FEATURES

• Tracks vehicles, location-enabled handsets and sensors on a digital map

• Displays vehicle position, speed, heading and status

• Locates addresses

• Places map pins at user-defined locations (911 callers, job sites, incidents, etc.)

• Changes map pin title and symbol

• Provides map zoom and pan capabilities

• Supports satellite and aerial imagery in standard and compressed format

• Provides visible or audible alerts, based on discrete inputs

• Replays vehicle activity from user-defined date and time

• Uses ESRI shapefiles for map display

• Connects to multiple CompassLDE servers simultaneously

• Displays incident location and status

• Supports two-way text messaging and statusing

• Comes with integrated reporting module

BENEFITS

• Displays precise real-time vehicle location and status

• Increases command and control

• Monitors Vehicle performance

• Increases fleet efficiency and reduces costs

• Allows dispatching of vehicles to job and/or incidents based on their true location and status

• Increases driver safety

• Reduces response times

• Utilizes current investment in GIS data

• Features map refresher that is faster than web-based applications

•Integrates with text-based enterprise software solutions, such as computer-aided dispatch and work-flow management solutions

• Mobile version of application available

Automatic Vehicle Monitoring

Automatic vehicle monitoring (AVM) form an integral component of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) technology, with many ITS applications requiring information on the real-time location of vehicles. The Global Positioning System (GPS) offers an efficient and economic method to the users, who need only provide suitable receivers to obtain precise coordinates and other related information, using the GPS satellite system. ITS deals with the use of GPS as a method for obtaining information on the position, speed and direction of travel of the vehicles. The various issues involved in this task include the use of GPS receivers tailored for mobile applications, and their ability to provide direct observations of vehicle speed and travel direction. This, coupled with database management using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software, can provide a reliable and efficient system for vehicle monitoring, navigation and tracking. GPS has the ability to collect and store large amounts of data. If data such as percentage stopped time and speed of a probe vehicle circulating in a network could be known in real time, then assessment can be made as to where congestion levels are highest. This is a good communication system. This information could be relayed to the public as part of a traffic user information system, for instance providing drivers with warnings to avoid areas where congestion-related delays are expected.

GPS

ITS relies on the availability of methods of locating and monitoring vehicles (e.g. “probe vehicles”) in real time, across a road network. GPS provides useful real-time data on vehicle position and speed, provided that account is taken of the quality of the signals received in judging the usefulness of the observed data.

The choice of GPS receiver capability is important in vehicle monitoring applications. GPS direct speed measurement should always be used in preference to speeds calculated on the basis of vehicle positions over time. The number of satellites the receiver is able to track and gives an indication about the reliability of the speed data.

GPS, when integrated with GIS, is a valuable for travel time Analysis. GPS provides vehicle identification and monitoring data further to analyse vehicle-based, daily travel information. GPS captures the “actual” travel rather than the self-reported travel. The driver had to actively select the driver and passenger names, and their trip purposes. The GPS component captured date and time, and latitude/longitude data every three seconds when a trip had begun, so that the trip start and end times were passive data elements to the respondent. The advantage of passive data recording is that respondent burden is minimized and the travel times and distances that were collected represent the true picture about the length and duration of the trip.

The usage of computer for computer-assisted-self-interviewing has helped to capture data regarding trip purpose and vehicle occupancy. Having the data regarding the trip purpose, occupancy, together with the route choice and travel speed, would provide planners with the information that could be used in evaluating management systems, designing ITS, etc. To further reduce the burden on the driver, GIS can be integrated with GPS. The GPS data, after exporting to a GIS can be viewed on the map. The use of GIS helps in knowing the destination of the trip, without the driver intervention, and also in knowing the particular route the driver had chosen to reach his destination. Though GIS has not been used in the research mentioned above, its usage for the trip reporting purpose will definitely improve the trip reporting procedure.

Travel Time and Delay Analysis using GPS

Travel time used to document congestion and to quantify the actual impact of highway improvements. Travel time and delay data also provide necessary information for use in route guidance and congestion monitoring systems. Most travel time analytics and techniques involve using probe vehicles. Global positioning system (GPS) receivers have the ability to capture these data and, as a result, they are used only to conduct travel time analysis.

GPS receivers record location in latitude-longitude pairs. and the data is collected at short time [predefined] intervals. The system stores all GPS point data in the database and provides a linear reference to each GPS point before attempting any GPS data aggregation. Further referencing are performed using GIS dynamic segmentation tools.

Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL)

AVL is an advanced technology used for remote vehicle tracking and monitoring using GPS. For this, Each vehicle is equipped with a module that receives signals from a series of satellites, and calculates its current geographical location, speed, and heading. This information is stored for later retrieval or, frequently, transmitted to a central dispatch/control location where it is displayed on a high-resolution geographical map. This type of Vehicle tracking systems will be useful for the police and emergency response services where their central station can divert the vehicle nearest to the site, where the services are required

Dynamic Route Guidance (DRG)

Dynamic route guidance systems provides route recommendation based on actual or predicted traffic conditions based on data gathered from an equipped network.

Passenger Information Systems (PIS)

PIS are an integral component of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and provides a real time information to travelers. PIS integrate highly defined mapping with GPS to enable real time vehicle tracking and determining if the vehicle is on or off course, and making appropriate adjustments to routing strategies to help the travelers to navigate through the network to the intended destination

Real-Time ITS and GPS

GPS collects and stores large amount of useful data. These data are used on real time basis. We have large number of applications embedded with ITS. Sometimes, If data such as percentage stopped time and speed of a probe vehicle circulating in a network could be known in real time, then it can be assessed as, where congestion levels are highest. Simultaneously, this information is relayed to the public as part of a Passenger information system. Also, for instance by providing drivers with warnings to avoid areas where congestion-related delays are expected.

Public transport get a great benefit out of GPS. Commuters could be informed of the likely arrival time of the next buses and also notified of any delays or deviation from schedules that may have been encountered.

Integrated Real-Time GPS-GIS System

Integrated Real-Time GPS-GIS system are used for vehicular guidance, vehicle tracking, fleet management and many other applications, like travel time and delay analysis.

A compatible interface is developed between GPS and GIS. The GIS software, specifically designed for use by the transportation professionals to store, display, manage, and analyze transportation data. This integrated system will display the position of the vehicle on GIS map, after getting data from GPS receiver, and will direct the vehicle to its destination. When the traffic conditions ahead are known beforehand, this system will be able to display alternative routes to reach the destination.

Software will also find the shortest path between given origin and destination among all possible alternatives routes.

The data collected will be processed on real-time basis and accurate position of the vehicle will be shown on the GIS map on the notebook PC kept inside the vehicle. This acts as dynamic guidance of the vehicle. Post-processing with the same data shows the travel time and delay analysis of different routes.