certainly not Garmin, TomTom, or Magellan if that is what you were hoping for – though Garmin does offer a fitness GPS watch).  Some of the watches look a little funky, but in general they do provide you with what you are expecting.

In general, a GPS watch for kids is going to look a little bulky on their wrist, have some extravagantly ugly colors, and will probably throw up warning signals to any would be villain to get rid of the watch ASAP.  These devices are probably not as easy at GPS phones to get your child to use, but being attached at the wrist may make them less likely to be randomly lost.

The next option for parents to consider is covert GPS tracking for kids.  Again, there are a variety of different implementations to consider when going the covert route.  Do I go with a GPS in the shoe, teddy bear, coat, or backpack?  Do I go with a build in device or do I find something that I sew or attach myself?  How you answer these questions will determine what product you purchase.

The amount of information that you are going to get with a more covert approach to tracking is the same as what you would find with a a tracking watch, but the idea is that these covert trackers will escape detection for a very significant period of time.  If the device is hidden well enough in a “necessary” piece of equipment or apparel then you are almost certain that you will be able to find your child in any and all circumstances.

And finally, we have kids GPS phones.  These are kids cell phones that have integrated GPS technology so that they can get an accurate read on the phones position under almost any circumstance provided that the phone is on.

This combination of cell phone and GPS technology is very powerful.  A GPS signal will be able to give position information if the phone cannot use cell towers to establish a location, and cell towers can establish a location when a direct line of site with the sky has been obstructed by a car trunk, cement wall, or mound of dirt.  The cell phones power is in its usability in almost every circumstance.

This power is also its greatest weakness when considering it as a GPS tracking device for kids.  Everyone and there mother knows that cell phones can be used to communicate position information to the authorities.  This means that it is often the first thing to go if your child is in an emergency situation.  Kids GPS cell phones must be kept quiet and used very wisely by your child if it is to be effective at recovering them from something horrible.

In most normal conditions, kids GPS phones are great because they also let you talk directly with your child.  If they are late coming home, simply call them and ask them where they are – if what they tell you is different from what you computer is saying then you can deal with your child as you see fit.  The power to do so is now in your hands.

A Final Word On GPS Tracking For Kids

One thing that I haven’t mentioned yet but is very pertinent to our discussion here is the GPS tracking for kids costs money.  You are going to have to go in up front for a tracking device (whether it is a GPS tracking watch, covert GPS tracking device, or a kids GPS phone) and you are probably going to be hit with a reoccurring service charge every month to be able to use the tracking capability on the device.  This can add up to big money for a family already strapped for cash.

My advice is to think very carefully about using GPS tracking for kids and to only use it if it makes real sense given your family’s unique set of circumstances.

GPS Tracking Watches For Kids, Teens, and Adults

We have said it before and we will say it again – a GPS tracking watch is a great tool that can be used in a variety of different situations. In fact, we have outlined several unconventional ways that you can use these devices to enhance life and to do interesting things. But the question remains, “What is the right GPS tracking watch for me?” This is a question that will take some thoughtful consideration.

The first thing that you will want to consider is what will be the main reason you use your watch. If you are planning on purchasing a fitness watch mainly for the benefits that it offers then you are probably going to want to purchase a Garmin of one variety or another. Both Suunto and Timex offer fitness watches that have all the things that a Garmin watch will have – a heart rate monitor and all the metrics you’d expect with a GPS enabled watch – but their GPS is not integrated into the actual watch itself. Instead, you have to carry a pod with you on your run, bike, kayak, hike, swim, or walk. These things can be cumbersome and have a tendency to pull down your running shorts at the most inopportune times.

If you are looking for a kids GPS watch that can fit into your desire to keep your child secure there are a few different options available. However, the vast majority of these are still in the development stage. Another set back is that they normally have a significant up front fee in addition to a monthly service fee. The rates for these are comparable to a monthly cell phone charge. We are a little torn over who provides the best service and what the best route to go here is, but we definitely suggest that you contact the company you are looking to buy the watch from before making your purchase and ask them the questions that concern you the most.

Another avenue where GPS tracking is important is in keeping tabs on individuals with severe handicaps or dementia. Those suffering from Alzheimer’s can be particularly difficult to locate if they have wandered away from their home as they can quickly become disoriented and they have a significant problem communicating memory to people trying to help them. You want to maintain the dignity of those suffering from a mental of physical impairment but also want to keep them safe and secure through GPS technology. There a few items on the market for this now, but we expect GPS watches for Alzheimer’s and other impairments to increase over the next 5 years.

GPS technology is still in the early stages of being adopted in consumer products. This may not currently meet your needs of having the exact knowledge you want exactly when you want it, but it will in time. Just give it five to ten years and you will have access to a lot more information via GPS that you do today. It may even be the information that you are wanting right now.

GPS Tracking Watches For The Working Dad

Probably the worst part about being a dad is having to leave your wife and kids to go to work. IT is a strange game that modern man has to play in today’s society. Before the industrial revolution father’s spend a significant amount of time with their children, especially the boys. From a very early age the fathers would teach their sons the trade by which they made a living. When you went to work, your child went with you.

Not so today. Our children go to work (school) just like we do and we have handed over the responsibility of teaching our children job skills to government institutions and professional baby sitters. There are ways to reverse this trend (home schooling), but most of them are more radical than many have the stomach or financial resources for.

GPS tracking watches can help you bridge the gap that work inserts between you and your child. While using a GPS watch is not the best way to do this, for those that already own one or are planning on getting one it can be a nice bonus in addition to the fitness benefits of the GPS tracking watch.

Here is how to use your standard GPS tracking watch to decrease the disconnect between you and your child: use your watch at work.

Well, it’s not that simple, but that is the first step. The next phase of the plan is to share this information with your child in all the glory of 3D with Google Earth or Microsoft’s Virtual Earth 3D. By downloading your tracks onto your computer you are opening up the opportunity to show your child exactly where your day took you.

For some of us who sit a desk all day long it might require a little imagination to get your kid interested. But if your occupation is one where you are constantly moving – like a postman, construction worker, plumber, or policeman – you will be able to relive your day to your child in vivid detail.

You could mention how one particular house was a little stinky inside or that you saw a particularly nasty looking dog on that street or any slew of interesting or exciting things. You can also teach your child the finer points of your trade with the 3D map sitting in front of you on you computer. Did a particularly important meeting take you out of the office? Use this opportunity to teach your child something about what you do as the assistant to the regional manager. Teach them the basics of a sales pitch or show them why speaking well in front of a crowd is important.

Kids learn by example and by mimicking the behavior of their parents. If they see you using your gps device they will much more receptive to using their own GPS kids tracker. You will also benefit from enriching the life of your child with all the years of experience that you have in your chosen trade. As they grow they will have a better understanding of how things work in the world and how to be a productive member of society. And besides, you could have a lot of fun in the process.

This article was included in the Carnival of Family Life at All Rileyed Up

Three Unconventional Uses of GPS Tracking Watches

Most GPS watches are used for fitness applications. They are light weight and durable, providing just what the serious athlete needs to gather information about their workout to push their bodies to the next level. But that is not all that GPS tracking watches are good for. In fact, they can be used for many different purposes. Here are three:

Measure Something

Have you ever wondered just how big your apartment complex is? How far your child walks to school? Or the approximate size of the lot you are thinking of purchasing? Well, most GPS watches are going to be able to perform these measurements for you – without having to spend a single cent on gasoline. All you have to do is have your watch on as you take a relaxing stroll around you apartment in the evening, or as you walk your kid to school, or as you survey your potential purchase. These powerful systems will silently track all your information for you – can can even set way points along the way to help you track specific portions of the trip or to help you find the exact spot where you began your measurements.

Most watches also allow you to interface with a computer mapping application. This can give you a satellite image of your journey. Not only will you have information concerning the object or distance you measured, but also you will now be able to process that information in the larger context of the world you live in.

Exploring

As mentioned above, GPS watches have the ability to set way points. One watch in particular, the Suunto X9i
, advertise this feature aggressively. Suunto likes to classify this as a ‘military’ feature, but most fitness GPS devices have a similar function. Way points are generally very useful.

It is particularly helpful in exploring unfamiliar territory – whether it be out in mother nature or in a new neighborhood or city. All you need to do is log your starting location into your watch and be amazed as it records electronic breadcrumbs for you to follow once you have explored to you hearts content. This makes it very easy to find you way back and takes a lot of the stress out of exploration.

Analyze Your Commute

A GPS tracker is also helpful if you want to take a closer look at your commute to and from work. With gas prices being what they are and looking to go even higher, making our driving time as efficient as we can is important to our pocket books and to the environment. All you need to do is have your GPS watch in tow, for this example lets consider you have the Garmin Forerunner 405. This model comes with a heart rate monitor, an addition that will add a nice little bit of information for our analysis.

By utlizing the heart rate monitor you will not only be recording the standard information found in a GPS tracking watch – speed, direction, altitude, and time – but you will also be able to see your heart rate. Does your commute make you particularly stressed? Do you sometimes feel burnt out after getting out of your car when you left work feeling fine? A your Garmin Forerunner 405 with heart rate monitor will help you see where and when changes in your heart rate occurred during your commute. You will even be able to see interesting information that you would normally never be able to see – how your heart rate responds to a crisis.

During rush hour many near accidents occur. When this happens and we are wearing our GPS watch we will be able to see exactly how these near accidents affect our heart rate. This is really interesting information and it is all made possible by your GPS tracking watch! You can share this information with your children and get them excited about their own GPS kids device.

GPS tracking watches have tons of possible uses and applications in a variety of daily activities. The ability of these devices is improve our understanding of the world around is immense if we are willing to be imaginative enough to utilize them to their fullest potential. GPS technology is simply a tool waiting to be used.

 

A GPS Tracking Watch Can Improve Fitness

We all exercise for different reasons. Some of us love the experience of testing your mettle against all that mother nature has to offer. Others like how a jog outside can break the monotony of treadmills and gym membership. Many cannot afford, or simply cannot handle, gyms so they turn to outside activities to get the most out of their fitness routine. It does not matter what the reason you go outdoors for your fitness regimen is – GPS tracking watches will enhance it.

One of the main assets of a GPS watch is its ability to track many different pieces of information simultaneously. Most watches record the following basic information that is important for your training – your speed, the total distance traveled, and the changes in altitude made over the course of your workout. In most workouts without a GPS tracking watch the best you can get for these metrics is the average.

Let us take a look at an example to see the benefit of what a GPS tracking device will do for you. If you just did your 7.4 mile trail run in 56:32 you can calculate that you ran an average speed of 7.86 miles per hour. This is important information in and of itself, but what if you can find your actual speed at any given point of the trail? Wouldn’t that help you get a better picture of how you can improve your workout and increase your speed? This is the power that GPS tracking watches provide – and it does so without you having to notice landmarks or check your watch and remember at what time you passed it. Your entire focus can be on hitting the trail, improving your speed, and enjoying all that it has to offer.

When you add the power of a heart rate monitor to the equation you have the perfect combination of effortless information tracking and training analysis. Not only do you get the standard information of speed, distance, and elevation, but now you also can see just how each of these affected your body’s performance – the real key in getting your training to the next level. I have talked previously about Garmin GPS tracking watches and the following is a screen shot taken from data recorded on one of these devices:

Garmin GPS Tracking Watch Output

These graphs are extremely data rich and can really help you better understand your body and the nature of your workouts. They provide information that you would not be able to gather otherwise! Who on earth has the coordination and concentration to keep pace while checking their pulse? Moving your hand away from pumping causes inefficiency of motion and only produces an estimate of your beats per minute. A GPS watch used in tandem with a heart rate monitor is an extremely efficient way to gather this information.

In addition to it being efficient, it is also very fun. Having the ability to see the exact locations of your run, kayak, or hike can add an element of adventure that goes beyond the actual experience. Looking at your route from outer space can give you new ideas of paths to take or interesting features to explore. This can be added motivation to improve your fitness even further and to hit the trail when you don’t really feel like it.

GPS tracking watches provide everything a person needs for outdoor exercise. The casual adventurer receives added motivation through the fun interface to explore new areas or push themselves to new limits. The more dedicate fitness enthusiast can access the powerful information recorded by the watch for use in analyzing their routine’s weaknesses and pushing their body to new heights of physical exertion. They are the best non-essential devices out there.

This article was included in the:
19th Edition of Weight Management and Fitness Forum
Workout Blog Carnival

Kids GPS Tracking Watch for Children – The Power of Fun

Getting your child to wear their GPS tracking watch can be a bit of a hassle. They can be bulky and uncomfortable, giving your child every reason in the world not to wear it. This can defeat the purpose of getting the kids GPS device in the first place. What is even worse is that children often lose items that are not attached to their bodies, resulting in the device’s potential theft or, at the very least, the inconvenience of having to track it down in some out of the way place. Concerned parent, do not fret, there are real solutions to this child tracking problem.

Associate the GPS Tracking Watch With Warm, Fuzzy Map Feelings

GPS is built with maps in mind, often integrating seamlessly with various mapping applications. By teaching your child to enjoy looking at maps you can easily motivate them to wear their GPS kids device. For example, to introduce your child to wearing a GPS tracking watch you take them on a fun trip to one of their favorite destinations.

Let’s say that your child loves Disneyland and you decide to try this method out there. Before you go on the trip you introduce to them the idea of GPS tracking and let them know that all the places you go today are going to be tracked, but instead of having them wear the watch you wear it. You go about your fun trip as you normally would. As you wait in line at various attractions remind the child about the watch by saying things like, “I wonder where the Tea Cups are on a map of the world” or “It will be so fun to see exactly where we saw Mickey when we look at the GPS tomorrow.” The key here is on building excitement and anticipation around the watch. Once you have had a fun day at Disneyland (or on a any trip/event your child would enjoy) it is time to relive the entire experience once you have time to sit down with the tracking information. During this time you try and highlight the funnest parts of the experience while reinforcing the fact that the GPS tracking watch is what made it all possible.

You might even consider using a tracking device that seamlessly integrates with digital photos – like the i-GotU. This way you can see all the wonderful memories and the location where you took them on a map afterward.

Now your child has some significantly positive feelings about the GPS kid tracker. For some children this will be enough to get them to wear it. But if you want to solidify your child’s positive feeling toward the watch you may want to take the next step and take your child on another adventure – but this time they wear the watch. You basically do the exact same things – have fun, remind them about the watch, build anticipation to see what the watch recorded, relive the trip’s moments later – as you did the first time, but now the child will be associating the fun and excitement with them wearing the watch. This type of association is key to getting your child to buy in to the GPS system.

Reinforce Your Kid’s Love for GPS

Now that your child has some very positive memories with the device it is time to get them wearing the watch as part of their daily routine. You won’t have to fight with them during these times when you really want them to wear it the most because you have already taken a little effort on the front end to make it special.

Keeping the watch special should now be the focus of your efforts. You can do this naturally by infusing your regular dialog with your child with references to the tracker. You could say things like, “I wonder where you played at lunch today, do you want to see?” Or you might say, “Yeah, class sounded really interesting today. Hey, that makes me wonder something. I wonder where Mrs. Robinson’s classroom is on a map. Let’s look!” These types of things will hopefully keep the fun of their device alive in their mind until the force of habit created by wearing the watch day after day becomes enough to keep them wearing it for some time.

GPS Can Work For Kids

As you can see, with a little effort it is possible to build positive feelings around these sometimes bulky and awkward tracking watches. Not only will you create some really nice family memories on your trips, but you will also give yourself the peace of mind you were looking for in getting the kids GPS tracker in the first place. Both are invaluable to you as a parent and both can help make the world a safer, more happy place. So give this kids GPS tracking watch tip whirl and see how it works out for you.

This article was included in the Carnival of Family Life found at Live from Waterloo

How Do GPS Tracking Watches Work?

All GPS tracking devices, including GPS tracking watches, work around a few basic geometric principles. These principles are described by the trilateration equation. Trilateration uses the know location of two or more points of reference (the more the better) and the measured distance between the subject and the reference points to give an exact location for the subject. To aid our understanding of this geo-speak, take a look at the two dimensional example below:

GPS Tracking Example

You are standing at point B in this picture (found where all three circles intersect). Let us imagine that you are standing out in the middle of nowhere and you want to find out where ‘here’ is. On your wrist is your GPS tracking watch, ready for instances just like this one. P1, P2, and P3 represent satellites in the NAVSTAR GPS constellation run by the US Government. There are twenty-four of these satellites orbiting approximately 12,600 miles (20,200 km) above the earth surface that are constantly transmitting microwave signals. At the same exact time, these satellites transmit a signal with information concerning their current location and the time that they were transmitted. The colored circles represent the path of the signal from the satellite at a specific time, let us say 8:45:03 AM, August 5, 1991.

Your GPS tracking device is designed to pick up these signals and record the time at which they arrive. Because the signals from the satellites travel at approximately the speed of light, knowing the difference between when the signal was generated and when your watch picks it up will let you know the distance between you and the broadcasting satellite. This is a very simple physics equation (speed x time = distance). When you combine this with the known location of each of the satellites (this information is contained in the signal that your watch picks up) your GPS tracking device has all the information it needs to give you an exact location for where you are.

GPS Tracking Is More Than Trilateration

Your GPS tracking watch will then do something with this new found information. If your watch is a data logger it will simply log your location in its memory and possibly give you a display of your longitude, latitude, and altitude. Data loggers are often simple devices that are used by bikers, hikers, and joggers to record their journeys, track the distances traveled for training purposes, or to build maps or guides if they are exploring new territory. This type of device has many useful applications, but unless you have a map with you in the middle of nowhere (Point B) this type of information will do you no good. If you are every stranded in some nondescript Point B I hope that you don’t have a data logger.

Instead, you want a tracking device that is going to be a data pusher. What these GPS devices do is they transmit their position information at specified intervals to a central database. This database can often be accessed through the internet, providing valuable information to the search party looking for you. Common applications of data pushers include tracking delivery vehicles, locating stolen property (LoJack), or keeping tabs on an object’s or individual’s location. Data pushers are extremely powerful because of the information they provide – but with this power also comes significant risk of abuse. The most common form of data pushing devices are used for GPS tracking are cell phones.

I hope that was a fairly straight forward explanation of how GPS tracking watches work. It was fairly simplified, so if you are interested in finding out more about the complex mechanics I would recommend checking out the following articles:

How To Teach Your Kids About How GPS Works

When teaching your child about their kids GPS, you are going to want to find a way to relate the information in a way that they can understand.  It doesn’t matter what type of GPS you are using with your child – it could be a short range child locator, a GPS tracking watch, or even a covert GPS tracking device – you just need to find a way to give your child a way to wrap their mind around the idea.

A basic understanding of math is always a good thing to have, but if your child is too young to fully grasp things like geometry they might be old enough to measure things.  If you are in this situation, this quick activity may help you out:

  1. Grab a couple of paper plates out of your pantry.
  2. Draw a few satellites in the center of each paper plate.  This will be a great time to explain what a satellite is and how they fly in the sky around the earth.  You can make sure that they know that satellites make up the Global Positioning System (GPS).
  3. Arrange the paper plates so that they resemble the picture found above.
  4. Take out a ruler and measure the distance between each ‘satellite.’ Take the time to explain how this is important for the child locator that they get to use every day.
  5. Now explain that the child locator knows exactly where the satellites are in the sky around the earth.  It can measure where the child is just like you did together with the ruler.
  6. Now take out your cell phone or your child’s GPS kids phone.  Explain that their GPS device for kids works in the same way the phone does – it talks through the air to another phone.  That is exactly what the kids GPS does – it talks through the air to someone else.
  7. And finally, tell them that the person that the GPS tracking watch talks to also talks to Mom and Dad.  That is how you know that the child locator works and why you got it for them.

Most importantly of all, you want your child to fell like they are safe with their GPS tracking watch and that it makes them valuable/special.  This will give them a better understanding of the world that they live in and will enable them to be productive little guys.