Either you are a parent or a business company, keeping vehicle tracking devices set up on your cars can save you from a lot of trouble. The world is getting more used to Uber, Lyft, Via, Curb ride services. So, it’s becoming more important to track the vehicles using any fleet management software.
With a GPS tracker, a personal car owner or Business manager can track company vehicles in real-time. As the applications are getting more user-friendly, you may get the information and location about your ride that you called using your favorite app. The benefits just don’t end here; sometimes, the real-time alerts can prevent car thieves from running away or even save lives.
What is a vehicle tracking device?
In easy words, a vehicle tracking device is a tool that helps to track any car in real-time with the help of GPS and any Computer or Smartphone online. From Nerdknowbetter we came to know that It can detect the exact location of any vehicle using cellular networks or over Wifi. Basically, there are two types of vehicle tracking systems: Active and Passive. Active shows data by cellular or satellite networks. And passive shows stored data after collecting it over time.
How does a vehicle tracking device work?
If you want to know how a device works then, we will definitely ask a nerd. Because not everyone is properly acknowledged about how things work.
Basic Process
This could be a little difficult to understand, but we will try to explain it in the simplest way possible. The vehicle tracking device uses GPS to show the location of a car. GPS satellites receive data from vehicle trackers and send it to a GSM network Tower. The tower sends encrypted signals to central servers, and the central servers decrypt the data and locate it on the main server. Then using the internet, the vehicles can be tracked by a computer or smartphone.
Working Process by Types
We can divide the vehicle tracker by their process of working. A passive tracker stores the data on the tracking device, then it can be retrieved by a computer. And the second option is Active Tracker, which is the real-time GPS tracker.
Passive Trackers: This type of device can’t provide real-time data. And it is also not capable of showing the vehicle locations live. You don’t have to install it in the vehicle system directly. Just attach it to any part of the car, and it’s okay. Vehicle owners who are on the taxi or ride serving business can track their cars after they come back to the garage.
You may doubt your employee went somewhere wasn’t supposed to. Then this tracking device may come in handy.
Active Trackers: Active trackers are for both personal vehicles and commercial vehicles. They can show real-time data of the vehicle over a smartphone. These types of trackers can show the vehicle speed, engine idling, tire pressure, and much more.
Active vehicle GPS trackers use GNSS or the Global Network Satellite System. The GPS tracker on vehicles receives microwave signals from multiple satellites of this wireless network. And transfer the data like Velocity, Direction, and vehicle navigation directly. It can improve vehicle maintenance way easier than regular.
2D-3D positioning
Active GPS tracking is not just a simple asset tracking device. It can also provide both 2D and 3D positioning information about vehicles. The method is known as trilateration. It uses a simple mathematical principle to generate the information.
There are 2D trilateration and 3D trilateration. To make the mathematical solution about the positioning the GPS must be capable of getting two data. One knows the car’s exact location with the help of at least three satellites around that area that can locate the GPS tracker.
Secondly, the GPS must get the area’s length and distance between the tracking vehicle and another vehicle with the same kind of active vehicle tracker. The satellite takes that information from the GPS and sends it to the nearby tower at the speed of light. We can access that information directly by our smartphone or surveillance computer.
Active to Passive tracker
Some active vehicle trackers have an inbuilt passive tracking feature on them. If a vehicle reaches an area where the internet is not available, the tracker activates passive tracking. It starts collecting the data of vehicle movements. This can also operate in a situation if the cellular network of the Vehicle tracker starts malfunctioning.
This could be an excellent fleet management solution for business owners. Any Call a Cab service can be hijacked by criminals appearing as customers. You can keep track even if they stole the vehicle. No matter how far they take the vehicle from the locality.
Notification from Tracker
Some fleet tracking software allows a user to enable multiple types of notifications. Like you can get notified by email, SMS, or by Apps whenever your car moves. Teen drivers may secretly take the keys and go for a joyride without your permission.
You can get an automatic vehicle location from the notification. When you doubt your friend or driver that he may take the car into somewhere you don’t want. You can track their locations by periodic notifications.
Commercial fleet services can implement this method in their apps and immediately know their ride’s locations.
Final Word
At the end of our opinions, we would say as the technology is offering us new techs like vehicle trackers, we should utilize them at best. The authorities can use a vehicle tracker to observe a driver’s behavior. And the parents can locate their teens whenever they let the keys of the car to them.
It may seem like an invasion of privacy, but it’s for the best. The ride-sharing business can take their customer service to a new level. It is how a vehicle tracker does the work now, but we may see more advantages that we haven’t imagined in the near future.
