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  • Putting the (ultra-low) Power in GeoFence

    Host-Offload GNSS Positioning

    By Miguel Torroja, Steve Malkos, and Christophe Verne

    Users of smartphones, tablets, and other devices expect position with the highest level of accuracy, always available, with the least amount of power consumed. One recent improvement fulfilling this demand involves operating-system services for location on smartphones, and the evolution towards lower power solutions.

    “Please connect to a charger — The battery is getting low: less than 15 percent remaining.”

    Handsets are battery-supplied devices, and a user’s tolerance for features is driven by battery consumption. There are many examples of technologies where users do not run certain hardware or features because it will consume the battery and make the phone useless within a short period of time.

    The application processor (AP) of a handset device is very powerful, and is the part that consumes most of the battery life. Today’s smartphone multicore application processor is faster than many desktop computers that are just a few years old. Whatever the application, when it uses the AP, it can draw up to hundreds of milliamperes (mAs).

    For the last few years, the trend for GNSS has been host-based positioning. Host-based designs have less logic on the GNSS integrated circuit (IC) and employ the host AP for a portion of the positioning computation. This strategy has three advantages:

    • Shares memory and code resources with the application processor.
    • Reduces the cost of the dedicated GNSS hardware.
    • Sharing the processor makes sense since it is already running.

    Traditionally, when the GNSS solution was running, a navigation application that utilized the AP was also running.

    However, when we only want to compute GNSS positions in the background, and we do not need a third-party application running on the AP, a host-based IC architecture is not the optimal solution with regard to system power consumption. This article explains some of the technologies used to compute a GNSS position using an ultra-low power (ULP) hybrid solution that combines the classic host-based GNSS architecture with a host-offload architecture that minimizes the use of the AP.

    We discuss here two applications that benefit from a host-offload architecture: geofencing and position batching.

    We will review the requirements for a platform to support a new hybrid GNSS positioning solution. Different host-offload technologies for geofence, such as GNSS, Wi-Fi, and Cell-ID, will be compared. Broadcom’s ultralow-power host-offload GNSS solution supports any operating system. We focus here on Android’s operating system because it is the most open OS.

    Always-on Applications

    Geofencing is an application that sends reports or triggers alarms when a predefined area is crossed. For example, users can be alerted to discounts with e-coupons when walking through a mall, or to “don’t forget the milk” — users can set their own reminder notifications based off of location; also, social networking. One example of location-based reminders is through Google Keep, which uses Android’s Geofence APIs on platforms that support hardware geofencing; this application will automatically take advantage of the hardware geofence solution.

    Geofencing applications run in the background for long periods of time, and their main task is to compute positions (fixes) without the need of assistance from other applications. An ultra-low-power GNSS position solution, or always-on positioning solution, is desirable for these scenarios. Typical applications require notifications when entering or exiting a geofence area, or require periodic reporting of user positions relative to the fence.

    Geofencing is not something new. API support has been provided in mobile OS for many years, but only now can it be used without draining the battery, thanks to this new host-offload architecture.

    Figure 1 shows a circular geofence boundary and an alarm. In that example, the alarm was triggered when entering the fence.

    Figure 1. Alarm when the vehicle enters a geofence area.
    Figure 1. Alarm when the vehicle enters a geofence area.

    Breadcrumbing or position batching pertains to storing of positions, referred to as crumbs, which are accumulated for a certain amount of time and then pushed all at once to the application. Examples would be fleet or asset tracking applications, or people that wants to track their position while they are running.

    Currently, Android does not support breadcrumbing as a native feature. There is some ongoing work, and APIs are being defined.

    GNSS Positioning Models

    Before smartphones, the dominant GNSS hardware architecture employed a system-on-chip solution. The position/velocity/time (PVT) comes directly from the hardware, and all the computations are done in the GNSS IC.

    On-Chip Positioning requires two things: a powerful-enough central processing unit (CPU) and lots of memory. The increase in CPU and memory performance are not free; they translate directly into more power and higher manufacturing costs.

    The RF block in Figure 2 is intentionally drawn with a similar size to the CPU and memory, to emphasize the need for higher resources for a complete on-chip solution.

    Figure 2. On-chip solution.
    Figure 2. On-chip solution.

    Host-Based Solution. GNSS positioning requires dedicated hardware, complex software, and protocols. This complexity led GNSS providers to move parts of the software out of the IC to the AP.

    Using a mobile phone’s AP for position computation is one method of reducing the CPU and memory power footprint from the GNSS IC. At the same time, it also increases the power consumed by the platform needed to compute GNSS position, since part of the computation is not performed on the host-based IC. APs may consume approximately 100 mA just to be operational.

    Figure 3 shows a typical configuration with dedicated GNSS hardware and a generic AP. In host-based mode, both the AP and the GNSS IC run in parallel when computing positions. The AP controls the GNSS hardware.

    Figure 3. I/O connections in on-host positioning.
    Figure 3. I/O connections in on-host positioning.

    With this type of shared architecture, shown in Figure 4, the CPU and the memory on the GNSS IC are reduced, shrinking the size of the chip and reducing power consumed by the chip. In Figure 4 we see that the AP is communicating with the dedicated hardware, and the final PVT is computed by the AP. This solution fits well in many applications, such as navigation, where the AP has to run a mapping application at the same time.

    Figure 4. Host-based solution.
    Figure 4. Host-based solution.

    Hybrid Positioning. For geofencing, we need a hybrid model, one which keeps GNSS IC complexity similar to the host-based architecture, but also offloads some of the host-based positioning so that the host can go to sleep.

    In Broadcom’s hybrid mode, the AP does not need to run when GNSS positions are computed. Broadcom’s hybrid IC does not invoke the host AP often, and thus achieves an even lower power footprint. The CPU on the GNSS IC used for computing position is a dedicated one. It needs to be carefully chosen because it has to be powerful enough to compute positions and be as power efficient as possible. All this is done while keeping the GNSS IC area size in mind, to control cost.

    Detailed analysis and steps were considered to ascertain the minimum requirements for the CPU and other resources to best accomplish the on-chip positioning task.

    Other considerations: the GNSS IC must be powered even when the AP is suspended, and the GNSS IC must be capable of waking up the AP. Figure 5 shows a possible implementation using a dedicated I/O signal controlled by the IC to wake up the host AP.

    Figure 5. I/O connections in hybrid positioning.
    Figure 5. I/O connections in hybrid positioning.

    With this architecture, the host AP will still be needed to provide some assistance data to the GNSS IC. The assistance provided allows the GNSS IC to not invoke the host AP often and thus achieve an even lower power footprint.

    Geofencing Methods

    Certain OS application APIs have been supporting geofencing for many years. Currently, we can find geofencing APIs in most of the mobile OSs in the market.

    There are four main types of geofencing: GNSS software geofencing, GNSS hardware geofencing, network software geofencing, and network hardware geofencing (Table 1).

    Table 1. Geofencing methods.
    Table 1. Geofencing methods.

    GNSS Hardware Geofencing. In this method, the one described in detail in this article, the OS initiates a request and offloads the areas of interest to the hardware. After that, the AP can go to sleep and the hardware is responsible for computing positions and checking the areas of interest. This method basically relies on GNSS hardware to compute positions and check the programmed fences.

    GNSS Software Geofencing. Here, the OS initiates regular fixes to a host-based GNSS IC design. Then it invokes both the AP and the GNSS IC at the same time to check against the defined fence areas.

    Network Geofencing. In this method, the OS requests network IDs from the hardware (that is, baseband modem Cell-ID and Wi-Fi access points). The OS uses different positioning technologies to compute position. This usually requires a connection to a server to retrieve location information about the different IDs. The position is used to check the geofences.

    In network hardware geofencing, a set of network IDs is offloaded from the OS to the network hardware ICs. The hardware can poll for these IDs, and wake up the host when found.

    Network versus GNSS Geofencing

    A good geofencing solution combines both network and GNSS methods because each solution benefits from each other.

    GNSS positioning solutions compute positions in open-sky environments with accuracy to a few meters and have worldwide coverage. However, they cannot work in deep indoor spaces.

    Network geofencing using cell IDs is quite inaccurate, but works very well indoors. Network geofencing using a Wi-Fi access point provides reasonable accuracy, but location of the access points is not always known and it does not have full coverage.

    Geofencing in Android 4.3. The API for applications supports geofencing. Starting from the first version of Android, the application just initiates a proximity alarm and will get an event when its boundaries are crossed. The OS is responsible for notifying the application when such an event occurs, and can use any technologies it sees fit.

    The API that applications use is very simple. The monitoring is handled by the OS and is hidden to the application (for example, technologies, periodicity of checks, and accuracies).

    Software Geofence in Android. Software geofencing has been the default method until recently, as there was no native hardware support. In this mode, the host-based GNSS positioning engine is started like any other position request. The Android framework is the one dealing with the monitoring of the geofences, and therefore, the AP must run continuously to handle periodic position checks. That means the software-geofencing logic is mainly in the framework layer of Android (see basic layers diagram shown in Figure 6).

    Figure 6. Android framework.
    Figure 6. Android framework.

    More recent versions of Android dropped the support for software-based geofencing in favor of a host-based GNSS system, likely because of the big impact on the battery. Broadcom developed a low-power GNSS hardware solution for geofencing.

    Hardware Geofence in Android. Starting from Android 4.3, a new interface is available to use hardware geofencing. This interface is not visible to the application, and it is only used as a low-level interface. To support the new hardware-geofence interface, the native driver only has to register to a new GNSS interface defined in the native hardware abstraction layer (HAL) of Android.

    There are other protocols known to support geofencing. Table 2 provides a short list.

    Table 2. Geofencing support on different platforms.
    Table 2. Geofencing support on different platforms.

    Broadcom Hybrid Positioning

    Android defines interfaces to the hardware, referred to as the HAL.

    GNSS Host Software. GNSS providers need to comply to the HAL interface, which is at the Java native interface (JNI) level. Below the JNI lies the GNSS host software (Figure 7).

    Figure 7. Android detailed framework/native layers.
    Figure 7. Android detailed framework/native layers.

    For the host-based solution, the GNSS host software handles most of the heavy computing.

    For the hybrid solution, the GNSS host software does some of the heavy computing, but positions are computed inside the GNSS IC.

    To support this new hybrid solution, two main changes are required compared to the usual host-based solution, as described below.

    First, the hybrid GNSS IC must be autonomous while the host AP is sleeping. This implies that some power domains are maintained when the GNSS is in use. This typically means at least one of the outputs of the power management unit (PMU) should be dedicated to the GNSS only (Figure 8).

    Figure 8. Power domains.
    Figure 8. Power domains.

    Second, the GNSS IC must be able to wake up the host AP so as to send geofence notifications, or to request assistance data. This is usually done through a dedicated pin.

    Acquisition and Sleep Period. Most of the power in the GNSS IC is used by the radio and analog part. To reduce power, this part is switched on only during acquisition. As soon as enough measurements are observed, the radio part is switched off while the digital part computes a fix.

    After each computed position, the GNSS IC can go into a deep power-saving mode until the next acquisition. The distance to the closest fence in conjunction with the user speed is used to determine when to compute the next position (Figure 9):

    M-E1

    Figure 9. Start fix decision logic.
    Figure 9. Start fix decision logic.

    Once the GNSS IC starts computing positions, the AP can go into sleep mode (Figure 10). Total power per position computed is reduced, and the time between fixes is no longer constant, as shown in Figure 11.

    Figure 10. Sleep time between fixes.
    Figure 10. Sleep time between fixes.
    Figure 11. Duty cycling.
    Figure 11. Duty cycling.

    In Figure 12, the lower square-shaped pattern corresponds to a position computation from the hardware GNSS IC. Once we have an alarm, the host has to be woken up and we can see the impact in power in the big peaks after a position is computed.

    Figure 12. Power graph.
    Figure 12. Power graph.

    Alarm Triggering

    When a geofence area is crossed, the GNSS IC needs to wake up the AP. This is achieved using a dedicated interrupt pin. After asserting it, an alarm and geofence status is sent to the AP.

    M-ChartPower Consumption. We calculate the total average current by splitting it into three components, as shown in the following formula:

    M-E2

    Some of these parameters are set by the host: for example, how often the fix should be computed. The extra current drained by the GNSS IC is the one defined by

    M-E3

    ∆I is the change in current drain when computing positions.

    We can also express this formula based on the average number of position attempts:

    M-E4

    where Tp is the average time between fixes (the time the GNSS IC stays in sleep).

    Table 3 illustrates some theoretical ∆I current savings with respect to Tp.

    Conclusion

    As APs become faster and faster, their power consumption goes up. A novel hybrid GNSS receiver has been presented, which offloads some of the host-based processing into the GNSS hardware, offering ultra-low system power consumption versus the traditional methods. The new hybrid positioning solution is a good approach for always-on applications that need to have location information always available, without requiring the host to be running, as is the case with geofencing and breadcrumbing.

    References

    We would like to thank Jason Goldberg, Frank van Diggelen, and Manuel del Castillo, all of Broadcom, who reviewed this article and spent many hours with us discussing the topics point by point.

    Miguel Torroja is a principal software developer at Broadcom. He has an M.Sc. in electrical  engineering from Ramon Llull University, Barcelona. Since 2011, he has been working on the design and development of algorithms for optimizing power consumption in GNSS host-offload solutions.

    Steve Malkos is a senior program manager at Broadcom.  He has a B.S. in computer science from Purdue University.  He has been active in the development of A-GNSS technologies such as hybrid location services, long-term predicted orbits (LTO), Broadcom’s worldwide reference network (WWRN), and secure user-plane location (SUPL). He has five patents issued and 16 pending.

    Christophe Verne is a manager of software engineering at Broadcom. He has an M.S. in electrical engineering from Ecole Centrale, Paris. He has been involved in the development of GNSS and A-GNSS technologies at EADS, Sagem, Global Locate, and Broadcom, where he has been working on low-power host-offload positioning.

  • Installed Base of Fleet Management Systems Will Reach 6.4M in Europe by 2017

    According to a new research report from the analyst firm Berg Insight, the number of active fleet management systems deployed in commercial vehicle fleets in Europe was 3.05 million in Q4-2012. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.0 percent, this number is expected to reach 6.40 million by 2017. A group of international aftermarket solution providers have emerged as the leaders on the European fleet management market. Masternaut is ranked as the largest player overall in terms of installed base with close to 287,000 units deployed today. TomTom Business Solutions was the fastest growing vendor also in the past year and has now surpassed 275,000 subscribers in this region. Digicore and Trimble have also joined the exclusive group of fleet management providers in Europe having more than 100,000 active devices in the field. Transics is number one in the heavy trucks segment with an estimated 80,000 active units installed.

    A major trend in the past two years has been the announcements of standard line fitment of fleet management solutions. Since the end of 2011, Scania is rolling out the Scania Communicator as standard on all European markets and includes a four-year basic service subscription. The new generation of the Actros trucks from Mercedes-Benz contains the FleetBoard vehicle computer as standard in all EU27 countries since October 2011. Volvo is going in the same direction offering Dynafleet as standard in Europe. MAN TeleMatics is since July 2012 standard on the new truck model TGX EfficientLine.

    A second wave of M&A activities started in 2013 after 18 months of lull. “Six major mergers and acquisitions have so far taken place this year among the vendors of fleet management systems in Europe”, said Johan Fagerberg, Senior Analyst, Berg Insight. Danaher Corporation is betting on the fleet management market and acquired Navman Wireless and Trafficmaster from Prairie Capital and Vector Capital respectively. TomTom made its second acquision in the fleet management space when picking up Coordina headquartered in Spain. The latest transaction was done in September 2013 when Oskando and Autolog merged and at the same time launched the new brand EcoFleet. Mr. Fagerberg anticipates that the market consolidation of the still overcrowded industry will continue in 2014.

  • Blue Sky Network Debuts Portable M2M GNSS Tracking Solution

    Blue Sky Network Debuts Portable M2M GNSS Tracking Solution

    Blue Sky Network's HawkEye 7200 Portable M2M Tracking Solution.
    Blue Sky Network’s HawkEye 7200 Portable M2M Tracking Solution.

    Blue Sky Network, a supplier of satellite tracking and communication solutions for aviation, land and marine, has launched the HawkEye 7200 portable M2M tracking solution. The HawkEye 7200 includes features such as multinational GNSS receiver support and integrated Bluetooth for Iridium connectivity to smart devices. Designed in a small form factor, the HawkEye 7200 can be powered by battery or via an external power source and is a key addition to Blue Sky Network’s solutions portfolio extending the reach of smart device communications globally anywhere in the world.

    The HawkEye 7200 is Blue Sky Network’s first product to incorporate a multinational GNSS receiver. It combines the major GNSS providers into a single location-based chip that can be used in other parts of the world including GLONASS for Russia and the Galileo for the European Union. This multinational GNSS receiver feature enables fleet operators with globally dispersed assets to obtain position reports with increased accuracy and performance. When used with New SkyRouter, Blue Sky Network’s cloud-based web-portal, the HawkEye 7200 offers portable tracking and resource management of any asset type across the globe. The HawkEye 7200 hosts an RS232 interface and digital inputs/outputs for connectivity and control of external sensors or other telematics devices.

    With the integrated Bluetooth connectivity, the HawkEye 7200 supports Blue Sky Network’s new iPhone/iPad application. The application allows users to send emails, short-code messages and customizable electronic forms through the Iridium network. With the ability for operators to build and fully customize forms — such as flight plans, maintenance records and logistic records of remote assets — HawkEye 7200 supports the industry’s movement toward paperless fleet operations.

    “Blue Sky Network is a long-time member of the Iridium partner ecosystem and is continuously delivering cutting-edge M2M communication solutions targeting new markets,” said Bryan Hartin, executive vice president, commercial sales and marketing of Iridium. “The HawkEye 7200 is yet another solution from Blue Sky Network that offers powerful capabilities and applications that utilize the Iridium network. Together we are providing customers with critical connectivity worldwide.”

    “The HawkEye 7200 further bolsters our leadership position in the mobile resource management and tracking industry,” said Blue Sky Network’s CEO and founder, Jon Gilbert. “Combining our HawkEye 7200 with our iPhone/iPad application and our industry-leading backend web portal, New SkyRouter, our customers have a complete end-to-end solution to link the far reaches of the world right in the palm of their hand. We are shrinking the global communication barrier and improving the methods by which people anywhere make connections to manage critical assets and communicate.”

    Blue Sky Network is showcasing the HawkEye 7200 at the Helitech International Helicopter Expo & Conference, in London on September 24-26, in booth #B59.

    The new HawkEye 7200 is in process of being certified by Iridium, with production expected in Q4 2013.

  • Ford Studies Space Robots for Connected Vehicle Communications

    Ford is studying communications between space robots and Earth to enhance future applications of the connected-car communications protocol. The research furthers the company’s commitment to the development of connected vehicle communications to help reduce traffic congestion and aid in the advancement of emergency vehicle communication methods, Ford said.

    Ford has launched a three-year research partnership with the telematics department of St. Petersburg Polytechnic University in Russia in its association with that country’s space industry. The goal is to analyze space-based robotic communications systems for vehicle mesh networks to aid in mobility solutions.

    The development of connected vehicle communications has the potential to reduce traffic accidents and ease congestion by enabling vehicles to communicate with each other, and to communicate with buildings, traffic lights, the cloud and other systems to deliver a message or detect and respond to imminent collision warnings.

    Webinar: The Connected Vehicle

    All major international car-makers are installing telematics units, sending a signal that wireless information and connectivity is here to stay in the vehicle, and location will be a big part of the growth. To learn more about the rapid changes in the connected vehicle field, tune in to our September 19 webinar, hosted by Wireless LBS editor Janice Partyka. Registration is free.

    “Ford has been committed to the research and development of connected vehicle communications for more than a decade,” said Paul Mascarenas, chief technical officer and vice president, Ford research and innovation. “Our participation in this research can aid in the development of next-generation Ford driver-assist technologies. These technologies will globally benefit Ford customers, other road users and the environment.”

    Emergency Situations. One promising development from Ford’s research project with St. Petersburg Polytechnic University is the advancement in emergency vehicle communication methods. Ford is analyzing how emergency messages should be sent to ensure delivery if network failures were to occur, identifying the systems and methods that provide redundancy in case of primary delivery failure.

    For example, if an accident were to cause vehicle-to-cloud communications (V2C) to be broken, a vehicle may still have access to a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications network. An emergency signal message could potentially be sent through V2V to a vehicle nearby, and then between vehicles and infrastructures until it reached EMS.

    “The research of fallback options and robust message networks is important,” said Oleg Gusikhin, technical leader in systems analytics for Ford. “If one network is down, alternatives need to be identified and strengthened to reliably propagate messages between networks.”

    Space Telematics. Telematics — the long-distance transmission of digital information — developed for use on space stations provide excellent potential for improving the reliability of future vehicle-to-cloud, vehicle-to-infrastructure, vehicle-to-vehicle and other forms of communication (V2X). The communications blend multiple networking technologies including dedicated short-range communication (DSRC), cellular LTE wireless broadband and mesh networking to ensure robust and reliable connectivity for optimum signal strength for critical messages.

    Using the knowledge accrued from analyzing the space robots, Ford engineers could then develop an algorithm that is integrated into the V2X system resulting in a message that would route through the appropriate network depending on the level of its importance. An emergency message, for example, may be communicated through the faster mesh network, whereas an entertainment-related message would route through a vehicle-to-infrastructure application, an embedded device or a brought-in device network.

    “We are analyzing the data to research which networks are the most robust and reliable for certain types of messages, as well as fallback options if networks were to fail in a particular scenario,” said Oleg Gusikhin, technical leader in systems analytics for Ford. “In a crash, for example, a vehicle could have the option to communicate an emergency though a DSRC, LTE or a mesh network based on the type of signal, speed and robustness required to reach emergency responders as quickly as possible.”

    The specific space robots leveraged for Ford’s telematics analysis include the JUSTIN Humanoid, EUROBOT Ground Prototype and NASA Robonaut R2.

    Here is a video showing how Ford is studying space robot communications.

    Findings from this work could potentially enhance Ford’s wireless communication technologies and Blueprint for Mobility. Ford’s Blueprint for Mobility details the company’s vision on how to tackle the issues of mobility in an increasingly crowded and urbanized planet between now and 2025.

  • GPSTrackIt Announces New Analytics Dashboard

    GPSTrackit’s Fleet Manager Software now features an Analytics Dashboard that enables fleet managers to monitor and review fleet performance by reviewing historical data in a series of charts and graphs. Fleet Manager is a robust application providing fleet owners and managers with a comprehensive suite of integrated tools, GPSTrackIt said.  The system delivers real-time GPS vehicle tracking, vehicle maintenance scheduling, and a wide range of alerts. The Analytics Dashboard brings to the system a new array of powerful and flexible capabilities.

    “It puts the information fleet managers and owners need at their fingertips,” said Eddie Bermudez, GPSTrackIt’s product manager.  “We already provide all the historical data via the reports system. This new feature brings that data to life with dynamic graphics.”

    The dashboard displays up to six charts, which can be configured as bar charts or pie charts. Each chart can focus on particular issues important to fleet owners, managers and dispatchers: Idle Time, Drive Time, Stop Time, Speeding and Mileage.

    “The charts can be configured to show data for all units or a single group,” explained Bermudez. “Or a chart can compare groups by displaying their data side-by-side using different colors.”

    In addition, three composite charts are available; Engine Time, which monitors idle time and driving time; Driving Overview, which monitors idle time and driving time and stop time; Idle Stop, which monitors idle time and stop time. The time metric determines which historical data is used. Options available are week, month, quarter, and year.

    “Charts can be rearranged on the dashboard by dragging and dropping,” added Bermudez.  “And there are several additional options that can be configured. Chart labels of up to 25 characters can be added. The start of day can be set to any of the 24 hours. For bar charts, the average value can be shown superimposed on the graph.”

    Bermudez continues, “The Analytics Dashboard can also display the highest or lowest values for a given graph. This can be configured to show values from one to 20. Selecting Highest and a numerical value of five on an Idle Time chart, for example, displays the five vehicles with the highest values for idle time.”

    “This is important for fleet managers to know because of added fuel consumption, as well as vehicle wear,” according to Bermudez.  ”Selecting Lowest and a numerical value of ten on a Speeding chart shows the ten vehicles with the lowest incidence of speeding.”

  • Qualcomm to Sell Fleet Management Unit for $800M

    Qualcomm to Sell Fleet Management Unit for $800M

    Logo: OmnitracsQualcomm Incorporated has signed a definitive agreement to sell its fleet management and tracking business Omnitracs to Vista Equity Partners for $800 million in cash.

    The acquisition will include all of Omnitracs operations in the U.S., Canada and Latin America, including Sylectus and FleetRisk Advisors, which were acquired by Omnitracs in 2011. The transaction is expected to be completed during the first quarter of Qualcomm’s fiscal 2014.

    Omintracs, formerly known as Qualcomm Enterprise Services, provides integrated fleet management applications, services and platforms to transportation and logistics companies. The company provides solutions for safety and compliance, driver retention, GPS fleet tracking, and fleet maintenance software.

    “In the late 1980s, Qualcomm pioneered the use of commercial vehicle telematics with the introduction of the first mobile information system for transportation and logistics,” said Qualcomm executive vice president Derek Aberle. “As one of Qualcomm’s earliest businesses, Omintracs has maintained a leadership position within the industry for 25 years. Today, the opportunity for fleet management and telematics is evolving rapidly, and we believe Omnitracs is well positioned to continue its leadership position as a stand-alone entity.”

    “We are long-term investors in enterprise software, data and technology-enabled businesses that are committed to being leaders in their fields,” said Robert Smith, chief executive officer and founder of Vista Equity Partners. “We are impressed with the compelling value proposition Omnitracs’ products and services offer their customers. We look forward to working with them and helping them to reach their full potential.”

    The closing of the transaction is conditioned upon, among other things, clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 and other customary closing conditions.

  • iTRAK Integrates Navigation and Wireless GPS Fleet Tracking

    iTRAK Integrates Navigation and Wireless GPS Fleet Tracking

    Photo: iTRAK Corporation

    iTRAK Corporation, a provider of GPS-based wireless fleet tracking, has integrated the patented iTRAK Fleet Executive (iFE) cloud-based software, the iTRAK WebApp software for tablets and smartphones, and iTRAK’s wireless GPS tracking equipment with the Magellan RoadMate Commercial 5190T-LM fleet navigation unit. The combined product will allow remote tracking of vehicles and handsets in the field, while integrating with the Magellan commercial product to provide in-cab navigation voice prompts and terminal text messaging.

    The new product, combined with a heavy duty engine interface, will meet the new and emerging EOBR/ELD standards, while providing customers with the flexibility, efficiency and reduced liability required by today’s professional carriers and heavy duty equipment operators.

    “Magellan is pleased to have iTRAK as a partner integrating the Magellan RoadMate Commercial 5190T-LM in their offer combining navigation, messaging and fleet tracking,” said Mark Perini, associate vice president of Product Marketing for Magellan.

    The combined system provides fleet tracking using iTRAK’s patented iTRAK Fleet Executive (iFE) and iTRAK WebApp to remotely track vehicles and handsets in the field, while integrating with the Magellan RoadMate Commercial 5190T-LM commercial product to provide in-cab voice navigation and terminal messaging through the iFE cloud-based application. Features include:

    • Five-inch WVGA touch screen.
    • Customizable truck routes.
    • The truck road attributes can be turned off, so drivers can use the same navigation device in their personal passenger vehicles.
    • Free lifetime traffic alerts.
    • Multiple stop routing.
    • Hours of service tracking.
    • Optional engine interface: Both OBD-II and J1939 interfaces are supported. Engine data can be transmitted to the office by the iTRAK system.
    • Loud (93-dB) speaker.
    • Messaging to and from the vehicle.
    • Truck-specific POIs such as weigh stations and truck stops.
    • Bluetooth: The navigation device includes Bluetooth capability, to pair with and serve as the speaker for a smartphone.
    • Ability to phase implementation: The system is modular so it can be implemented in stages to help drivers adjust to the new technology

    The combined product will provide affordable and safe fleet tracking, communication and navigation functions for commercial trucking, service vehicles, government, sales fleets and much more.

    For more information contact iTRAK at 719-686-0100, or e-mail [email protected].

  • GPSTrackIt Announces Financial Incentives for Acquiring Fleet Tracking Systems

    GPSTrackIt announces new financing options that significantly reduce the initial cost of implementing its Fleet Manager system and GPS tracking devices. The new “No Pay Until 2014” financing plan program postpones hardware payments until January. This includes documentation fees and the monthly payment, reducing the cost of entry to a flat $24.99 per unit for service. This offer applies to deals of $2,500 or more. Credit must approve the transaction and any term length over 36 months.

    Also, the Internal Revenue Service’s Section 179 offers tax incentives for businesses, enabling owners to deduct equipment costs and by providing rebates. The deduction limit for Section 179 is now $500,000. The 2013 Section 179 deduction threshold for total amount of equipment that can be purchased is now $2,000,000. Most new and used equipment, as well as some software, qualify for the Section 179 deduction. Only new equipment purchased in 2013 qualifies for the “50% Bonus Depreciation.”

    For more information about GPSTrackIt, their new financing options, or their Fleet Manager vehicle tracking system, visit their website at gpstrackit.com.

  • ComNav GNSS OEM Boards Used in China Driving Test System

    Along with booming auto sales in China has come an increase in auto accidents, which has been a headache for the Chinese government. According to police statistics, most of the accidents in the past couple of years were being caused by new  drivers, who have been ignominiously dubbed “road killers.”

    One year ago, the China Police Ministry decided to change the method of licensing new drivers by using stricter methods for training and testing. The new system also was designed to avoid cheating.

    Under to the new testing system rules, the high-accuracy GNSS receiver became the ideal sensor to enforce the new testing, according to ComNav, a ShangHai-based OEM receiver maker. By offering a turnkey solution, from November 2012 to July 2013 ComNav sold more than 5,000 GNSS OEM boards/receivers for driver testing — the major share of that market.

    The system uses the real-time kinematic (RTK) method to establish the accurate heading and position of the car, with a ComNav M600 GNSS receiver. A base station sends differential data to a rover installed on the car. With the help of 3G or Wi-Fi, the real-time data is transmitted to the control center. Examiners can then can judge whether the car is in the right area. Both the trainee and system will know the testing results without delay.

    Surveying the testing place, marking the testing area, and measuring the car shape need to be done before the installation.

    ComNav Technology Ltd. is a high-accuracy positioning solutions supplier that focuses on high-accuracy GNSS core technology R&D, manufacturing and marketing. ComNav is the first Chinese high-accuracy GNSS OEM board manufacturer and producer of a GPS+BeiDou OEM board.

    System diagram.
    System diagram. Source ComNav
    Side parking test.
    Side parking test. Source ComNav

     

  • Geotab Launches Telematics ID Key Solution with IOX Technology

    Geotab Launches Telematics ID Key Solution with IOX Technology

    Geotab has launched a telematics Near Field Communications (NFC) Driver ID solution using an Input-Output-Expander (IOX) that allows for simultaneous connections and communications to occur with multiple devices, such as Garmin, Iridium, and HOS.

    As an addition to its comprehensive fleet management platform, the technology will now help managers keep better track of each driver’s productivity and on-road safety — no matter which vehicle they are in, Geotab said.

    With one touch of the NFC fob, vehicle operators can quickly, easily, and securely transfer their driver identification information to the cloud. Since Geotab’s GO6 device allows for multiple plug-and-play connections, the NFC Driver ID solution can be setup in minutes, the company said. Associating drivers with the vehicles they are in also allows for the software to generate driver-based score reports.

    “The newly launched NFC Driver ID is a telematics industry game-changer that provides a reliable and accurate solution for businesses which pool their vehicles,” said Colin Sutherland, Geotab VP.

    “NFC is seeing rapid application expansion across smartphones, tablets, and laptops. We fully expect to leverage this technology for future applications,” added Neil Cawse, Geotab CEO.

    Although Geotab is launching a new Driver ID solution based on NFC, Geotab’s web-based software, MyGeotab, has been reporting both driver and vehicle summary value reports for over 10 years. The NFC Driver ID solution is now available for purchase through Geotab’s extensive Authorized Reseller network.

  • ALK Releases PC*MILER 27 with Redesigned User Interface

    ALK Releases PC*MILER 27 with Redesigned User Interface

    New York Map in Smooth Map Style

    ALK Technologies today released the latest version of its PC*MILER truck routing, mileage and mapping software. PC*MILER 27 features and enhancements include a completely redesigned graphical user interface for maximum efficiency and hours-of-service compliance tools for more precise arrival and delivery time estimates.

    “PC*MILER 27 is a milestone for ALK. We’re thrilled to unveil this robust yet easy to use interface with an all new look and feel,” said Mike Bodden, Senior Vice President of Technology, ALK Technologies. “The new UI provides an improved user experience with easier product navigation, resulting in increased productivity.”

    The new PC*MILER 27 graphical user interface reflects recent trends in software design that result in more intuitive navigation of the product’s vast feature set. The user interface features a ribbon-style design with newly crafted descriptive icons, a more accessible layout for smoother transition between tasks, and windows that can be floated outside the PC*MILER application to better accommodate workspace needs.

    PC*MILER 27 features new hours-of-service compliance tools to help ensure that routes and ETAs will accurately reflect drivers’ available hours. The HOS compliance tools increase the precision of arrival and delivery time estimates and help dispatchers and drivers comply with HOS government regulations. Based on remaining hours, PC*MILER calculates when a driver needs to break, and indicates the designated breaks in the detailed driving directions report, automatically updating on-duty hours. Through the PC*MILER|Connect interface tool, fleets are able to import or export the drivers’ remaining hours associated with specific routes. With the pending new regulations, this is crucial to managing driver compliance and CSA safety scores.

    RouteSync is a powerful capability that ensures operational consistency between dispatched routes and actual routes, delivering the guidance to drive the miles that are being billed. With RouteSync, routes and preferences are sent from PC*MILER in the back office directly to the latest version of ALK’s CoPilot Truck navigation software in the cab. In addition to maintaining route compliance, RouteSync reduces non-revenue mileage, improves load profitability and increases driver satisfaction.

    Enhanced routing, map data and address matching are a major part of each annual PC*MILER release, ALK Technologies said. As part of ALK’s ongoing effort to track nationwide toll costs in the U.S. and Canada, PC*MILER|Tolls 27 includes four new toll discount programs.

    The comprehensive suite of PC*MILER 27 integration tools has also been updated and enhanced. PC*MILER interfaces with all leading transportation, logistics and fleet management systems. These products include PC*MILER|Connect, PC*MILER|TCP/IP, PC*MILER|Mapping, PC*MILER|Spreadsheets, PC*MILER|BatchPro and Multi-Version Switch.

    PC*MILER runs on Microsoft Windows, UNIX, and Linux platforms, as well as IBM AS/400 (iSeries) and mainframe computers. PC*MILER is also available as a web-based application.

  • GreenRoad Adds RFID, Introduces Smartphone Interface with Facebook

    GreenRoad, a driver performance management company, has announced new features including RFID-based driver identification; real-time email alerts; and an enhanced interface for GreenRoad Smartphone Edition.

    GreenRoad’s new RFID feature automates driver association with trips by detecting when a driver boards a vehicle, eliminating the need for drivers to log on with a Dallas key.

    One customer, Big Bus Tours, operator of open-top sightseeing tours, has starting using RFID in its fleet of open top tour buses in London, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi soon to follow. Gerry Price, group commercial director, said, “GreenRoad has enhanced driver performance and cut risk in our bus fleet across the world, as well as improving the customer experience for thousands of sightseers. Now with RFID it is even easier for our drivers to use GreenRoad.”

    GreenRoad Smartphone Edition has been enhanced with Facebook integration that allows drivers to share their achievements with friends. GreenRoad Smartphone Edition, code named “Asimov,” uses smartphone native functionality, including GPS and built-in accelerometers, to eliminate the need for a professionally installed telematics device in the vehicle.

    A new version of GreenRoad Central, the software at the heart of the GreenRoad service, includes real-time alerts for exception events, including high-risk events in all driver behavior categories as well as speed violations. In addition to receiving email alerts in real-time, managers can view their alerts on a To Do list through GreenRoad Central.