What Is Telematics?

We might be the only company of our kind that goes to the trouble of making sure you understand everything about GPS tracking products. We even provide a glossary of all the terms related to our industry. Take telematics: Telematics is the branch of information technology that deals with the long-distance transmission of computerized information. The term was coined from "telos" meaning long distance and "informatics" - itself a combination of information and automatic/automated.

So telematics addresses the technology of sending and receiving computerized information over long distances, and a global positioning system, or GPS, is a telematics device. So what is that device doing? It’s communicating with the GPS System of satellites.

GPS Telematics

The technology was originally developed by the US Military and became usable to the broad public in 2000. The GPS system actually refers to a network of satellites orbiting the planet. As of 2019 there are 31 satellites in the GPS constellation, with 27 in use at any one time. At any time nine satellites are visible from any point on the planet. The system needs a minimum of four satellites to get an accurate fix on location, providing there is a clear line of sight. By 2018 this technology was so accurate it could pinpoint location to an accuracy of about 12 inches.

So what is your tracker doing? At any time it is acting as a receiver for data from these satellites so as to get an exact location, in real time. Tracking, combined with telematics, is getting the location data to you at any remote location, via your computer, tablet or phone. So you can see where your tracked vehicle is in real-time. The telematics involved take that raw location data and turn it into something useful. A great example would the real-time display of where your are when navigating with Google Maps.

When it comes to business applications, telematics are nothing short of incredible. Want to know how long a driver has been at particular location, if his engine is idling or off? Want to be alerted any time a driver breaks the speed limit, and be able to adjust that parameter to whatever the speed limit is where that driver is a present? You get the idea.

Telematics can show you the condition of your fleet, alerting you to when maintenance and servicing are needed. Modern vehicles already have sophisticated onboard computers that log everything like oil and tire pressure, engine condition and malfunction etc., Combine this with real time tracking, weather data, fuel economy and you can build an extremely detailed picture of individual driving habits, good and bad or use the same information for insurance, or managing maintenance of your whole fleet.

Geofencing is widely used in GPS tracking application. It allows a predefined virtual perimeter to be set up, just like a real-world geographic fence. It lets software trigger an action when the GPS tracker enters or leave the virtual fence. For example you can be alerted whenever a vehicle enters or leaves one of your geofences. This useful for knowing all the vehicles got back to business headquarters or could alert you to unexpected or unauthorized movement. Alerts can be sent via text, email or whatever way works for you.

In the case of tracking trailers or containers, combined with a self-powered GPS tracker, geofencing could alert you right away if one of those trailers moved. These trackers are kept active by a solar cell charging built in batteries, meaning they can be left unattended for months or longer in all types of climates – wet, cold or arid.

With One Step GPS every subscription tier gets you rolling with telematics right away

Industrial Tracking Devices

One Step GPS is an industry leading provider of a wide range of GPS trackers. We can help you work out the best integration to fit your companies unique needs. Our company is a business leader because we are founded on providing excellent customer service. That means having a company representative who works with you all the way and is motivated to help you do great with your company. Not all companies are alike, and from us you get help from people who know that if you are satisfied with our service you’ll let others know and that you’ll come back again and again for our business. Please contact our Sales Representatives today.