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Hot Topics In The Mobile Computing Industry
Relationship with Location-Based
Services and M-Commerce - Go
to index page for Location-Based services
Global
Positioning System & Automated Vehicle Location
Basic Concept of GPS-based Applications
Fundamental concept in GPS applications is
that you can determine fairly accurately (ordinarily within 10-30 meters)
the location of any device that has a GPS transceiver mounted inside the
device. This determination of this location is facilitated by a series of
satellites maintained by US defense establishment. Having determined the
location of an object one can track its movement as it moves. Therefore, you
can implement a number of business and personal applications based on this
location like fleet management, health services in the public sector and
number delivery services.
Global Position System (GPS) comprises
of three parts:
- 24 satellites that orbit the Earth
- Ground control stations which monitor the satellites
- GPS receivers can be attached to persons or animals, or mounted on
object, such as a vehicle
The satellites are synchronized to emit encoded navigational information
(exact positioning and exact time). Any vehicle equipped with a GPS receiver
will intercept these transmissions. Using a simple mathematical formula
derived from triangulation,* the receiver is able to calculate its own
longitude, latitude, velocity and even altitude. For companies implementing
GPS applications, this information, most often, would be transmitted to a
central dispatch or control location.
GPS Applications
One of the fast-growing GPS applications is vehicle tracking.
GPS-equipped fleet vehicles, public transportation systems, delivery trucks,
and courier services use receivers to monitor their locations at all times.
Public safety services, police, fire, and emergency medical services, are
using GPS receivers to determine the nearest service vehicle to an
emergency, enabling the quickest response in critical situations. Recently
automobile manufacturers are installing moving-map displays guided by GPS
receivers. For example, several Florida rental car companies are
demonstrating GPS-equipped vehicles that give directions to drivers on
display screens and through synthesized voice instructions.
*Triangulation: Collecting of signals from three or more satellites in
carefully monitored orbit from which the receiver computes its own spatial
relationship to each satellite to determine its position.
Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) is a technologically advanced method
of remote vehicle tracking and monitoring using GPS. Each vehicle is
equipped with a module that receives signals from a series of satellites,
and calculates its current geographical location, speed, and heading. This
information can be stored for later retrieval or, frequently, transmitted to
a central dispatch/control location where it is displayed on a
high-resolution geographical map.
Resources For more information on GPS and AVL:
-
AerComTec International -
Manufacturers of a real-time GPS-based AVL system that communicates over
cellular telephone networks - http://www.aercomtec.com/
- ATX Technologies -
Manufacturers of GPS vehicle monitoring and tracking systems
www.atxtechnologies.com/index.asp
- CompassCom
AVL System for Tracking Public Safety Fleets -
Can
communicate with multiple wireless networks simultaneously and interface
with any standard in-vehicle AVL module. In addition, the system is
compliant with E911 Phase II wireless requirements mandated by FCC.
- Michael Baker Corporation -
Developer
of GPS/GIS and GPS/AVL systems and provider of GPS/GIS mapping and
consulting services – www.mbakercorp.com/gis/
- Magnatec Technologie GmbH
- Manufacturers of GPS- and GSM-based AVL
systems - www.magnetec.de (for
German) and http://www/magnatec.net
(For English)
GIS (Geographical Information
System)
This s the area of information technology that is
closely related to GPS, public safety and location-based m-commerce
applications. For more information go to the following resource site:
GPS Vendors
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