Notes

GPS Tracker - What You Need to Know
GPS trackers are small devices that utilize both satellites and cellular data networks to locate vehicles, assets and personal items. They often require a monthly subscription payment and a SIM card to operate.

Whether you’re an electrician, plumber or cleaning company, using GPS tracking can improve the accuracy of ETAs given to customers and cut down on delivery costs. Training your employees about how their movements will be tracked is crucial.
Real-time Tracking

Real-time tracking is popular in fleet management and logistics because it allows firms to optimize routes, monitor vehicle efficiency and boost overall productivity. It is also useful for dispatching vehicles and equipment remotely. For example, transit agencies use real time GPS trackers to ensure schedule adherence and activate bus destination signs and passenger pre-recorded announcements. This feature can also improve safety by reducing road and construction site accidents.

When selecting a real-time GPS tracker, look for one that updates its location in less than 30 seconds. This will reduce battery drain. It is also important to consider how many satellite systems your GPS tracker uses to locate itself. Those with multiple constellations are more reliable and less likely to lose connectivity due to satellite failures.

If you have children, pets or valuables, a real-time GPS tracker can provide peace of mind. You can create alerts that let you know when your vehicle or asset leaves a designated boundary, so you can quickly find and recover it. It’s also helpful for preventing theft by monitoring whether or not vehicles are being used during off-hours or in unauthorized locations.
Alerts

Ensure your fleet and equipment are operating where they’re supposed to be with GPS Tracker. Get real-time location updates, plus safety-based alerts about vehicle speeding, unauthorized use of equipment or after-hours activities. These insights help managers manage by exception instead of wasting time and resources on routine checks that don’t make a difference.

For example, a diagnostic trouble code alert lets you know when a vehicle is experiencing an engine issue. Having this information quickly can help you determine whether a driver needs to be called in for service, or if the issue can be resolved on site and the truck kept on the road.

Another important GPS tracking feature is driving behavior monitoring, which gives you visibility into a number of driver behaviors like harsh braking and excessive idling. This data can be used to coach drivers on safer driving habits, reduce costly accidents and improve overall fleet efficiency and productivity.
History

The GPS Tracker technology that we use today is part of a larger network of satellites that are used to provide information about the location of objects. This information is then utilized to help people navigate, share their location with family members, and even play popular augmented reality games such as Pokemon GO.

The origins of this technology date back to the 1960s when engineers realized that they could determine a satellite’s position on Earth based on its signal’s Doppler distortion. The next big step forward came in 1978 when the first experimental Block-I GPS satellite was launched. This was the beginning of a system that would be able to accurately pinpoint the location of vehicles on the ground using circular orbits, passive ranging, and space-borne atomic clocks coordinated to a master clock.

Civilian companies could begin to use GPS for their fleets in the early 1990s, but this was only possible if each vehicle in the fleet was outfitted with a large, clunky, and expensive GPS device that required a monthly fee to access the satellite network. The government also implemented a program called “selective availability” to make sure enemies of the United States couldn’t use the system.
Battery Life

If you need to keep track of a fleet of vehicles, expensive equipment, or shipments of cargo, a GPS tracker with a long battery life is essential. Long-lasting untethered GPS devices utilize powerful, energy-efficient components and feature low power consumption, helping extend battery lifespan.

GPS tracking device battery power is impacted by how frequently the device is used and how often it transmits data. Devices with frequent usage and transmission will need to be charged more often than those that are only used intermittently or not at all. Adjusting the tracking and reporting frequency can help you balance a GPS tracker's battery life with your tracking needs.

Many GPS trackers use a smart power management mode to significantly extend their standby time. These modes reduce the tracking frequency, disable certain features, or lower the screen brightness to help conserve battery power. They also alert you when your tracker's battery is about to run out of power, giving you peace of mind knowing that you will be notified when it is time to charge your device.
Security

Despite their usefulness, GPS tracking devices can be compromised. If hackers find a way to take control of a device, they can use it for spying or theft. Thankfully, most GPS trackers have security features to protect their owners and drivers.

The simplest of these are passive trackers that only send data at set intervals or triggered events, such as breaching a geofence. They don't need a regular connection to transmit information and can save on cellular data costs. These are more suitable for non-powered assets or machines that don't move often.

Most companies also have privacy policies that outline safe data practices and how they will use customer information. However, these may prioritize corporate flexibility over technical specificity, says Kendra Albert, clinical instructional fellow at Harvard Law School's Cyberlaw Clinic. Panic Button For this reason, legal and compliance teams should work with other departments, such as IT, to address these risks. They should also provide training on the importance of privacy and how to protect personal information. Ultimately, this will help companies to avoid expensive lawsuits and bad publicity.
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