When specifying hardware and software to be used in a given PC bus application, it is essential to adopt a ‘top-down’ approach. An important first stage in this process is that of defining the overall aims of the system before attempting to formalize a detailed specification. The aims should be agreed with the end-user and should be reviewed within the constraints of available budget and time. Specifications should then be formalized in sufficient detail for the performance of the system to be measured against them and should include such items as input and output parameters, response time, accuracy, and resolution.

Having set out a detailed specification, it will be possible to identify the main hardware elements of the system as well as the types of sensor and output device required. The following checklist, arranged under six major headings, should assist in this process:

Hardware design

Start by identifying the principal elements of the system including industrial PC, card frame, power supply, etc. as appropriate. Then itemize the input devices (such as keypads, switches, and sensors) and output devices (such as motors, actuators, and industrial embedded pc ). This process may be aided by developing a diagram of the system showing the complete hardware configuration and the links which exist between the elements. This diagram will subsequently be refined and modified but initially will serve as a definition of the hardware components of the system.

Having identified the inputs required, a suitable sensor or input device should be selected for each input. It should then be possible to specify any specialized input signal conditioning required with reference to the manufacturer’s specification for the sensor concerned. Input signal conditioning should then be added to the system diagram mentioned earlier. Next, a suitable driver or output interface should be selected for each output device present. Any additional output signal conditioning required should also be specified and incorporated in the system diagram.

Communications

• What existing communications standards are employed by the end-user?

• Will a standard serial data link based on RS-232 be sufficient or will a faster, low-impedance serial data communications standard be needed?

• What data rates will be required?

• What distances are involved?

• Will it be necessary to interface with automatic test equipment?

• Will a networking capability be required?

 Expansion

• What additional facilities are envisaged by the end-user?

• What additional facilities could be easily incorporated?

• Will expansion necessitate additional hardware, additional software,or both?

• What provision should be made for accommodating additional hardware?

The software should be designed so that it is easy to maintain, modify, and extend. Furthermore, the programmer should use or adapt modules ported from other programs. These modules will already have been proven and their use should be instrumental in minimizing development time. When developing software, it is advisable to employ only ‘simple logic’ (i.e. industrial touch screen computer ). The temptation to produce untried and over complicated code should be avoided. Simple methods will usually produce code which is easy to maintain and debug, even if the code produced requires more memory space or executes more slowly. If the process is time critical or memory space is at a premium then code can later be refined and optimized. It is also important to consider all eventualities which may arise, not just those typical of normal operation. The following are particularly important:

• Will the system initialize itself in a safe state? Will there be momentary unwanted outputs during start-up?

• What will happen if the user defaults an input or if an input sensor becomes disconnected?

• What will happen if the power fails? Will the system shut down safely?

• What input validation checks are required? What steps should be taken if an ‘out-of-range’ input is detected?

MAPPING CAPABILITY

GPS Tracking People come with base maps of defined regions. Look for a mapping, trail-type GPS that will accept uploaded topo and street maps as well as POI databases, and that uses Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) or mini Secure Digital (mini-SD) memory cards for storing maps and GPS data.

HIGH-SENSITIVITY RECEIVER

Most current Tracking Devices For People have high-sensitivity, multichannel parallel receivers that receive as many as thirty-two channels simultaneously. These units are noticeably better than older receivers at maintaining their satellite lock under difficult conditions such as heavy forest cover. This is especially important for e-hiking, where you leave the GPS on continuously to record an unbroken track.

WAAS

The Wide Area Augmentation System is used to improve the accuracy of GPS from the civilian standard of 33 feet (10 meters), which is limited by atmospheric effects. It works by receiving signals from differential GPS transmitters that are placed on precisely surveyed points. These transmitters measure the difference between their known locations and the GPS-derived location and transmit the error correction to the GPS unit. Most receivers have WAAS capability built in, using satellite signals provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for aircraft navigation, resulting in accuracy of 10 feet (3 meters) or better. FAA WAAS can only be used when the GPS unit has an unobstructed view of the sky down to the horizon. Other WAAS systems are set up locally by the U.S. Coast Guard for ship navigation in coastal waters, and by government and private organizations to provide accuracy down to millimeters for surveying and other specialized uses. WAAS accuracy is not needed for road or outdoor navigation. Because using WAAS uses more power, it should be turned off when the unit is running on batteries.

BATTERY TYPE AND LIFE

Street Magnetic GPS Tracker use internal rechargeable batteries that are not user-replaceable because they are intended to run on vehicle power. Most trail GPS receivers use two standard AA or AAA alkaline, lithium, or rechargeable nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries. Some smartphones use proprietary rechargeable batteries that can be replaced by the user, but others, such as the iPhone, have internal batteries that are not userreplaceable. Since continuous use for GPS and mapping depletes the batteries in a couple of hours, at present smartphones are not practical for all-day or multiday treks. NiMH batteries are more environmentally responsible and far cheaper in the long run than single-use alkaline or lithium cells—they are the best choice for day trips and whenever you have access to a charger. Solar chargers are available for backcountry use. Lithium single-use cells are the lightest and longest-lasting solution for extended backcountry trips when there is no way to recharge batteries.

WATERPROOFNESS

The majority of GPS receivers are waterproof, but you shouldn’t depend on the waterproofing in harsh environments such as sea kayaking. Get a waterproof deck bag with a transparent window that lets you operate the unit without removing it. Land travelers can use a zippered storage bag. Being waterproof doesn’t guarantee the unit will float. Some do, some don’t. A waterproof bag is also good insurance to make sure your expensive GPS doesn’t disappear into the depths.


More information at jimilab  .

Jimilab TR02 and WeTrack2 are quite compact devices

The IoT will build bridges between the existing complex systems by extending the reach of the Internet into the physical world. This will allow deeper integration of the human world with nature (down to nanoscale levels) as well as more efficient utilization of resources by intelligent management of flows of people, goods, and assets. The goal is to build pervasive systems and environments that are reliable, unobtrusive, autonomous, and secure. The intelligent systems and smart environments involving the IoT can be considered to be generalizations of the Internet (cf. combinatorial evolution of technology. The controllability of the systems and environments will be enhanced significantly through a network of nested heterogeneous networks with numerous hybrid interfaces, leading to a formation of an extremely complex system of systems. The intelligence will especially concern the interfaces, while the objects and processes will be assigned their unique identifications (IDs). The information flows pertinent to such intelligence must be governed by information security policies including information labeling (Electronic Tracker ), modification, ownership, and accountability. The proliferation of the IoT will enable access to information about any environment and about the status of any object, anytime, and anywhere. Establishing these information highways is driven by the deployment of various IoT sensors (physical devices) and markers (logical devices). In addition to ubiquitous sensors, the radiofrequency ID ( GPS Personal Tracker ) tags are another key enabler of the IoT, even though these tags often have very limited computational and memory capabilities (e.g., write-once memory, allowing only for static cryptographic keys).

The IoT will also drive machine-to-machine ( GPS Tracker For Car ) communications. Moreover, machine-to-human (M2H) communications are expected to be increasingly more important; for instance, to enhance human brain capabilities, and at the same time, to also enhance machines by exploiting the computational power of the human brain (e.g., to detect, classify, and track multiple objects in arbitrary visual scenes is an overwhelmingly complex task). The IoT will improve existing and enable new economic processes such as tracking and managing the inventories of goods, delivering parcels, supporting e-commerce activities (online shopping), optimizing supply chains and manufac turing, creating smart environments for assisted living, personalized healthcare,and so on. Unfortunately, introducing intelligence into these economic processes will also create opportunities for more sophisticated small-scale as well as large scale attacks and exploitation as part of economic warfare.

It is interesting to note that the automotive market in developed markets introduced advanced concepts much earlier than the developing or emerging markets. Some good examples are adaptive cruise controllers and 3D GPS Tracking Devices , which have successfully been introduced in Japan earlier than many other market segments. During the time of vehicle development stage, when the modules have already been installed and operational, the external tools can also be used to test and monitor the vehicle communication bus for variety of reasons like supporting the vehicle network messaging or to download a revised code, or to write a calibration file or to upload the diagnostics information via wireless connectivity. Furthermore, at times it is required to log and store the critical message-bus-log, where a storage device could be connected to the OBDII connector to store the bus-log to analyze the data for later review. A specialized device like a GPS Tracking People could be attached to OBD II connector to track the vehicle location for fleet test planning. A Wi-Fi adaptor could also be attached to upload newly developed software within the range of prototype build stations.

There are many types of operating systems for GSM GPS Tracker . Some have more features than others. Some may be simple embedded systems while others are sophisticated operating systems such as Microsoft’s CE 5.0. Let us start with a discussion of a unique Russian GPS device and then proceed to talk about the file systems and operating system on it. The Glonass GPS Navigator Explay GN-510 is a device that is available to Americans through online auction sites such as eBay. The battery life is reported to be about 3.5 h. Many GPS devices in the United States such as the Garmin Nuvi 1300 have a battery life of 4 h. The device comes with a battery, has a charger, and can be powered through a USB cable.

The operating system is the interface between the human and the GPS device. It is a program that runs on the device and provides a layer of abstraction so the user can operate the hardware easily by pointing and clicking with a graphical user interface. The operating system frees the user from learning about complex hardware codes and dealing with the Personal GPS Homing Device at the microprocessor level. The customized version of the CE 5.0 system allows the user to navigate a series of screens to collect or give information to the GPS device. One of the screens gives the user a map and tells which Glonass and GPS satellites are accessible at that location and then gives a longitude and latitude. It also gives the time, date, real-time speed, average speed, and altitude. The interaction can be done by touch screen for simple options such as clear all. The operating system for this device is broken up into six large areas such as video, music, ebooks and photo, system, navigation, and GPS information.

Since there are videos, photos, ebooks, and documents, just about any type of digital 
evidence could exist on this device. One has to understand what the device is capable of using or storing before one can fully investigate it. The operating system can use a variety of file formats that include AsF, AVI, WMV, MP3, WAV, JPEG, BMP, PNG, and TXT. This is not surprising since this device uses Windows CE 5.0 which is found on many American mobile devices. Some GPS devices sold in America such as the Tom Tom XL support approximately 56 languages and 35 different voices with both male and female voices. The Glonass GPS Navigator Explay GN-510 operating system is reported to operate in three different languages. 

There have been devices available on eBay for some time that allow a person to track the location of another elderly person, dog, car, or valuable object. One device is called “Real-Time Spy Mini GSM GPRS Vehicle GPS Tracking Device.” This type of device needs a cell phone SIM and then one sends it a text message to activate it. The person with the receiver can connect to a PC and see on a map where the device is at any time and where it has been. This type of device can help to locate a person with Alzheimer’s disease who may have wandered from home. However, it may be used by a possessive person who is stalking a lover and an investigation of a computer or GPS device may be needed if there is a complaint.