Patent ID: 7123189

Claim:
An apparatus for actively assisting a user in returning to an earlier geographic location, the apparatus comprising: a GPS receiver for receiving signals from a plurality of orbiting satellites and, based thereon, determining a geographic location of the apparatus with respect to the orbiting satellites; a memory for storing a series of the geographic locations, including a current geographic location, corresponding to a movement of the apparatus over time; an input mechanism for allowing the user to identify, from among the stored series of geographic locations, the earlier geographic location to which the user desires to return, and for allowing the user to select a return route by which to return to the earlier geographic location; and a warning mechanism for communicating a warning to the user when the user deviates from the return route by more than a pre-established amount while traveling back to the earlier geographic location, wherein the pre-established amount is based on a total distance to be traveled between the current geographic location and the earlier geographic location.