July 27,
2008: India has found an economical and
effective device for greatly increasing safety at sea, controlling smuggling
and illegal fishing, while providing a test bed for a military locator system.
It's all based on a cheap GPS system (about
$25 per unit) that communicates with all identical devices within range. This
forms a network that enables control stations ashore, or afloat, to locate
every ship carrying the device over a wide area. India will be equipping over
6,300 fishing boats (including about 1,700 sail driven ones) operating off the southern coast.
Each GPS
device can broadcast 15-20 kilometers and will automatically send and receive
location information to any other device within range. The GPS gives the boat
crew constant location information, making accidents (collisions, running
aground) less frequent. It also makes it easier for the fishermen to reach
their destinations quickly and accurately (and to accurately mark the location
of good fishing area.) The GPS device can also send a distress signal, which
will get help to the disabled boat a lot more quickly than in the past (if only
because of the accurate location data.)
The GPS
system could enable the Indians to equip their troops with an inexpensive
troops locating device. The U.S. pioneered this in 2003, with the satellite
based (and much more expensive) Blue Force Tracker. India can't afford that
sort of thing. But the fishing boat tracker is another matter.
