GPS-Based Treasure Hunt Stimulates Students |
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Saad Mubark Sareea Al-Hajri nervously fingered the
GPS receiving device as he scanned the distant sand dune,
waiting for the starter's signal light. The 4 Land Cruisers
were in gear, drivers nudging the starting line. "It's got
to be soon," he thought. There it was, the flash! "HAYA,
HAYA, HAYA" (GO!, GO!, GO!), shouted Saad. The race was on!
Clutches popped and the vehicles sped off in separate
directions, leaving a spider web of tire tracks behind them,
as they raced to a series of different check points using
global positioning system (GPS) receivers to guide them.
Organized by Qatar's Centre for GIS (CGIS), the treasure hunt was staged on January 2, 1997 in the desert near the Sealine Beach Resort, about 100 kilometers south of Doha.
The participating students Saad Mubark Sareea Al-Hajri,
Aayed Saad Saeed Al-Kahtany, Mohammed Hassan Al-Aaoka, Abdul
Rahman Abdulla Al-Saady, Fahad Ali Al-Mastor, Mahmood Salah
Abdul Hafez, Mohammed Samy Jassem Al-Manaay, and Hamad
Rashed Al-Mery were selected from different high schools in
Doha. The race was preceded by 2 days of GPS orientation at
the CGIS offices, which included both hands-on training and
a discussion of the many uses of the technology. Here in
Qatar, for example, GPS is currently used in a variety of
ways including search and rescue operations, emergency
service response, and vehicle routing.
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A view of the starting point |
Students with hand-held GPS receiver |
On the day of the race, the teams joined their experienced desert drivers in a review of safety procedures and an equipment check prior to the start.
First to cross the finish line was the team consisting of Aayed Saad Saeed Al-Kahtany and Hamad Rashed Al Mery.
At the conclusion of the race, the students were joined by their parents and CGIS staff members for a sumptuous dinner at the Sealine resort. While the winning team was announced at the dinner, they will have to wait until the GIS/GPS Conference '97 on March 2 to receive their still unrevealed prize.
Commented Abdulla Saleh Al-Kuwari, Assistant Head of CGIS, "Our intent was to give a group of students the opportunity to explore the use of GPS technology in a non-traditional method. What better way than a treasure hunt?"