As a business owner, manager or supervisor you may be interested in understanding just how GPS tracking systems work. They are not as complicated as you may believe and they are very accurate no matter where the vehicle may be.
While each company that offers the service has slightly different options and features, they all are designed to allow information from a hardware device located in a vehicle, to transmit the GPS coordinates of the vehicle to give immediate location coordinates.
The Basics
GPS or Global Positioning Systems use satellite systems to determine the exact location of specific signals. These signals are microwave signs that send information from the GPS device to satellites that are constantly in orbit around the Earth. There are 24 active satellites that are on various orbits that are coordinated to allow at least 4 satellites access to the same information from the Earth, allowing the information to be used to create three dimensional images of the location of the device. For simple tracking only three satellites are required.
When GPS tracking systems are used on vehicles the device mounted to the vehicle is what is tracked by the signals. With the information from the satellites it is possible to accurately log the speed, location and even the direction of travel of the vehicle at each point along its route. Mathematical calculations are completed by complex programs automatically, providing the information in standard coordinates to the various GPS tracking systems and databases.
Passive and Active
There are two different types of GPS tracking systems. The most commonly used one for commercial purposes is active tracking. This system allows you to see, in real-time, the position of each vehicle equipped with a GPS device in your fleet.
The GPS information from satellites is provided literally instantly to the particular tracking system software. This system then reads the information and provides it to users in the format developed by that company. This format can include in the form of logs or actual locations on maps or a combination of both options.
GPS tracking systems are very widely used in both commercial and passenger vehicles. The technology for these systems continues to improve to provide an accuracy in determining locations that is truly amazing.
Understanding the basics of GPS tracking systems helps in understanding why this valuable technology is so helpful in vehicle tracking. For more information on how it can be used visit us at www.vehicletracker.com.