By: Duván Chaverra
GPS is a technology that has been developing by leaps and bounds within the electronic security industry. This, although it is a segment that has not had so much publicity and perhaps its name is not as commercial, such as a fire system or a CCTV to list a few, the use of GPS has shown a significant increase in demand during the last year.
On this occasion we will talk about the new developments that have presented this type of systems, we will know their participation within the market, the sectors that are implementing it the most, their benefits, among other points that we will consider.
To do this, we consulted three experts in the field: Soledad Mora, account executive of HunterPro Mexico; Terry Lau, representative of Laipac Technology; and Carlton van Putten, Senior Vice President, Blue Sky Network.
But before knowing all those topics that we will deal with throughout this article, it is worth making a small introduction with which we will refer to the functions of a GPS system.
The GPS takes the information from the 24 satellites available for free use, this information is processed by the artificial intelligence of the AVL device and transmitted to the monitoring center through GSM/GPRS communication. In the central, this information is processed and displayed on a georeferenced map, then, through different auxiliary tools, the owner of the vehicle can be informed via e-mail, sms, or through an access on a web page. This is how the tracking system works.
In constant development
Previously the TRAKing 1.0 version GPS tracking systems simply tracked and located the vehicles, so the only concern of the owner was to know where his belonging was, now that has changed according to Carlton van Putten, of Blue Sky Network, today there are many significant technological advances that expanded the range of services.
"GPS Tracking 2.0 offers much more functionality for customers. Cutting-edge vendors are positioning their products to offer a much broader set of features, including in-cart navigation, routing, sensor monitoring, messaging, diagnostics, and even voice/video. Vehicles will consume more and more applications that require more bandwidth and customers will become more sophisticated fleet managers."
For her part, Soledad Mora, from HunterPro, pointed out three of the most important advances in this regard. He also assured that this system needs a competitive software that performs the different reports, alarms and interactions with the client.
"I list first of all the link of GPS systems with GSM/GPRS communication, which has allowed us to have precision devices and real-time communication at much lower costs than if they were done by satellite transmission. Secondly, there is the technological development in miniaturized systems that allow the development of solutions for multiple applications. And in a third place I would place the entire range of optional accessories that can be connected to GPS systems, such as panic button, display, microphones, speakers, relays for engine locking, lock control and door unlocking, shock sensors, etc.
It's not just tracking
With the passage of time, GPS manufacturers understood that such a system could not only create objects to track vehicles or other types of products, so they took on the task of also offering aggregates for the customer, as well as knowing where on the planet your car is, also know the real state of it. The above, according to Carlton van Putten, who pointed out about this technology the following:
"Currently, their main role is location, and most providers give this as a basic service. The market is rapidly advancing to deliver more valuable data on vehicles, as an effort to lower maintenance costs, service delivery costs and improve customer satisfaction. GPS 2.0 is more than knowing where my car is, now it's going further, it's also about knowing what my car is doing."
Supporting the above, Terry Lau, of Laipac Technology, thinks that the main role played by GPS equipment is "prevention and monitoring" and listed some advantages of this type of technology: "Increase productivity, reduce time, savings in fuel and maintenance, monitor the speed of vehicles, report if the vehicle is stopped or running, real-time location, report of sequence of visits, reduction of vehicle insurance, verify optimal routes, among others".
Advantage or disadvantage
At this point there are conflicting positions on what are the real advantages and disadvantages of this type of systems. According to our sources consulted, apparently at first each one has its different point of view, but everything reaches the same center, the dependence of GPS systems on the networks on which it is transmitting.
For example, Soledad Mora assures that one of the advantages of this type of systems is that the union with GSM/ GPRS communication allows a significant cost reduction compared to satellite transmission systems.
"Intelligent AVL systems allow us to know with a very low margin of error (from 5 to 10 meters) the location of a vehicle in real time and to be able to order it, for example, to lock the doors, stop the vehicle or receive alarms in real time even on the cell phone through an SMS."
However, van Putten believes that the dependence on the network on which it is being transmitted may be a weakness of the GPS that uses technology over cellular networks: "In some ways, GPS tracking only offers a false idea of security. The main problem here is that the GPS tracking system is only as good as the network it is transmitting over. Many end customers do not understand, until it is too late, that most GPS tracking system providers transmit vehicle data over cellular networks (GSM/GPRS). The reporting vehicle is limited to cell phone coverage."
For its part, the Blue Sky Network provider supports this claim by ensuring that its company uses satellite-based services "that offer significantly better network reliability since we transmit over a global satellite network instead of doing it with terrestrial cell phone networks."
The representative of HunterPro Mexico, however, also considers that GSM / GPRS is a weakness, however, she affirms that within the security industry nothing is perfect and everything can be defeated: "If there is something that does not exist in the world it is a system designed for security that is 100% unbeatable or indestructible, and no doubt anyone who uses a security system, whatever it is, knows that it is."
The market in Latin America
For van Putten, Brazil and Mexico are the countries that are most implementing GPS, however, the reasons why this market grows in these two nations are totally different. In Brazil, there are government laws that require the achievement of these systems for vehicles, while Mexico fights against insecurity and some social factors that have led to the implementation of this technology.
"Brazil offers one of the fastest growth opportunities in Latin America, as the government has mandated that all vehicles be equipped with the GPS tracking system in the very short term. Vehicle manufacturers are moving forward in building this functionality by moving off the assembly line. Mexico is another significant market, but for very different reasons. There security is becoming a major concern, as the country continues to present great political and social chaos. Business owners need to take security into their own hands because they feel less confident about the ability of the government to protect its citizens," explained the senior vice president of Blue Sky Network.
Meanwhile, Soledad Mora agrees that Brazil and Mexico are the countries that are having the most movement in this regard, and also added Argentina to that list. But he also highlighted the market growth that other nations in the region have recently registered.
"There are countries that until a few years ago practically did not use these systems and now they are beginning to consume it to a greater extent, as is the case of Peru, Venezuela and Honduras. Undoubtedly, the factors that affect whether such a system has greater or lesser demand is, among others, insecurity, rates of theft or abduction; and hand in hand with these indices are the laws or regulations that can be established in each country that indicate the obligatory use of these systems".
The sectors that use GPS the most
Experts said that industries such as the fleet of vehicles or transport companies are the ones that are acquiring this type of systems the most. But not only thinking about security, but about the organization that this can also cause.
"The type of companies that use it are the fleets (carriers, buses, taxis, delivery, etc.) and for what is related to recovery and insurance there are car assemblers, vehicle rental companies and any car whose insurance forces you to have a GPS system," explained Soledad Mora.
While Carlton van Putten commented on the same point that "there is a clear ROI (Return on Investment) for both segments since vehicle costs are a significant part of their budgets. Even savings between 5% and 10% really make a difference to your bottom line."
It comes in growth
From this analysis we can conclude that GPS systems have been growing, perhaps not in the way that other technologies designed for the security industry do, but one thing is clear and that is that manufacturers in this segment show a continuous concern to offer the customer more than what a GPS system means on paper: security, trust and other advances that can make the purchase of a product that undoubtedly continues to gain followers and gradually reach more countries in Latin America, a region that increasingly deciphers the importance of implementing a technological system like this.
