TomTom has launched a new resource to showcase the range of business applications available for integration with its fleet management technology.
The TomTom Business Solutions App Center is a dedicated web resource, detailing a range of partner applications ready for integration with TomTom’s WEBFLEET platform. These include office solutions, such as CRM, ERP, scheduling and planning software.
This move is at the heart of TomTom Business Solutions’ strategy to create added value for connected vehicle and fleet management solutions and expand its network of development partners.
“The new App Center will enable companies to identify those solutions that can be swiftly deployed and integrated with their TomTom system,” said Thomas Schmidt, TomTom Business Solutions’ managing director.
“By bringing fleet management data together with information from a host of other software systems, companies can benefit from greater efficiencies across all areas of their business — from workflow management to customer service. With our seamless integration options customers do not have to change the way they work, they simply improve it ”
The App Center will also host in-vehicle and mobile applications. Recently, TomTom opened the Bluetooth channel on its in-vehicle LINK tracking device, enabling connectivity with a host of hardware devices for use in and around the vehicle.
The App Center launch is designed to spark the development of more integrated business applications, further enhancing the potential of TomTom’s fleet management platform. Developer partners can work with TomTom’s API WEBLFEET.connect and LINK.connect to create new solutions.
Steve Spriggs was cited for holding his smartphone in his hand using it for navigation while driving. California code 23123 reads, “A person shall not drive a motor vehicle while using a wireless telephone unless that telephone is specifically designed and configured to allow hands-free listening and talking, and is used in that manner while driving.” Spriggs fought the ticket, saying the law does not apply to looking at maps.
But a judge of the appellate court said holding a phone to look at a map is distracted driving — the same as sending a text message — and the law applies. “Our review of the statute’s plain language leads us to conclude that the primary evil sought to be avoided is the distraction the driver faces when using his or her hands to operate the phone. That distraction would be present whether the wireless telephone was being used as a telephone, a GPS navigator, a clock or a device for sending and receiving text messages and emails. This case requires us to determine whether using a wireless phone solely for its map application function while driving violates Vehicle Code section 23123. We hold that it does. “
The National Safety Council has noted that there is no research or evidence that indicates voice-activated technologies eliminate or even reduce the distraction to the drivers’ mind.
Video VBOX Waterproof by Racelogic combines a powerful GPS data logger with a high-quality multi-camera video recorder and real-time graphics engine, allowing users to carry out detailed driver training and vehicle analysis whatever the weather. Housed in a water-resistant anodized aluminium casing (IP66), Video VBOX Waterproof incorporates a flange and mounting holes to permit users to bolt the system anywhere on their vehicle.
The unit takes video from up to two bullet cameras and combines it with a customizable graphical overlay, recorded on to SD card or USB stick in DVD quality. It is designed for a variety of applications from automotive testing to motorsport, driver training, and industrial applications.
OS for Improved Accuracy, EDAS for Further Enhancement, Integrity Data
EGNOS availability over Europe, as a precursor of Galileo globally, provides a guaranteed level of positioning accuracy in real time, for tracking vehicles transporting hazardous material. The EGNOS Open Service enhances position accuracy compared to GPS-only. The EGNOS Data Access Service further enhances accuracy and indicates the quality of the position data received from GPS. As a result of the SCUTUM project, EGNOS is now used in the operational transport of dangerous goods by road in Europe.
By Antonella Di Fazio, Daniele Bettinelli, and Kyle O’Keefe
The road sector is among the largest markets for GNSS applications, not only in automotive mass-market but also in professional applications such as freight transport and logistics. Carrying goods by road naturally involves the risk of traffic accidents. If the goods are dangerous, there is also the risk of incidents, such as hazardous spills, fire, explosion, chemical burn, or environmental damage. The many different kinds of authorities and operators active in the field have safety as a primary concern and make continuous efforts in this regard. To ensure that such transport continues being profitable and logistically effective, emphasis is placed on the quality and condition of infrastructure, on transport safety, and on supervision and control.
Technology’s role, particularly that of GNSS, is to provide the capability of supervision and surveillance, and thus enable better incident management and proactive prevention of accidents, while enhancing work. Use of GNSS combined with sensors and wireless devices has rapidly increased to enable continuous tracking and tracing services. GNSS-tracking devices installed on board vehicles ensure that the position, the date and time, the speed and the course, and any deviation with respect to a predefined path (coordinates and time) are transmitted automatically to a monitoring center. Combined with sensors, such devices send positioning information and the critical status parameters of the material (depending on the nature of the transported material and sensor type: identification of the goods/packaging, temperature, pressure, tampering or valve opening, and so on).
At the monitoring center, positions are displayed on digital maps, and regular data reports are processed for:
continuous tracking and tracing,
control of the shipment in a specified route (according to the plan and authorized path),
early warning/alarm when an anomaly condition is detected,
recording and logging for a regular summary of reported incidents, and
informing emergency-response forces for preparation of management arrangements and supporting emergency response plans.
These operations help reduce the possibility of human error during transport, prevent incidents, enforce regulations, and support law enforcement.
The European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS), augments the GPS signal over Europe and provides more precise positioning services. In addition, it gives users information on the reliability of the GPS signals (integrity data).
EGNOS is designed for safety-critical civil aviation operations. The characteristics of the EGNOS signal are compliant with Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics Minimum Operational Performance Standards (RTCA MOPS) for airborne navigation equipment using the GPS augmented by SBAS. EGNOS also allows multimodal/land transport applications; however, EGNOS optimal use in these applications requires specific customizations for environments not compliant to MOPS.
The majority of receivers available on the market and integrated in operational devices are EGNOS-enabled. EGNOS provides two services suitable for multimodal/land transport applications:
EGNOS Open Service (OS) is made available to users equipped with GPS/EGNOS receivers, via the satellites’ Signal in Space (SiS).
EGNOS Data Access Service (EDAS) consists of a server that gets the data directly from EGNOS and distributes it in real time to professional users via terrestrial networks, within guaranteed delay, security, and performance.
Software solutions and technologies capable of using EDAS and able to deliver added-value services for road applications have been developed in various European projects in the past several years, have been extensively proven in real life, and are presently ready for operational use. During the last seven years, capitalizing on the efforts of national/European projects and company investments, Telespazio has developed LoCation Server (LCS) navigation software based on a patented algorithm, suitable for combined use of EGNOS OS/EDAS in road applications. LCS makes use of EDAS to augment EGNOS OS performance by:
improving the availability of EGNOS OS, since EGNOS SBAS corrections are made available to users through terrestrial networks and thus also in the cases of poor SiS visibility or complete absence;
enhancing EGNOS OS position accuracy using the patented software navigation solution to implement EGNOS SBAS corrections; and
processing EGNOS integrity information to compute the protection levels that give a qualification and a level of confidence in the position information. LCS is configured to output horizontal protection level (HPL) and vertical protection level (VPL).
Between October 2010 and November 2011, the European project SeCUring the EU GNSS adopTion in the dangeroUs Material transport (SCUTUM) conducted an extensive trial campaign in various road environments (urban and extra-urban) and real operation scenarios, to assess the performances of EGNOS OS and EDAS in comparison with GPS-only. SCUTUM trials were carried out with GPS/EGNOS receivers available on the market for automotive applications.
Analysis of the data collected during the trials shows that EGNOS OS enhances GPS position accuracy by 3 meters in road environments (see Figure 1). EDAS via LCS enables improvements over EGNOS OS by increasing the availability of SBAS corrections, further enhancing GPS position accuracy. Moreover, it affords the possibility of qualifying and guaranteeing GPS position information by exploiting EGNOS integrity and computing the protection levels.
Figure 1A. The green line indicates the reference trajectory; the position obtained by using EDAS with LCS (yellow dot) is more accurate with respect to the position obtained by using EGNOS OS (red dot) and the position obtained by using GPS only (blue dot).Figure 1B. A snapshot displaying the HPL computed by using EDAS with LCS.
SCUTUM Goods Tracking
Funded by the European Commission and managed by the European GNSS Agency (GSA), SCUTUM is the European best practice for the operational adoption of EGNOS in the transport of dangerous goods. An Italian oil company, eni, has had the opportunity to prove EGNOS added value compared to GPS alone, and to validate the relevant operational benefits in terms of higher safety and efficiency. The company adopted EGNOS to track and trace its operational fleet transporting dangerous goods throughout Europe. At the end of SCUTUM’s project timeline in November 2011, more than 300 eni tankers transporting hydrocarbon and chemical products in seven European countries were monitored with EGNOS. Today eni plans to gradually extend the use of EGNOS to the transport of chemicals and aviation products, and to further European countries.
Sensors installed on the trailer to record load status.OBU on the tanker integrating a GPS/EGNOS receiver.
The tankers (see opening photo) are equipped with GPS/EGNOS tracking devices, consisting of a set of sensors installed on the trailer to record the status of the loads. The sensors are connected to an onboard unit (OBU) installed on the truck that integrates a GPS/EGNOS receiver configured to use EGNOS OS. The OBU collects measurements from the sensors, detects information on the vehicle’s parameters, measures the GPS/EGNOS position, and sends this set of data via a GPRS link to a remote monitoring platform (the transport integrated platform, or TIP) enhanced by LCS to use EDAS. The TIP receives the data from LCS, that is, EGNOS positions (corrected by EGNOS OS if available or corrected by EDAS), the relevant HPL and VPL, and visualizes them as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2. Operational tanker remotely monitored at the TIP by EDAS via LCS.
LCS for EDAS Services
LCS consists of several software modules, among them a module connecting to EDAS to get EGNOS data, and a module implementing the navigation solution by means of the Telespazio algorithm.
LCS makes use of EGNOS SBAS messages plus GPS ephemerides received in real time from EDAS (using Service Level 1), the positions (GPS or EGNOS OS positions when available) and time, and raw GPS measurements (code ranges) from the GPS/EGNOS receiver integrated in the OBU.
LCS calculates and returns EGNOS corrected positions (also in case of lack of SiS visibility) and the relevant protection levels obtained by processing the EGNOS integrity message. The HPL/VPL give a guarantee of the position information from the GPS/EGNOS receiver, as they qualify the reliability of position information and provide a measure of the confidence of the reliability.
If the position data from the OBU is not corrected with EGNOS OS (via the SiS), LCS uses the SBAS messages plus the GPS ephemerides, calculates and applies SBAS corrections, then calculates HPL/VPL. If the position data from the OBU is corrected with EGNOS OS (via the SiS), LCS returns only the HPL/VPL.
For remote monitoring of transported dangerous goods, the features provided by EDAS via LCS (better accuracy, higher confidence on the position, enhanced availability) are considered valuable by eni, as they enable tracking tankers more precisely and reliably along delivery routes, and also from bay to bay (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Accurate remote monitoring of a tanker in a bay area.
At the OBU, the positions are combined with other collected parameters, such as speed, engine parameters, driving parameters, loading/unloading the product on the vehicle, quantity of goods on the vehicle, product temperature and pressure, opening/closing bottom valves and manholes, opening/closing loading station. The information is sent to the TIP and visualized to the local operator, and also forwarded to the eni emergency room (shown in Figure 4) that is connected to the fire brigades and civil-protection emergency centers.
Figure 4. eni emergency room.
In an abnormal situation, such as the vehicle deviating from its planned path or being located in a dangerous/sensitive area, the local operator raises a warning and establishes a contact with the driver. If an accident occurs, an alarm is generated also at the eni emergency room responsible for emergency management and coordinating search-and-rescue operations with the proper public entities. The information is also used to keep the involved transport operator and eni’s customers informed.
Additionally, this information is stored for law enforcement and prevention purposes. Position data and parameters are analyzed to produce statistics and study cases of near-miss accidents.
Benefits generated from EGNOS lie primarily in the capability to implement more accurate risk management and to strengthen safety and prevention. The higher precision with respect to GPS alone and the location achieved by using EDAS via LCS ensure more accurate and reliable monitoring of operations in normal and critical situations, and thus are valuable for commercial purposes and safety reasons. Moreover, eni considers the position guarantee given by the protection levels useful for research on accident prevention.
Multipath-Mitigation Algorithm in LCS
SCUTUM also implemented and tested a multipath-mitigation algorithm used to enhance LCS, to further mitigate the effects of code multipath, typical of land applications. Developed in cooperation with the University of Calgary, the algorithm is based on a fault detection and exclusion (FDE) method and is designed to ensure that biased/multipath-affected observations do not contaminate the navigation solution.
As SCUTUM deals with a road transport application, the assessment targeted the HPL only. The algorithm is based on a statistical-empirical concept combining:
an FDE procedure using a statistical reliability method for the detection and removal of code-range observations corrupted by multipath; and
a field-testing procedure using the receiver under study and a geodetic-quality receiver to produce a reference trajectory.
The FDE procedure consists of sequential steps:
Computation of the navigation solution by means of a least-squares solution to obtain the calculated position, the HPL, and the residuals;
Reliability testing on the residuals, to detect the outliers (observations that contain biases and thus are considered measurements affected by multipath errors);
Exclusion of the detected outliers and re-computation of the navigation solution;
Iteration of the steps. In each iteration, the observation with the largest residual flagged as an outliner is removed.
The procedure ends once no further outliers are isolated, or the number of remaining observations is less or equal to five, or several special-case conditions occur. Outlier detection is done on the basis of a rejection threshold on the standardized residual. This rejection threshold is a parameter of the multipath-mitigation algorithm and is tuned by means of the field-test results. Additionally the multipath-mitigation algorithm behavior is a function of other parameters that depend on various factors, including satellite elevation, signal strength, and overall satellite geometry.
Field Trials
SCUTUM field trials covered several environmental conditions and LCS configurations. Tests were performed in a wide range of Italian urban and extra-urban road environments. They considered five different typical driving environments (Table 1), corresponding to different levels of GPS and EGNOS signal availability and multipath, and various vehicle speeds and dynamic characteristics, with the objective of testing the robustness of LCS’s navigation solution.
TABLE 1. SCUTUM field trials driving environments.
From a physical point of view, the presence of natural and/or artificial obstacles could lead to lack of GPS and SBAS signals, worse satellite geometry, and introduction of additional errors in the measurements due to multipath propagation effects. Urban canyons are particularly prone to such effects, although they occur also in other cases depending on the topographic characteristics of the environment. For these reasons, the trials covered all possible environments traveled by LCS users, to provide a complete technical and business analysis for each operational condition.
To accurately indentify the appropriate driving environment, trial paths were matched on clutter maps categorizing the different driving environments (as shown in Figure 5 in the example of a trial path in Rome).
Figure 5. Method for driving environment identification by means of a clutter map.
A reference trajectory, hereafter called the true path, was calculated in post-processing, through a kinematic differential GPS method, by using GPS L1 and L2 carrier-phase measurements, combined with inertial navigation system (INS) measurements.
The differential GPS L1 and L2 carrier measurements were collected with a reference receiver installed near each test location, at an inter-receiver distance not exceeding 20 kilometers. The reference receiver was geo-referenced via a dedicated GPS network solution (based on a continuous collection campaign of at least two days’ data). The combination with INS targets smooth trajectories free from jumps, even in difficult GPS environments.
The tests ran on two identical OBUs, one GPS-only and one using GPS+EGNOS. The two OBUs and the GPS/INS system were installed in a test vehicle (Figure 6) and connected to a standard GPS patch antenna for automotive applications. Two pairs of OBUs were used (Figure 7).
Figure 6. GPS/INS system installed in the vehicle.Figure 7. OBUs in test vehicle.
Test Results
The trials collected these data sets:
Raw measurements from the GPS/INS system;
Positions and raw measurements from the two OBUs, GPS and GPS+EGNOS respectively.
As mentioned, positions and raw measurements from the GPS OBU were processed by LCS’s navigation solution in three configurations:
LCS baseline, running the baseline multipath mitigation method (based on the proprietary patented algorithm);
LCS enhanced, applying the multipath-mitigation algorithm with default settings of several parameters;
LCS enhanced and tuned, applying the multipath-mitigation algorithm with tuned parameters. The tuning was obtained by applying the combined statistical-empirical concept described earlier.
Data collected during the field trials was analyzed in terms of:
average values for the horizontal navigation system error (HNSE) that is the horizontal difference of the OBU position with respect to the reference trajectory;
average values for the HPL that gives an indication of the confidence/guarantee of the position above mentioned; and
the availability of the processing of LCS’s navigation solution.
Test data was analyzed with both commercial and freely available software packages. Table 2 reports the performances of LCS in its baseline configuration for each driving environment. Table 3 reports the performances of LCS by means of the multipath-mitigation algorithm with different tunings for extra-urban and urban environments.
TABLE 2. Performances of LCS baseline for driving environments.TABLE 3. Performances of LCS enhanced by multipath mitigation algorithm with different tunings.
The results show that for the road environments tested, LCS baseline performs better than statistical FDE.
From these results, an interesting conclusion can be drawn: in the road environments tested, a traditional FDE approach is not as effective as would be expected. Specifically, the removal of observations with large residuals resulted in larger overall position errors, both before and after attempting to estimate a larger observation variance than normally used for GPS. The reason for this is that in urban environments and extra-urban road environments there is significant multipath, corrupting many observations at the same time that the number of available observations is low. The conclusion is that on average, in the environments tests, it is better to leave small, but still statistically detectable errors in the solution than to remove them and degrade the solution geometry.
The fault-detection approach will be more appropriate in a multi-constellation GNSS, and in particular in the future when Galileo satellites can be used in conjunction with GPS, resulting approximately double the satellite availability in all environments.
Table 4 summarizes average performances for GPS+EDAS using LCS baseline compared with those of the GPS-only and GPS+EGNOS.
TABLE 4. Average performances of GPS+EDAS by means of “LCS baseline” in comparison with GPS-only and GPS+EGNOS OS.
Workshop Agreement
SCUTUM also carried out a European Committee for Standardization (CEN) workshop that elaborated the CEN Workshop Agreement (CWA) 16390:2012, Interface control document for provision of EDAS-based services for tracking and tracing of the transport of goods, that is, the technical specification for development of EDAS-based products and applications.
CWA 16390 specifies:
the data (and relevant format) needed from the GPS/EGNOS receivers by the software solutions connected to EDAS, to enable the implementation of products and added value services; and
the type/format of the added value services produced by the software solutions (EDAS-based services).
The technical specification defined in CWA 16390 is architecture/technology-independent and flexible, so as to:
cope with different architectures (for example, those envisaging software solutions running in the monitoring platforms or in the OBUs); and
ensure its applicability in ITS systems and various mobility applications.
CWA 16390 was endorsed by several European stakeholders from industry, institutions, and the research sector. The Ministries of Transport in Italy and France, partners in the SCUTUM project, validated it as part of a shared vision for EGNOS adoption and exploitation. Italy’s Ministry of Transport is presently carrying out the possible evolution of CWA 16390 into an Italian standard.
Conclusions
SCUTUM represents the first step towards a larger use of EGNOS in Europe for the provision of services for road applications, and opens the market for Galileo. Its key findings are that EGNOS OS generally enhances the position measured using GPS-only in all extra-urban and urban environments. EDAS generally provides further enhancements, and also gives an indication of the quality of the position data received from the GPS.
LCS is a plug-in solution that enables easy retrofitting of existing GPS systems to use EGNOS, but optimized for road applications. By integrating it in tracking and tracing monitoring platforms and configuring the vehicle-installed OBUs, LCS enhances GPS position accuracy by approximately 4 meters and provides a level of confidence in the position information in the form of an HPL and a VPL. LCS will also improve GPS/Galileo integrated solutions when Galileo is operational. Its navigation solution will be more robust with Galileo and in general with multiple constellations, thanks to the availability of more satellites in view.
Manufacturers
A NovAtel FLEXG2-V2-L1L2 served as GPS reference with a NovAtel dual-frequency GPS-702GG antenna. An Oxford Technical Solutions RT2002 dual-frequency GPS/INS system served as rover. The two OBUs integrated a u-blox 5 GPS/EGNOS receiver. In its present configuration, LCS is connected to a dedicated GPS/EGNOS receiver, NovAtel ProPak-V3-L1 acting as EDAS back-up for robustness reasons.
Antonella Di Fazio works in the GNSS Infomobility Business Unit of Telespazio, in charge of innovative applications and services and program and technical coordinator of European R&D projects, devoted to the use of EGNOS/Galileo.
Daniele Bettinelli works in the GNSS Infomobility Business Unit of Telespazio, in charge of the specification, design and development of services based on EGNOS and EDAS, in particular for land applications.
Kyle O’Keefe is an associate professor in the Position, Location And Navigation (PLAN) group of the Department of Geomatics Engineering at the University of Calgary.
Furuno Electric Co., Ltd., has announced that new multi-GNSS receiver chips eRideOPUS 6 and eRideOPUS 7 will be available in August. The new receiver chips are multi-GNSS compliant single-chip LSIs, capable of concurrently receiving signals from multiple satellites in GNSS systems and satellite-based augmentation systems, as well as Japan’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite System. Both chips receive signals from GPS and Galileo; the eRideOPUS 7 also receives GLONASS signals.
The ability of concurrently receiving GNSS/GNSS augmentation signals from multiple satellites from different satellite services means that the receivers have more probability of acquiring a greater number of satellites at any single time. Subsequently, position stability as well as accuracy will be greatly improved, minimizing the chance of a position lost. Also, the receiver chips incorporate an enhanced level of noise rejection capability, implementing the anti-jamming function as well as the improvement of multipath mitigation.
Time-to-first-fix capability of the existing eRideOPUS 5 (no more than 1 second when hot started) is retained in these new receiver chips with a combination of A-GPS compatibility and self-ephemeris extraction. Moreover, the position update rate of the new receiver chips is greatly improved, achieving a 10-Hz update (every 0.1 second), which is twice as fast as the capability achieved by eRideOPUS 5.
The new receiver chips are capable of dead-reckoning navigation, using a gyro sensor and vehicle speed pulse signals, a gyro sensor and an acceleration sensor, and wheel tick data taken from a CAN-Bus network, achieving high positioning accuracy even in locations where satellite signal reception is not available, such as inside tunnels.
In May 2013, Furuno is planning to start the delivery of evaluation kits for the receiver chips so that third-party manufacturers can evaluate the feasibility of incorporating the receiver chips into their products, and in August 2013, the new compact GNSS receiver module GN-86/GN-87 as well as
dead-reckoning-capable GV-86/GV-87, using these new receiver chips, will be made available for automotive navigation systems as well as eCall systems.
Telit Wireless Solutions will provide the M2M communication module for the Taeha Mechatronics Remote Monitoring System (RMS). Taeha Mechatronics is a South Korean-based provider of electromagnetic control solutions for healthcare and industrial devices.
The Taeha Mechatronics TH-RMCU, a remote management control unit, integrates Telit’s HE910, HSPA+ module, which delivers 14.4 Mbps downlink data rates. The solution has obtained SK Telecom certification, and will be used for tracking the location of Hyundai Heavy Industry’s global assets. This is the first such authorization by SK Telecom for a system to be used locally and globally. As a result the device can be used in other countries simply by roaming without need for additional regional variants, Telit said. This move is expected to allow more Korean companies to operate more easily abroad.
The HE910 supports a large number of WCDMA frequency bands (850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz), making it possible for it to be used in all countries with 3G networks via simple roaming, with no need for production of regional variants to address local frequency band availability, Telit said.
Hyundai Heavy Industry installs an RMS device, composed of the control unit and antenna, into various types of heavy equipment in the field. It uses the solution to trace equipment location with the integrated GPS which transfers the related data to a server in real-time. With that the company looks to prevent theft and loss of its assets. Also, with the monitoring function, the company can effectively manage fuel consumption of their equipment, actively using it to reduce carbon emissions, Telit said.
HE910 is a RoHS-compliant module that combines GSM, GPRS, EDGE and HSPA+ network compatibility with digital telecommunication service access. It is world’s smallest (28.2×28.2×2.6 mm) LGA form factor, and ideal for applications that process high-capacity multimedia data, such as e-readers, PDAs and real-time location tracing devices. The HE910 HSPA+ transmission speed is 14.4 Mbps on the downlink, and 5.7 Mbps on the uplink. It supports high-speed serial port, receive antenna diversity, with optional embedded high-sensitivity GPS; and simultaneous voice and data.
“Solutions developed solely by Korean companies needed to go through many different testing processes to be able to be provided to global customers. By adapting Telit’s standard-based module, we were able to not only reduce cost, but also reduce time for development. We are planning to expand the usage of this solution from location tracing for asset management to other areas,” said Sang-hee Lim, CEO of Taeha Mechatronics.
“As the interest grows in security and safety globally, tracking solutions are also becoming smarter, in particular for the manufacturing industry, which uses various types of equipment. Companies can dramatically improve management efficiency and productivity simply by deploying cutting-edge monitoring systems. We expect to see continued demand for M2M,” said Derick Tsang, APAC manager of Telit.
Telenav, Inc. (NASDAQ: TNAV) has entered into an agreement to sell the Telenav enterprise business unit to FleetCor Technologies Operating Company, LLC, for approximately $10 million in cash, with an anticipated closing date in 30 days. Telenav’s enterprise business allows companies to better manage operations by using the Telenav location-based services (LBS) platform to track status and the location of mobile workers, vehicles and assets deployed in the field.
“As our consumer, advertising and automotive businesses grow, we have seen a divergence between the strategic direction of these areas and that of our enterprise business,” said HP Jin, president and CEO of Telenav. “This agreement will allow us to focus more and strengthen our strategic growth areas.”
Telenav will provide certain services after closing to facilitate the transition of the business. Other terms of the agreement were not disclosed; however, the Company noted that as the deal will close near the end of the fiscal third quarter, the financial guidance provided for the quarter will be unchanged. As to the full-year revenue for fiscal 2013, the anticipated range for revenue will now be $190 to $194 million, reflecting the impact on revenue from this sale. Except as noted, the financial impact is not expected to be material to the financial results of Telenav.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will begin issuing official recommendations to members of the commercial trucking industry on the proper uses of GPS devices and incorporate GPS training into new entry-level certification programs for commercial motor vehicle operators.
U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, joined by Administrator Anne Ferro of the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), held two press conferences in the New York City area on March 11 to alert commercial vehicle drivers to the importance of using updated, professional-quality GPS devices to prevent routes that include height-restricted overpasses and bridges.
Administrator Ferro also announced the availability of a GPS safety visor card for truck and bus drivers, now downloadable at www.fmcsa.dot.gov (and pictured above).
Under the recommendations, commercial drivers will be trained, and reminded, to only use GPS systems designed specifically for the industry. These specialized units take into account the specifics of the truck they’re in — including the height, weight and contents — and will then route the trucks onto appropriate roads. The consumer GPS units too often being used are frequently routing trucks onto inappropriate roads, causing them to crash into low overpasses and bridges.
In September, Schumer called on the Department of Transportation (DOT) to investigate the dramatic increase in low bridge strikes by commercial trucks across New York State as a result of the growing use of GPS by drivers. According to reports from local police organizations, GPS-related bridge strikes in New York represent more than 80 percent of all such accidents. The accidents, in addition to being life threatening, cause massive delays and impose significant costs on taxpayers.
In one press conference, Schumer and Administrator Ferro stood at the Eagle Avenue overpass, which spans the Southern State Parkway at exit 18. The overpass has been struck at least 27 times by trucks that are prohibited from driving on the parkway.
“These education and training campaigns for commercial truck drivers will be the first major steps to thwarting life-threatening bridge strikes that have been causing massive delays and imposing significant costs on taxpayers with increasing frequency in recent years,” said Schumer. “These steps will help to once again make GPS devices an asset to drivers, and not a dangerously misused tool. I am pleased that the DOT heeded my call for reforms and I am confident that the combination of official recommendations and GPS training will limit the number of low-bridge strikes across Long Island. Thank you to FMCSA Administrator Ferro for recognizing the importance of this serious issue and for implementing a proactive approach towards teaching the industry how to eliminate GPS-related accidents.”
“Even one truck or bus striking an overpass is one too many, which is why we’re taking action to ensure professional truck and bus drivers know the importance of selecting the right navigation system,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro.
Commercial truck traffic is prohibited on New York State Parkways such as the Southern and Northern State Parkways on Long Island, the Hutchinson and Saw Mill Parkways in the Hudson Valley, and the FDR and Bronx River Parkway in New York City. Overpasses constructed over these parkways were built, in some cases, over 50 years ago, and at low heights. Although these parkways consist of numerous warning and directional signs alerting commercial drivers of the dangers, basic GPS devices often do not show these restrictions and funnel trucks into major danger zones.
According to a recent NYS Department of Transportation study, more than 200 bridge accidents per year have occurred in New York since 2005. Of that total, more than 25 percent of these accidents occurred in Nassau, Suffolk or Westchester counties. Major repairs on the Long Island Expressway connected to these types of accidents have cost taxpayers $4.1million in recent years, according to the NYS Department of Transportation.
The 2014 Rolls-Royce Wraith coupe is using GPS to make a smooth ride even smoother.
Unveiled at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, the Wraith is the fastest, most powerful car Rolls-Royce has ever made at $320,000 ($245,000 euros). The Wraith’s eight-speed automatic transmission is linked to a GPS receiver. The car uses satellites to constantly determine what road you’re driving on and in what conditions, then uses the data to anticipate when to shift gears.
For example, it can downshift the moment a hill or curve is approached, which helps with both performance and fuel economy, Rolls said. The nav system also compiles real-time traffic data from cellphones in commercial vehicles and taxis, and uses the data to update the travel route every three minutes.
The debut of Satellite Aided Transmission technology takes the power train to a new level of effortless delivery, the automaker said, allowing the car to “see into the future.”
According to the Rolls, Satellite Aided Transmission uses GPS data and the navigation system to scan the road. It anticipates his next move based on location and current driving style, then automatically chooses the optimum gear on the eight-speed transmission. “Power is delivered effortlessly for you, so you can surge through every corner, round every roundabout and into every slip road smoothly,” Rolls-Royce said.
The high-tech doesn’t stop with GPS. The Wraith has a heads-up display, voice command support and an infotainment system with multi-touch trackpad and 10-inch screen.
Start saving your pennies. The Rolls goes on sale this fall.
GPSTrackIt has released a fleet management tool called Driver, a website that enables drivers using tablet devices such as iPads and Androids to send and receive messages and plan routes.
The site provides drivers with two-way communication by chat or forms with dispatchers and fleet managers. It also provides them with route management and timekeeping utilities. Driver compliments GPSTrackIt’s recent releases for smartphones and tablet apps for dispatchers and fleet managers.
According to Eddie Bermudez, product manager, GPSTrackIt’s vehicle tracking system has been enhanced with Field Service Manager (FSM). “The FSM is the control center for all of the mobile workforce management tools available through the Driver website. Dispatchers and fleet managers use the Field Service Manager to create and send messages. The can build Quick Messages and Quick Responses that drivers can select from a list. They can also create forms with multiple questions, and multiple choice answers that streamline the communications process.”
Dispatchers enter stops and build routes using the FSM. The routes can be rearranged as new stops are added, saving drivers time and reducing the need for them to call in. The routes are pushed out to the drivers, who can then display them on maps and list out the directions. They can also use a third-party navigation app to render true turn-by-turn directions.
Soon Driver will provide route optimization. “Driver will look at all the stops and do the arranging for you,” said Bermudez. “It will evaluate the relative distances and calculate the most efficient route.”
In addition, the FSM also provides a mobile time clock. “This enables drivers to clock in and out using the tablet,” Bermudez said. “That data, as with the chats, stops, and forms, can be reported on using Fleet Manager’s reports. It provides fleet managers with a verification tool for employee timekeeping.”
One of the other advantages to using a tablet device is that it offers users a wide variety of useful mobile apps.
“Tablet devices provide our customers with a platform that not only connects them to the Fleet Manager system, but many other productivity tools,” adds John Stull, President and founder of GPSTrackIt. “Drivers can make use of other apps and peripherals to do credit card transactions, scan and transmit contracts, and perform many other important tasks.”
FICOSA demonstrated a telematic unit integrating a multi-service antenna module for positioning and satellite navigation supporting all the geographic positioning standards at the 2013 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February.
The major advantage of this technological innovation is that the proposed multi-channel GPS/Galileo/GLONASS/BeiDou/QZSS receiver allows tracking across all the different navigation and positioning satellite standards worldwide, so that automakers can the having to manage different variants of in-vehicle telematic units (iVTUs) depending on the geographical market. iVTUs are needed for emergency call function, fleet management, and other functions. It incorporates an OriginGPS antenna.
The new module is a complete system-in-package featuring miniature surface mount device technology footprint designed to commit unique integration features for high volume, low power and cost-sensitive applications.
In addition, the reduced size of the receiver module makes the most of a stacked-up in board integration through miniaturized integrated circuits and surface mount devices, allows an aggressive reduction of the iVTU packaging, which is advantageous for the OEM for car assembly, iVTU localization inside the vehicle, and weight reduction.
The innovation represents the result of the international collaboration between FICOSA and OriginGPS. “We view the telematics market as a growing market and it is our privilege to cooperate and partner with Ficosa and its excellent engineering team,” said Haim Goldberger, CEO and founder of OriginGPS.
“In FICOSA, innovation and technology are two main tools for our future and working with OriginGPS is a great issue,” said Jose María Forcadell, Advanced Communications Business Unit Director at FICOSA.
GT-1 asset tracker combines GPS, RFID, and Bluetooth technologies. Photo: Geoforce
Geoforce, Inc. is announcing commercial availability of its GT-1 asset tracking device that can track field equipment in locations and conditions previously too challenging for other devices to function effectively. A globally certified GPS device, the GT-1 enables oil and gas service providers to proactively monitor and share data on vehicles and equipment for more cost effective operations, helping to meet ongoing environmental responsibilities, the company said.
“We have been waiting a long time for a device like this,” said Michael Rolston, operations manager at Permian Equipment Rentals. “It’s small, it’s incredibly rugged, it will last years without replacement. It’s also surprisingly low cost — given all its features and capabilities.”
The GT-1 was previously offered in limited release to several major international service and rental companies beginning in the fourth quarter of 2012. To date, thousands have shipped and are actively tracking oilfield assets around the globe.
