Slashdot Mirror
Equine Speedometers
Makarand writes "According to this article in The New Zealand Herald
scientists at Massey University (NZ) are using
GPS to
monitor racehorses during their training programme. GPS technology is being used to follow horses around a racetrack and measure how far and fast horses gallop each day. This GPS data along with heart rate measurements is transforming racehorse training into a science."
this article has already been posted in the november issue of Terrato local newsletter (the town is particularly known for being fond of horses.)
I am not supposed to tell you this: but given that GPS is not that cheap, the locals are considering switching to some 802.11b application that can track locations via triangulation, so if there are any enterprising slashdotters reading this, let it be known that we would pay quite nicely for a low-overhead solution!
Contact me at mark@pobox.com if you think you qualify.
GPS Monitoring and tracking technology, I think, has been used on all species. I might be a bit paranoid, but I think it would be feasible to actually monitor the "whereabouts" of everybody, to know roughly where they are. Given technology, I can tell between such and such time, you were posting to Slash dot, on the web. Monitor on freeway would tell me where you were driving, phone usage, credit cards, etc, etc. With enough money and computer technology, is this something you think is impossible?
Just go to gpsports.com. The SPI 10 unit can do everything the horse unit can do, plus there is some nifty software so you can make pseudo-3D maps upon returning to your home PC after your workout, as well as altituted and barrometric pressure. Supposedly the unit averages multiple surveying techniques allowing an extremely accurate survey of speed. However, the price is quite steep. Expect to be shelling out at least 1500 bucks, plus more for software upgrades.
Timex is selling a device called the Bodylink that does all this: GPS + Data Recorder + Heart Rate Monitor.