The fleet tracking system is the technology that helps businesses and organizations manage their fleets of vehicles. It enables fleet managers to see where their vehicles are located in real-time, as well as gather other information about their vehicles’ performance. This can help businesses save time and money by optimizing their driving routes and improving fuel efficiency.
The fleet tracking system consists of three main components: a GPS receiver, a data communication module, and a back-end database. The GPS receiver sends location information to the data communication module, which then forwards it to the back-end database. The back-end database stores the location data as well as other information about the vehicles, such as their speed, direction, and how much fuel is left. From the back-end database, fleet managers can access this information remotely via their computers or smartphones.
The data communication module takes the raw GPS latitude and longitude coordinates generated by the GPS receiver and formats them appropriately for use by your back-end database. The most common data format used in fleet tracking is known as NMEA 0183.
The fleet tracking system keeps track of the vehicle’s current location and monitors their routes for potential violations or other dangers, such as accidents or traffic jams. Fleet managers can also use the fleet tracking system to find their employees’ cars if they have been stolen. The fleet manager can then pull up the car’s location on his or her computer screen.
How does GPS tracking work?
GPS stands for Global Positioning System. It is a technology that allows people to determine their position on the earth’s surface by receiving information from satellites orbiting the earth. Tracking specific vehicle locations is done by setting up the GPS receiver to communicate with a predetermined local satellite network. The cloud database then stores the location data, which can be obtained via an Internet connection on another computer or smartphone.
The accuracy of GPS tracking devices depends on three main factors:
- How many satellites are visible?
- How strong is the signal between the GPS device and each satellite?
- How long has the device been receiving data from the satellites?
For a typical fleet tracking system, the accuracy of one latitude/longitude coordinate is approximately 15 feet. In other words, you can tell what side of the street your vehicle is on, but not necessarily which exact house on that side of the street it is parked in front of.
The accuracy of your GPS tracking system can be degraded by any number of factors. If you are surrounded by tall buildings or trees, the GPS signal could bounce off them before getting to the satellite or reflector and give incorrect coordinates.
