Sept/Oct 2005

Both GPS and GSM positioning are incorporated in the latest self-powered Asset Alert solution from OxLoc. The company claims it is the first such system to combine the two technologies in this way, and says it is ideal for transport and logistics applications.

Asset Alert is a system for tracking remote assets such as trailers, machines or plant where there is no power source. It uses a discreet battery-powered unit that is said to work for up to three years without running out of power.

Traditionally, such systems have used either GPS satellite location or GSM cell-site phone tracking technology, but OxLoc's new product can use either or both together.

The GSM feature is considered effective where the tracking is done covertly, and a GPS antenna would give the game away; but the dual-mode version is more likely to appeal where GPS is the prime location medium, but a backup technology is desirable. It could be highly effective where an asset is sometimes stored outdoors, but at other times kept somewhere where GPS wouldn't work.

 

Wireless GSM technologies from all major networks are used for data transmission, so the company says the system will operate globally in any area with GSM coverage. It is supported by features such as OxLoc's recently-introduced geofence capability.