The team over at Google has released a speedier version of their popular Google Earth application. From our tests here, we did notice some welcome speed increases in rendering the map tiles when you zoom in and out and change views. Also, start up time did seem reduced compared to version 5.0. Additionally, Google has sped up the rendering of 3D models within Google Earth. Of course, since RavTrack’s AVL solutions support open formats such as KML, this means that Google Earth is now faster while rendering KML for display with a map overlay. For more information on using RavTrack AVL with Google Earth check out our recent announcement.

From the Google Lat Long blog:

We’ve made a lot of adjustments under the hood, like improving memory utilization so we can show more buildings, layers, and user content. We improved our shaders (that’s graphics-speak for small programs that run inside your graphics processor) to make the atmosphere draw faster. We also worked to reduce stuttering (known as frame drops) to provide an even smoother experience as you fly around the globe. When we draw imagery, we now use compression technology to use less memory and graphics resources. We know that waiting for a program to start-up can be really frustrating, so we improved our start-up time by 25%. In our Google Earth API (which allows developers to include Google Earth right in their websites), we have made API calls significantly faster, which means that our developers can now do even more.

photo credit: Michel Filion

Often, during large-scale construction projects heavy equipment such as bulldozers or front-end loaders are left on site overnight or after hours. It simply does not make sense to move them back and forth. Unfortunately, this can make your construction equipment a target for theft costing tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Luckily, any vehicle or piece of construction equipment can be tracked and monitored in real-time using the RavTrack AVL tracking solutions from Raveon Technologies. With RavTrack, you know with certainty where all your work site assets and equipment are located; all in real-time and without the expensive recurring fees that accompany most other AVL systems. Using RavTrack AVL, you can monitor your job site and keep an eye on how your equipment is being used, even in remote areas where other products fail.

On the lighter side of GPS tracking, we came across this incredible video of a robot that uses GPS to find its away around. The Precision Urban Hopper is being developed by Sandia Labs and Boston Dynamics. Using GPS to navigate is nothing new in robotics, but the way the Hopper handles obstacles is pretty unusual.

Sandia said hopping has “shown to be five times more fuel-efficient than hovering,” when it comes to getting around obstacles less than 30 feet tall. (Via CNET)

Don’t miss the video.

I just read an interesting article about how trucking fleets are using GPS to calculate their fuel taxes. Since fuel taxes are generally handled by the states and since truckers typically operate across state lines they often need to calculate their usage in various locales. GPS position reporting is a good way to do this as not only would it report your GPS location but it would also report the time for each position report. Ideally, you could automate this process with reporting transmitted as you go.

It is likely that state and local governments will increase their use of GPS to support pay-as-you-go taxation paradigms.

While it seems like a difficult task to calculate your fuel taxes, GPS tracking of your fleet can only make it easier. Consider this description:

This can be an onerous administrative task.  If you have a fleet of over 50 trucks, there is a good chance you have one person, perhaps making $40,000 annually, focused solely on this paper-intensive task.  But the process can be automated if a company uses GPS/telematics devices in its trucks, along with fuel cards and IFTA tax reporting software (or a tax service provider that uses this kind of software).  Then the mileage driven in each state and fuel expenditures for a particular vehicle can be automatically loaded into the software and the proper IFTA reports can be printed.  The process becomes much less paper intensive.  While a fleet operator would probably never buy a telematics solution solely to eliminate a clerical position, it can contribute to the ROI offered by telematics solutions.

GPS tracking solutions like RavTrack are useful for more than the usual vehicle tracking. You can also use RavTrack to track stolen assets and recover stolen property with GPS. In Fort Launderdale, a tow truck company owner tracked down two of his trucks that had been stolen:

What the culprits didn’t know was that the Ford F-450s were equipped with high-end GPS tracking systems that would chart their every move over the next 36 hours.

Fort Lauderdale police arrested two men for the theft of the wreckers, which had wireless GPS tracking hardware installed on them. Police used GPS position reporting to capture the suspects.

Jason Parrett, owner of the Fort Lauderdale repossession truck company First Response Towing and Recovery, said the Global Positioning System units were crucial to finding the missing wreckers.

“Without it we wouldn’t have found the trucks,” said Parrett, who has equipped all three trucks in his fleet with GPS technology.

Parrett said an employee called him early Saturday to tell him the two trucks were missing.

Once Parrett figured out which two trucks were gone, he asked his wife to pull up their locations on her BlackBerry, which is linked to their GPS units.

When the police arrived, the owner provided the GPS system’s activity report, which showed where the trucks had been, places where they had been parked for extended periods and how fast they had been driven. The police later arrested the two men at one of the locations listed on the GPS report.

“The detailed activity reports in these are disgustingly accurate,” Parrett said of the system.

(Via Miami Herald)