MalaysiaGIS.com

Source: New Straits Times

Fleet operators and transport-related businesses can take advantage of cheaper satellite electronic and computer technology-based equipment to improve their operations.

The new Global Positioning System (GPS), which harnesses satellite technology for real-time surveillance purposes, provides fleet managers with total control of moving vehicles on a map.

"This is a boon to fleet operators as they can use the GPS to overcome problems related to the tracking missing goods, hijacking and mismanagement of their drivers," said managing director of newly-incorporated Ceanet Advanced Technologies Sdn Bhd, R.A. Balachandran Naicker.

Speaking at the launch of the GPS-based applications for tracking moving targets in Shah Alam last Monday, Balachandran said transport operators can access their drivers around the clock from the comfort of their own computers.

According to him, the GPS application basically offers real-time and retrace tracking facilities to enable operators to have immediate tracking of their vehicles.

He explained that real-time tracking involves the instantaneous location of a moving target at a remote location while retrace tracking is an automatic movement and event recording system for recording trips executed by vehicles.

For example, real-time tracking benefits businesses which have to constantly keep track of the exact location of their moving resources.

"These include computer chip and semiconductor manufacturers whose consignments are normally worth millions of ringgit," he said.

For retrace tracking, Balachandran said the company packages a system known as Megatrax. He said the system can record the movement of a fleet through the use of the US-based Navstar satellite system orbiting Earth.

This, according to him, enables users to have wider access to the geographic location of vehicles.

"It can record the exact date, time, location, speed and distance traveled by a vehicle," he said, adding that the system is useful for surveying, mining and hydrographic work.

Explaining the operation of the system, he said a target (car, ship or truck) is equipped with a GPS receiver which is connected to a transceiver radio or telephone via a special modem. Signals received from the Navstar satellites by the GPS unit are then transmitted via a modem to a receiving or base station.

For transmission, the company uses cellular phones through automatic telephones using the radio (ATUR 450) system.

Balachandran said for easier tracking, the system allows users to monitor a target as a user-defined symbol on a raster or vector map displayed on the computer screen.

Users are able to put in additional map routes to suit their requirements. This will allow users to have wider access to routes for easier tracking of vehicles, he said.

In addition, Ceanet plans to set up base station to cater for increasing demands in the future. Currently, it has a base station located at its head office in Damansara Utama.

On the market prospects, Balachandran said the company believes that the local market is ready for new and proven technologies.

For GPS-based applications, Ceanet said the prices range from RM5,000 to RM8,000 per unit for a fleet of 100 trucks.