Page 24 - ARUBA TODAY

A24 TECHNOLOGY
Tuesday 7 augusT 2018
Pentagon restricts use of fitness trackers, other devices

By LOLITA C. BALDOR tion. affecting the use of cell-
Associated Press Concerns about exercise phones and other elec-
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mili- trackers and other elec- tronic devices that the de-
tary troops and other de- tronic devices came to partment has released in
fense personnel at sensitive a head in January in the recent months. In May, de-
bases or certain high-risk wake of revelations that an fense officials laid out new
warzone areas won't be al- interactive, online map was restrictions for the use of
lowed to use fitness tracker pinpointing troop locations, cellphones and other mo-
or cellphone applications bases and other sensitive bile wireless devices inside
that can reveal their loca- areas around the world. the Pentagon.
tion, according to a new The Global Heat Map, pub- That memo called for
Pentagon order. lished by the GPS tracking stricter adherence to long-
The memo, obtained by company Strava, used sat- held practices that require
The Associated Press, stops ellite information to map phones be left in storage
short of banning the fitness the locations of subscribers containers outside secure
trackers or other electronic to Strava's fitness service. At areas where sensitive mat-
devices, which are often the time, the map showed ters are discussed.
linked to cellphone appli- In this July 20, 2016 file photo, six fitness tracking devices activity from 2015 through But it also stopped short of
cations or smart watches measuring step counts and other fitness features are worn in September 2017. banning the devices, and
and can provide the users' New York. Associated Press And while heavily populat- instead made clear that
GPS and exercise details to ed areas were well lit, war- cellphones can still be used
social media. "These geolocation capa- For example, troops ex- zones such as Iraq and Syria in common areas and oth-
It says the applications on bilities can expose person- ercising at major military show scattered pockets of er offices in the Pentagon if
personal or government- al information, locations, bases around the country, activity that could denote classified information is not
issued devices present a routines, and numbers of such at Fort Hood in Texas military or government per- present.
"significant risk" to military DOD personnel, and po- or Norfolk Naval Station sonnel using fitness trackers The latest memo says the
personnel so those capa- tentially create unintend- in Virginia, would likely be as they move around. new restrictions include
bilities must be turned off in ed security consequences able to use the location The Pentagon immediately GPS functions on fitness
certain operational areas. and increased risk to the software on their phones launched a review, noting trackers, phones, tablets,
Under the new order, mili- joint force and mission," the or fitness devices. Troops that the electronic signals smart watches and other
tary leaders will be able to memo said. on missions in more sensi- could potentially disclose applications.
determine whether troops Defense personnel who tive locations, such as Syria, the location of troops who The Pentagon also said it
under their command can aren't in sensitive areas will Iraq, Afghanistan or parts of are in secret or classified lo- will provide additional cy-
use the GPS function on be able to use the GPS ap- Africa, meanwhile, would cations or on small forward bersecurity training to in-
their devices, based on the plications, if the command- be restricted from using the operating bases in hostile clude the risks posed by the
security threat in that area ers conclude it doesn't devices or be required to areas. trackers and other mobile
or on that base. present a risk. turn off any location func- This is the second memo devices.q

Japanese students use VR to

recreate Hiroshima bombing

shima before, during and experience." ic bomb fell and after, I
after the U.S. dropped an Wearing virtual reality saw many photos of build-
atomic bomb on the city headsets, users can take a ings that were gone. I re-
73 years ago Monday. walk along the Motoyasu ally felt how scary atomic
By transporting users back River prior to the blast and bombs can be," he said.
in time to the moment see the businesses and "So while creating this scen-
when a city was turned into buildings that once stood. ery, I felt it was really impor-
a wasteland, the students They can enter the post of- tant to share this with oth-
and their teacher hope to fice and the Shima Hospital ers."
ensure that something simi- courtyard, where the skel- To recreate Hiroshima, the
lar never happens again. etal remains of a building students studied old photo-
The Aug. 6, 1945, bombing now known as the Atomic graphs and postcards and
In Friday, Aug. 8, 2018, photo, Namio Matsura, a 17-year-old of Hiroshima killed 140,000 Bomb Dome stand on the interviewed survivors of
member of the computation skill research club at Fukuyama people. Three days later, a river's banks, a testament the bombing to hear their
Technical High School, watches the bridge over the Motoyasu
River, seen on screen, before atomic bomb fell on Hiroshima second U.S. atomic bomb to what happened. experiences and get their
in virtual reality experience at the school in Hiroshima, western killed 70,000 people in Na- The students, who belong feedback on the VR foot-
Japan. gasaki. Japan surrendered to the computation skill re- age. They used computer
Associated Press six days after that, ending search club at Fukuyama graphics software to add
World War II. Technical High School, further details such as light-
By HARUKA NUGA flattened and smoke rises "Even without language, were born more than half a ing and the natural wear
Associated Press from crackling fires under a once you see the images, century after the bombing. and tear on building sur-
FUKUYAMA, Japan (AP) — darkened sky. you understand," said Mei Yuhi Nakagawa, 18, said he faces.
It's a sunny summer morn- Over two years, a group Okada, one of the students initially didn't have much "Those who knew the city
ing in the city of Hiroshima, of Japanese high school working on the project at a interest in what happened very well tell us it's done
Japan. Cicadas chirp in students has been pains- technical high school in Fu- when the bombs were very well. They say it's very
the trees. A lone plane takingly producing a five- kuyama, a city about 100 dropped; if anything, it was nostalgic," said Katsushi
flies high overhead. Then minute virtual reality expe- kilometers (60 miles) east of a topic he had avoided. Hasegawa, a computer
a flash of light, followed by rience that recreates the Hiroshima. "That is definitely "When I was creating the teacher who supervises the
a loud blast. Buildings are sights and sounds of Hiro- one of the merits of this VR buildings before the atom- club.q