Email

By Greg Bartlett

While GPS vehicle tracking systems are starting to become routine for major shipping carriers for ground transportation in the United States, and in Europe, where they’re used for everything from tracking estimated delivery times to traffic routing to cut down fuel expenses or to route around traffic congestion, the benefit for shippers isn’t limited to Europe and North America.

GPS vehicle tracking requires the ability to receive a GPS signal and an ability to record locations at particular intervals and transmit the information stored. The data storage requirements are minuscule – they haven’t been computationally challenging since the Reagan Administration, and can, in fact, be sent nicely by cell phone SMS-style messaging. The real challenge for GPS satellite tracking around the world is transmission of the data sets.

GPS uses access to a satellite constellation to provide positional data with an accuracy measured in feet if a three satellite solution is available, and inside of a yard if only two satellites are overhead. Originally developed for the US Navy as a next generation LORAN system, it was widely adopted by all of the US military services (and quickly copied by the Russians and French) for accurate force projection. GPS guidance replaced laser guided munitions for the US Air Force…and GPS has found its way into the civilian market, ending up first with emergency locators for backpackers and GPS navigation systems.

Most of the GPS tracking systems, such as the PT-200, are the descendants of the emergency locators mentioned above. What’s made GPS vehicle tracking appealing when used in the Third World is that most of the developing countries never installed ground lines for a telephone network; they’re all run out with cell phone towers. A cell phone tower allows a GPS vehicle tracker to report its time and position hacks every few minutes, which allows packages to be shown on live updated maps throughout the world. GPS towers also allow an additional positional cross check, which is handy in places where the roads are not always on the map.

These two changes – near ubiquitous GPS systems and widespread adoption of cell phone towers have improved the safety of delivery teams the world over; the knowledge that somehow, the security forces always know when and where a truck with relief supplies has been stopped is also quite useful in keeping drivers and the people doing humanitarian aid comparatively safe.