GPS trackers increasingly serve more diverse uses and applications. From covert investigators to concerned parents, trackers provide information useful in a variety of situations. Each case has its own set of manageable elements and hurdles when considering how to most effectively use the GPS. For instance, a fleet manager might want the tracker in plain sight as a constant reminder for his drivers. A suspicious parent, on the other hand, will want to hide the tracker discreetly, so that their child remains unawares. The fleet manager will want a real-time GPS tracker, one which constantly feeds play-by-play data to an accessible website, while the parents may consider using a passive tracker, which they must retrieve after the trip and review the data after-the-fact, but at their own convenience.
Geo-fencing, a major feature common to most, if not all real-time trackers, fills a very specific function that can greatly assist users, depending on their need and purpose. Geo-fencing refers to the ability to create a virtual perimeter around a given location. This perimeter acts as a containment field, set to surround a subject wearing a GPS tracking device. If the subject leaves that specific location and “breaks through” the virtual fence, the GPS tracker immediately alerts the monitor both through the standard surveillance website and a cell-phone communiqué.
Geo-fencing best suits individuals caring for elderly or mentally challenged individuals who wander off, on occasion. Unable to properly care for themselves in the open, these individuals unintentionally put themselves at great risk. Those responsible for their safety need to know not only where they are at all times, but if they have left their home or safe area. Setting up a geo-fence can avert serious incidents and help families retrieve their relatives before anything scary develops.
Pet owners as well can use the geo-fencing feature to alleviate their fears. Some pets have the tendency to run away when given the opportunity. Sometimes they get lost forever or killed after running into the road. By setting up a geo-fence pets wearing GPS trackers can’t get very far without their owner’s notice. The tracker will immediately alert owners when their pets stray too far from home and helping them lead long and safe lives.
Many different GPS trackers contain this feature and each configured its program slightly differently. Make sure to learn how to set geo-fences on your specific device. Of course, this feature only applies to real-time trackers. Passive trackers do not send out alerts, they merely record the data for you to retrieve on your own computer at a later time.
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Moshe – great overview on geofencing. one important addition I wanted to make sure was mentioned. you talk about the exiting of geofences as the trigger for alerts. entry of geofences can also be a trigger… and creates some interesting use cases, e.g. notify me when my kid arrives home from school, or pop up my coupon app when my customer comes within X meters of my store, start my car or unlock my door automatically when I approach, etc. lots of cool use cases like that.
additionally, these are mostly static geofences (virtual boundary around a static location). there are also dynamic geofences, e.g. notify me when I come within X meters of moving object or another person, and event-based geofences, e.g. notify me when I come within X meters of a geo-tagged event like a tweet, a flickr photo, a weather or traffic event.
my company, WaveMarket has invested heavily in geofencing technology and will be coming out with some slick developer tools shortly.
@locationjason – http://twitter.com/locationjason