The use of GPS devices has exploded with brand new ideas within the past 5-10 years, some are very handy and incredibly accurate, whilst others are not. Recent breakthrough in technology has given us some amazing mobile phones which carry GPS tracking capabilities such as the Google Android. With various applications, the phone can be wirelessly connected to a local satelite in the Earths upper atmosphere ready for usage. After a journey is complete, the data can be tracked using the google site (Google Latitude) which draws the map where you have been. Useful, but how useful is it for our Transforming Stonehouse Visit?
When conducting the task of GPS Mapping, we had to stick to certain rules which include:
-Turn left at blue signs.
-Turn right at red signs.
-Turn back at black signs.
These rules were not to difficult to follow as Plymouth is plastered with signs everywhere, so moving in different directions really helped the changes in data instead of just walking in a straight line constantly. There were slight inconsistencies with the results from the map (displayed below) which initially put the group off of using GPS Mapping in the final project, but it was worth testing.
Another example of a great piece of technology for similar jobs is this:
Clarion H.M.I. Clarion have designed this epic tool which acts as your normal GPS device for your car, but it is also designed to be taken out and can be used whilst walking around the town trying to find various hard to find destinations. Using the same idea as Google Android, it tracks where the user is going, but actually lets the user see where he/she is actually walking to. Not only this, it can be used as a media device to play music, video whilst on the go. In my opinion only three words describe this: I WANT ONE!
