If you have been involved in logistics over recent years, you will have heard all about vehicle GPS tracking. To say it’s the buzzword in the industry would be a gross understatement – it’s something which is pretty much commonplace right now.
However, it’s still something of a minefield. Bearing this in mind, we will now take a detailed look at the subject, to highlight exactly what it entails.
How does GPS tracking for vehicles work?
The basis of the technology involves a GPS receiver being placed in each vehicle which wants to use it. These receivers are than able to tap into the 32 GPS satellites which circle the world, and ultimately transmit the signals back.
The way in which the information is passed back to a central office will vary. In some cases, the data might just be stored in a receiver, while in others it might be transmitted in real time back to the office.
The reason these systems are becoming so common is because the GPS satellites have been made freely available. This has caused a wealth of GPS-related products to be released, and companies are therefore able to release solutions at a cost that would have been unheard of a couple of decades ago before the technology was really mainstream.
What sort of information can be obtained?
This is largely going to depend on the type of advice that the company uses. However, in general, you will be able to track the direction the vehicle is traveling, speed, time and location.
It would be fair to say that this is a GPS tracker in its most basic sense though. In some of the more complicated models, the potential is immense. For example, some of them are able to report on the amount of times in which sudden braking is detected. For a business, this is a significant statistic, as it suggests how efficiently a vehicle is being driven, as well as if there are any erratic tendencies from the driving. It may also lead to suggestions that some drivers needed additional training.
How is this information transmitted?
There tend to be two possible suggestions in this regard; on-the-go (as soon as the data is collected), or downloaded to a server so that it can be used in the future. This is partly related to the device which is being used to track the data, and also the way in which the company wants to operate. Some will want that instant feedback, while others might want to analyze their vehicles all in one go at a later date.
A summary on vehicle tracking solutions
As you can see, the ease in which companies can implement GPS tracking into their vehicles is incredible. The data available is highly impressive, and more than sufficient to change business processes to ultimately deliver more profit. One would have to assume that it’s also only a matter of time before further information can be obtained from these devices.