Vehicle Tracking & Vehicle Telematics : Articles and Information

There are two distinct types of vehicle tracking

noreply@blogger.com (Life In Another Town) — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 19:28:00 +0000

Vehicle tracking also know as GPS vehicle tracking, GPS Tracking or Satellite Tracking is a major part of many vehicle telematics solutions. GPS Vehicle Tracking is technology which enables the user to remotely locate and track the movements, status and behaviour of cars, vans or heavy goods lorries.

Generally speaking, when the term vehicle tracking is used, it refers to the scenarios outlined above. However, there are actually two distinct types of vehicle tracking. Some products on the market are a hybrid of both AVL and EATS technology. However industry practice has tended to lean towards a separation of these functions. It is worth taking note that vehicle tracking products tend to fall in to one, not both of the technologies.

Cartoon by Noel Ford

A.V.L (Automatic Vehicle Location)

Automatic Vehicle Location technology is predominately used when applying vehicle tracking to fleet or driver management solutions. The unit is configured to automatically transmit it’s location at a set time interval, e.g. every 5 minutes. The unit is activated when the ignition is switched on/off.

The use of Automatic Vehicle Location is given in the following scenario; A car breaks down by the side of the road. The roadside recovery company has equipped its fleet with GPS Vehicle Tracking. It has several vehicles operating in the area. Without needing to call each driver to check his location the dispatcher can use his Vehicle Tracking System to pinpoint his nearest vehicle and assign it to the new job. If you were to incorporate, in addition to GPS Vehicle Tracking, the other aspects of vehicle telematics into this scenario; the dispatcher, rather than phoning the recovery vehicle operative, could transmit the job details directly to the operative’s mobile data device, who would then use the in-vehicle satellite navigation to aid his journey to the job.

E.A.T.S (Events Activated Tracking system)

This type of system is primarily used in connection with vehicle or driver security solutions. If, for example a thief breaks into your car and attempts to steal it, the tracking system can be triggered by the immobiliser unit or motion sensor being activated. A monitoring bureau, will then be automatically notified that the unit has been activated and begin tracking the vehicle.

Events activated Vehicle Tracking technology is predominately used when applying vehicle tracking to vehicle security solutions. An example of this distinction is given in the following scenario; A construction company owns some pieces of plant machinery that are regularly left unattended, at weekends, on building sites. Thieves break onto one site and a piece equipment, such as a digger, is loaded on the back of a flat bed truck and then driven away. Typically the ignition wouldn’t need to be turned on and as such most of the AVL products available wouldn’t typically be activated. Only products that included a unit that was activated by a motion sensor or GeoFence alarm event, would be activated. Both AVL and EATS systems track, but for different purposes.

Regular topic and content updates are available here or shown now in full over at What are Vehicle Telematics and Vehicle Tracking? on the UK Telematics Online website.

Google Latitude Test _ Matthew and Heather go to Belarus

noreply@blogger.com (Life In Another Town) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 02:15:00 +0000

My wife and I are driving to Belarus to take Christmas presents to the children of the Rechitsa Orphanage in Gomel Region Belarus. We leave via Harwich/Hook of Holland on New Year's Day. Our route will include - Hook of Holland, Berlin, Warsaw, Rogachev, Gomel and Rechitsa. Google Latitiude is an application which, once installed on a compatible mobile phone, will update the phone location to the online google latitude page. If you want to share and view locations with friends and have a free google account, then login, add Latitude to your igoogle dashboard and add friends using their email address. The accuracy of the location provided by Google Latitude is dependent on a number of factors; proximity to mobile phone cell towers, GPS coverage, Data connection between phone and Google Latitude and the phone privacy settings. Accuracy of location radius distances can vary greatly, from anything between a few metres and a couple of kilometres. The trip to Belarus will be a great test of all the factors.

Regular topic and content updates are available here or shown now in full over at What are Vehicle Telematics and Vehicle Tracking? on the UK Telematics Online website.

Google Offers Free Satellite Navigation On Android Phones

noreply@blogger.com (Life In Another Town) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:28:00 +0000

Google has announced a free satellite navigation application and free music search in smartphones that operates through Google’s Android operating system. It will be initially available in US, on Motorola Droid phone, which employs Google’s Android 2.0 software. This new navigation system will add real time directions, Google street view photos, voice technology and real-time traffic data. Unlike TomTom and Garmin GPS Satellite Navigation, Google Maps Navigation Application Google Maps Navigation uses your phone's internet connection to give you the latest maps and business data.

Extract from news.CNET :
The application works like any navigation system that you may have used, but it combines Google Search and Google Maps functions that are normally only available on the desktop and brings them to the smartphone. Perhaps the most interesting and useful feature comes from Google Street View, allowing Google to provide a Street View image at every turn that the application suggests during your journey.

As with other navigation applications, users can search for gas stations or restaurants along the way, and get real-time traffic information. Google also developed a unique "arms-length" user interface that automatically pops up when the software detects that it has been placed into a dashboard holder, with bigger buttons and links to voice controls front and center.

Obviously, Google is not the first to offer a combination of turn-by-turn maps and Web services. Many different smartphone applications provide this type of navigation service, and companies like Garmin and TomTom are also working to embed Web-delivered data into their on-dash and built-in navigation systems.

But the price for Google Maps Navigation--free--will be tough to beat. Expect to see ads pop up at a later date, although they won't be present at launch.

Google doesn't plan to open-source the application but does plan to make it free on Android 2.0 phones, and implied that the application would be free for other partners as they cut deals to use the application. That could dramatically reduce the cost of developing navigation services, undercutting the established industry with a product that consumers already know very well: there are 50 million active users of Google Mobile Maps, Gundotra said.

Google is not sure whether Google Maps Navigation will work on older Android phones that will get upgraded to Android 2.0. That depends on the carrier and phone maker, Gundotra said.

Regular topic and content updates are available here or shown now in full over at What are Vehicle Telematics and Vehicle Tracking? on the UK Telematics Online website.

Carbon Fibre blocks GPS Signals?

noreply@blogger.com (Life In Another Town) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:21:00 +0000

This an extract taken from an enquiry I received via the UK Telematics Online website and my subsequent response.

Question: One other thing, which is slightly off track, is do you know anything about how carbon fibre affects GPS signals? I was having a discussion about this with a tutor from the school of art who insists carbon fibre would be detrimental to GPS effectiveness, however, I have doubts that a few mm or so would be significantly restrictive.

Answer: In all honesty I was ignorant of the possibility that Carbon Fibre can block GPS signals. Although, I’ve now just done a quick Google search and there were several items where people were discussing the issue, but in my brief search, I didn’t come across any empirical evidence.

However, it is common practice in vehicle telematics, where a device could be installed deep inside the structure of a car or lorry and GPS reception could be degraded, to attach external antennas to the device. This was accepted practice with most devices that use a SIRF II type GPS module and good practice. even today, where the latest devices will use a SIRF III type module. The device could be installed in the bowels of the dashboard, but the antenna might, for example, be mounted behind the upholstery of the roof arm. There is an article on GPS Passion which discuss the merits of various GPS receivers.

This link is to a Chinese manufacturer I came across while Googling, who happened to have an array of external GPS antennas. This link discusses making your own external GPS antenna.

If anyone has any comments or additional helpful information, please free to submit a post.

Regular topic and content updates are available here or shown now in full over at What are Vehicle Telematics and Vehicle Tracking? on the UK Telematics Online website.

Question on Accelerometers and GPS devices

noreply@blogger.com (Life In Another Town) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:04:00 +0000

This an extract taken from an enquiry I received via the UK Telematics Online website and my subsequent response.

Question: Hi. I was wondering if you could offer any advice regarding a project I am working on at University. I am aiming to be able to use an accelerometer or impact sensor to trigger a signal being sent to a website or phone. I got a lot of useful tips from your website, and was wondering if you could help further. Could you tell me the most effective GPS for rural areas? Also, what hardware would be required to create a two way channel between a GPS device and a computer?

Answer: There are several commercially available GPS Telematics devices which, in addition to having a GPS/GPRS capability, also include an accelerometer. Some of these devices contain an accelerometer which returns data for an x and y axis and others for an x, y and z axis.

Once such device is the Clear Box from Metasystems. Another is the WT7000 made by WebTech Wireless.

In reply to your question regarding GPS and rural areas, as I understand the matter, GPS is often not the key determining factor when measuring the effectiveness of a GPS Telematics Device. Typically it is the ability of the device to communicate in areas of poor GSM/GPRS that is the key factor. Although GPS effectiveness can be reduced when line of sight is restricted; this occurs in “Urban Canyons” as well as mountainous rural areas. Advances in GPS technology have lead to GPS devices even being able to maintain a GPS signal while indoors, all be it at much reduced accuracy.

Many units are designed to store data packets in memory, if the device falls out of communications coverage. The device will then send these packets when the signal coverage returns. In mission critical applications, where the need to maintain communications is paramount, Satellite Communications modules can be used instead of a GSM/GPRS module.

If anyone has any comments or additional helpful information, please free to submit a post.

Regular topic and content updates are available here or shown now in full over at What are Vehicle Telematics and Vehicle Tracking? on the UK Telematics Online website

UK Vehicle Tracking industry in a state of flux

noreply@blogger.com (Life In Another Town) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 02:18:00 +0000

More than three years ago on my website UK Telematics Online, I warned potential buyers of Vehicle Tracking systems to be wary of buying vehicle tracking via fixed contract leasing agreements. I said at the time; " Be aware that the Telematics Service Provider is often only the supplier of the goods; the actual rental agreement is often done through a third party. If you have problems with the product or service, you will not get a sympathetic hearing from the finance company if you decide to stop payments."

For further advice on buying vehicle tracking systems, please visit the UK Telematics Online website http://www.uktelematicsonline.co.uk/html/buying_tips__vehicle_tracking.html

Many of the major players in the UK Vehicle Tracking sector have found the going difficult over recent months. Issues of increased competition, the economic downturn, and the lack of available credit for both SME's and the vehicle tracking industry in general, has contributed to the financial difficulties of all but a few of the so called "leading" vehicle tracking suppliers.

Customers of a recent industry casualty, Globallive, were reportedly shocked to receive demands for an increase in payments from the new owners or risk having the service terminated, despite having originally signed what they thought were fixed period and fixed cost agreements. The new owners, Causeway, were likely caught between a rock and a hard place and felt they had little option but to increase the charges. Even so, these customers can hardly have been overjoyed at the new arrangement.

Innovations such as Pay As You Go while welcomed by many, have been derided by some suppliers, perhaps keen to bolster a sales model, which while vital to their cash flow model, provides little or no security to the customer should the provider cease being able to deliver the service agreed.

Once again, potential buyers of vehicle tracking need to pay special attention to the ability of the telematics service provider to continue delivering the vehicle tracking service throughout the term of any fixed period agreement.

Regular topic and content updates are available here or shown now in full over at What are Vehicle Telematics and Vehicle Tracking?. on the UK Telematics Online website

GPS Location and Tracking: Helping you manage your responsibilities beyond Fleet Management.

noreply@blogger.com (Life In Another Town) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:52:00 +0000

The use of GPS Fleet Management (also known as Vehicle Tracking or Vehicle Telematics) is increasingly common in today’s business environment, both in the private and public sectors.

As the use of GPS Location technology has developed and become more widespread, so has the scope of its use widened. Once the domain of the Fleet Manager, GPS Location technology has now extended beyond the fleet department and into the hands, literally, of non-vehicle based staff.

Many organisations with a reliance on a vehicle based workforce have invested in GPS Location and Tracking technology. It helps organisations administer a number of fleet management functions, including; Vehicle journey time calculations, mileage monitoring, route planning, Driver behaviour analysis and fuel usage reporting.

Being able to monitor the real-time location of vehicles across a fleet, means organisations are now more able to respond dynamically to changing events and meet the increased expectations of their customers, while reducing unnecessary fuel costs.

The advent of person based GPS Location and Tracking technology, such as the Solo device from Trackitnow, means that non-vehicle based mobile personnel or Lone Workers, such as Street Cleaners, Park Rangers or Community Support Officers, can now also be deployed with increased efficiency.

Increasing defined rules and guidelines pertaining to employers’ responsibilities under Health and Safety at Work and Duty of Care legislation, means this technology is being seen as much more than just a productivity tool.

Advice published by both the HSE and Business link says that “If you employ lone workers, you have the same responsibilities for their health and safety as for any other employees. You may, however, need to take extra precautions to ensure lone workers are at no greater risk than your other employees. Duty of care and traceability must become a priority to senior managers in any organisation both in the public and private sector.

To quote advice published by the Ministry of Justice; The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 sets out a new offence for convicting an organisation where a gross failure in the way activities were managed or organised results in a person’s death. This will apply to a wide range of organisations across the public and private sectors. In England and Wales and Northern Ireland, the new offence will be called corporate manslaughter. It will be called corporate homicide in Scotland. Under a new approach, courts will look at management systems and practices across the organisation, providing a more effective means for prosecuting the worst corporate failures to manage health and safety properly.

What is a Lone Worker? A lone worker is anybody who works alone. The term itself makes it quite clear. The HSE advice continues; A Lone Worker can include; Employees who work away from their business’ base. This occurs in a wide range of business activities, such as transport, construction, maintenance and repair. The term Lone Worker will also include many personnel employed in the Public Sector such as Community Care Workers, Social Workers, Home Helpers and Probation Officers etc.

Incidents of assaults on Public Sector employees have been widely reported, Lone Workers being especially vulnerable. In addition to being a tool that provides a precise, real-time location and journey history, some Lone Worker GPS Location devices, now also serve as personal security devices and inlcude;

· The ability to make and receive voice calls, including Silent Calling feature.

· A Panic Alarm which, when pressed, transmits an Alarm message with the precise location of the device carrier.

· A Motion Sensor which, when activated, transmits an alert location. This is especially useful for Lone Workers who could suffer a fall requiring emergency assistance.

In summary, businesses and organisations, who initially introduced GPS Location technology as a tool, primarily to maximise the efficient use of assets such as vehicles and drivers, are now finding that GPS Location and Tracking technology can also help them meet their other duties and responsibilities.

Regular topic and contents updates available here or shown now in full over at What are Vehicle Telematics and Vehicle Tracking?. on the UK Telematics Online website

A prominent part of many vehicle telematics solutions is Vehicle Tracking.

noreply@blogger.com (Life In Another Town) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 14:59:00 +0000

Typical vehicle tracking systems are comprised of two core parts; vehicle tracking hardware (or vehicle tracking device) and vehicle tracking software. The tracking device is hardwire installed in the vehicle, wired to the ignition switch, battery and antennae. The tracking hardware transmits it’s location ( often by GPRS) updates at a regular timed interval or after an event trigger, e.g. ignition on / off. The location data is made available for viewing more often than not, via a website, accessed over the internet, where vehicle and fleet activity can be viewed live or historically using digital maps and reports.

Regular topic and contents updates available here or shown now in full over at What are Vehicle Telematics and Vehicle Tracking?. on the UK Telematics Online website

Introduction to Vehicle Telematics & Vehicle Tracking

noreply@blogger.com (Life In Another Town) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:22:00 +0000

Every few years a new technology appears that changes forever the way people communicate and do business with each other. GPS Vehicle Tracking Systems have been spawned from the evolution of personal computers, mobile phones, the GPS Global Positioning System and the Internet.

Combined with other related solutions which include among many others; Satellite Navigation, Two Way Data messaging, Engine Diagnostics, Driving Performance Monitoring, a new technology area, Vehicle Telematics, has emerged to benefit fleet, driver and job management.

Although, the more general topic of telematics can cover many areas. The focus of this blog is with vehicle telematics, which can be defined as; “The use of computers and telecommunications to enhance the functionality, productivity and security of both vehicles and drivers.”

Regular topic and contents updates available here or shown now in full over at What are Vehicle Telematics and Vehicle Tracking?. on the UK Telematics Online website