The RavTrack system architecture compared to common “cellular” GSM/GPRS tracking systems.

Most GPS tracking systems use “cellular” GSM/GPRS based transponders.  Once the device calculates position from the GPS satellites the transponder transmits the position to the cellular GSM/GPRS network of receivers in the area.  At this point the GSM/GPRS system owner/operator transports the data to your HQ tracking location.  Obviously they charge a fee for this service, and are in control of your data as well.

RavTrack is different in that the RavTrack transponders transmit position over a mobile radio frequency, typically designated by a government administrative agency for your exclusive use.  A GSM/GPRS system is not used; instead the operator of the RavTrack system installs one or more RavTrack receivers in position(s) around the area to be tracked.  One receiver is capable of covering an area commonly of 10-25 mile radius from its own position, although this range varies a good deal depending upon how high in elevation the receiving antenna is, and what the local terrain is like.

As the RavTrack operator owns both the GPS position transmitters as well as the receiver(s), the fleet may transmit positions very frequently without concern for any fees, and with extremely fast delivery of data.

Many users of RavTrack install just one receiver, and mount it high atop a building, antenna tower, or point of elevation to cover the tracking area.  This area is often a city, an open pit mine or other remote area, or a fleet of boats where the group can be tracked by other boats in the fleet.  Since the entire system operates independently from any GSM/GPRS network, RavTrack can work anywhere GPS satellite lock can be acquired.  In fact, the entire system can be mobile and any fleet member can receive GPS reports from other fleet members in radio range, even while all are traveling at high speeds.

If a larger area of coverage is needed, or the tracking HQ is not at a good location for area reception, a single RavTrack repeater may be established at a preferred location where the repeater then wirelessly relays the transmissions it receives to the tracking HQ.  If the area of coverage is very large, then multiple receivers may be installed and connected together as well as to the tracking HQ via an IP backbone, which can include either a private network or the public internet.  The determination of the proper receiver layout is based principally upon the area the system must cover for effective fleet tracking, as well as the local terrain.

There is little doubt that the RavTrack system offers significant performance advantages and other benefits over GSM/GPRS based systems.   Primarily the decision to install RavTrack versus an alternative system comes down to the area of tracking coverage required and the size of the fleet involved.  RavTrack can handle very large fleets.  However, when the area of coverage required is vast, requiring a large number of receivers, and the fleet itself is small, the cost per vehicle may become prohibitive.  In these cases the operator must rely on a pre-installed network of GSM/GPRS system receivers owned and operated by another entity and pay their monthly fees.  If GSM/GPRS service coverage is poor then an expensive communications satellite relay may be a considered alternative.

For a point-by-point comparison of RavTrack versus GSM/GPRS “cellular” vehicle tracking systems please refer to this tech blog article: http://ravtrack.com/GPStracking/553/553/

RavTrack from Raveon Technologies Scores a Hole in One

Introduction:

As the demand to improve the “playing experience” at golf courses and country clubs continues to grow, course managers are adding new technologies to enhance their product while also adding to their bottom line.  One of these methods gaining traction is GPS tracking of the golf carts (and in essence the golfers) on the course to enable better management of tee times, tracking of course bottle necks, improved beverage and snack service, downloadable advertisements, quicker servicing of failed and dead battery golf battery golf carts, on-the-go diagnostics, and cart misplacement/theft management.  For the golfer, the course owner can now also have the ability to provide (free or at a cost) statistics, shot history, distance to pin, and other limitless features that improve the golfing experience for the novice and the professional.

Methodology:

Global Positioning Satellite, or GPS is at the heart of all golf cart-tracking systems.  GPS enables a unit to pinpoint its position on planet earth using a combination of satellite transponders and ground based radar.  The three most common methods used for transmitting the gathered GPS data at golf courses include cellular, WiFi, and Narrow band VHF/UHF radio transmission.

Cellular systems use the same radio solution as does your standard cell phone/smart phone.  The cellular solution’s benefits include low power operation, high data rates, and direct connection to an “App”, while the disadvantages include the need to have cell service in the area where the golf course resides, each cart to have a monthly subscription service, dependency on a third party carrier, outages, limited service during “busy” cell phone times, and reduced accuracy (if the cell signal itself is used for GPS triangulation).

WiFi uses a radio solution similar to what many folks use in a coffee shop or in their homes to connect to the Internet in a wireless fashion. The WiFi solution’s benefits include free connection, low power operation, and high data rates while the disadvantages include very limited range without a repeater, loss/weakening of signal due to obstructions, reduced throughput under heavy course loads, a max number of nodes supported, and interference from other WiFi devices in proximity to the course/golf cart.

Narrow band RF data modem solution, like that from Raveon Technologies RavTrack solution, use a dedicated UHF/VHF RF link similar to that in use fire/rescue/military communications links. The RavTrack solution’s benefits include free unlimited data connection, ownership of the frequency band, no third party control of the network, long distance range without a repeater (can cover the whole course), accurate (up to a meter) tracking, and an unlimited number of nodes supported while having virtually no disadvantages or limitations.

The RavTrack Solution:

The RavTrack solution from Raveon Technologies is a self-contained hardware and software package that can be customized to support unlimited applications in the gold cart tracking space.  Using a ruggedized and pre configured radio transponder in each golf cart along with a transponder and software command and control at the club house (no internet connection is required), each golf cart can be pin pointed and tracked on the course using customized maps and/or standard google type maps. “RavTrack PC” software is provided with the solution along with mapping/tracking support from popular third party software houses. The software provides such features as position, custom icons for each individual cart, programmable geofencing parameters, collision detection/avoidance alerts, distance between various carts, unlimited logging and history file generation, and several other position related parameters. Raveon can also provide customizable apps and solutions to better support the course operators exacting needs.

The RavTrack solution can support all the features discussed in the introduction of this article along with an unlimited number of customizable applications. These features will enable the golf course/country club to differentiate itself from competing courses by improving the golfers experience (statistics, distance to pin, shot history, etc.) while improving the courses bottom line by better managing its carts, its queuing of tee times, advertising, instantaneous cart down time and location management, and potential revenue generation by charging for statistics and print outs for the golfer.

Conclusion:

The RavTrack solution from Raveon Technologies emerges clearly as the best solution for providing a low cost and easily manageable environment for the golf course/country club owner. For more information or a quote, contact Raveon Technologies at 760-727-8004 or check them out on the web at raveontech.com.

Raveon’s RavTrack GPS tracking system is the ideal golf cart tracking system to track golf-carts and golf course maintenance vehicles. Golf Cart Tracking

RavTrack GPS tracking delivers helpful, real-time location information and displays it on a map image of your golf course. You can track the carts, mowers, trucks, and workers.  You can see where you mowed each hour, day, or week. You can quickly locate carts to deliver food and beverages.

It also can detect potential theft or abuse of your carts and equipment.  You can configure keep-out zones and many other rules to notify the ranger or security if a rule is violated.

Because Raveon’s RavTrack system uses VHF and UHG licensed UHF radio frequencies, you can easily cover your whole course and have no monthly air-time fees.  The RavTrack system is also available on the VHF MURS radio band, which is license-free.  It works where GSM radio-based systems don’t and because the airtime is free, your update-rate of cart position and status is the fastest in the industry.  You can easily track 75 carts with 15-second update rates.

And unlike the short-range 900Mhz and 2.4gHz solutions, RavTrack will cover your course, and reliablye show you where your vehciles are.

RavTrack GPS tracking improves golf course operations by:

INTRODUCTION:

WASS (Wide Area Augmentation System) is the next generation standard for implementing higher accuracy GPS systems. As demand for GPS continues to grow, the US government has implemented a more robust system to meet the needs of next generation tracking and improved reliability while still maintaining standard equipment in the field. Raveon Technologies has taken advantage of this new standard by adding WAAS to both their M7 GPS transponders and their industry leading RavTrack precision tracking solution.  

BRIEF HISTORY OF LORANC/GPS/DGPS/WAAS:

In an effort to support military and commercial aircraft, LoranC was the first implementation of modern GPS technology. Employing multiple ground based radar towers (sometimes compared to as bowling pins) typically near airports and larger cities, LoranC provided excellent positioning for its time as a method to keep track and position aircraft. The downside of LoranC was that it was less available in rural areas and completely unavailable over large bodies of water. LoranC was also not accurate enough to support extremely bad weather and non visual approaches.

GPS technology was next on the scene providing a 10x and greater improvement of positioning while solving the aforementioned approach problems. Using satellites and a low cost receiver approach, GPS took tracking from an expensive professional solution to a system that is now available in most cars, watercraft, and personal equipment.

Adding a differential mathematical approach, a specialized receiver, and land based FM towers, DGPS further improved positioning by another 10x. The downside of the approach is that it relies on line-of-site (to the towers) and provides spotty coverage in smaller towns and rural areas that don’t have the luxury of piggybacking on towers of local FM radio stations. Also of note is that a DGPS receiver is not compatible with a off the shelf consumer GPS unit.

WAAS is the latest approach and by far the most accurate. Using a combination of GPS satellites, ground stations, and geo-stationary satellites (see below for greater detail), accuracies up to less than 1M can be attained using standard off the shelf GPS equipment. With this type of spec, WAAS allows for new markets and solutions requiring a higher level of accuracy previously unattainable with existing solutions.

Some of these markets that Raveon Technologies WAAS enabled GPS transponders now support include vehicle collision avoidance, precision vehicle tracking and navigation, tighter and more specific geo-fencing, more accurate personal tracking, precision agriculture plotting, along with several other position dependent solutions.

TOPOGRAPHYOF A WAAS SYSTEM AND HOW IT WORKS:

WAAS is a combination of ground base stations and satellite transceivers used to greatly improve the accuracy and performance of conventional GPS. Conventional GPS relies on using satellite transceivers “only” which are subject to ionosphere disturbances (billows), satellite orbit errors, timing, and clocking errors. By augmenting ground based stations, the errors associated with GPS are greatly minimized if not eliminated while also adding monitoring and real time adjustment of the GPS satellites themselves.

The system installed in North America is as follows: 35 plus ground base stations called Wide area Reference Stations (WRS) along with the existing satellites provide correlation data that is sent to 2 Wide area Master stations (WMS) on each coast to create a corrected signal. This corrected signal is then retransmitted by a geo-stationary satellite called a Ground Uplink Station  (GUS) that is fixed at the equator.

The system provides for guaranteed accuracy of  3 meters or less with typical accuracies approaching sub 1 meter (multiple samples may be accumulated to achieve even better specs). Adding to the accuracy improvement, uptime approaches 99.999% with a downtime of 5 minutes per year while conventional GPS can only guarantee 4 days per year of downtime.     

SPECIFICATIONS OF WAAS VERSES STANDARD GSP, DGPS, AND LORANC:

The following is a table of specifications and observed lab measurements of the various positional methods used in the US. 

As can be seen from the table, Raveon Technologies WAAS enabled transponders provide the most accurate tracking and positioning available while employing standard GPS gear. DGPS comes in at second, but as discussed, is only employed and is dependable in cities and urban areas where FM towers are available and line of site can be attained using the specialized DGPS gear. Standard GPS will continue its success in supporting the large consumer but lower precision auto, marine, and personal tracker market. LoranC, although the least precise, has a large installed base in the personal and small aircraft segment. 

Below is a comparison of the position error of a GPS tracking system using WAAS augmentation and DGPS.  In this test, the horizontal accuracy was very good with each method. The WAAS system had much better verticle accuracy. 

CONCLUSION:

By implementing a WAAS GPS M7 or RavTrack system from Raveon Technologies, precision accuracy approaching sub 1 meter is attainable and repeatable using existing GPS receiver systems allowing for new applications and end-products in the positioning and tracking space.

GPS vehicle tracking is a powerful technology that can speed emergency response, improve efficiency, and provide a safety link to support personnel.  Raveon Technologies sells real real-time tracking system so business, agencies, and commanders, can track their personnel, assets and vehicles.

Raven’s private tracking system uses a very secure AES encryption algorithm, so that only authorized radios can track the GPS transponders.  It would be bad, and maybe even disastrous if GPS tracking were not secure.  Law enforcement, military, and security forces use GPS tracking to do their job and GPS tracking provides extra security for their operations.  And if the bad guys were able to track them, their operations and their lives could be in jeopardy.

This is why Raveon takes GPS tracking security very seriously, and tracking systems based upon less-secure communication methods should be carefully considered.  Most all other GPS tracking systems us cellular radio technology, such as GSM networks to send their data.  Anyone using a public GSM system must carefully assess all aspects of the system’s security.

In 2009, a German computer engineer announced that he’s deciphered the 21-year old 64-bit encryption algorithm that protects the GSM standard.  According to the New York Times, the German encryption expert “aimed to question the effectiveness of the 21-year-old G.S.M. algorithm” and its use to protect the world’s GSM based GPS Tracking communications.  Having the code itself isn’t enough to eavesdrop, but it certainly helps people along the path. The GSM Association responded by calling the publication “theoretically possible but practically unlikely.”

It may be only a matter of time before the technology is readily available to eavesdrop on GSM communications.   Right now, it is believed that only the US military and certain foreign governments have the ability to eavesdrop on GSM communications.  Technology marches on, and the security of GPS tracking using GSM networks may be left behind.

See www.ravtrack.com for mor information about secure, private GPS tracking.