“The Internet of Things (IoT) is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals or people that are provided with unique identifiers and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction.” –Wikipedia
Many technologies enable IoT app development
- RFID
- Bluetooth low energy
- Low energy wireless IP networks
- ZigBee
- Z-wave
- LTE advance
- Wi-Fi direct
One of the biggest problems logistics industry faces is the tracking of fleet.
With Vehicle Tracking solutions powered by IoT devices, a Vehicle Tracking System (VTS) is not only implementable but also economical.
Internet of things in vehicle tracking system (VTS) currently works on 3 main technologies:
- Radio-frequency identification, or RFID,
- Global Positioning System, or GPS and
- On-board diagnostics, or OBD II
- RFID helps control and track products
- GPS tracking solutions obtain real-time information on routes
- OBD II obtains information on vehicle maintenance and driving conditions.
GPS or the Global Positioning Satellite system has been around long before IoT devices came out.
While GPS data transmitted to a host over a mobile data connection is enough to track the moment of a vehicle in real time,
IoT essentially makes Vehicle Tracking solutions a lot more efficient, economical, automated, and reliable.
This how an IoT based typical fleet tracking system works
- Location data collected by on-vehicle sensors, including GPS, OBD II sensors.
- Data from all sensors is periodically sent to the local gateway over a mobile data connection as the vehicle moves.
- Gateway sends information to network server where speed, location, direction and other variables are collected and send to a secure application server in the cloud
- Application server sends reports and alerts on movement and safety of the vehicle to the driver’s or supervisor’s mobile.
IoT Devices, also known as Connected Devices, are regular household and commercial appliances and gadgets, except you can connect and control them over a network: a personal network or the internet.
Yes, you can switch on your Air Conditioner with your smartphone from anywhere if both are connected to the internet. But that’s only a smaller part of what Connected Devices can achieve.
Read More: How to build a seamless logistics transition business
Imagine how easy it would be to track things if everything could connect to the network. We can only anticipate the way it will revolutionize different industries.
Consumers are already the biggest beneficiary of this era of connected devices while businesses are still traversing how this technology breakthrough will improve their bottom line.
Growth is already significant in the IoT Sector. In 2015, DHL & Cisco conducted a study to understand the implications of Internet of Thing (IoT) Devices on logistics sector.
As per the study, there were 15 billion connected devices in 2015 and they will rise to 50 billion by 2020–a staggering rise of 333% since 2012 in the number of IoT devices.
The report further indicates that Logistics Industry would be the biggest beneficiary of IoT.
Benefits of IoT in fleet management
- IoT offers many new tools, like in-vehicle streaming camera, driver mobile apps etc. making communication easier and rapid.
- Scheduling, freight management, chauffeur and truck tracking, and effective routing are some advantages of Internet of Things.
- IoT supports third party APIs for traffic reporting, park-assist, average speed, driving etiquettes monitoring etc.
- Logistic companies can move to the cloud for their daily operations and track fleets anywhere, anytime and on any device.
- Collective data from IoT devices assist fleet management systems to get valuable insights into chauffeur behaviour, acts of law breaking by the driver, over-speeding etc.
- With the help of IoT and GPS tracking system, the fleet managers are able to access vital information such as the road conditions, weather, and the traffic. This access helps them in deploying their vehicles and drivers in an optimized way.
- Businesses can ensure that all their vehicles are working properly by setting alerts for maintenance, wear & tear of tire, deviations in temperature, and many more.
Moreover, you can run preventive maintenance with your vehicle management system that keeps your fleet in the best condition and safe.
It also prevents any sudden expenses or incurring delays due to breakdowns.
- A fleet will generate a huge amount of information such as the tracking speed, fuel consumption, distance traveled, utilization of vehicles, and many more.
To monitor all these data manually would be a tough task. Moreover, it’s prone to human errors.
However, with the help of IoT and the real-time GPS tracking software, you can keep an eye on all these data and subsequently analyze it to enhance the overall efficiency of your fleet system.
- IoT automates various processes in fleet management. IoT enables companies to set up an automatic flow of logistics processes as the interconnected devices and work as part of an integrated process. Vehicle Idling pumps tons of gases into the air; it also results in usage of billions of gallons of fuel. We can stop this with IoT; we can send a real-time notification to drivers and monitor the idling time closely. IoT helps in tracking the performances of your vehicle components. It compares the present performance of that part with its standard performance. It sends notification if it finds any irregularity or drops in performance.
- Early adopters of IoT enjoys an absolute advantage over others due to two reasons.
First, it reduces the overall cost by optimum utilization of resources, and second, it helps in acquiring, sharing and acting on real-time data which results in quick and precise decisions.
- Proper application of IoT shrinks total costs by optimal use of resources and enhanced performance.
- Gathering, sharing, and acting on real time info helps a firm make rapid decisions and prompt improvements.
Conclusion
The technology is still evolving, and as vehicle tracking solutions providers find many use cases, Internet of Things will turn out to be the lifeline of the fleet management industry.
An IoT-based fleet tracking system is way lot efficient than a traditional vehicle tracking system is. If you’re into logistic industry, you should definitely think about upgrading your systems.
