got geoint?

Welcome once again to our Friday’s Food for Thought post exclusively on got geoint? Yesterday’s post about the National Medal of Science being bestowed to Rudolf Kalman for developing the foundation for GPS technology has inspired our theme for today’s post: where would we be without GPS (like the pun?)? Do you recall always getting lost while driving? All you would have were hand-written directions and a Rand McNally map — and a bit of faith — to get you to your destination. Worst of all…no cell phone to call the person at the destination if you got lost. Thankfully those days are gone and today is Friday. So, scroll down and enjoy.

Life Before GPS for Airplanes
Did you know that back in the 1920s airplane pilots would keep maps on their laps, and if they got lost they would land in fields of local farmers to ask for directions? To make it easier for pilots to reach their destinations, the Government began promoting a remarkably straightforward solution in 1926. Simply paint names of towns on roofs of barns, buildings, water towers, gas storage tanks, and hangers. Paint the letters ten to thirty feet high — black on a chrome yellow background. Include an arrow pointing to the nearest landing field. To learn more about, check out this Engines of Ingenuity post.

10 Ways That Your GPS Can Save Your Life
We found this most excellent blog post on the GPS blog that features the top 10 GPS gadgets that could save your life. No joke. Some of the items include a GPS suit that could protect you in a terrorist attack, a GPS application for the iPhone that can help locate lost snowboarders, and how GPS can remove human error in driving. Hail hail GPS!

How Did Fleet Management Companies Cope Before GPS Tracking?
Prior to the development of GPS technology, things were much different for fleet management companies. GPS tracking has allowed for a great deal of improvement within fleet management starting with increases in fuel efficiency. In an era where fuel prices are rocket high, maximizing the number of deliveries made in relation to the amount of fuel used is a much more efficient form of business. GPS allows fleet managers to create accurate route plans, meaning they can fill each fleet to their maximum capacity before departure, which reduces the number of trucks out on the road and helps reduce fuel consumption. Read more here about this B2B GPS application.

A Brief History of Navigation and GPS
Since the beginning of time, mankind has been trying to figure out a dependable way to know where they were, and to guide them to where they wanted to go and get back again. Seamen followed the coastline to keep them from getting lost. They discovered, when they sailed out into the open sea, that they could use the position of the stars to chart their courses. Major developments in early navigation were the compass and the sextant. The needle of the compass always points north. So even if they didn’t knew where they were, at least they knew in what direction they were traveling. The sextant measures the exact angles of stars, the moon and the sun above the horizon by the use of adjustable mirrors. Early sextants could only measure the latitude and sailors were still not able to work out their longitude. Interesting read, right? Read more here.

The Pixies: Where is My Mind? (Live 1988)
No matter how many GPS systems we have, there’s nothing that can help Frank Black of the Pixies find his mind. Check out this classic live clip – from 1988 no less — of the Pixies playing “Where Is My Mind?” Truly awesome.

Happy Friday!

Tags: Frank Black, GEOINT, geospatial intelligence, GPS, GPS and Fleet Management, Life Before GPS, The Pixies, USGIF