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Thinking of Investing in a Vehicle Tracking System?

Thinking of Investing in a Vehicle Tracking System?

Sushant Singh1058 04-Mar-2019
GPS vehicle tracking has moved beyond personal use for your own car, percolating into commercial use.
Rightly so, since as a fleet owner, you require a system that helps you monitor your vehicles on the road, and off it as well.
Manual surveillance has become a thing of the past, with more and more businesses relying on technology to upscale their brand.
But not everyone is aware of the actual technicalities that go into vehicle tracking.
If you are thinking of jumping on the vehicle tracking system bandwagon, here are 4 things you should know beforehand.

1: Don’t be fooled by real-time tracking
Thinking of Investing in a Vehicle Tracking System? Here are 4 Things You Must Know

Many vehicle tracker providers out there will claim that their product offers an “absolute real-time tracking” facility for your fleet. This declaration is not utterly true. In reality, your vehicle tracking system provider will deliver very frequent position updates for your vehicle, the time span ranging from a 5-minute update to every 10 seconds or so. In hindsight, this approach is a better maneuver for you and the provider, as it allows you to stay informed about the location of your vehicle, all the while saving the system from blowing up due to over-utilization of data, bandwidth, and network. As it turns out, the time gap between the exact location and the location on display to you is almost negligible.

2: The technology being used is Telematics
Thinking of Investing in a Vehicle Tracking System? Here are 4 Things You Must Know

The backbone of a vehicle tracking system is Telematics. Telematics is the fusion of mainly two disciplines: telecommunications and informatics, with a stronghold on electronics, automobile technologies, and computer science. It allows the exchange of information with remote entities with the help of telecommunication. With the data procured by telematics for vehicle tracking, one can have complete access to the control of remotely situated vehicles that are on the move. Moreover, when intermingled with GPS, cyber technology, Telematics allows navigation and can be integrated with computer systems for easy usage.
For a vehicle tracking system, Vehicular Telematics is a boon as it gathers all the data related to your vehicle: location, ignition on/off, idling, driving pattern and history, engine health, fuel consumption, and other maintenance endeavors.

3: Types of GPS based Vehicle Tracking Devices
Thinking of Investing in a Vehicle Tracking System? Here are 4 Things You Must Know

The market offers a huge variety of vehicle tracking systems, however, they can be categorized broadly into 4 segments each:

  • On-Board Diagnostics: These are portable vehicle tracking devices. They need to be plugged into a port inside the vehicle, and they are good to use. One drawback, however, is that just as it is easy to install, it is as easy to tamper with and remove.
  • Battery Powered Device: As the name suggests, these types of vehicle trackers run on their own power source. They are used in vehicles that cannot afford to juice out their power supply from their own vehicle batteries, or for equipment that does not have a power supply, to begin with. They are also a good investment if your tracking needs are intermittent since energy consumption will be lower.
  • Installed Trackers: If you want your crew to be unaware of the exact location the tracking device is installed inside the vehicle, then an Installed Tracker is your best bet. They can be deployed anywhere inside the vehicle’s dashboard and hence will go unnoticed.
  • Advanced Vehicle Tracking Device: These devices are also deployed within the vehicle’s dashboard, and come in handy when you wish to manipulate car buttons, keep an eye on the vehicle’s power takeoff, etc.

4: Mode of operation of a vehicle tracking system

Thinking of Investing in a Vehicle Tracking System? Here are 4 Things You Must Know
Talking about the approach that GPS trackers take when they are installed and are ready to be used, it majorly takes place in two forms: Active and Passive. Various types of vehicle tracking devices function in either of the two configurations. There are certain advantages and disadvantages that come with each type of operation, and their compatibility with different types of GPS based Vehicle Tracking Systems also varies.

                a: Passive Configuration 

In the passive configuration, the GPS tracking device is simply tasked with collecting all the relevant information and data about the vehicle’s life and position. However, this data is not relayed anywhere; it is stored on a drive or memory card. The fleet owner can retrieve the information stored in the data card anytime they want, as per their requirements. This is a simple format to use since it functions on basic input-output functionality.
A vehicle tracking system with a passive configuration has certain advantages and drawbacks to its credit.

Pros:

  • As mentioned above, it is pretty easy to use. The information is gathered on the memory card itself, so it only takes one download to have the entire data at your disposal.
  • Since any form of platform or dashboard is not required to monitor the data coming from passive configurated devices, they are comparatively cheaper than active configurated devices.
  • Many of them come in a tamper-proof and weather sustainable forms.

Cons:

  • As the function of passive trackers lies in only providing the stored information, it is useless if your desire is to obtain instant real-time information.
  • Adding on to the previous point, since there is no provision of real-time information by the passive trackers, they are rendered irrelevant to help you in recovery measures if your vehicle gets stolen.
  • In order to access the data, one needs to connect the memory card with the computer. If your fleet consists of a large number of vehicles, then it will mighty cumbersome for you to download the information from every single passive GPS tracker.
                b: Active Configuration

A GPS vehicle tracker with an active configuration, as opposed to the passive one, sends all the data it procures about the vehicle and its health instantly and continually to a server, that is accessible to you via your computer or mobile phone. As a fleet owner, you can very easily track the exact location of your vehicle to check whether things are going according to the plan and timeline you wish to maintain. You can also check the speed with which your driver is driving, thus curbing reckless and irresponsible driving to improve the safety of your fleet and your crew. It requires support from a platform that serves as a medium for you to gain the vehicle’s data.

GPS tracking devices with an active configuration, too, come with their own set of benefits and handicaps.

Pros:

  • It helps you keep a hand on the vehicle’s pulse at all times. You would be instantly aware of your vehicle’s whereabouts, and whether everything is running on schedule.
  • It takes away the hours to remove the device and download the information, as is the case in the passive configuration. You can conveniently access the data from your phone or computer at any time.
  • As long as you have an internet connection, you need not worry about the vehicle tracking device’s compatibility with your computer, since all exchange of information takes place with the help of the internet.
  • In case of emergency, like theft or accidents, you can immediately locate your vehicle and can take remedial measures to ensure the safekeeping of your staff and your cargo. Moreover, you can also set up trigger alerts in the event of any manhandling or tampering with the GPS based vehicle tracker.

Cons:

  • Since you will be availing the services of a platform to access the information, a vehicle tracking system with an active configuration is not a one-time expense; you will have to subscribe to and renew the service on a monthly or yearly basis, as per your company policy.
  • It may be possible that the device is able to provide real-time information only, and not the history. This situation arises if it does not support a passive configuration as well, or there is no way for you to log in and file away the information. If this is the case, then in order to make it function in a passive configuration, you may have to get it customized by your provider, which adds on to your expenses.


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