Sept/Oct 2004

Telematics specialist Cybit has launched what it describes as "the industry's first fully modular Internet-based telematics solution." The system is a new incarnation of the company's Fleetstar-Online Web-based product, which was originally acquired from Trafficmaster and subsequently further developed.

The new product is described as highly scaleable, offering a wide range of monitoring and reporting capabilities at prices starting as low as just £5 per week. That's for a basic "reporting-only" version.

At the other end of the scale, top-end versions will include support for GPRS, GSM data and SMS communications, and will offer cell location tracking (mobile phone tracking) as well as more established GPS tracking. The company points out that this should be ideal for organisations wanting to integrate ad hoc mobile assets into their systems - for instance, drivers or subcontractors not equipped with full telematics units.

There will also be a new ability for operators to access telematics data via a mobile phone-linked PDA, obtaining answers to questions such as "where's my nearest vehicle?" Later, support is to be introduced for signature capture devices, driver ID and access via specialist DALLAS keys. The system will also be enhanced to allow monitoring of on-board data sources such as power take-off units.

 

Systems integration has also come in for an overhaul. In what it is calling its next-generation telematics platform, Cybit has brought together a range of key architectural features such as an open API (programming interface),"decoupled" technology and application layers. Its object here is to enable developers to integrate their telematics technology readily with their own applications, and bring them to market quickly.

In addition, says Cybit, raw telematics feeds of highly accurate data collected at twenty-second intervals can underpin the development of third-party services in the insurance risk management and traffic planning sectors.

Fleetstar-Online can also feature added-value solutions support, with fully integrated Smartnav satellite navigation and RAC Trackstar Plus stolen vehicle recovery.

According to chief executive Richard Horsman: "For our growing UK reseller channel, we're offering a simplified version of Fleetstar-Online to deliver entry-level telematics services that are both scalable and highly competitive.

"Using a single core telematics platform, we're able to offer more comprehensive packaged and component solutions, scaling to meet the most complex requirements."