Posted by: Shawn Curtis
on Nov 12, 2010
Shawn Curtis joins up with the Iditarod Race support and logistics crew in the wilds of Alaska. It's a rough-and-tumble adventure at every turn. The Nomad is featured prominently in use by the support crew to keep track of where the mushers are on the race course. Shawn employs the new Yuma tablet as the event recorder of choice to document his experiences while on the Iditarod trail.
Posted by: Shawn Curtis
on Nov 08, 2010
As I start my second full day in Alaska, I continue to be impressed with the effort surrounding the Iditarod. People are working non-stop during the day and into the wee hours of the night to enable a successful 2009 race, including setting up tracking solutions. It's always interesting to see how plans come to fruition... or what unexpected surprises await. This year, the Iditarod Trail Committee (ITC) is trying to figure out how to get trail breaking snow machines into the back country. Unlike last year, there are several feet of soft snow. It isn't unreasonable to visualize a snow machine buried in ten feet of soft snow, completely unable to move. The air fleet is able to move, but snow machines are another story.
I started this entry without addressing why I'm in Alaska participating in the Iditarod. For the 2009 race, the Trimble Nomad 800X will be a core component of IonEarth's musher tracking system. For the first time, race officials will know where every musher is on the course. Trimble products enable visual display of IonEarth's data. Because of Nomad's rugged construction and design to support performance down to -30C, it was selected as the handheld computer best suited for the job. I could stop the description there, but I'd be leaving out the meat. Here is what musher tracking means for logistics:
1) Situational Awareness
Check point personnel can stop guessing about when mushers will arrive at their checkpoint. Early on in the race, this isn't an issue. However, the race eventually spreads out. While there is data available to predict approximate arrival time to various check points, actual trail conditions can speed up or slow down the pace of the race. As the race spreads out, check point personnel may need to be available for hours or even days. Knowing where mushers are on the trail can significantly aid checkpoint personnel to get needed rest because they can see how far away the next musher is.
2) Safety
Errors happen when people get tired. People definitely get fatigued in the cold, surrounded in white, while pounding down mile after mile after mile. Alert checkpoint personnel are critical. Being able to see the field also provides a safety blanket for mushers. Should someone veer off track, ITC officials have
Posted by: Shawn Curtis
on Jun 28, 2010
Here is a summary of a review of the Nomad written by Conrad Blickenstorfer at RuggedPCreview.com. See what the independent reviewer says about the Nomad and follow the link to see his full review.
"Well, this was fun. We probably spent more time with the Nomad than with most rugged handhelds and notebooks that come to our lab. The 800 MHz Marvell PXA320 processor certainly had something to do with it.
