GPS Tracking Made Easy

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Innovation Headlines

Innovation

Written by Annanya Nath

Tuesday, 29 May 2007 00:00

OneStar Technologies' AVLS makes Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking easier than ever before. We take a closer look at the gadget and the technology behind it.

In 1492, Christopher Columbus set out to discover India, but instead ended up discovering America. The story behind the inception of OneStar, Macrotech Technologies is similar. What started out as a trip to a retail security conference in China, turned into something entirely different-thanks to a taxi ride. "In 2002, I had gone to China to attend a seminar on retail security, but the trip gave a new dimension to my life. I found myself stranded at one point because my cabbie was new to the place and couldn't guide me to the correct destination. Then he did something that impressed me-he pushed a button placed on the dashboard and a screen appeared. The screen gave him the directions to reach our destination. Having seen nothing of this sort in my life, I decided to work on it and implement it in my own country, India. And here we are today with our own technology that can not only give directions but can perform other advanced functions as well," says Vipul Puneet Patel, founder and director, OneStar, Macrotech Technologies.

AVLS-the technology inside

OneStar's technology, known as Automatic Vehicle Location System (AVLS), is a combination of a GSM-GPRS module, a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, and a car controller with a micro-controller. There are not one, but two devices. The first one is a small gadget like a mobile phone, and the other, a navigator screen on the dashboard. The former contains the GSM, GPS and car controller sensors. The GSM-GPRS module is a dual band 900/1800 MHz with GPRS Class 10 connectivity. Along with this module, the gadget has a sensitive microphone and headphone jack. It can store as many as five numbers to be contacted in case of an emergency. The desktop screen is wirelessly connected to the gadget. It includes a Web-based account, maps, a secret emergency/SOS button and car controller. The car controller is built-in with a micro-controller that manages the functionality of the car. The whole process is managed and controlled by a data call centre set up especially for this purpose. Customers, therefore, do not need to connect to the Internet to gain information about their fleet. They can just contact the data centre for all queries.

On the right'track', securely

The small gadget is ready to use and automatically connects to the data centre as soon as it is powered on and the chip inserted. It gathers GPS data signals from multiple GPS satellites circling around the earth and calculates its own location on the earth accurately, with latitude, longitude and velocity. It then provides this data to the micro-controller or the computer chip. The computer chip then dials the GPRS connection using the GSM-GPRS module and sends this data to the Web server at www.onestar.com placed at the data centre. This process is repeated every 2-3 minutes. The data centre then sends reports to the owners' mobile phone.

Meanwhile, all the information gathered by the gadget is simultaneously being displayed on the navigation screen. If drivers want to know the location of a building they can receive directions to it on the phone as well as on the navigator, and will thus know if they are heading to the correct destination. As per the instructions of the owner, the data centre can also determine the perimeter within which the vehicle must move. This is known as geo-fencing. If drivers attempt to cross out of the domain that they have been instructed to drive within, both the owner and the data centre will be informed about it and an alarm raised, if needed. The screen is programmed to give details about geo fencing, GPS details as in maps, building identification, fuel conditions, alarms, speeding limits, directions and emergency calls. Patel feels this technology is very helpful for security purposes. In case there is an attack on a truck or car, the data centre comes to know of it immediately and switches off the engine. No one can restart the engine without the approval of the data centre.

The device does have its shortcomings. The navigator is wired and cannot be installed by an individual alone. Also, maintaining synchronisation between the two devices is difficult. As all its operations are controlled by the data centre, any problems at that end could create difficulties. Like all computer-generated applications, GPS Tracker also lacks accuracy depending upon its subjects' location and timing. In case there is a problem at the operator's end, the systems may go down for some time. At that point no one knows about the whereabouts of the vehicle - neither the data centre nor the fleet owner.

What the future holds

AVLS has already been test run by Surat Municipal Corporation and will be adopted by it by the time you read this. The company is all set to introduce an update to this technology soon. It will be called the 911 system wherein all emergency calls made to the data centre will also be automatically routed to public safety agencies like police stations, hospitals, etc. Presently, the data centre makes these calls in case of an emergency, which could delay the process.

"A number of other organisations, mainly schools, have requested us to install these devices in their buses, more so after the Mumbai floods and the recent bomb attacks. We have recently sold our systems to a company in the Middle East. At present, Korea is our biggest customer," says Patel.

For something that started entirely by accident, OneStar's GPS device definitely seems to be on the right'track'.