Key Insights
Developing a vehicle tracking system involves creating a solution that delivers real-time updates on vehicle locations, routes, and statuses.
The advantages of such a system include reduced driving risks, lowered fuel and operational costs, enhanced productivity, improved customer satisfaction, and rapid recovery in case of theft.
To build a GPS tracking application, start by defining the problem, plan and budget, develop and deploy the system, and ensure continuous maintenance.
Whether you're managing a delivery service, trucking company, limo service, or car rental business, tracking your assets (i.e., vehicles) is crucial.
Curious about how to achieve this?
Implementing a custom real-time GPS tracking system for commercial transportation management might be your answer.
However, it's important not to develop IoT fleet GPS tracking software without proper planning. Poorly developed systems can harm your business by providing inaccurate vehicle tracking, leading to operational inefficiencies and financial losses.
In this article, we leverage our extensive experience to explain why you need a GPS tracking device and how to develop one. We'll also explore the latest trends in vehicle tracking systems and the impact of IoT technology. Additionally, we'll cover the essential features of your solution and the steps involved in developing vehicle fleet tracking software.
Emerging Trends in Vehicle Tracking.
Gone are the days when a vehicle GPS solution merely served as a location tracker. The global vehicle tracking systems market, estimated at $21.16 billion in 2022, is projected to grow to $80.17 billion by 2032, offering numerous innovative features.
Here are the top logistics technology trends to consider for your vehicle tracking software in the upcoming years:
Driver Safety
Modern GPS solutions now integrate advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and collision avoidance technologies. These systems offer real-time driver coaching, vehicle maintenance alerts, and automatic accident assistance to enhance both driver and vehicle safety. The focus has shifted from mere monitoring to actively improving driver safety and working conditions using technologies such as ADAS, AI, and computer vision.
Advanced Analytics and Predictive Maintenance
Advanced analytics and predictive maintenance are transforming fleet management by utilizing AI, GenAI, and machine learning. These technologies analyze vast amounts of data to predict maintenance needs, optimize performance, and prevent breakdowns. With insights into vehicle health and operational efficiency, fleet managers can reduce downtime, lower maintenance costs, and improve reliability.
Real-Time Vehicle Tracking
As remote operations become more prevalent, real-time fleet tracking remains essential. While passive navigation systems currently dominate for the most accurate vehicle location data, this could change soon. A system that updates coordinates in real-time is becoming increasingly necessary.
5G Network
Switching to 5G networks could eliminate latency issues in fleet operations. With more than ten times the energy efficiency per gigabyte of traffic compared to 4G, 5G technology enables tracking more vehicles without additional costs. This is particularly beneficial for managing large fleets.
Sustainable Solutions
Fleet managers can significantly reduce their carbon footprint by integrating vehicle mileage tracking into their systems and transitioning to electric vehicles. In 2022, global passenger car emissions neared three billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (GtCO₂). Incorporating sustainable practices is crucial for greener operations.
Blockchain
Implementing blockchain technology enhances data security, transparency, and immutability. It provides a tamper-proof record of vehicle history, maintenance logs, and transaction data, ensuring information integrity. Fleet managers can trust the accuracy and reliability of their tracking data, reducing the risk of fraud.
Integrating IoT and GPS Tracking
The Internet of Things (IoT) is revolutionizing various industries, including vehicle tracking. IoT enables interconnected devices to collect and communicate GPS data, offering valuable insights through notifications.
A typical IoT vehicle tracking system gathers data from multiple sources, such as GPS sensors and OBD II systems. It then combines this data with insights from other connected fleet vehicles. This integration allows for:
- Predicting road traffic based on vehicle flow, weather, and collisions
- Real-time fleet management, including service reminders and late arrivals
- Reducing fleet costs through route planning and optimization
- Monitoring fuel consumption
- Automating shipping tracking
- Sending vehicle maintenance alerts based on OBD II data
- Monitoring driving behavior
For these IoT features to be effective, the tracking system must meet certain criteria:
- Optimized GPS/GSM module traffic to minimize server-side traffic and reduce operating costs
- Energy-efficient hardware that doesn't drain the vehicle's battery and supports real-time data transfer
- Connection-independent operation with internal memory to store trip-related data during connectivity issues
The IoT enriches tracking systems with valuable features, which brings us to the next point.
Benefits of Using Vehicle GPS Tracking
Why are transport and logistics companies increasingly adopting real-time GPS tracking software? It's due to the numerous benefits it offers.
Controlled Driving Risks
GPS tracking software monitors drivers' behaviors, such as speeding or hard braking. It can alert drivers to risky behaviors, helping them stay safe and preventing accidents and insurance claims, saving money in the long run.
Minimized Fuel and Operational Costs
GPS tracking enables drivers to choose the most efficient routes, avoiding traffic jams and detours. This reduces fuel consumption and vehicle maintenance costs, making operations smoother and more cost-effective.
Increased Productivity
GPS tracking applications allow managers to see the real-time locations of their vehicles, simplifying task allocation and schedule coordination. This improves overall productivity and ensures smooth operations.
Enhanced Customer Satisfaction
Accurate delivery updates provided by GPS tracking keep customers informed about their packages' arrival times. Informed and empowered customers are more satisfied, leading to repeat business and company growth.
Quick Theft Recovery
If a vehicle is stolen, custom GPS software can quickly pinpoint its location, aiding authorities in recovery before significant damage occurs. This protects valuable assets and provides peace of mind.
Essential Features for Vehicle GPS Software
Before diving into the development of your GPS tracking device, it's important to understand the key features your solution should include.
Location Detector
A reliable tracking system must accurately pinpoint the location of your vehicles across the fleet. This helps manage mobile business operations cost-effectively, improves productivity, and prevents theft. It also ensures that vehicles aren't used for unauthorized personal trips by drivers.
Route Planner
This feature eliminates the hassle of planning routes, stops, and destinations for fleet operators and drivers. It calculates routes and provides estimated arrival times to facilitate pickups and enhance customer service. Additionally, a custom multidrop route optimization system can dynamically calculate the most efficient delivery routes for multiple destinations, minimizing travel time and costs.
Mileage Tracker
Tracking vehicle mileage is essential for any mobile business. It helps plan maintenance schedules to keep the fleet in optimal condition and logs fuel consumption data. This reduces idle time and saves money on fuel, offering better fuel economy.
Notification Sender
Notifications serve as alerts for various situations, such as unauthorized vehicle use or speeding. They keep drivers informed about potential issues and notify customers about delays. This automates tasks that fleet operators would otherwise handle manually.
Hours of Service Tracker
Fatigued driving is a major cause of accidents, accounting for nearly 100,000 incidents annually. An hours of service tracker logs driving hours, helping establish night driving rules, plan rest periods, and minimize collisions. Some fleet managers may also integrate video solutions into their loggers for added safety.
Anti-Hacker Protection
Ensuring the security of your software is critical. An anti-hacking solution protects the system from cyber threats and malware, safeguarding data and preventing unauthorized access or vehicle hijacking.
Steps to Develop Custom GPS Vehicle Tracking Software
Software is a crucial component of a vehicle tracking system, but other elements are also important:
Tracking Device
The tracking device, often API-based, bridges the gap between GPS data and the server. It captures real-time vehicle coordinates and transmits this information to the server.
Server
The server stores, processes, and breaks down GPS data. It includes an API to retrieve detailed data as transmitted by the tracker, which is then delivered to the user interface.
Frontend or User Interface
The user interface allows access to location data through various means, such as web-based interfaces, apps, and push notifications.
Alternatively, you can choose a tracking system that delivers fleet insights via email. This ensures reliable delivery of information but at the cost of higher data transmission rates and lack of real-time updates.
The development process involves several steps:
Problem Statement
Identify the purpose of your tracking system. Define your strategic objectives and decide whether you need real-time data or email updates.
Planning and Budgeting
Plan the project's processes and timeframes. Outline your tracking system's capabilities and budget accordingly to avoid compromising features later.
System Development
Developing the app involves software architecture, server-side components, and user-side solutions. This step, often taking several months to a year, requires coding and design by the development vendor.
Software Deployment
Once polished, the software is integrated into the tracking device. This stage brings all system components together for use by drivers and fleet operators. Regular debugging ensures smooth integration and operation.
Maintenance
Maintaining the server-side components, updating the user experience based on feedback, and adding features are crucial for the system's longevity. Scalability should also be considered to accommodate business growth.
Building a Scalable and Cost-Effective GPS Tracking App
Consider the scalability of your GPS tracking app as your fleet grows. Choose a tech stack that supports flexible programming languages and frameworks. Python, JavaScript, React, PHP, .NET, and Ruby are popular options. Ensure that the backend can handle scalability, especially for SaaS development.
Cloud-Agnostic Solutions
Cloud-based systems can scale quickly by adding more servers to handle increased workloads. Cloud-agnostic solutions, properly configured, allow effortless migration to certified cloud providers like AWS, Azure, or GCP.
Software Architecture
Your software architecture should minimize idling and resource overuse, enabling easy maintenance, expansion, and adaptation as your business grows.
Levisoft's Expertise
Developing a GPS tracking app can be complex, but partnering with an experienced development vendor like Levisoft can simplify the process. With 18 years of expertise in truck GPS tracking apps and other business solutions, Levisoft can provide the right technology, architecture, and features to meet your needs.
Levisoft has created car tracking systems with email alerts and analytics, real-time trackers for emergency response vehicles, web-based logistics systems, EDI software, and fleet monitoring solutions with transport documentation processing options.
Let Levisoft guide you through the development process. We offer cloud-based commercial fleet tracking systems and AI-powered transportation apps, from frontend to backend and system maintenance. We are proficient in various technologies and can assist with legacy system upgrades or migrating from monolith to microservices.
Case Study: GPS Fleet Tracking Solution
A client requested an IoT system to collect and visualize location, speed, fuel consumption, driving time, and camera video data via the CAN bus. Levisoft developed a GPS fleet tracking solution that provided real-time visibility and intervention over long distances.
The AWS-based architecture powers data storage and processing, allowing dispatchers to manage update history, generate reports, and track events and alerts. The platform integrates with around 1,000 IoT devices, including GPS trackers from various manufacturers. Features like streaming video and remote command processing enhance efficiency. The system now displays up to 1,000 trucks in real-time, with location updates every 5-10 seconds.
Interested in developing your own GPS tracker? Contact us to learn about the cost of fleet GPS tracking systems and take a step towards refining your business operations with custom software on a subscription basis.
Sources:
- Vehicle Tracking Systems Market https://www.precedenceresearch.com/logistics-automation-market#:~:text=The%20global%20logistics%20automation%20market%20size%20was%20accounted%20at%20USD,12.8%25%20from%202024%20to%202033
- 5G Energy Efficiency https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/route-optimization-software-market-report
- Passenger Car CO2 Emissions Net Zero Scenario https://www.statista.com/statistics/1426160/passenger-car-co2-emissions-net-zero-scenario/
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