Squad Positioning System for Firefighters

I just saw an episode of Rescue Me last week where one of the firefighters was trapped, and the rest of the dysfunctional characters didn’t know where he was. Just watch the show on Hulu if you don’t know what I’m talking about.

Perhaps Dennis Leary and his comrades should use the Squad, a compact indoor position system that enables firefighters to know their location, as well as the location of their partners. This concept gadget, designed by a University of New South Wales student Roy Hareguina, uses a sonar sensor to provide a map of the surrounding area, instead of a GPS.

Sonar might not be the ideal tool for this type of work, but firefighters cannot depend on blueprints when ceilings have caved in or when weak floors give out. Sometimes all a fireman needs to know is the location of someone who needs rescuing, and let the axe do the rest.

The Squad units are set up to “take the heat”, having a melting point of 662° Fahrenheit (343°C). It is made of polyetheretheretone (PEEK) with a tough aluminum and zinc frame, and coated with fluorosilicone for impact protection and waterproofing. You may notice that buttons are large, but this is because it is meant to be used by firemen wearing thick gloves.

So far, the Squad is only a concept, but I could easily see firemen of the future wearing one on their arm.

Squad Positioning System for Firefighters

I just saw an episode of Rescue Me last week where one of the firefighters was trapped, and the rest of the dysfunctional characters didn’t know where he was. Just watch the show on Hulu if you don’t know what I’m talking about.

Perhaps Dennis Leary and his comrades should use the Squad, a compact indoor position system that enables firefighters to know their location, as well as the location of their partners. This concept gadget, designed by a University of New South Wales student Roy Hareguina, uses a sonar sensor to provide a map of the surrounding area, instead of a GPS.

Sonar might not be the ideal tool for this type of work, but firefighters cannot depend on blueprints when ceilings have caved in or when weak floors give out. Sometimes all a fireman needs to know is the location of someone who needs rescuing, and let the axe do the rest.

The Squad units are set up to “take the heat”, having a melting point of 662° Fahrenheit (343°C). It is made of polyetheretheretone (PEEK) with a tough aluminum and zinc frame, and coated with fluorosilicone for impact protection and waterproofing. You may notice that buttons are large, but this is because it is meant to be used by firemen wearing thick gloves.

So far, the Squad is only a concept, but I could easily see firemen of the future wearing one on their arm.

Pocket Retro Game Emulator – new flame for console game

The Pocket Retro Game Emulator is an easy to use gaming gizmo which can be kept in your pocket. This retro game can be a lot of fun with any game user. Its amazing looks much the same with Game Boy, but let us do not judge by appearances. Coming with 4 GB storage capacity, this retro game is compatible with NES, SNES, GBA, Sega Genesis, or Neo Geo roms.

This handheld game is an ultra portable and plug and play electronic device being held by the palm of your hand. In addition, this funny game has a mini SD slot giving you a possibility to play right from your gaming consoles. Additionally, you will be able to view movie files, audio files, jpg images or do voice recording.

Besides, this Pocket Retro Game Emulator uses the embedded FM radio and is capable of reading electronic books. You will be delighted by 4 control buttons on the right on its right part and 2 shoulder buttons. Its d-pad on the left part of the console is good enough to combat in fighting games.

This game emulator is capable to manage both 8 bit and 16 bit console games. Its customizable buttons are ready to be used as you wish. When necessary, any game can be paused with capacity to store the game due to its memory capacity.

Once the game is saved, you will be able to once again start playing the interrupted game from the moment you saved your level. NES and SNES roms can be easily downloaded when needed. This gaming system is excellent and can be connected to your Mac computer by USB port.

This mini gaming system is capable to play roms from your game consoles with 8 and 16 bit supporting. There is no need to load any software for your gaming emulator. Its internal storage can be expanded by mini SD. High visibility 2, 8 inch QVGA (320x240) LCD display making its appearance highly noticeable.

Pocket Retro Game Emulator has output to TV by composite video cables included in the package. Another cool feature is its full media player. Sound is perfect due to fitted stereo speakers. The battery life of this game console is from 6 to 8 hours on a single charge with internal li-battery.

Its LCD screen has low temperature PolySilicon while game console is compatible with such video formats as FLV, WMV, ASF, RM, AVI, MPEG, MP4, RMVB, SWF. Pocket Retro Game Emulator comes in stunning black color. The game console also includes an earphone jack with ear buds.

Compatible with such audio formats as MP3, WMA, APE, FLAC, this retro game emulator has mini USB port as well as I/O Slots. Pocket Retro Game Emulator measures 125mm x 56mm x 14mm. (L x W x H). Pocket Retro Game Emulator has AV OUT (output to TV - NTSC or PAL, 16:9 or 4:3).

Among gaming console modes, there is Nintendo Entertainment System - 8bit, Super Nintendo Entertainment System - 16bit, Sega Mega-Drive - 16-bit, Nintendo Game Boy Advance, SNK Neo-Geo, CAPCOM, arcade game systems, 1st and 2nd edition.

While listening to the radio, you will be also able to record the music you liked. Image viewer offers JPG, BMP, GIF and PNG formats while its electronic book boasts text to speech feature. Voice recorder is available at MP3 and WAV formats.

This portable game player has an AC adapter (100-240V 50/60hz), USB cable as well as user guide available in English language. This game console can be helpful during your breaks from your work or wherever you are. This Pocket Retro Game Emulator can be had for 99, 99 USD. As soon as you copied.

TomTom to bring navigation to iPhone

The days of buying a separate GPS gadget to sit in your car may be numbered with news that TomTom is going to release a software solution that works with your iPhone.

TomTom is set to base a new system around the use of the iPhone which will not only include software, but a car kit. The software app will run directly on the iPhone providing the functionality you would normally associate with one of their separate GPS units. This will include IQ Routes and the latest maps from Tele Atlas.

The accessory is called the TomTom car kit for iPhone which will make mounting the iPhone in your vehicle simple and secure as well as adding speakers for voice instructions, enhanced GPS, hands-free calling, and in-car charging.

No details of pricing or release dates, have been released yet. But Scott Johnson, spokesman for the company has stated that we can expect to see them appearing before the end of the summer.

Another question that remains unanswered is whether this will be only for the new iPhone 3Gs or older models too.

Matthew’s Opinion
The markets seem to have received this news very positively as TomTom’s share price has jumped around 13%. You can see why as they are the only company providing navigation services to have managed to land a deal with Apple leaving the competition like Garmin at a disadvantage.

TomTom will no doubt continue to sell its existing product line, but now has access to millions of new customers who may want to save themselves some money on buying a separate navigation system and just buy the car kit and app for their iPhone. I am hoping it works with older iPhone models too and TomTom would surely be missing out on a lot of sales if they didn’t support them.

Now we just need to find out the price of the app and the car kit. I suspect it may be one of the most expensive apps you ever buy for your iPhone, but if it is saving you a few hundred dollars off the price of a separate gadget then it’s going to be worth it, right? Add to that the fact you are going to be carrying your iPhone around so no getting lost while on foot either as it works without the car-kit.

Report to Congress: GPS network might fail soon

A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) warns Congress that years of under-investment in the US-owned Global Positioning System (GPS) has left the satellite-based system at risk of serious failure.

GPS operates via a network of satellites positioned around the globe. Many of these satellites are ageing and may begin to fail in the near future. The system is fault-tolerant in that it can still operate with one or more satellites out of action, but in such a case performance would suffer, with users encountering blackspots or receiving less accurate positioning data.

The report states:

It is uncertain whether the Air Force will be able to acquire new satellites in time to maintain current GPS service without interruption. If not, some military operations and some civilian users could be adversely affected.

The GPS system was developed by the Department of Defense and the US Air Force, primarily for military purposes including weapon targeting systems and navigation of military vehicles and troops. However, the system is freely available for civilian use around the world; billions of consumer devices including car-based satnav modules, smartphones and even high-tech sports watches rely on the network to operate.

According to the report, upgrades to the system have been beset with delays and overspending, with the launch of the first replacement satellite now running almost three years behind schedule (now set for November this year, but originally scheduled to be launched in early 2007).

Whilst few believe that the US government will allow GPS to fall into serious disrepair, the delays allow other systems to gain ground. The EU is pushing ahead with its modern alternative to GPS, Galileo, whilst China has its Compass satellite navigation network and Russia is upgrading its aging GLONASS system with investment from India.

Navigon 7200T 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigation

Navigon 7200T 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigation

For those looking for both style and substance, the Navigon 7200T combines an elegantly designed black housing with an extra-wide 4.3-inch flatscreen that provides photo-realistic images of virtually every highway intersection and exit complete with sign text and lane guidance. Pre-loaded with maps of both the U.S. and Canada, the 7200T comes with free real-time traffic updates (for the life of the device) and allows users to reroute with the touch of a button. Other features include Bluetooth handsfree communication when paired with your cell phone, text-to-speech capabilities for turn-by-turn directions with street names, ZAGAT restaurant ratings and reviews, and millions of pre-loaded points of interest.

The features and functions of the Navigon 7200T are controlled via intuitive, easy-to-use animated menus that use predictive text input to quickly and easily select your city, state and address. It comes pre-loaded with complete maps of the U.S. and Canada, providing you with superbly accurate, seamless door-to-door directions wherever your vehicular travels might take you. It’s powered by a 600 MHz Centrality Titan I processor and runs the Microsoft Windows CE Net 5.0 operating system. You can load additional optional maps via MicroSD memory cards or by connecting to your PC with the USB 2.0 port.