GNSS Markets and Applications - Understanding GPS: Principles and Applications - page 653

A major input to ITS is location awareness, and therefore many automatic toll
roads will be relying on GNSS for that basic information. A study by the Telematics
Research Group concluded that by 2010 there will be over 40 million
Telematics-enabled automobiles in the United States alone. There would be a simi-
lar number overseas. However in Europe, it is expected that drivers would be
encouraged to use a GALILEO-only or a combined GALILEO/GPS receiver.
Keeping track of vehicles' whereabouts is a lucrative market. This GNSS appli-
cation area was pioneered by QUALCOMM with OmniTRACS (though at first
OmniTRACS did not use GPS—but it is now a standard component), and similar
systems are now prevalent throughout the world from many companies. At the time
of this writing, C. J. Driscoll and Associates, a noted GNSS market research firm,
predicted about 1.3 million automatic vehicle trackers installed in fleet vehicles.
Another research firm, ABI Research, examined the U.S.-non-U.S. market split for
this area and concluded that between 2003 and 2008, the U.S. share would drop
from 89% to 55%, while the European share would rise from 6% to 17%. Japan
and the rest of the world would carve the balance off the market [15].
Rental car companies have a strong incentive to offer navigation information to
their customers. Hertz relies on the NeverLost System, while AVIS chose to go with
a cellular solution whereby the customer can remove the phone from the vehicle and
continue to receive downloaded maps and guidance. A similar system has been
offered by NEXTEL to any driver with a NEXTEL phone through a company called
Telenavigation, Inc. Rental car companies have also been experimenting with sur-
reptitious vehicle tracking to help in recovering stolen vehicles and for enforcing
contract provisions against speeding or driving in areas prohibited by the rental
agreement. This has caused a backlash from privacy advocates and is expected to be
a major issue for LBS in the future until legislation is in place to protect consumers'
privacy rights [16]. Responding to these concerns, the state of California passed a
law in 2004 prohibiting rental car companies from using GPS to fine renters for
speeding or crossing state lines. About 25% of all rental cars have some sort of
tracking technology installed in them. Hertz had pioneered in the use of GPS in
rental cars with their NeverLost system, a product originally developed by
Rockwell-Collins over 20 years ago [17].
These location awareness applications can be generally classified into four
groups: convenience, safety and security, productivity, and mobile information
access. As quoted in [5]: “Personal safety and security can be enhanced through
the ability to locate and track lost persons using a specifically designed device with
GPS and wireless connectivity or a mobile telephone with GPS. An example of an
enterprise productivity improvement application is the use of location information
to more efficiently route work teams or assets between multiple job sites. Mobile
devices that can access wireless data can use location awareness capabilities to filter
information relevant to the user based on his or her location, such as the closest
gas station, or to share that information with a group of users for coordination
purposes.”
Personal GPS applications have unique design issues due to the limitations and
preferences for a human installation. Products in the “child tracking” business
include from Wherify Wireless, Inc., a GPS Locator for Kids, Digital Angel Personal
Safety and Location System, and the National Scientific Urban Tracker IIK [18].