The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate may unveil the finalized Joey GPS system as early as next Tuesday, after a successful test run in December paved the way, according to junior TCU Senator Matt Shapanka.
The technology, officially titled the JoeyTracker Beta, will allow students to track the progress of the campus shuttle, which runs to and from Davis Square, via the Internet.
The test run was meant to be kept private, but its Web address was leaked to the campus blog TuftsOTR.com, providing students with access to it. Many students used the test version of the technology via the blog's Web site until it was removed.
Shapanka proposed the GPS service during the 2005-2006 academic year as a way to track the location of the shuttle, unofficially dubbed "the Joey," and determine when it will arrive at different stops on campus.
The plan has encountered many setbacks since its initial proposal, but the success of the December test run means the project could become a reality next week.
"To be honest, it's good to finally see it come to fruition," Shapanka said. "I just hope the student body finds it to be useful. 'Fix the Joey' is a complaint that we've gotten ever since I've been at Tufts."
Shapanka said the Web site will update roughly every 10 seconds. He verified the accuracy of the tracker himself during the testing, sitting outside the campus center with his laptop.
Shapanka also created a personal Facebook.com page for the GPS system, so that users can now become "fans" of JoeyTracker. Shapanka intends to use the page to post news about the expected URL and relay information about problems the system experiences.
"If there's a day when the system is down, I can send out a message that way," he said. "For now, I don't see that happening."
Having made two predictions in the past about expected start dates for the GPS system, Shapanka pointed out that while Tuesday's unveiling is his goal, it is not certain.
"I'm confident that it's going to work, but I want to make it clear that this is our target. It's not final yet."
