tomtom satnav tracking (note tracking)

[davidd]

We have a requirement for this, we are already using tomtom 3 on Axims, it works very, very well.

We have a couple of customers who require tracking systems, integrated sat nav etc.

I thought we could get the sdk, write an app to take the sat nav position from tomtom, squirt it over gprs to our server and then use that info to show the location on a map viewable over the internet. The user would then be able to use a thin application to send a new location to the unit which the driver can then acknowledge, there would also be an option to auto route to the location.

Before I get a long way into this has anyone done it? If so can you give me details?

Would anyone be interested in such an application, if we develop it then we would be able to offer it as a service or stand alone app, would anyone want to use it?

I'd appreciate some feedback.

TIA

D

[fatsteve]

David,

I've played around with the NMEA protocol (what sat nav uses). How easy is largely dependant on what info you want to track. If all you need to do is continually poll the GPS device every couple of seconds and squirt the data back to base (via GPRS) this can be easily achived with just the standard PocketPC (sdk).

All GPS devices use the NMEA protocol to communicate back to the PDA / other device. It's a serial protocol (4800kbps IIRC). You just send various strings to the GRS device and it will respond with an NMEA message (in a similar vain to modem AT commands).

I would assume you also want to transmit as little data as possible too so just sending back a device ID and the current co-ordinates would be fine over a GPRS (or even GSM in poor signal areas). Your back-end server would then process the messages and perform the "pretty" stuff like showing locations on maps etc.

Have a google for NMEA

Drop me a mail if you like

HTH

Steve

[fatsteve]

et voila

www.commlinx.com.au/NMEA_sentences.htm

[davidd]

Splendid thanks for that. I think we'll still have to use the tomtom sdk to do the route update stuff though.


D

[AlexHancock]

I might be interested David. We develop mobile applications and I've been expecting to do this myself as soon as someone ordered it. However, if you do it I might be interested in licencing it or doing a technology swap for our communications software that will do the data transfer for you.

[davidd]

Thinking further last night it would make sense to use tomtom for the initial work, make the backend as simple as possible so we can then add other pda based satnav systems as easily as possible. This will mean that if a company has different systems they will all be able to be tracked via the same interface.

Any thoughts on mapppoint?

Alex, yes like that idea D

[AlexHancock]

OK Drop me an email when you're ready to do a "I'll show you mine if you show me yours" and we'll meet up.