Garmin’s upcoming ecoRoute GPS platform taps into a car’s existing computer to give on-display monitoring of factors that affect fuel efficiency

Drivers in Korea are using their GPS for drive time entertainment.

Japan-based electronics manufacturer Thanko has developed a watch that actively tracks the wearer’s location, continuously syncing the information with an application powered by Google Earth.

Japan-based electronics manufacturer Thanko has developed a watch that actively tracks the wearer’s location, continuously syncing the information with an application powered by Google Earth.

Furniture company is attempting to track the “curb-mining” habits of the NYC residents by leaving GPS-enabled chairs scattered throughout the city.

Furniture company is attempting to track the “curb-mining” habits of the NYC residents by leaving GPS-enabled chairs scattered throughout the city.

A new location tracking application for the iPhone called Stalqer is about to launch in the US. The app runs in the background and broadcasts your location to your friends automatically every 15 minutes.

Yamaguchi Takahiro’s art tends to revolve around calligraphy, graffti, typography and sound. In his latest work he turns the act of writing into physical performance.

Multisensory organization Face Removal Services have created a digital music instrument that uses the surface of the planet as its control surface.

This week, South Korea saw the launch of Fine Digital’s FineDrive IQ, a GPS navigation device that provides an English Language trainer constructed on voice recognition software- so commuters can bone up on their English while entrenched in their daily trek to the office.
Digital Multimedia Broadcast (DMB) television, traffic alerts and audio/video playback are included as well. Although this isn’t available outside of South Korea, one could surely see this being an effective tool in any country for those who travel internationally or have a curiosity or need to learn a new language.
[via Engadget]
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Finding Missed Connections Via GPS
Mother [...]

Engineering students from Central Michigan University have developed a prototype cane for the visually-impaired that incorporates RFID technology to provide more data about the surrounding area. The “smart cane” is equipped with a reader that senses proximity to objects equipped with tags. As users approach obstacles, a sensor located inside the cane sends a signal to a small navigational system housed inside a shoulder bag, which in turn emits an audio alert that directs walkers accordingly. For individuals who are also hearing-impaired, the team has created a glove that issues warnings through subtle vibrations.
As the technology becomes further refined and [...]

Though much of the work being done in augmented reality has thus far been of the gimmicky, flashing, ad-centric sort—more proof of concept than truly functional—the clever iPhone developers at acrossair are putting it to fantastic use with their new app, Nearest Tube. Taking advantage of the iPhone 3GS’ integrated compass, Nearest Tube merges GPS, compass, and video camera data to create a real-time overlay of the position and proximity of, as the name implies, the nearest tube stations. The application is still pending Apple’s approval for the App Store, but the video below speaks for itself.

[via Tuaw]

While GPS and cellular tracking systems have opened up new ways to navigate our daily environments, the viability of the technology is often less than stellar when we find ourselves indoors or in dense urban areas—which is a lot of the time. Nokia has released a trial technology that allows users to pinpoint their location indoors inside the Kamppi Shopping Center in Helsinki. The service will present shoppers with their location inside the mall along with supplementary information about its stores, coupons, and the ability to share locations with friends via SMS. The service is currently limited to the Kamppi [...]

One tech-savvy mother concerned by her teenage son’s upcoming gap year voyage across Australia, Thailand, and South Africa is outfitting him with a minuscule GPS tracker to keep tabs on him from home. The device, a 2″ thick transmitter called the Traakit, will determine the son’s position via four satellites and feed the information to his mother’s computer—and will even alert her via text if he ventures somewhere he shouldn’t.
[via The Sun]