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Global Positioning System
GPS stands for Global Positioning System. It's a series of 24 satellites strategically placed around the Earth that are used to identify the location of objects on the planet. Basically, any person or object that has a GPS receiver can figure out their geographic location via these satellites. While anyone can use the system, it's owned by the U.S. Department of Defense.
GM installs 'black boxes' in cars
WASHINGTON - (AP)
General Motors Corp. has installed devices in hundreds of thousands of its cars that collect data when a car crashes much like a black box on an airplane.
Doctors, engineers and government officials say the information can help them better understand how the human body tolerates car crashes. They plan to apply that knowledge to construct safer cars, improve the treatment of crash victims and write government auto safety standards that would better protect passengers in auto accidents.
The existence of the so-called auto black box system also is raising sensitive privacy questions about whether such information can be used in litigation.
Ford Motor Co. said a more limited version of the module was on all its 1999 vehicles, but the company is unable to retrieve the data for customers.
DaimlerChrysler AG also has a limited version that can detect whether an air bag deploys but a spokesman said the company was still considering other applications of the technology.
From the WashingtonPost.com
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GPS system used to fine driver for speeding
07/03/2001 - Updated 10:39 AM ET
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The state Department of Consumer Protection is investigating a complaint against a rental car company that used satellite technology to track a New Haven customer's alleged speeding.
James Turner complained about Acme Rent-A-Car of New Haven for using his rented minivan's global positioning system to clock his speed.
The tracking system is frequently used as a navigational aid.
Acme billed Turner for each of three alleged speeding violations last fall. Turner, 44, is suing in small claims court in New Haven to recover the money.
"It's a scary situation to be given speeding tickets by way of satellite, never having come into contact with a law enforcement agent," he said.
Bernadette Keyes, Turner's lawyer, said Acme's policy is "sort of creepy."
"Who monitors this? Do they have someone in the back room monitoring where you go?" she asked. "I think there's some sort of privacy issues there."
Rental contracts inform potential customers about the global positioning systems, said Max Brunswick, a New Haven lawyer for Acme.
Turner signed a contract stipulating that vehicles driven "in excess of posted speed limits" will be charged each time, Brunswick said.
"Most people applaud it," he said. "We're saving lives."
The devices also are intended to reduce car wrecks and track cars that customers fail to return, Brunswick said.
Acme fines motorists who drive faster than 79 mph for two minutes or longer, but Keyes said her client drove 78 mph on two occasions and 83 mph once.
From USATODAY.com
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USA to stop degrading GPS signals
The USA has stopped the intentional degradation of Global Positioning System (GPS) signals. This means civilian users of GPS have navigational accuracy close to that of the military.
''The real beneficiaries of this are consumers,'' said Charles Trimble of the U.S. GPS Industry Council.
People with GPS receivers can obtain stunningly accurate information about their latitude, longitude, altitude and velocity, as well as the exact time.
Until now, the most precise information has been reserved for the military. Since 1990, all civilian GPS users have received a signal slightly distorted by the Defense Department, which feared that terrorists or other hostile groups could wield the highly accurate data against the United States.
National security will not be compromised by making the more accurate data available across the globe, officials said. The Pentagon can withhold data from specific regions where there's trouble.
''It is rare that someone can press a button and make something you already own worth more, but that's exactly what's happening today,'' said Neil Lane, the president's science adviser.
But with all the optimism about the new, more accurate signal, some enthusiasts offered cautionary notes.
''When you're out on the water, it can make the difference between being safe and being in a disaster,'' said Elaine Dickinson of the boat owners group BoatU.S.
But, she said, ''don't expect that GPS is going to park your boat.''
"The decision to discontinue (signal degradation) is the latest measure in an on-going effort to make GPS more responsive to civil and commercial users worldwide," President Clinton said in the statement issued by the White House. "Originally developed by the Department of Defense as a military system, GPS has become a global utility." the statement says. "It benefits users around the world in many different applications, including air, road, marine, and rail navigation, telecommunications, emergency response, oil exploration, mining, and many more.
More specifically, the accuracy of GPS for civilian use is expected to improve from within 300 feet to within about 60 feet. Clinton stated "Civilian users will realize a dramatic improvement in GPS accuracy with the discontinuation of (signal degradation). For example, emergency teams responding to a cry for help can now determine what side of the highway they must respond to, thereby saving precious minutes. This increase in accuracy will allow new GPS applications to emerge and continue to enhance the lives of people around the world."
The global GPS market is expected to double in the next 3 years while gradually growing from an estimated billion market currently to more than a billion market.
Published May 1, 2000 usatoday.com
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GM sued over automobile 'black boxes'
Motorists never learned that ''it would be possible for GM, or anyone else to whom GM provided the data surreptitiously recorded by the SDM, to invade the driver's privacy and monitor the particular driver's driving characteristics and seatbelt use habits at a particular point in time,'' the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit targets the 1999 model year or later for eight cars: the Chevrolet Corvette and Camaro; the Pontiac Firebird; the Cadillac DeVille, El Dorado, and Seville; and the Buick Century and Park Avenue.
This week, GM filed a motion to transfer the lawsuit from state court in Middlesex County, NJ to federal court in Newark. The complaint alleges GM violated New Jersey's Consumer Fraud Act, invaded the privacy of drivers, and failed to get their consent for the devices. A GM spokeswoman said it is the only case of its type in the country.
GM began installing the devices, which are similar to black boxes on airplanes, in the early 1990s. Since then, their capabilities have grown, and, since 1999, the amount of data recorded has greatly increased.
GM disclosure
Sensing diagnostic modules gained widespread attention after GM disclosed their existence at a technical conference in May 1999.
GM spokeswoman Kelly Cusinato denied that the company failed to inform customers, saying that owner's manuals indicate that some vehicles are equipped with devices that record data about the integrity of the airbag system.
The manual for the 1999 Cadillac DeVille said that some modules also record speed, engine RPM, brake, and throttle data.
''We think that our collection and use of the data is legal and appropriate,'' Cusinato said. ''When accidents occur, the device is providing a level of precision that you may not have otherwise in a crash situation.''
She said GM engineers or other people can buy software from Vetronix of Santa Barbara, Calif., enabling them to download and interpret the data. GM only seeks to gain access to the data after the company learns of an accident and gains permission from the car's owner or leasee, she said.
Owner permission
''Our policy is that we have to get the vehicle owner or leasee's permission,'' Cusinato said. ''If the owner requests it, they can get a copy of downloaded data. But we're not in the business of providing this information to third parties.''
However, attorney Roy A. Katriel, who represents plaintiff Sherry Valan, said that despite the sentence in the owner's manual, GM never adequately disclosed what data was collected and how it may be used.
''In most instances, the recording has been taking place without the owners ever knowing about it,'' said Katriel. ''It raises very troubling questions about informed consent.''
The lawsuit alleges that GM also has used the data against at least one car owner to defend a product liability suit.
Katriel said that GM employees also may have access to the data without a driver's consent if a car is totaled in an accident and an insurance company takes ownership of the car.
But Cusinato said that GM would only gather the data from an insurance company if the driver gave his consent. She also said that the company may seek to subpoena data in some instances to defend against a lawsuit.
One New Jersey attorney not involved in the lawsuit said that police and prosecutors, who could benefit from the data in accident reconstructions, are unaware of its existence.
Thomas J. Vesper, a past president of the New Jersey chapter of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, said he organized a seminar for prosecutors and police early this year after learning of the device.
''Every one of the police officers and prosecutors that I spoke to didn't have a clue about this,'' said Vesper.
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