Here your MAZORE team explains the most important terms to you from the world of wireless and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, i.e., the use of technology designed to enable communication between machines:

What is telematics?
What is telemetry?
What is GPS?
What is GPRS?
What is UMTS?
What is DGPS?
What is RFID?
What is CAN-Bus?
What is fleet management?
What is Inmarsat?
What is radio communication?
What is timekeeping?

What is telematics?
Telematics refers to the interplay between computing and telecommunications. It is the generic term for the integration of speech, data und visual communication technology.

Telematics is for example used in the traffic and transport sector. Motorists are provided with navigational assistance using a graphic display or computed-assisted voice control and can for example avoid traffic jams and roadblocks by using this technology.

Other applications are also possible, such as constant engine monitoring which alerts the driver immediately to possible damage and defects.

In future it should be possible to send data to practically any device linked to a computer via GSM (wireless communication) or UMTS.

What is telemetry?
Telemetry refers to the remote measurement and transfer of data, which can be collected, recorded or directly analyzed at the receiving station. 

Telemetry is often complemented by its counterpart telecommand, which facilitates a suitable reaction to the measurements received.

Many of our positioning devices have a telecommand function in the form of a digital output, which can for example switch off the ignition or hydraulics of construction machinery.

What is GPS?
GPS is the acronym for Global Positioning System. This satellite positioning system was originally developed by and for the US Army.

A GPS receiver is able to determine its position on the earth’s surface and its height above sea level with accuracy to within a few meters.

This task is made possible by 24 satellites which are in six different orbits 20,183 km above the earth. They continuously send position and time signals with the help of an atomic clock.

GPS receivers decode the signals of up to 12 satellites simultaneously and compare the GPS timestamp received with their onboard clocks. Since the GPS satellites are located at different distances and angles from the receiver, the time needed to transmit a signal from each GPS satellite to the GPS receiver differs. The GPS receiver calculates its own location based on this time difference with a mathematical method called 'triangulation'. A minimum of four satellites are necessary to obtain 3-D information (length, height, width).

Today GPS systems are predominantly in use in the civilian sector, especially for vehicle navigation systems and mobile navigation devices. As a result, GPS serves as an accessory for the security of vehicles such as armoured cars, limousines, lorries carrying expensive or hazardous goods, and so on. These vehicles can be monitored throughout Europe or even worldwide. GPS has also found applications in the fields of surveying, sailing and shipping.

What is DGPS?
DGPS is an improvement of standard GPS technology. The acronym stands for Differential Global Positioning System or Differential GPS. This term describes the method which corrects several GPS miscalculations. DGPS allows measurement accuracy of between 1 and 3 meters compared with 5 to 12 meters for normal GPS, which is admittedly sufficient for the majority of applications.

How DGPS works:
The calculation of a position is the result of the cooperation between two receivers, not one (as with GPS). One of these receivers is roving (e.g., in the vehicle), while the other one, called 'reference receiver', is mounted at a fixed reference point.

The location of the reference receiver is defined very accurately by alternative surveying methods or position determination. If the receiver now receives its normal inaccurate GPS position, it can calculate the current size of the positional error by comparing it to its position which was previously determined accurately.

Thus, using its known position, the reference receiver calculates the timing errors of the GPS satellites and relays them to the roving receiver. This 'differential' process allows for very precise calculation of the position of the roving receiver.

What is RFID?
RFID is an acronym for Radio Frequency Identification.

RFID refers to the possibility of identifying an object clearly with the assistance of a small electronic device.

These electronic devices are in the meantime so small that they can even be integrated in labels, paper, boxes, buttons on clothes etc.. Each tag has its own unique number.

Various different tags are available for various different applications. The following criteria highlight the main differences from a user point of view:

Range:
The distance from which a tag can be read with an RFID reading device can vary between a few centimeters and several hundred meters, depending on the tag.

Limitations due to water and metal
The tags operate on different frequencies (125 kHz – 2.54 GHz). The different frequencies react very differently to the presence of metal or water.

Memory size:
Simple RFID tags have only one function: transmitting their unique ID number to the RFID reading device. More sophisticated RFID tags have built-in read/write memory, which can be written and read by an RFID read/write device. This way additional information about the item to which the tag is attached can be stored on the tag. For example a tag attached to a vehicle could store the date and results of the last service, a tag attached to a pet could store the owner’s address.

Lifespan:
RFID tags are either active or passive tags. Passive tags have a shorter range, but do not require a built-in power source. These tags have a very long lifespan. Since these tags have not been in production for very long, there is little practical experience to draw upon with respect to their lifespan.
Active tags have a built-in battery, which gives them a typical lifespan of between 5 and 10 years.

Price:
Logistics companies dream of tags with a price of under 1 cent. This would make it economically viable to put a tag on every carton of milk, thus eliminating the need to empty your shopping cart at the checkout. The current reality, however, is somewhat different: Passive tags currently cost between 20 cents and 1 euro and active tags approximately 15 to 50 euros per piece.

Therefore RFID applications can currently only be considered if the tag costs are no so important.

What are the benefits of the CAN bus?
The can bus allows vehicle data to be accessed in real time.

The CAN bus provides a lot of vehicle data such as RPM, fuel consumption, speed, centrifugal force, tire pressure, warning lamp status (on/off) etc.

Every modern vehicle built after the year 2000 usually has at least one CAN bus. Many specialized vehicles such as forklift trucks, construction machines etc. are also equipped with a CAN bus interface or comparable technology. The analysis of the CAN data enables you to learn more about the usage of your fleet and to work more cost effectively:

• Optimisation of the service intervals
• Optimisation of the driving behaviour
• Early detection of technical problems
etc.

The data provided by the CAN bus can differ from manufacturer to manufacturer and sometimes even differ from model to model of the same manufacturer.

Special case: Writing to the CAN bus:
It is technically possible to write data from a computer to a CAN bus. For safety reasons this feature is deactivated in all devices.

What is GPRS?
GPRS is dedicated connection between a cellular device (e.g. a mobile phone or vehicle tracking unit) and the Internet. This can be used, for instance, to exchange data cheaply between an onboard computer and a central server.
GPRS is typically used when data has to be transmitted continuously between a wireless device and a central system. In such cases, SMS is most often much too expensive; the big difference between GPRS and a "normal" mobile connection is the pricing: unlike mobile pricing, GPRS pricing is based on the volume of data transferred and not on the duration of the connection. One character is one “byte”. One thousand bytes is one kilobyte, one thousand kilobytes is one megabyte (MB).
The transfer of 1 MB costs approximately 1.50 - 10 euros, regardless of how long the transfer takes.

Possible pitfalls:
Two situations can make the use of GPRS more expensive than expected:
• Overhead:
The GPRS data transfer uses the TCP/IP internet protocol or, less likely, the UDP protocol. Both add an overhead to the data being transferred which can easily cause small amounts of data (e.g. GPS coordinates) to double or triple. This overhead is virtually impossible to avoid and must be taken into account.
• Minimal package sizes:
Network operators have different methods of calculating data volume. While business customers often get precise per byte invoices, private customers' bills are normally rounded up. This can result in substantial extra costs for nothing. It is strongly recommended that these details are looked into prior to the purchase of a SIM card.

What is UMTS?
The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System is the third generation (3G) mobile phone standard. It facilitates much higher data transfer rates than the GSM standard making video applications also possible.

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What is fleet management?
Fleet management refers to the planning, controlling and monitoring of vehicle fleets (cars, trucks, ships, trains), i.e. several vehicles. This process allows vehicle trips to be determined and coordinated. Fleet management also allows problems to be resolved and avoided in good time.

This term usually refers to digital fleet management, i.e., software which supports fleet managers with GPS systems, computer-aided order proposals and digital displays.

Applications
Mainly of interest for haulage companies, taxi services, car hire companies, emergency services and anyone responsible for coordinating vehicles.

What is Inmarsat?
The Inmarsat satellite system consists of nine satellites in a stationary orbit 36,000 km above the earth. The Inmarsat system was launched in 1990 and was originally designed for use as a marine application.

A connection is made to one of the nine satellites by locating it with a parabolic or planer antenna. A normal antenna is sufficient in most cases. The housing of an Inmarsat modem is approximately the size of a biscuit tin. Some devices facilitate telephone, fax and Internet access in addition to data transmission.

These systems cost between 800 and 4000 euros. The minute price for telephone calls is approximately 2 euros. The transmission of GPS vehicle coordinates to an earth station costs approximately the same as an SMS (20 cents).

Inmarsat and GPS
All devices supplied by MAZORE have a GPS receiver to determine GPS location in addition to communication electronics.

Inmarsat satellite system services:
• E-mail
• Internet
• LAN
• VPN
• Voicemail
• Fax
• Telephony
• Data transmission
• Video conferencing

Range:
The satellite system almost covers the entire globe. The exceptions are in the direct vicinity of the North and South poles.

Atlantic Ocean Region West:
North America, Central America, Brazil, North Africa, Western Europe

Atlantic Ocean Region East:
Eastern USA, Caribbean, South America, Africa, Europe, Western Asia

Indian Ocean Region:
Europe, Asia, Africa

Pacific Ocean Region:
Alaska, Western USA, East Asia, Australia

What is radio telecommunication?
Radio telecommunication refers to the operation of portable radio devices. These include telephones (mobile phones, car telephones), and two-way radios built into vehicles (e.g., taxi radio, emergency services radio). There are, however, many other possible applications, such as mobile data capture, paging services, telemetry, marine paging and amateur radio, which are not tied to a specific place.

What is timekeeping?
Employee timekeeping systems (ETS) use machines to record the working time of employees and belong to the subject area of employee time management. 

In the past time clocks were used for this. Today electronic timekeeping devices (terminals) are used, at which employees register their working times used a plastic card with either a barcode, a magnetic strip of more recently an RFID chip. Data transfer with a barcode or magnetic strip is seldom used. Contactless proximity ID cards are more common, such as those made by Legic or Mifare. The working time is recorded by terminals which register arrival and departure times. These systems can also usually be integrated into vacation planning, work planning and vacation request systems. If required, access controls can also be carried out using employee timekeeping systems. Employee timekeeping systems also provide the data required for wages and salaries automatically calculating overtime pay, extra pay for weekends and public holidays, extra pay for night shifts or other shifts with integrated formulas.

The relevant guidelines can also be stored in the system to allow use with different collective bargaining agreements and working time models. Production data acquisition (PDA) and machine data acquisition (MDA) are related to employee timekeeping systems.