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No need to "see the sky:"
The PT-100 works wherever you stash it. |
PT-100: Car 54—Where Are You?
For those of you who remember "Car 54—Where
are you?," there is brand new tracking device that would make
such queries about as relevant as the old 50's TV show. GeoSentry, a firm
based in Irvine, California, has developed an amazing new product that
can be used to track individuals, vehicles, shipping containers, rental
cars, and just about anything else on the move in the United States, within
certain parameters. The PT-100 is about the size and weight as deck of
playing cards and looks like a slightly oversized pager.
Inside this compact space, the PT-100 houses a Global
Positioning System (GPS) and digital cellular (GSM) transceiver, antennas
for each, a beacon transmitter, a lithium ion battery, and all enabling
electronics. Once turned on, the device locates the nearest GPS satellites
and transmits (via the GSM digital cellular network) the location and
other tracking data to system servers at the GeoTrax Protection facility
in Fountain Hills, Arizona. Real-time tracking maps and other data is
then accessible through a secure server from either an Internet Explorer
or Netscape Web browser.
Smaller than a breadbox, more powerful than Dick
Tracy's 2-way radio. |
Impressively, the product is truly "plug and play."
No additional software is required, and almost no involvement by the person
or vehicle that is being tracked. Perhaps most surprising, the PT-100
doesn't need to "see the sky" in order to provide tracking information
under normal circumstances. The PT-100 "checks in" with the
server about every six seconds and provides detailed information about
the number and frequencies of the satellites it is using in the tracking
process.
The "Tracker" program provides current information
about the direction, speed, latitude, longitude, and elevation of the
tracked asset. The program makes an attempt to provide a current address
at each tracked location using MapQuest. During our trials, we found this
to be usually close, but never exact. The Tracker program also relays
operational information about the device itself, including battery voltage,
signal strength, and location of the cellular towers it's using.
To give the PT-100 a workout, we sent it on a drive
with a long haul trucker. Mike Booth
drives a 2001 Freightliner Classic XL 18-wheeler, and just to give the
unit a real test, we stashed it in the closet of his sleeper. Mike headed
east from Las Vegas, Nevada, and over the course of his seven-day trip,
we were able to track his progress along the Interstates as he passed
through Laughlin, NV, Flagstaff, AZ, Casa Blanca, NM, Shamrock, TX, Elk
City, OK, Elkhart, IN, Owensboro, KY, and Rockport, IN to Whitehead, IN.
The tracking information was so good that in a number of places, while
speaking to him on his cell phone I was able to tell him about roadside
landmarks that he was about to pass a few minutes (or even seconds) before
he could see them. At one warehouse location, I was able to see the zigzag
path of a "25-point turn" he had to make to back his truck up
to a very tight loading dock!
The lithium battery is supposed to last six hours
between charges, but we found that the battery could rarely go more than
an hour without dropping below the operating threshold. When the voltage
would drop too low it would report that Mike was stationary at the last
known location, even if he was 100 miles away to the east. Shortly after
we began the trial, we used the DC charger and the battery worked well
for the rest of the trial. It's likely that we had a defective battery,
and in conversations with GeoSentry, we learned that the company is developing
new batteries that will operate for up to sixteen hours before needing
to be recharged.
As it turned out, Mike's route was a perfect one for
testing the best-case scenario for this device. His route across the country
went through areas with good to excellent GSM digital cell coverage. This
Geo-Sentry product employs GSM provided by the AT&T Wireless, Cingular
Wireless and T-Mobile, USA. These three carriers and their roaming partners
provide service to Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, California's central
valley, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, sections of Texas, Oklahoma,
the central states, Florida, and New England. I also sent this device
to Cody, Wyoming, an area without a dedicated GSM carrier, and quickly
discovered that it could provide no information at all, because the control
and communication channels only work where digital GSM is available. It
turns out that most of the Rocky Mountain states, central and northern
Nevada, Canada, and Mexico have limited or no GSM service, and the PT-100
is mute in those areas.
Where GSM service is available, the pricing of the
product and service is reasonable at $1000 and $90/month for unlimited
locations with reports every 15 seconds. The six-second reporting interval
is also unlimited at $150/month. GeoSentry also offers a rental program
that includes the device and unlimited service with a daily rate at $20/day
or $100/week or $250/month. There is a pricing plan for stand-by units
at $29/mo + $0.50 surcharge for reported positions - which, of course,
could get very expensive if a working unit was reporting a new location
every six seconds.
The average roadtripper may not have a need for this
application, but anyone who has a need to know where a specific vehicle
might be or the moment-to-moment location of a valuable asset like a painting
or a classic car will immediately see the value of this service. Needless
to say, this new technology raises some privacy issues. While Mike Booth
was an excellent sport to let me track not only his exact path but also
his highway speed, I'm not sure I'd want to share that information about
myself. On the other hand, if I decided to take an extended solo road
trip, I might be quite happy to know that someone else could find me if
something went wrong.
The PT-100 is amazing technology and a remarkable
product. Until there is more GSM coverage, it won't work very well in
the Western states or on two lane byways, but it is a concept with a lot
of promise. For more information about GeoSentry click
here.
Mark
Sedenquist
March 8, 2004
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