Location tracking can help make life more convenient, making it easy to find nearby restaurants or to hire an Uber for example. However, there are also a growing number of people worried about the other side of location tracking – the thought that Google or other companies might know your every movement. So, what are the pros and cons of location tracking, and is it worth giving up some privacy in order to feel more secure or be more social?
Advantages of location tracking
One of the biggest advantages of having GPS tracking on your mobile phone is that it allows emergency responders to easily find you during an emergency. Previously, emergency services used triangulation to estimate the callers’ location by measuring signal strength from mobile masts. This takes time and is less accurate than GPS tracking.
Tracking can also help you locate your brand new €1,000 phone when you have left it on the train or if it is stolen. Many high-end cell phones can now track a missing device using its GPS receiver. They can also provide real-time updates of the phone’s current location. As long as the device is active and charged, it can continue to broadcast its tracking signal until you catch up with it.
This same system can also allow you to keep tabs on your children or other family members. If you are worried about your child or an elderly relative getting lost, GPS tracking allows you to know exactly where they are.
GPS tracking systems are not just for people. They are also installed in many new cars and allow a car’s location to be tracked remotely. In addition, these systems can automatically call for help in the case of an accident and allow remote operators to unlock your car if you lose your keys or lock them inside the car.
Many social networking applications also use location tracking to provide information about friends in the area, allowing you to more easily locate each other and meet up. For example, Google Maps has a feature that allows others to follow your progress during a specific trip. The Glympse app allows users to share their location for a limited period of time, which in theory prevents the app from being abused by stalkers. And there is Apple’s Find My Friends app, which lets users permanently share their location with friends.
The downsides of location tracking
Just as GPS trackers allow users to share their location with friends and family, they also allow users to inadvertently share their whereabouts with stalkers. This is particularly dangerous for children, especially as some apps give almost anyone permission to track their location. Parents should always create restrictions that prohibit their children from adding followers inside the app and consider blocking any apps which do not have this feature.
Companies can also take advantage of location trackers to send targeted ads. But that is not all. Many companies now use location tracking to follow you all the time, building up a profile of your habits that they can sell on to advertisers. Some people don’t mind that advertisers know exactly where they are and what they are up to. But if you aren’t careful with your privacy settings, advertisers will not be the only ones who can stalk you. “Checking in” at locations while running errands provides potential thieves with detailed knowledge of your daily schedule.
A recent story from the US revealed that mobile phone carriers were selling real-time customer location information to data brokers. These brokers then sold the information to law enforcement and others, avoiding the “annoying” formality of gaining a court order. It is not only criminals who should be worried about this – the data brokers could be selling your location data to anyone. The phone carriers claim to have stopped this practice.
Most security experts agree that it is almost impossible to stop location tracking on your smartphone or through its apps. In fact, many apps will not work without location tracking. Some suggest that this is a reason for us to embrace location sharing. Others argue this means it has gotten out of control. For the majority of people, the benefits likely outweigh the risks. But for those who are trying to hide – whether from bullies, stalkers, creeps or Johnny law – it is best to turn off your phone’s location-sharing tools.
This article was originally published on 6th September 2019.
Spotted: According to the World Bank, by 2050, nearly 7 out of 10 people around the globe will live in cities. At the same time, average temperatures will continue to rise, and extreme weather events will become more frequent due to global warming. To adjust to this new reality, urban planners need to assess all developments for climate impact. This is exactly where technology developed by climatetech company Greenpass can help.
Greenpass has developed a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that supports construction companies, city planners, and developers in making their projects more climate-resilient and sustainable. The software assesses the impact of buildings on areas such as climate, wind, water, air, biodiversity, energy, and cost.
The platform creates a digital twin of an area and performs a 3D impact analysis of different scenarios, for example, simulating and evaluating the planning of a construction project. The simulation results are then combined with spatial analyses to calculate key performance indicators. For example, a climate check focuses on the thermal comfort for humans as well as the energy balance of a project.
Initially emerging from a research project, the Greenpass technology has been honed over the past ten years, in cooperation with international research institutes, universities, and international model cities. The company has received total funding of around €6 million to develop its software and processes, and the technology has already been used over 220 projects in more than 10 countries.
Given the impact of the real estate sector on global warming, it is no surprise that a lot of the innovations Springwise has spotted are targeted at reducing this. From modular building bricks made from cork to building cladding made of recycled glass, there is no shortage of ideas for reaching net zero in the industry.
Written By: Lisa Magloff
Spotted: The International Energy Agency (IEA) says that in the net zero by 2050 scenario, direct air capture (DAC) needs to reach over 85 megatonnes of CO2 in 2030. Currently, the 18 direct air capture plants in operation around the world are only sequestering 0.01 megatonnes of CO2. While experts consider 60 megatonnes of CO2 captured per year to be an attainable amount, additional large-scale plants are needed to reach that volume.
As well as building new plants, retrofitting old structures could be another way of reducing global emissions. German company NeoCarbon has built a system that integrates with existing cooling towers to capture carbon dioxide from the circulating air. Due to this approach, NeoCarbon cuts the cost of DAC significantly and increases the scaling speed. At scale, NeoCarbon is able to capture 1.3 gigatonne of CO2 per year
Carbon dioxide is removed from the air as it circulates throughout the cooling towers, reducing companies’ emissions footprint without requiring any additional building expenses.
NeoCarbon transforms captured emissions into newly usable formats, including industrial chemicals and food-grade materials. The CO2 captured by NeoCarbon’s carbon capture modules can be used for industrial processes that utilise CO2, or it can be permanently stored to become truly carbon negative.
Sequestering carbon is an exciting area of growth, with Springwise spotting innovations improving ways emissions are captured, as well as expanding the uses of the waste carbon. In the fashion industry, one company is replacing traditional polyester fabrics with a net-positive version made from carbon dioxide. And another organisation is using geothermal energy to sustainably power its direct air capture systems.
Written By: Keely Khoury
Spotted: According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the chemical sector is one of the largest industry subsectors in terms of direct CO2 emissions. These emissions largely come from fuel that is used as a raw material rather than as a source of energy. Reducing the carbon emitted by the sector requires new processes and feedstocks, and Amsterdam-based Photanol thinks it has found a solution.
Photanol uses cyanobacteria that have been optimized to produce useful chemicals through photosynthesis. The company has, in essence, transformed these bacteria into mini-factories that run on CO2 and sunlight.
Veronique de Bruijn, CEO of Photanol explains the process: “The cyanobacteria are basically our mini-factories, they use CO2 as the raw material and turn this into chemical compounds such as organic acids, which are the building blocks for biodegradable plastics, personal care products, and a host of other things.”
The company was spun out of the University of Amsterdam and has been working with partners and investors to build a pilot plant and scale up its development process. The process aims to compete with most bio-based alternatives, such as biodegradable plastics and some more specialised applications, and eventually at larger scale even beat the cost of fossil-based raw materials.
And Photanol is not alone – others are also using bacteria to save energy and sequester CO2. Springwise has recently covered cold-loving, plastic-digesting microbes and the use of microbes to make proteins at speed.
Written By: Lisa Magloff
Spotted: Globally, water scarcity is a growing problem. According to some estimates, demand for water could exceed supply by 40 per cent as soon as the year 2030. At the same time, a typical 300-room hotel will use nearly 200 gallons per room a day, with the bulk of that coming from the bathroom.
To encourage hotel guests to use less water, startup Shower Stream has developed a device that attaches easily to the shower head and connects to Wi-Fi for collecting water usage, temperature, and pressure data in real time. Guests turn on the shower as usual and, when the water has reached a desired temperature, the device will pause water flow and restart it at the same temperature once the motion sensors detect the guest has entered the shower.
Not only does the device lower water costs for the hotel, but it also provides monthly reporting of energy and water data that helps hotel operators identify potential maintenance issues before they become expensive. The data collected also helps hotels apply for local rebates and incentives that act as additional revenue streams.
According to Shower Stream, the device averages water and energy savings of around $30,000 (around €28,000) per hotel. The technology is also low-cost, at around $5 (around €4.67) per unit and $10 (around €9.34) per month for the advanced analytics. This device is attracting the attention of a number of hotel chains and investors, with Shower Stream already installed in properties belonging to Hyatt Hotels, Global Hotel Group, Extended Stay America, and more.
Hotels are not the only ones concerned with water savings. Springwise has recently spotted a number of innovations aimed at reducing water use. These include a water-recycling shower and sustainable laundry service.
Written By: Lisa Magloff
Spotted: About one third of all food produced is wasted, with about five per cent of that wastage occurring in the food service industry. Singaporean startup Lumitics has developed a novel way to fight food waste in commercial kitchens.
Lumitics’ system, dubbed Insight, uses sensor technology and proprietary image recognition to weigh and identify the precise types of food thrown away. The device is designed to aid in analysing waste to determine exactly what is being wasted and how to prevent this – for example, by purchasing different amounts of certain foods or utilising trimmings more efficiently.
Because it can analyse the exact foods being thrown away, Insight can also tell chefs what foods are more or less popular with guests, informing menu planning and the amount of different foods prepared each day. Lumitics claims that, on average, its solution helps commercial kitchens reduce 30 per cent of their food waste and up to 8 per cent of their food cost.
The company has so far held five seed and pre-seed funding rounds. However, the company is also concentrating on developing partnerships, such as a recent deal with Diversey to place Insight in more commercial kitchens outside the Asia-Pacific region.
Food waste is a huge problem, which is why Springwise has spotted a growing number of innovations designed to tackle it. From an app that helps families avoid food waste to repurposing food waste as new food – there is no shortage of ideas for driving down waste.
Written By: Lisa Magloff
Spotted: Climate change is affecting the way that farmers grow crops, with changes to growing season length, more extreme weather, and an increasing need for more heat and drought-tolerant crops. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates up to 14 per cent of food globally is lost every year due to climate change, and this will only get worse in the next few years.
Phytoform is a biotech startup working to develop new climate-resilient crops that are better-adapted to these changing conditions. The approach involves the use of deep machine learning and genome editing technologies to identify new, advantageous traits. Then, those traits are implemented directly into crop varieties using CRISPR genome editing.
The company uses a proprietary machine learning technology called CRE.AI.TIVE to identify any small changes in DNA sequences that will have a maximum impact on crops. Using artificial intelligence (AI), Phytoform filters through millions of sequences and implements desired new traits using genome editing. The result is that new plant varieties can be develop in months, rather than years or decades, and at a fraction of the cost.
Phytoform is not the only company working to improve crop resilience through genetics. Springwise has spotted other innovations in this area, including a microbial seed dressing that increases drought resistance in crops and a system that improves yield and reduces the water needed for irrigation.
Written By: Lisa Magloff
Spotted: Most beverage bottles are recyclable, but actual recycle rates vary significantly. For example, although most glass is 100 per cent recyclable, only around 32 per cent of glass containers are actually recycled – and the figure for plastic beverage bottles is much worse. A Thai startup called Sustaintech is hoping to change this with a sustainable reward system for beverage bottle recycling.
Sustaintech has developed the CircularOne, an artificial-intelligence-enabled (AI) reverse vending machine that’s placed in stores. Users can deposit their used bottles in the machine. Using AI and visual analytics, the machine is able to automatically check the material quality and sort the containers, including PET bottles, aluminium cans, and glass bottles.
The CircularOne can identify each type of container, scan bar codes, and measure weight to determine if there is any liquid left in the container. ‘Depositors’ can then receive a variety of rewards for their deposit – such as vouchers, contributions to charity, or digital tokens for future purchases. The machines can also be customised to match store design, branding, and reward options.
Sustaintech has partnered with Tencent Cloud to allow the platform to produce and analyse data on the type of materials recycled. Mr. Chang Foo, COO of Tencent (Thailand), commented that, “Apart from sorting used containers, [Sustaintech’s] solutions can also detect and eject broken or damaged glass bottles and send notifications which consume less time and make the sorting process more effective.”
With recycling rates for materials like plastic and glass still quite low in many countries, it is vital to try and make improvements. Innovations that Springwise has recently spotted, like carbon-negative textiles and a backpack made from recycled plastic, are helping to show the way to circularity.
Written By: Lisa Magloff
Spotted: Every year, between 8 to 10 million metric tonnes of plastic end up in our oceans. Countries in Southeast Asia are among the major offenders – many lack the infrastructure to collect and process plastic waste. Vietnam, which only recycles around a third of its plastic waste, is one of these. But a startup called ReForm Plastic is aiming to change this, as well as improve the lives of Vietnamese waste pickers – who are largely women.
ReForm focuses on repurposing different types of waste plastic into moulded plastic products such as: construction tiles, tables, chairs, waste bins, playground equipment, and holds for rock-climbing walls. However, the startup is also repurposing the waste system by transforming existing collection centres into small production facilities.
The small recycling centres are equipped with efficient low-cost machinery, collection and processing equipment. Each centre is partially locally owned and managed, but generates products that are centrally purchased and distributed by ReForm.
ReForm already has four factories in operation in Vietnam – and is building six more in partnership with organisations in Thailand, Bangladesh, Laos, Mozambique, and the Philippines. In addition to providing work for thousands of workers, the circular system also formalises a large proportion of the informal waste sector.
One way that innovators are tackling plastic waste is by collecting it and turning it into new products – reducing waste as well as the use of fossil fuels to make virgin plastics. Springwise has spotted a startup making backpacks from recycled plastic and a refillable and decomposable replacement for plastic pill bottles.
Written By: Lisa Magloff
Spotted: According to the World Bank, each year 4.9 million tons of plastic waste in Indonesia is goes uncollected, is left in open dumpsites, or is leaked from inadequately managed landfills. This ‘wasted waste’ blights neighbourhoods, damages wildlife, and leaches chemicals into the water. To find a solution, Jakarta-based startup Octopus has developed a circular economy platform to collect and dispose of waste.
Octopus offers two main kinds of service. In one, consumers download an app and book a time slot for waste pickers – called pelestari – to collect their trash. The rubbish is then sold on to recycling businesses.
The role of waste picker already exists in Indonesia. However, by taking waste directly from consumers instead of sifting through landfills, the pelestari can work in a safer way and earn higher prices. And, because the app formalises their labour, the pickers can build a verifiable employment history, making it easier to open bank accounts and gain access to credit. Octopus also provides a training programme through its app.
The other part of Octopus’ business model is to provide data on waste collection and recycling to fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands that help them meet their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) targets. Octopus also runs a deposit refund system for larger producers and brands. The startup already has more than 150,000 users and raised $5 million (around €4.7 million) last year, in a funding round led by Openspace and SOSV.
Plastic waste is a huge concern, so it is no surprise that Springwise has spotted a lot of energy being put towards developing innovative solutions. These range from recycling tyres into green roof panels to using fungi to break down hard-to-recycle plastics.