Celebrity Bicyclists Strap On GPS Tracking Devices for Charity Ride
The United Kingdom’s inaugural 1,000-mile Sport Relief Celebrity Million Pound Bike Ride got off to a rough start March 1 when the first fundraising competitor took a spill on a steep upward ascent.
Comedienne Miranda Hart started the first leg of the marathon – which promised to be grueling and physically demanding – and shortly thereafter toppled and cut her leg. She passed the accident off as a textbook pratfall, but the challenge has now become a frightening reality for the team.
The goal is lofty: to raise 1 million pounds, which translates to about $1.5 million U.S. dollars, for charity. The team will be traveling non-stop for four days along a course from John o’Groats in Scotland to Land’s End in England, aided by GPS tracking devices. One celebrity sportsperson will ride at a time, with the others resting, recovering and rooting on their peers from a tour bus along the route.
If the team completes the race, each mile will have been well-earned. Rough terrain, severe inclines and freezing temperatures are predicted.
Sports Relief is sponsored and organized by the charity Comic Relief. Money raised is used to help poor and vulnerable people around the world through social programs and building and operating schools, healthcare facilities and shelters. The organization works in the U.K. and countries as far away as India, South Africa and Brazil.
The bike race is a new idea. A GPS tracking system, almost exactly the same as those used in a fleet management situation, was deemed appropriate this year, so the public and donators could watch the adventure unfold live on their computer screens. This is not unusual, as vehicle tracking devices have moved from cars and trucks to all sorts of long-distance competitions that have large, often worldwide fan bases. Events include the Iditarod dog sled race and the Pure Michigan Port Huron to Mackinac Boat Race.
There are two types of tracking system, both of which use U.S. Department of Defense radio signals to determine the exact placement of the GPS receiver on earth’s surface. Passive GPS tracking logs the readings in internal memory for later download. Real-time GPS tracking usually uses cellular data communications to transmit the data to a server on the Internet so the action can be witnessed live by someone in a remote location.
Real-time vehicle tracking is the preferred technology for watching long races such as the Sport Relief bike challenge; and also for theft recovery. In a fleet management application, some companies prefer passive GPS tracking and some real-time GPS tracking. Often a mix of both tracking systems is used.
The company that supplied GPS tracking for the UK bike ride usually works in fleet management. While representatives were pleased at the momentary celebrity recognition, their bread and butter are fleet management companies that want tracking systems on all their cars and trucks so they can monitor worker schedules and vehicle routes for waste, keep records of mileage and maintenance, lower vehicle emissions and save on fuel costs.
Municipalities are heavy users of GPS tracking, because their fleet management supervisors are under a great deal of public scrutiny. People expect political accountability, and that means the manager must show that his drivers are working in a manner that is fair, efficient and responsible.
Employees sometimes fear that fleet management systems are placed in vehicles in order to infringe on worker privacy. But GPS tracking is in the worker’s best interest as well. It saves paperwork, aids in billing, eliminates human error, replaces the old-fashioned time card, and works as documentation in many traffic and customer disputes.
Source: Sport Relief , Wireless Developer Network
Tags: Celebrity, charity, comedianne Miranda Hart, dog sled race, GPS Tracking Devices, Iditarod, reliief, rides, sport
No related posts.
