September 26, 2012 at 17:11Car GPS tracker for MegaFon Auto Control service
Recently, MegaFon has a new service MegaFon Auto Control. But few people know that we took a direct part in the project. All the "iron" part is designed and manufactured by RNT.
The service is still offered in test mode in the Moscow region. Recall briefly what it is. In essence, this is a service for monitoring personal vehicles, including a data transfer rate, a WEB service for viewing this data on an electronic map, and, in fact, a device - a car GPS / GSM tracker, pre-configured to work with MegaFon's WEB service. The user does not need to worry about the settings, about installing equipment on the car (it is as simple as possible), about finding a suitable map service, where you could view points and tracks of the location and movement of the car, about how much GPRS traffic it will consume and how much it will cost - all this has already been thought out by MegaFon and RNT experts.
The tracker itself does not require a mandatory wired connection, and it has a powerful magnet that allows it to hold securely on any metal surface, for example, under the hood of a car. But since all antennas are built-in, the GPS receiver can receive the signal poorly under the hood, so it is advisable to experiment with the location of the tracker, try in the cabin, in the trunk. MegaFon recommends installing the tracker behind the dashboard, under the rear shelf or under the hood, as close to the windshield as possible. It all depends on the characteristics of the operation, but it is advisable that it is not very far from a car outlet, as the unit needs to be recharged periodically, for which purpose the kit includes a charger from the cigarette lighter, as well as a set of wires with terminals for connecting directly to a 12V battery a car.
There is no SIM-card in the usual sense in the block. Instead, there is a SIM chip (MFF standard), which has an extended operating temperature range, increased fault tolerance and a “life” compared to a conventional SIM card. The chip is soldered directly to the board, which eliminates its replacement by the user.
There is no work with a regular SIM card in the tracker, a SIM chip is built in instead of it.
To activate and operate the tracker, you do not need to start a new phone number. The service is tied to the current telephone number of the user in MegaFon. It is also convenient from the point of view of payment, the amount is debited from the main account of the subscriber, at the time of writing, it was 300 rubles per month, and is fixed (10 rubles per day), i.e. does not depend on the used GPRS traffic.
The tracker also has an accelerometer that is triggered upon impact or during movement. The accelerometer, along with the GPS receiver, is a device that generates tracker events. The logic of the device is such that if it is at rest for more than 10 minutes, then it gets up on its own in the so-called "security mode". In security mode, it informs the server of information about events that occur with it at the time they occur. This is especially true for the events of the accelerometer - the impact and the beginning of the movement. After that, the tracker exits the protection mode and can transmit information about events no longer instantly, but in blocks, as it accumulates. The server, having received information from the device, which is in the guard mode that some event happened to it, automatically informs the owner about it, to his main phone number (it is reported when the tracker is registered in the system). This can be done either by SMS or by phone call to the subscriber's number. These settings are set by the user in the service website specially created by MegaFon.
Here the user can see the history of events and the track of his movement.
In general, the functionality of the device and the WEB service is quite simple, but this is just not bad. After all, the service is designed for the mass user, and working with it should be as simple as possible and understandable to everyone. In addition, perhaps for MegaFon this is only a test version of the service, which in the future assumes more complex transport monitoring functions embedded in the hardware. The possibility of expanding the range of services, using the service as a complete monitoring system, with speed control, visiting areas, an expanded set of events implemented by the settings of the accelerometer (such as loading onto a tow truck) is not ruled out.
The intended audience of users of the service is not only motorists. It can also be small fleets, the owners of which need to quickly receive information about the location of the car. In addition, the tracker can be installed on any mobile equipment - boats, motorcycles, snowmobiles, as well as movable industrial equipment, such as concrete pumps, compressors, diesel and gas current generators. This opens up new opportunities not only for private users, but also for managing a small business, such as rental equipment and inventory.
The service is still offered in test mode in the Moscow region. Recall briefly what it is. In essence, this is a service for monitoring personal vehicles, including a data transfer rate, a WEB service for viewing this data on an electronic map, and, in fact, a device - a car GPS / GSM tracker, pre-configured to work with MegaFon's WEB service. The user does not need to worry about the settings, about installing equipment on the car (it is as simple as possible), about finding a suitable map service, where you could view points and tracks of the location and movement of the car, about how much GPRS traffic it will consume and how much it will cost - all this has already been thought out by MegaFon and RNT experts.
The tracker itself does not require a mandatory wired connection, and it has a powerful magnet that allows it to hold securely on any metal surface, for example, under the hood of a car. But since all antennas are built-in, the GPS receiver can receive the signal poorly under the hood, so it is advisable to experiment with the location of the tracker, try in the cabin, in the trunk. MegaFon recommends installing the tracker behind the dashboard, under the rear shelf or under the hood, as close to the windshield as possible. It all depends on the characteristics of the operation, but it is advisable that it is not very far from a car outlet, as the unit needs to be recharged periodically, for which purpose the kit includes a charger from the cigarette lighter, as well as a set of wires with terminals for connecting directly to a 12V battery a car.
There is no SIM-card in the usual sense in the block. Instead, there is a SIM chip (MFF standard), which has an extended operating temperature range, increased fault tolerance and a “life” compared to a conventional SIM card. The chip is soldered directly to the board, which eliminates its replacement by the user.
There is no work with a regular SIM card in the tracker, a SIM chip is built in instead of it.
To activate and operate the tracker, you do not need to start a new phone number. The service is tied to the current telephone number of the user in MegaFon. It is also convenient from the point of view of payment, the amount is debited from the main account of the subscriber, at the time of writing, it was 300 rubles per month, and is fixed (10 rubles per day), i.e. does not depend on the used GPRS traffic.
The tracker also has an accelerometer that is triggered upon impact or during movement. The accelerometer, along with the GPS receiver, is a device that generates tracker events. The logic of the device is such that if it is at rest for more than 10 minutes, then it gets up on its own in the so-called "security mode". In security mode, it informs the server of information about events that occur with it at the time they occur. This is especially true for the events of the accelerometer - the impact and the beginning of the movement. After that, the tracker exits the protection mode and can transmit information about events no longer instantly, but in blocks, as it accumulates. The server, having received information from the device, which is in the guard mode that some event happened to it, automatically informs the owner about it, to his main phone number (it is reported when the tracker is registered in the system). This can be done either by SMS or by phone call to the subscriber's number. These settings are set by the user in the service website specially created by MegaFon.
Here the user can see the history of events and the track of his movement.
In general, the functionality of the device and the WEB service is quite simple, but this is just not bad. After all, the service is designed for the mass user, and working with it should be as simple as possible and understandable to everyone. In addition, perhaps for MegaFon this is only a test version of the service, which in the future assumes more complex transport monitoring functions embedded in the hardware. The possibility of expanding the range of services, using the service as a complete monitoring system, with speed control, visiting areas, an expanded set of events implemented by the settings of the accelerometer (such as loading onto a tow truck) is not ruled out.
The intended audience of users of the service is not only motorists. It can also be small fleets, the owners of which need to quickly receive information about the location of the car. In addition, the tracker can be installed on any mobile equipment - boats, motorcycles, snowmobiles, as well as movable industrial equipment, such as concrete pumps, compressors, diesel and gas current generators. This opens up new opportunities not only for private users, but also for managing a small business, such as rental equipment and inventory.