Automated Vehicle Locator (AVL) is a device that uses the Global Positioning System (GPS) to enable a company or agency to remotely track the location of its fleet of vehicles using the Internet. These devices combine GPS technology, cellular communications, street-level mapping, and an intuitive user interface. With the ostensible goal of improving fleet management and customer service.
The company using the AVL system can determine the longitude, latitude, land speed and direction of the path of a particular vehicle, the location of the vehicle can be quickly found and can be redirected to provide timely delivery to a nearby customer.
AVL systems also enable companies to organize delivery routes more efficiently by compiling a database of vehicle information, including the location of customers in relation to specified delivery routes.
AVL systems generally include a network of vehicles equipped with a portable radio receiver, a GPS receiver, a GPS modem, and a GPS antenna. This network is connected to a radio base consisting of a PC computer station as well as a GPS receiver and interface. GPS uses interactive maps instead of static map images on the Web, meaning that users can perform traditional GPS functions such as zoom in and out, pinpoint and query.
AVL systems can be used to increase the accountability of field personnel and enhance the efficiency of company dispatch procedures, dispatchers can get a real-time snapshot of a driver's commitment to the road, provide customers with an estimated time of arrival, and communicate directly with drivers, as can public safety agencies, such as the police department or fire departments. Using AVL technology to improve response times by being able to dispatch the closest vehicles to emergencies.
Most AVL vendors have built products that do not require dedicated servers and require minimal training for senders AVL systems use mouse clicks rather than keystrokes to navigate a single vehicle, a specific group of vehicles or an entire fleet, and Aertrax, for example, operates without expensive receivers or other equipment.
It can also be powered by a personal computer or desktop connected to the Internet, and the Aertrax includes a completely self-contained unit that uses the least amount of energy from the vehicle in which it is installed. This unit transmits GPS location data, either on a regular time basis or in response to a command, and then converted This data into maps is immediately available online.
Fleet owners need to reduce operating costs and increase productivity to survive in today's competitive landscape, Automatic Vehicle Locating (AVL) technology provides a cost-effective and reliable communications link to track vehicle location, reduce fuel costs, optimize travel routes, and monitor driver behavior Reducing idle times, ensuring cargo and driver safety.
ORBCOMM's dual-mode cellular AVL and connectivity devices provide access to enable solution providers to offer carriers enduring connections wherever their legends travel, regardless of distance.
Reduce operating costs and increase productivity
Satellite-enabled AVL technology enables vehicle tracking, even outside of cellular range, for near-real-time continuous communication.
Enable dispatch, forms/electronic signatures, location-based services, hours of service (HOS), in-cab messaging and more, then send configurable position, motion, and other report, and then recursively within cellular, maintaining reliable backup satellite connections to make the best of it in the worlds.