A Fun Game of Hide-and-Seek Using GPS
May 28, 2004 -- In this week's Cybershake, we take a look at a new high-tech version of the old game of hide and seek. Plus, we note a new piece of software available for all those who secretly dream of a life as an air traffic controller.
High-Tech Scavenger Hunt
The Global Positioning System, or GPS, network of satellites have helped many recreational boaters, fliers and hikers navigate their way home. But die-hard fans of the space-based location system are finding new and fun uses for the technology.
The latest is called geocaching. (Pronounced "geo-cashing.")
"Geocaching is treasure hunting for the 21st Century," says Roger Voss, a travel agent and avid "geocacher" in Olympia, Wash. And all that is required to join the hunt is a GPS unit, a set of map coordinates, and a sense of adventure.
Geocachers, such as Voss, create hidden caches — containers which hold a log book and assorted knick-knacks — in publicly-accessible places like parks and hiking trails. The locations — the longitude and latitude readings taken from their personal GPS units — are then posted on Web sites such as www.geocaching.com so others with GPS units can find the hidden treasures.
The appeal of the game, says Voss, is its adventurous nature. Since GPS locators give precise locations, most geocaches are cleverly hidden — say in the hollow of a specific tree at the coordinates listed online — and require players to truly hunt around.
And, caches can range in size from tiny film canisters to huge waterproof buckets. That means the hidden treasures can be truly serendipitous. Some contain just simple trinkets — a key chain, a comic book, a poem — or rewarding prizes such as a camera or VCR. Others might even contain adventurous tasks, such as taking a doll or "bug" from inside the cache to another geocache hidden elsewhere.
"[Geocachers] place the cache out where ever [they] want, put the coordinates on the Internet and people will come and find it," says Voss. "It's a thrill just to go out and find it — something hid."
And while geocaching is still pretty much an informal pastime, it is gaining steam.
Voss, for example, arranges "geocaching cruises" — cruise ship vacations where geocachers can gather and share their love for the game and plant more hidden treasures at various locations.
But even carmaker DaimlerChrysler has gotten into the geocaching craze, hiding 4,000 miniature toy Jeep Wrangler vehicles throughout the United States. The trinkets will be part of the company's sponsored summer contest where players can register online (jeep.geocaching.com) to win a brand new Jeep vehicle.
Still, for Voss and other hard-core players, geocaching's appeal is its grass roots nature and the friendly community of players that follow one very simple rule: "If you see something you like [in a cache], you can take it but you have to leave something in its place," says Voss.
— Larry Jacobs, ABC News
Eyes on the Skies
Every day, millions of travelers take to the skies in North America. Just where are they all going? Now, almost anyone can find out — and from the comforts of their home PC and Internet connection.
AirNav Systems, a software maker in Dallas, has released its latest version of Live Flight Tracker. The software, available through the company's Web site, pulls all of the online data — flight designation, type of plane, origin and destination, radar-based location, and so on — that the Federal Aviation Administration has for every single commercial and private plane flying over North America.
"We convert that data into a picture display on our program," says Scott McGlynn with AirNav, allowing users to "track the thousands of flights that are in the air at any time."
Since there could be as many as 5,000 planes in the North American skies at any one time, the software also comes with some pretty sophisticated filtering tools. Earth-bound flight enthusiasts could have the program filter out and track just flights from a particular airline or those of just a specific type of plane.
As powerful as the software may be, McGlynn says there are certain safeguards against terrorists who might try to use it to their advantage.
"All of our data is on a five minute delay from the FAA," says McGlynn. So, "The FAA can shut the system down."
Flight Tracker is offered on a subscription basis varying from $50 per month for unlimited use to $65 for 60 hours per month for six month. But demo versions of the software and its capabilities are available at AirNavSystems.com.
— Jim Hickey, ABC News
Cybershake is produced for ABCNEWS Radio by Andrea J. Smith.