The Blue Force Tracker uses satellite signals from friendly forces in the field to map their positions -- reducing the risk of so-called "friendly fire" incidents.

CNN: Technology links 101st on the battlefield

Flying in formation, they could map the gravitational field of an asteroid or moon by monitoring tiny changes in their relative positions.

ECONOMIST: Picosatellites

But as every corporate foot soldier knows, the fight to make businesses profitable is not won by shifting pins on a map, but on the field of battle.

ECONOMIST: Westinghouse RIP | The

It's spending tens of millions of dollars to create an enormous computerized map of every farmer's field in America.

NPR: Crop Cops Take to the Sky

To start with, they will use a combination of aerial photography, field measurements, and ground- and satellite-based sensors to compile a map of all the thermokarstic areas of Alaska.

ECONOMIST: Global warming and the permafrost