Monthly Archives: June 2009

Sources of Map Images

The following is a list of some on-line commercial sources of image files that are suitable for use as map images.  www.unearthedoutdoors.net  UnearthedOutdoors resells image tiles measuring 2° on a side (49,284km² at the equator).  True Marble™ is available for purchase for latitudes between N84° and S60°. The tiles are georeferenced in WGS84 Lat/Lon projection for [...]

Vehicle Tracking Message Formats

When a Raveon GPS Transponder received an over-the-air position message from a tracked car, boat, truck, or person, it sends a message out of its serial port.  The message it outputs contains the ID of the vehicle that it received the position report from, along with the vehicle’s latitude and longitude. A typical message would [...]

Tracking Stolen Assets with GPS

In Dallas, Texas, police recently encountered an auto theft ring by tracking the GPS transponder on a stolen lawnmower: Officers found at least 12 of the 25 vehicles have been reported stolen. Authorities are calling it a major auto theft operation. Authorities spent most of the afternoon and evening hauling away stolen vehicles that were [...]

New advances in indoor GPS?

One area where GPS technology will see greater improvements is in how it is used within large buildings and other interior spaces. Currently, it is difficult to receive GPS signals through walls and structures, but this reach can be improved with GPS repeaters and other ground-based systems. One can imagine how useful this might be [...]

Recovering Stolen Assets With GPS

I was reading this article earlier today about how a stolen ambulance was recovered using the vehicle’s GPS transponder. Obviously, this is just one more benefit to tracking your vehicle fleet with GPS-based solutions. It may even be possible that insurance companies will factor the presence of GPS tracking systems into your company’s insurance policy, [...]

Study: Fleets Using GPS More Than Ever

A recent study by C.J. Driscoll and Associates shows that fleet vehicles, construction equipment, and mobile workers account for about 3.6 million GPS devices in use in the United States. This number is expected to increase to about 6.5 million by the year 2012 as more businesses realize the benefits of GPS fleet tracking in [...]

Using GPS Fleet Systems in the Developing World

One of the issues with the accelerated economic growth of the developing world is the reliability of road and mapping data. In many places like Dubai and China construction is taking place at such a rapid pace that municipal authorities cannot assign addresses fast enough to meet demand. Likewise, in other places like India, existing [...]

American Airlines Invests in GPS Fleet Tracking

Many companies are starting to see the benefits of tracking their fleets with GPS-based solutions in terms of fuel cost savings and more efficient route planning. With GPS, you can constantly optimize your routes, which will add directly to the bottom line over time through more efficient use of resources. American Airlines recently reported an [...]

Multiple Base Antennas vs Repeaters in a RavTrack System

The RavTrack system offers very good coverage in many environments with a single base station and single antenna.  However, in some circumstances this is not sufficient to cover the entire tracked area, or other factors may move you to install multiple antenna locations. First, before you decide that one receiving antenna is insufficient, take a [...]