Track a Soda Can with GPS?

I am Kobayashi writes "According to the Indianapolis Star Online, next summer Coca-cola will feature a promotion in which winners will be located by satellites tracking GPS devices implanted in the winning cans.... Hopefully they track you fast before you throw-away (or recycle) your winning can...." And in another bit of Coke news, they've got a new high-tech billboard: jhkoh writes "Reuters/Yahoo is reporting that Coca-Cola has unveiled an 'intelligent' billboard in London's Piccadilly Circus -- at 99 feet wide, the world's biggest -- that supposedly will respond to weather, movement, and SMS text messages. The billboard itself is 52 square meters of LED display. How soon before someone hacks it?"

Geocaching

[Davak]

What an odd bastardization of Geocaching!
Geocaching [geocaching.com] is exploring for objects other people have hidden using GPS. It's a blast and very addictive.

However, GPS does not send signals... it only receives... How are they going to track people?

Davak

So...

[glenrm]

Coca-Cola and the Howard Dean campaign are new slashdot advertisers?

I win!

[Anonymous Coward]

Hurray since the GPS receiver will have to be small enough to fit in a can it will probably use a PLL synthesised reciever. A sensitive frequency scanner wanding over unpurchased cans might improve your odds.

Re:"GPS Transponder"?

[KingRobot]

I should think otherwise:
GPS Transpoder [google.com]
Looks like the power draw is low enough to survive a trip in a coke can too &lt 40 milliamps.

Transportation Insecurity

[Detritus]

I'd like to see one of the lucky winners try to get on an airplane with a specially modified can in their carry-on baggage. She's got a bomb!

Re:Geocaching

[phoenix_rizzen]

Yes, they give you the exact co-ordinates. However, they don't tell you how to get to those co-ordinates. That's the challenging part. Maybe it's hidden downtown, on the fifteenth floor of some office building. Maybe it's hidden on the other side of a small mountain range that you have to either climb over, or drive around. Maybe it's hidden deep in some cave. Maybe it's hidden in your backyard ... you never know.

Getting to the co-ordinates is where the fun is.

Re:Something not quite right here...

[Anonymous Coward]

It still doesn't add up. Someone is being phenomenally stupid here, either the article writers or the promotional geniuses at Coke. And we know how smart *they* are... *cough*newcoke*cough*

What the fuck are you talking about? New coke was a brilliant and phenomenally successful marketing gimmick.

("No thanks, I only drink CocaCola Classic! ")

Hell, I hardly drink Coke and I'm posting about it on the net... they must be doing something right.

read the freaking posts ...

[pbhj]

Lumpy (I think was his name) has posted a link to dpie who have a device devloped for Budweiser (of USA) to use in promotions ... if you read the linked article (which I posted an excerpt of elsewhere) then you'd find answers to many of the questions you have.

Won't I just be able to find the can using a "bug catcher"?

No, the transmitter is activated on opening the can.

The batteries will be flat real quick!?

See above

They can't fit a GPS receiver and a UMTS/GSM transceiver in a coke can, can they?

Yup sure looks like it www.dpie.com/news/gpscan.html [dpie.com] (<-- that link again).

GPS is reception system, how'll they find me?

The GPS coordinates (or possibly raw data?) will be sent via GSM (mobile phone carrier) signal, alerting some marketing hoodlums to come and rough you up!

Wow, what a cool item!?

Yeah, they can even respond to the 'coke can' and query it for more details.

Isn't that a waste of technology/resources?

Undoubtedly. What a twisted society we live in. Next thing we know we'll all be buying PCs instead of sending food and medical aid to the starving and downtrodden of the world ....