GPS car tracking or vehicle tracking is often used for covert tracking of the driver in the car. We will not look to this kind of applications, but rather the business variant for which GPS asset tracking would be a better name. Cars, trucks, trailers, railcars, containers and boats can be tracked, using GPS car tracking.
The market for GPS vehicle tracking systems is considered as one of the fasted growing markets for GPS applications. There are many levels of sophistication, but what all systems have in common is a GPS receiver and software to put the tracking results on a map. The differences in mapping programs are huge and it is very difficult to judge in advance how well these software solutions will perform.
Two main categories of GPS car tracking solutions are the ‘passive’ systems and the ‘real time’ systems. Passive systems store the gathered data in their internal memory and the owner has only access to the data when the unit returns to the base. Real time systems send the data at regular intervals to the manufacturer’s database and the user can read these through a website. Other systems can deliver data directly to the user’s cell phone on demand.
We have distinguished five categories of GPS vehicle tracking systems and will look in further detail to different brands and models. continue reading…
