Sept/Oct 2004

A real-time alerting system called M-Messenger that is said to represent a first in the market has been launched by Masternaut. Data on vehicle position and the status of doors and other on-board systems such as temperature gauges is transmitted back frequently over the Internet to the user's host computer, where it is compared with stored data that includes a record where the vehicle is supposed to be and what it should be doing.

If any of the real-world statistics don't square with expectations, an alert is delivered to the user automatically. These messages can be delivered to the user's computer or mobile phone, or handled by Masternaut's control 24-hour control centre.

One of the key objectives of the system, the company says, is to keep users informed of non-planned events while avoiding information overload the rest of the time.