GPS based vehicle tracking systems 

In the last couple of years global positioning system (GPS) based solutions have become economical and viable for the masses to use in their day to day working. Many different applications and solutions become incorporated GPS to their advantage. One such powerful application is vehicle tracking. 

GPS Based Tracking System
With GPS based tracking systems - There are two options, Offline and Online Tracking. Let us take-up each one of them. 

Offline Tracking
This option is more of a path recorder here. GPS is used for recording the movement of the vehicle. A GPS based unit, fitted inside the vehicle, will store the desired parameters - lat, log, speed, etc. at a fixed (predefined) interval. It is important to note that - as tracking/recording is done by GPS based system - its coverage is 100% and can trace every inch of the Indian soil. And once the vehicle is at the control station, the data from the instrument is downloaded by software, on a regular PC, for analysis. 

The downloaded data contain the route, path that particular vehicle has traveled. One can generate different kinds of reports and GIS map plots with these data. Map plots make it easy to visualise the movement of the vehicle. And if the data are maintained (preserved) in database with relation to truck and the driver, one can view the pattern of a particular truck or driver over a period of time (say a month or six months). This kind of information can be very useful in taking decisions for future. This is a an inexpensive, useful and important option for goods-tracking requirements in India. 

Online Tracking
In case one needs to track a vehicle in real time then online tracking is the best way of doing it. The 'In Vehicle' unit takes the current location/position information (latitude, longitude, speed, time etc.) provided by GPS and transmits it to the base the station server via a communication link. Optionally it may also save the location information in unit's memory. As soon as the location information is received at the base station server, the software at the server saves the information (latitude, longitude, speed, time etc.), processes it and shows the current location on a GIS map - in real time. All other processing and analysis features, as discussed for offline tracking, can be opted for here. 

But the communication link and the base station with receiving facility make this option costly. One can work a few things out via using a shared receiving station on an Internet backbone for more than one to share the infrastructure cost. 

VHF/UHF Radio Channel 
It is the least expensive communication option, but has limitation of area covered by the range of transmitter and receiver. The frequency (band) to be use needs to be applied from and approved by a government body. It is not useful for goods carrying vehicles, also it is not a viable option for inter-city tracking. Some of the equipment vendors are Motorola, ICOM, WACOM etc. 

GSM (SMS) Mobile Channel
It is less costly than satellite but has the limitation of area coverage as discussed earlier in this article. Due to SMS based communication the usage cost is kept low i.e. Re1 per message. For example continuous tracking at an interval of half an hour will need approximately. 20 SMS in a day. So for 20 ~ 50 Rs. a day you can know where your vehicle is at any given time (provided the vehicle is in mobile coverage range). Some of equipment vendors are Enfora, Kenwood, Siemens, Nokia, Motorola etc. And service providers are BPL Mobile, Birla AT&T, Dolphin, Orange etc. 

Satellite Channel
It does not have the limitation of coverage as in GSM mobile channel, but as of today it has a high usage cost 20 - 30 Rs. per location information. One should go in for satellite channel only if every inch coverage (remote areas, north eastern regions etc.) is the most important factor. Some of the equipment vendors and service providers are Panasonic, Orbcomm, Inmarsat, Iridium etc. 

GIS Software Overview
The common part of the GPS online and offline solutions is the GIS software to plot the location on a MAP. There are two major components of the GIS Software: 

GIS Software Engine 
We Provide GIS software Engine RASTRAC Online Vehicle tracking solution from Manning Navcomp , Inc.USA. 

Vector Maps 
Indian maps can form the data of the GIS software engine. These map-data have to in a format (data) compatible with the GIS software engine. As a thumb rule for tracking movement of a vehicle at national level, 1:1 M scale maps are best suited.