Global Positioning System Reference
In-Depth Information
Supply chain management is focused on the automatic collection of data
about the movement of goods between field, factory, warehouse, supermarket,
business, or residence. Today, tracking and tagging systems seek to increase
efficiency by saving person-hours, reducing errors, and optimizing facilities. In
the future it may be more about traceability, distances moved, and the reverse
supply chain concerned with recycling.
2.3.2
Demography, Health, and Well-Being
Some would argue that the climate change issue started with demographic
changes and that the problem is all about overpopulation now and its continued
growth (from around 6 billion people now to perhaps 9 billion within a couple of
generations). In the developed world, major problems are forecast concerning a
rapidly aging population demographic. Managing a population with increasing
impairments of mobility and ability will lead to increasing automation of care
systems. One example will be to track the movements of those who need support
and to raise alarms when the support is needed.
The major health and well-being issue of the future in the developed world is
obesity. Today's generation is the first where the health of the “old” old will be
better than that of the “new” old (where old is defined as over 50). Automatic
systems to track personal movement and account for energy use are being
researched. The simple approach is to use a pedometer to count footsteps; a more
advanced system would monitor exact distances, the climbing of slopes and stairs,
and using barcodes or tags to monitor food eaten. New sporting and gaming
applications are also being developed that promote activity and include tracking
and the delivery of multimedia based on location.
2.3.3
Self-Actualization
Since the industrial revolution, an increase in global wealth has had both positive
and negative consequences. If overpopulation, climate change, and obesity are the
unintended negative consequences often a positive consequence is more leisure
and the resources to enjoy it. Figure 5.1 shows Maslow's famous hierarchy of
needs. Much of the traditional business of Whereness is focused at the lower
layers where the emphasis is on security and safety. Slightly higher would be the
well-being applications and the systems to help with education (an example might
be an automated information delivery service for use when walking around a
historic site). At the top is “self-actualization,” which includes things that engage
with our emotions such as physical games and sports, which are both healthy from
a physical perspective as discussed above and are also good from an emotional
point of view, particularly when played with a group of friends. Collaborative
tracking applications can mean that the friends can either be colocated or located
anywhere.
