Vehicle tracking systems are now becoming more and more popular in both the personal and corporate worlds. Many companies in developed countries like US and most European countries are using vehicle tracking system for safety and cost optimsation. Vehicle tracking system comprises of three major categories, the hardware or simply the vehicle tracking device then to central base station and finally on to the control unit. The vehicle tracking device is fitted into the vehicle and incorporated with a communication channel that constantly monitors the activities of the vehicle.
A vehicle tracking device has an inbuilt tracking system, which includes a GPRS modem and a GPS tracker. It can be set to regularly monitor the current speed and location of the vehicle it is fitted to. The controller unit is well connected with vehicle tracking device through various ports and protocols, the information from the vehicle tracking device is transferred to the central base station though a GPRS network and is then passed through to the controller unit headed by fleet manager on serial port.
The fleet manager headed control unit analyses the location information to determine the current status of the vehicle. The GPRS modem is used by the controller unit to transmit the message to the central base station. These messages may carry the video data captured by the cameras or time sheet reports. When the vehicles are on their way to its destination the vehicle tracking device sends the location information at regular intervals to the central base station. When the vehicle is close to the destination or if it gets dispersed from the actual route then the control unit passes an alert message to the fleet managers.
The overall communication system makes life easier for the driver and the fleet manager, or those in the central offices. In case of an emergency the control unit gets easily notified immediately. If the diver takes a wrong turn and is lost then the control unit passes an alert message to let the fleet managers know that the driver and the vehicle are on the wrong track. The fleet manager or any authorised person can then direct the driver to the correct path. The driver after receiving the signals can act quickly and will move to the right route.
Safety and security is also a major factor that is associated with a vehicle tracking device or vehicle tracking system as a whole. If there is a case of vehicle theft then the control room has the privilege to find out the exact location of the stolen vehicle. The vehicle tracking device will continue to send the signals to the central base station using GPS technology, which is further accessed by the control unit. Once the location is detected, this assists in the recovery of the vehicle. With usage of vehicle tracking device the number of accidents has also reduced ensuring the safety of the vehicle.
