India's very own GPS is ready with seventh navigation satellite launch

India’s own navigational system, the set-up for which was completed on Thursday with the launch of the seventh and final satellite, will be called NAVIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation), Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced after the launch.

The seventh and final satellite of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, the IRNSS 1G, was launched into a sub geosynchronous transfer orbit with a perigree (nearest point to earth) of 284 km and an apogee (farthest point to earth) of 20,657 km. The satellite was launched on board the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), which took off from the Sriharikota launch pad at 12.50 p.m.

With this launch, the IRNSS constellation of seven satellites is now complete. This will allow the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to focus on the process of designing front end chips which will receive the navigational signals sent out by the satellites. The system will be similar to the Global Positioning System (GPS) operated by the United States with 24 satellites and the Glonass, Galileo and BeiDou systems of Russia, Europe and China respectively.

All satellites will undergo stabilisation testing and verification of their performance over the next few months before being pushed into use, according to ISRO officials.

An area of 1,500 km from Indian boundaries will be covered under the navigational system. The Prime Minister invited other countries to make use of this system as well. “We have seven neighbours who rely on technology provided by other countries. They can use Indian services if they want,” he said in a video message addressed to ISRO engineers.

With an accuracy of better than 20 m being claimed by ISRO, the navigation system will be offered as an open or Standard Positioning Service and a superior, coded military Restricted Service.

“We are now one of five countries with our own navigational system. Today we are free of dependence on other countries for navigation. Our planes will be able to land with ease and accuracy, we can plan disaster relief better and with our own technology,” a proud Mr. Modi said.

Explaining the name NAVIC, Mr. Modi said the system was dedicated to India’s mariners and fishermen who have been navigating using the sun and stars as waypoints for hundreds of years. “They have shown strength and determination in venturing out to sea for so many years. We have named this system for them, the ‘naviks’ (mariners),” he said. 

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Source: http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/irnss-launch-indias-own-regional-navigation-satellite-system-takes-shape/article8531388.ece

History and Benefits of GPS Tracking Systems

Technology today has reached a level that makes nothing really seem impossible. There was a time when we had no cell phones and so we could not even talk to one another as freely as we do today. But now with the GPS system involved in all smart phones we can also track each other’s location. Now that’s just crazy, isn’t it? Or is it?

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system made up of a network of satellites placed into orbit by the U.S. Department of Defence. GPS was originally intended for military applications, but in the 1980s, the government made the system available for civilian use.

GPS Tracking

GPS tracking is accomplished with the help of a receiving & transmitting device that uses the Global Positioning System for tracking and navigating the exact location of vehicle, person, or other asset to which it is attached. Using the GSM Network to communicate, it can also be used for surveillance on people and assets with and without their consent. Spy Associates brings to us these high performing GPS tracking devices in the categories of GPS Fleet Tracking Equipment, GPS Real Time Tracking, Historical GPS Tracking, Live GPS Tracking, Magnetic GPS Tracking Devices and Real Time GPS Tracking Equipment.

Benefits of GPS tracking devices

GPS Trackers are usually very small, easy to conceal and can be hidden just about anywhere on a target vehicle or property. A GPS tracking system, for example, may be placed in a vehicle, on a cell phone, or inside Custom GPS devices, which can either be fixed or placed as a portable unit.

GPS provides information on exact location, anytime of day or night. It can also track the movement of a vehicle or person. A GPS tracking system can be used by a company to monitor the route and progress of a delivery truck, or to monitor high-valued assets in transit and also by parents to check on the location of their child. GPS Tracking devices have a lot of commercial value for cost savings to companies large and small.

GPS devices are also generally used to record the position of vehicles as they make their journeys either by storing data within the GPS tracking system itself, known as passive tracking, or by sending the information to a centralized database on a regular basis, known as active tracking. Letstrak offers an active GPS tracking system, also known as real-time system. Real time GPS tracking system is usually the best option for commercial purposes such as fleet tracking or monitoring of people, such as children or elderly. This is also a useful way of monitoring the behaviour of employees during work hours and shifts with company vehicles.

How to Detect a GPS Tracking Device on Your Vehicle

A GPS Tracking device is commonly used for tracking and navigating the whereabouts of assets. It is all too commonly used to spy on people without their consent.

We get many calls each day from folks who feel they are being followed wherever they go, and without their knowledge.

GPS Trackers are usually very small, easy to conceal and can be hidden just about anywhere on a targets vehicle or property. If you suspect that someone has placed an unauthorized GPS tracking device on your car, truck or other belongings, here are some helpful tips to uncover that covert GPS tracking unit.

If you are targeted, we will help you uncover the truth and location of tracking device, to protect yourself. First, you need to inspect the Vehicle thoroughly while inspecting the vehicle, do include the tire wells, quarter panels, inside bumpers, especially soft bumpers. GPS tracking devices can be secured inside soft bumpers with Industrial strength Velcro.

Check any crevices of the vehicle, where a device can be concealed. Especially those areas that you cannot visibly see, try to run your hands and fingers and feel for small devices that should not be there. Remember a GPS Tracker is intentionally placed, so you do need to be thorough.

GPS Tracking devices come in different sizes and budgets. A concealed GPS is usually Battery Powered, so whoever has placed a tracker on your vehicle, needs to have access to remove and recharge. Some units are smaller than smart phones, you can see examples here: Letstrak GPS Portable Handheld Real Time Tracking device.

There are also passive and Active Trackers - Passive trackers collect data and store location information to an internal drive. These do NOT transmit signals and can ONLY be found manually without the assistance of a GPS Bug Sweep Detection tool. In other words, these are usually small and don’t communicate.

Others that do track in Real-Time, allows anyone to know where you are at all times. These Live GPS Trackers communicate your location, through the internet utilizing outbound cellular signals. It is those signal transmissions that are detectable.

While inspecting your vehicle, for a GPS Tracking device, see if you can see or locate a waterproof black box attached to vehicle with magnet. If you can pull it off, the odds are it is not a factory-installed part of the car. Hidden inside is where you will find the GPS Tracker.

If you find one, contact your local police immediately with the evidence, and do not tamper with it.

Also both passive and active GPS surveillance devices can be hidden in car cushions and/or headrests, map pockets, under seats. So a thorough inspection is needed to regain your privacy.

Active trackers send real time data information back to the person who is spying on you and these are easy to locate with a GPS tracker detection device.

Live GPS tracking devices are either attached into the vehicle’s electrical system, requiring a constant power source and consistent operation. Or, Battery Powered units are concealed inside or around the vehicle under carriage perimeter.

Though a bit obvious and usually not contusive for covert tracking, a Spouse or Employer would have a GPS installed directly to the vehicle power system.  Otherwise, Law Enforcement, Private Investigators, Spouses or Stalkers would mount a unit outside perimeter under carriage with a Portable GPS Tracker.

Using a GPS Bug Detector will help you to CONFIRM and LOCATE the presence of an unauthorized Tracker. Detecting the existence of a GPS tracking device on a vehicle usually requires the aid of another electronic device called a GPS Bug Detector.

GPS tracking devices are usually not affixed within metallic parts of vehicles due to the fat "Metal is NOT a friend of inbound GPS Signals from the sky". So first inspect those areas with parts made of what is called as “GPS-friendly” materials such as glass, plastic, rubber, fiberglass etc.

GPS Bug Detectors use the radio frequency signal that is sent by a GPS Tracker to “detect” a GPS device. So it “confirms the presence” of radio signals being transmitted by the device to the cellular networks used to communicate status and location with.

Six Clear Business Benefits of GPS Vehicle Tracking Systems

In a growing number of businesses, GPS vehicle tracking systems are fast becoming a commodity tool, with a vehicle tracking system being fitted as a matter of course to each new vehicle as it is purchased. Significantly, nearly all businesses that run a large vehicle fleet have either already adopted GPS vehicle tracking systems, or are seriously evaluating them as a way to improve their efficiency and bottom line profitability.

A GPS vehicle tracking system will generally be comprised of a tracking device located inside a vehicle that communicates with a central server and software that enables the company to track the fleet from their office environment. The location information is calculated from signals transmitted by geostationary positioning satellites and can provide any fleet vehicle's speed, position as well as their direction of travel. The device inside the vehicle transmits its position via the mobile network at regular intervals so that the tracking system has up-to-date information at any given time. The intervals between sending updated information can be adjusted according to how important it is to have an exact location to within a few seconds if necessary, but this needs to be offset against the potentially increased cost of transmitting large amounts of data. In general a vehicle tracking supplier will be able to provide a data contract that includes sufficient capacity for the client's particular needs.

But what do companies actually gain from adopting a vehicle tracking system? Six of the most common benefits are listed below.

1. Reduce vehicle running costs: GPS vehicle tracking systems can help to reduce running costs by specifically targeting and monitoring those employees who habitually speed and waste fuel. As soon as these drivers are aware that their driving style is being monitored, then companies see a dramatic reduction on fuel and maintenance bills.

2. More efficient service scheduling: By using a system's automatic mileage reminder it is possible to ensure that maintenance servicing is carried out only when needed, but also that essential serving intervals are not missed, which in turn can help to ensure that when vehicles are sold they hold their value as a result of having being serviced within the manufacturer's guidelines. Moreover, it will be possible to forecast when servicing is likely to be needed, giving time and opportunity to plan around this.

3. Lower insurance bills: Some insurance companies already reward businesses that have GPS vehicle tracking device in place with a significant cost reduction. In fact discounts of up to thirty percent are not unheard of. This is in part because it encourages safer driving, but also in recognition that should a theft occur, the tracking system can provide valuable information to aid with recovery.

4. Increased staff productivity: Productivity of workers can be increased by being able to keep track of their working patterns, whilst the employee is only too aware that any unauthorised stops and breaks will be readily identified. With detailed knowledge of the whereabouts of each vehicle at any time, it becomes feasible to stay aware of employee activities. Conversely managers can also identify positive behaviour and reward it appropriately with schemes to encourage positive behaviour and generally raise productivity across the entire team. GPS systems can also help to reduce the amount of paperwork that drivers must fill out, which will be perceived as a positive benefit to the employees, as well as increasing the accuracy and reliability of your records.

5. Improved customer service: The knowledge gained from a vehicle tracking system can help businesses to deliver greater customer service. For example, customers can be proactively notified in advance if an employee is likely to be late for a scheduled visit, which is far preferable to them waiting in expectation and gaining a negative perception of your business.

6. Improved business operational efficiency: By having detailed information on the whereabouts of all employees, business owners are far more in touch with their business operations. With the opportunity for greater levels of control over their company. Vehicle tracking systems can, for example, reduce phone bills as it is no longer a necessity to constantly call employees to find their location.

These six examples are just some generic benefits that vehicle tracking solutions can deliver, but in practice all businesses are different and the actual benefits may come from predominantly one or two of these factors, or perhaps something not mentioned at all.

GPS Tracking May Soon Deter Bike Thieves

On a daily basis bikes are being stolen in the Fresno area. Some are even dismantled in backyard chop shops. Bike shop employees hear many stories about bikes disappearing. Bike experts are optimistic these bikes worth thousands of dollars will soon be outfitted with GPS tracking devices allowing police to recover stolen bikes

"I would say at least once, or twice a week someone is calling us and saying I lost my bicycle," said Rubber Soul Bicycles employee Pablo Armigo.

 At the Fresno State campus thieves didn't even need the whole bike. With the cash value of bike parts they'll took everything but the locked up front tire. Alexis Castro brought her bike to campus and says the struggle is real. 

"If you leave your bike here it's always a risk that someone is going to take a bike, or steal a tire and everything. Just last week on Valentine's Day someone ended up stealing a bike off my second floor balcony," said Castro.

Right now, the only defense against bike bandits are locks. The locks can be cut, but the goal is to slow the crooks down. 

"It's going to take a lot longer and hopefully someone will see it and hopefully your bike doesn't go away," said Armigo. 

Bike experts are optimistic these bikes worth thousands of dollars will soon be outfitted tracking devices allowing police to recover stolen bikes. Bike experts say this will impact the crime rates. 

"I would say huge. Just because knowing the technology is there is going to be a huge deterrent so there would be a drop I would say between 60 and 80 percent," said Armigo.

But until the GPS technology hits stores, the sad reality of Fresno bike thefts will continue.    

"It just breaks your heart when someone steals your bike and you get so attached to it. It just sucks," said Castro. 

Right now, bike experts aren't exactly sure when the bike GPS technology will hit the open market.

Click here for more information about GPS tracker: https://www.letstrak.com/device.html

LETSTRAK GPS TRACKER SAFETY ZONES ALERT / GEO FENCES

As we know, GPS trackers have become incredibly useful and often vital tools, in helping to improve people’s lives for both professional and personal uses.

But as well as the obvious benefits from being able to track an asset or individual in live time, Letstrak GPS trackers offer multiple additional functions that are both easy to use, and can be just as useful as the live tracking itself.

Being able to set up geo fences (also known as Zones alert) introduces a key function in further monitoring your GPS trackers in real time.

A geo fence can help add further detail, and provide a better psychological understanding of daily activity, as well as assisting in co-coordinating staff and helping to ‘check in’ vehicles/assets/individuals.

It can also be a life changing, and potentially lifesaving, safety feature.

A geo fence is a virtual fence around a specific location, which will then send you an instant message (either by SMS and/or email) when your tracker enters/leaves the virtual border.

You can set up as many geo fences as you like on your mapping panel. If you have several trackers on the same panel, you can select which ones are responsive to the geo fence(s) and all of this can be edited/amended at any time by you.

Because there is such a diverse range of uses for GPS trackers, each individual/company will have their own purpose for their geo fences. Here’s just a few of them.

THEFT PREVENTION/DETECTION

For vehicles, plant/construction machinery, and vulnerable assets that may be left unattended, a geo fence set around where they are stored means you will receive an instant alert if an unauthorized party moves them.

An example of this would be when storing construction machinery on a building site over night/unattended. You can set the zone around the site. If the machinery leaves this zone, you will be alerted instantly. This allows you to take immediate action, with access to full live tracking.

SAFETY MONITORING

Our GPS trackers have been used with great success when it comes to helping monitor the safety of individuals- whether this is for lone workers, children or infirm relatives.

Dementia/Alzheimer’s is now affecting more and more families. A personal GPS tracker can make a traumatic family experience safer and decrease the general concern that comes from an elderly relative living alone.

Setting a safety zone around the home means you will receive an alert when the individual leaves and, crucially, another one when they return. If they have not returned within an expected time, you will be able to see exactly where they are through your mapping panel.

LOGISTICS

Having several vehicles on the road throughout the day can take a lot of organization.

Geo fences allow you to set a ‘check in/out’ for vehicles entering/leaving your depot. They can also help with destination checking for deliveries.

SURVELIANCE

It is not always convenient to be watching your tracking device in live time continuously.

Therefore, setting up zones alerts you to movements to or from key areas. This means you can be alerted to track in live time only when necessary.

PET TRACKERS

Safety zones are a staple feature of pet owners who use our GPS pet trackers.

Setting a zone around the garden or an extended area where they have access, means you will know as soon as they’ve left where they should be.

You can also set up a zone around a kennels/pet sitters boundary whilst you are on holiday. You can even share the login details with the person looking after them.

These are just a few of the uses that have really helped individuals and companies achieve accurate/safe and money saving benefits from this particular feature.

To learn more about other features, or if you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact at any time. https://www.letstrak.com/

Top 3 Tips for Effective Fleet Maintenance Planning

Most fleet managers know that vehicle maintenance takes two forms: Scheduled and Unscheduled. In the same way that regularly scheduled health checkups can detect and fix minor medical problems before they become big ones, scheduled preventive maintenance can help prevent, detect, and repair small problems before they become serious and expensive issues.

On the other hand, unscheduled checkups – for both you and your vehicles – usually only happen after some sort of breakdown. They’re almost always more expensive than routine checkups, involve significant “down time,” and may have been prevented with routine, preventive maintenance. Developing and implementing an effective fleet maintenance plan can be easy. There are tools and technology available that can make it easier than ever before. But it will help save your company plenty of time, frustration, and money. To quote Benjamin Franklin, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” When developing your fleet’s maintenance plan, ask yourself these five questions:

What should be covered in the preventive maintenance checkup?

Who will be responsible for preventive maintenance service?

When will the service take place?

Now, tap into these top 3 tips to keep your fleet and maintenance plan running smoothly.

What should be included in routine preventive maintenance service?

Tip 1 – Develop a comprehensive maintenance checklist for your vehicles. Many checklists include these items, but you’ll want to edit yours based on your fleet’s needs.

Engine oil and filter changes

Transmission fluid

Fuel system

Cooling system

Engine and transmission mounts

Drive shafts or CV joints

Belts and hoses

Tune-ups

Electrical system components

Braking system

Steering and suspension system

Tires, wheels, and rims

Exhaust system

Undercarriage and frame

Exterior and interior lights

Body, glass, and mirrors

Windshield wiper system

Horn

Seatbelts and seat structures

Fluid leaks

Auxiliary systems

Who will be responsible for preventive maintenance?

Tip 2 - Make this a team effort between your drivers and your repair technicians. Your drivers are the first line of defense against unexpected breakdowns and repairs. It’s critical that they immediately report any vehicle problems to help keep your vehicles on the road. Drivers can and should be trained to monitor basic vehicle safety items (tires, brakes, steering, etc.); vehicle performance issues (including misfires and rough idling); and miscellaneous items (such as the heater or radio). Your repair technicians – whether in-house or outsourced – can perform more detailed inspections on each vehicle’s components and systems. If you outsource repairs, be sure to supply the vendor with your own preventive maintenance checklist. Shops may focus on breakdown maintenance, not preventive maintenance. When should preventive maintenance take place?

Tip 3 – Examine both your routine and unscheduled maintenance data to develop a maintenance schedule that works for your fleet. Miles traveled, engine hours, fuel usage, and calendar time are the typical guides used to create a schedule. By also tracking the number of breakdowns, jumpstarts, tows, and emergency repairs, you might see patterns that require adjustments to your schedule.

vehicle tracking systems, vehicle tracking device, fleet tracking device

Best Personal Tracking Devices You Should Try Now

Personal trackers getting more thinner and cheaper to fit every budget and situation. From tracking your pets and luggage to giving your accurate location to your loved ones in times of need, these personal trackers are a must whether you are going for a trip or just want to keep track of your belongings. Here’s our best personal tracking devices that make your day more safe and secure.

Personal GPS Tracking Devices

Checking in at specific places couldn’t be much easier than with the right personal GPS trackers. From sending SOS signals to pre-planned messages, these devices are too god at what they do. One more of the advantages of these GPS devices is that they are accurate at spotting the right place when you are on your camping or hiking trip.

Keeping You Alert

GPS tracking device with two-way voice communication are best choice for parents worried about the safety of their kids. They can be activated with a single touch of the button and you can get in touch with your kids and know their precise location if at all they are in any emergency situation.

Find Your Belongings

Another must-have gadget for your travel trip is the personal GPS locator for kids that not only tracks your belongings but also overlays the maps with locations. For best results, you can use them as a group as they help in updating the locations as where a particular thing or a person is. With their smart features and ease of use, they can be easily used by kids and seniors when they find themselves in emergency situations.

Mark Your Borders (Geo fences)

Tracking phones and creating your own proximity or Geo fences isn’t much easier than with the GPS tracking devices. You can track your kids and pets and know whenever someone is trying to approach your border or are trying to leave your premises. Bet the latter helps you keep a track on your pets and mischievous kids. Some of the latest devices also have options for augmented reality that help show you where the device is using your smartphone.

Always Accessible

Unlike many data-enabled trackers, most of the GPS units can store the information about the location and display the maps even without a data connection. This makes staying in touch with your friends and family more manageable. Letstrak have also coming up with cool new devices that you can pair with your GPS and do much more when it comes to your safety and security.

GPS devices are also appealing to many of the industries and are not meant only for keeping a track on your belongings. Whatever might be the need and the situation, pick the right device to keep you on track and also to keep a track of everything.

Track Your Kids With Letstrak Real Time Tracking App

Letstrak Family locator apps, cellphone services and GPS devices make it easy to track your child to and from school, the just about any other map point on your screen. But they're even more effective when you mix in a good dose of talk and trust to go with that tech.

"(When) they work properly and you have a great relationship with your kid, and they understand that you're using it in order to make sure that he or she gets to where they need to go safely... that does provide a sense of security and allows your kid a certain amount of independence in a world that can feel sometimes kind of scary," said Trevor Harper, parenting editor for Common Sense Media, a nonpartisan nonprofit that covers issues pertaining to children and media.As a parent, Harper understands the need for moms and dads to stay connected with their kids, and how such programs and gadgets fill in when no one has the time or, let's face it, inclination to make that check-in call or text. But she stresses families should first consider how such technology fits in with their lifestyles and their children's maturity. And, of course, it helps if everyone's device is actually turned on.

Letstrak: (Free for Android and iOS device)

Letstrak keeps you and yours in touch via a private map and messaging. Create circles for family, friends or any other group you want, and then communicate to that whole circle or just one-on-one. You also can skip the "I'm here" text altogether and get an alert when that someone reaches his destination. Letstrak offers a such as live 24/7 support, emergency roadside assistance and unlimited locations.

This app tracks loved ones in real time GPS tracking device with icons of them at their locations. It uses 28 satellites to triangulate the location of every registered phone in your account and cellphone triangulation should the tracked device get out of satellite range. GPS Tracking also sends alerts.

Letstrak is a real time tracking and instant messaging app for smart phones, tracking devices and browsers. The proprietary, cross-platform app uses GPS and the Internet to track and send text messages, images, videos and user locations.

The aim of this application is to provide security for your loved ones by keeping track of their location, additionallythis can be used to track the whereabouts of your workforce enabling you to view the exact time spent at each location for. on a web based admin panel.

Battery Drain on Global Tracking Solutions

The drain caused by tracking solutions has been an issue, however, this is no longer the case. The increased use of Geo-locations (local Wi-Fi networks) that have been mapped and a lat/long assigned to them has significantly reduced the battery drain and location accuracy. This can be seen when you turn off your Wi-Fi and you get the very familiar with the message below.

The use of Geo-locations has also enabled us to get locations indoors like airports, shopping malls railway stations etc. This, coupled with the improvement of GPS chip technology, means that battery drain with Letstrak is as little as 1.5% per week. In fact, the battery drain from Android system and chrome is 11%!

Letstrak has a patent specifically to cover the design behind the algorithms and innovative operations of the Letstrak tracking software to optimize location accuracy with minimal battery drain.

The algorithms use a combination of metrics from the phone such as speed, GPS, network information and cell tower locations to determine optimal accuracy for locations from the device, without incurring the large battery drain usually typical of GPS tracking app.

Fundamental to the approach is how Letstrak utilizes the functionality of mobile devices, minimising the use of navigational sensors by placing them into hibernation between pre-determined intervals and using environmental information to quickly locate a device without lengthy GPS warm-up periods. Ultimately, this produces a chronological ‘trail’ following a user’s location point-by-point on a map with minimal battery drain.