Personal tracking with GPS the next revolution - By: Paul Burke

Personal tracking in the next few years will evolve into a substantial part of the telecommunications industry. Unlike the AVL (Automatic Vehicle Location) and Telematics industry, personal tracking is not confined to just vehicles. There are over 5 billion mobile phones connected globally, so we can begin to understand the potential market size.

The number of personal tracking units coming onto the market are mostly manufactured in China, they are the size of a small mobile phone and typically have a rechargeable battery which will power the unit for between 12 and 24 hours. The units are basically a GPS (Global Positioning System) enabled GSM (Global System Mobile) cell phone without the keypad and screen, therefore the battery will not last much longer than a smart phone.

There are also a number of websites offering mobile phone tracking, which is personal tracking but with a serious flaw if to be used for personal protection, the phone and simply be switched off. The phone tracking sites uses the GPS for the smart phone to get position and then sends this information by SMS (Short Messaging Service) or GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) to a mapping web portal. There are other phone tracking services that use cell identification and use some very complex software which is used in conjunction with the network operator to triangulate on the transmission from the phone.

Pear Track Systems Ltd manufactures long battery life GPS tracking equipment for tracking plant, shipping containers, road trailers, boats, and a variety of non powered assets, their tracking systems have up to 10 years battery life. The experience that Pear Track has gained in developing these long life battery units has been applied when the developed the PT-30 a matchbox sized rechargeable personal tracking unit with a 30 day battery life. The unit can also have a panic button and can be concealed in a piece of clothing or small bag.

The PT-30V will have a vehicle power supply for permanent installation into a vehicle or motor bike and can easily covertly fitted in seat or door wing mirror. There will also be a PT-100 which is the size of two packs of playing cards and will have a 1 year non rechargeable battery for use not only in personal applications but can be used to track parcels and packages. There are nearly 6,000 PT-700 units in service around the globe, which has a seven year battery life.

The position of the PT-30, like all the Pear Track units allows the user to find the position of the tracking device to within a few meters anywhere in the world by using a multiple mapping solutions via a web-based tracking portal. The each user has unique user name and password to access the advanced tracking system; this allows you to find both real-time and historic locations of the unit.
The reporting intervals can be remotely configured from the Pear Track web portal and an activity report can either be viewed on maps or downloaded in text form giving time, date and location of the asset along with any alerts that were active at that time.

Although http://www.peartrack.com is only two years old, the company has a long history in GPS tracking and communication systems. Pear Track was formed by Paul Burke and John Macey the originators of Minorplanet Ltd that went on to become one of the principle GPS tracking companies in the World, and to this day is regarded by many as the market leader in Vehicle tracking systems with many thousands of units operating globally. The GPS vehicle tracking industry grew rapidly in the early nineties and the Pear Track team was indeed pioneers, being instrumental in the development of the techniques and systems from which many modern GPS tracking systems are still based.

The Pear Track products are designed and manufactured in the UK to exacting standards using state of the art production and quality control facilities. Pear Track products are rigorously tested before leaving the factory, ensuring the highest quality and trouble free service 'out of the box'. As a world leader in long-life battery powered GPS and GSM tracking products, we are continually developing our product base, our R & D team have been developing and producing 'best of class' GPS, communication and security products for over 20 years.

About the Author

To find out more about personal GPS tracking units visit: http://www.peartrack.com

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