Re: [HOT] Tracking vehicle movements

[Laurent Savaete]

Hey Jorieke,

What your question describes sounds like fleet management. I just found
https://www.traccar.org/ which looks pretty well maintained (88
contributors on github, latest code update only a few hours ago), is
open-source and seems to provide exactly what you're after, without
having to reinvent the wheel.

Hope this helps,

Laurent


On 09/01/2019 19:22, John Whelan wrote:
> In Windows you can use a script to copy the files, compress them and
> send them.
>
> Android should have something equivalent.  If not Microsoft Visual
> Studio 2017 can build something that will run on android.
>
> We seem to be forever seeing requests from students to write software
> for OSM and HOT as a project.
>
> This one is a natural. 
>
> Enabling GPS tracking is heavy on a battery life but you can buy power
> packs quite cheaply to extend the life.  I wouldn't connect it to the
> car battery, the voltage fluctuates to much and it will shorten the
> smartphone life down.
>
> So basically you want a program that will grab the GPS tracks every x
> minutes and compress them.  Technically zip is fine but the problem
> with zips is they can carry malware so use something else and gmail
> won't accept them anyway.
>
> Then it should just email these back to the server.  There should be
> an API to allow the software to write to something like Gmail on the
> smartphone.
>
> When gmail finds a connection it will send the messages home.  No
> fingers needed other than to connect to Wifi for gmail.  This one is
> the simplest.
>
> https://developers.google.com/gmail/api/guides/sending has got the basics.
>
> The other way is to use the signal that the phone uses to connect to
> the mast.  There are 140 / 160 characters at the end of the packet
> which are unused.  This is the basis of SMS text messaging.  In
> Europe, North America phone plans often come with unlimited SMS text
> messaging, Africa maybe different.  The advantage is you can collect
> the data in real time.  The disadvantage is the store and forward
> method of email is a bit more robust.
>
> There are SMS APIs that will run on a smartphone but my impression is
> these vary according to the phone so an SMS based solution that ran on
> any phone might be more difficult to build but someone who knows more
> about SMS might be in a better position to sort something out.
>
> Cheerio John
>
> Jorieke Vyncke wrote on 2019-01-09 10:48 AM:
>> Thanks a lot for all your suggestions! 
>> I suppose easy to use is core, so options with manually copying
>> traces is probably not the best solution. 
>> However I will forward all your suggestions to Last, and will leave
>> it up to him to decide what is the best option for them on the ground! 
>>
>> If there are more ideas, they still welcome :) 
>> Thanks a lot! 
>>
>> Jorieke
>>
>> Op wo 9 jan. 2019 om 14:26 schreef Pierre Béland > >:
>>
>> Hi Jorieke
>>
>> There are small vehicule gps logger, some very precise reading
>> various satellite networks. I tried a Columbus. It did work very
>> well but could not replace the battery.
>>
>> Search simply for vehicule gps logger. This Ebay link show
>> various models, some with an USB connection and / or sim card.
>> https://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_nkw=vehicle+gps+data+logger
>>
>> regard
>>
>>
>>
>> Pierre
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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Re: [HOT] Tracking vehicle movements

[John Whelan]

In Windows you can use a script to copy the files, compress them and 
send them.


Android should have something equivalent.  If not Microsoft Visual 
Studio 2017 can build something that will run on android.


We seem to be forever seeing requests from students to write software 
for OSM and HOT as a project.


This one is a natural.

Enabling GPS tracking is heavy on a battery life but you can buy power 
packs quite cheaply to extend the life.  I wouldn't connect it to the 
car battery, the voltage fluctuates to much and it will shorten the 
smartphone life down.


So basically you want a program that will grab the GPS tracks every x 
minutes and compress them.  Technically zip is fine but the problem with 
zips is they can carry malware so use something else and gmail won't 
accept them anyway.


Then it should just email these back to the server. There should be an 
API to allow the software to write to something like Gmail on the 
smartphone.


When gmail finds a connection it will send the messages home.  No 
fingers needed other than to connect to Wifi for gmail.  This one is the 
simplest.


https://developers.google.com/gmail/api/guides/sending has got the basics.

The other way is to use the signal that the phone uses to connect to the 
mast.  There are 140 / 160 characters at the end of the packet which are 
unused.  This is the basis of SMS text messaging.  In Europe, North 
America phone plans often come with unlimited SMS text messaging, Africa 
maybe different.  The advantage is you can collect the data in real 
time.  The disadvantage is the store and forward method of email is a 
bit more robust.


There are SMS APIs that will run on a smartphone but my impression is 
these vary according to the phone so an SMS based solution that ran on 
any phone might be more difficult to build but someone who knows more 
about SMS might be in a better position to sort something out.


Cheerio John

Jorieke Vyncke wrote on 2019-01-09 10:48 AM:

Thanks a lot for all your suggestions!
I suppose easy to use is core, so options with manually copying traces 
is probably not the best solution.
However I will forward all your suggestions to Last, and will leave it 
up to him to decide what is the best option for them on the ground!


If there are more ideas, they still welcome :)
Thanks a lot!

Jorieke

Op wo 9 jan. 2019 om 14:26 schreef Pierre Béland >:


Hi Jorieke

There are small vehicule gps logger, some very precise reading
various satellite networks. I tried a Columbus. It did work very
well but could not replace the battery.

Search simply for vehicule gps logger. This Ebay link show various
models, some with an USB connection and / or sim card.
https://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_nkw=vehicle+gps+data+logger

regard



Pierre







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Re: [HOT] Tracking vehicle movements

[Rupert Allan]

Hi Jorieke,

Ivan has an sms-based tracker he has been developing. Advantage is that,
whilst using a gps-enabled phone, it can send without data network. It is
developed specifically for fleet.
We in Uganda track with OSMAnd, which gives analytics (slope, altitude,
speed) in the field, but it consumes battery, so needs a power feed really
(we use the motorbike battery).
 We have considered using OSM Tracker, but want to keep with simplicity by
minimising apps used, so we haven't tried it.
Above seem like some good options, too, although open source is always
preferred, of course! Check Ivan's thoughts.

Best,

Rupert

Sent on the move...
Rupert Allan,
Country Manager,
Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, Uganda
+256777656999
Skype: Reuben Molotov

On Wed, Jan 9, 2019, 6:51 PM Jorieke Vyncke  Thanks a lot for all your suggestions!
> I suppose easy to use is core, so options with manually copying traces is
> probably not the best solution.
> However I will forward all your suggestions to Last, and will leave it up
> to him to decide what is the best option for them on the ground!
>
> If there are more ideas, they still welcome :)
> Thanks a lot!
>
> Jorieke
>
> Op wo 9 jan. 2019 om 14:26 schreef Pierre Béland :
>
>> Hi Jorieke
>>
>> There are small vehicule gps logger, some very precise reading various
>> satellite networks. I tried a Columbus. It did work very well but could not
>> replace the battery.
>>
>> Search simply for vehicule gps logger. This Ebay link show various
>> models, some with an USB connection and / or sim card.
>> https://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_nkw=vehicle+gps+data+logger
>>
>> regard
>>
>>
>>
>> Pierre
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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Re: [HOT] Tracking vehicle movements

[Jorieke Vyncke]

Thanks a lot for all your suggestions!
I suppose easy to use is core, so options with manually copying traces is
probably not the best solution.
However I will forward all your suggestions to Last, and will leave it up
to him to decide what is the best option for them on the ground!

If there are more ideas, they still welcome :)
Thanks a lot!

Jorieke

Op wo 9 jan. 2019 om 14:26 schreef Pierre Béland :

> Hi Jorieke
>
> There are small vehicule gps logger, some very precise reading various
> satellite networks. I tried a Columbus. It did work very well but could not
> replace the battery.
>
> Search simply for vehicule gps logger. This Ebay link show various models,
> some with an USB connection and / or sim card.
> https://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_nkw=vehicle+gps+data+logger
>
> regard
>
>
>
> Pierre
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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Re: [HOT] Tracking vehicle movements

[Pierre Béland]

Hi Jorieke

There are small vehicule gps logger, some very precise reading various 
satellite networks. I tried a Columbus. It did work very well but could not 
replace the battery.
Search simply for vehicule gps logger. This Ebay link show various models, some 
with an USB connection and / or sim card.
https://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_nkw=vehicle+gps+data+logger
regard



Pierre 

 




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Re: [HOT] Tracking vehicle movements

[Brent Fraser]

Hi Jorieke,
  
   I've used GPS Tracker (https://www.websmithing.com/gps-tracker/ and 
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.websmithing.gpstracker), 
an Open Source application with some server side code.  The client will run 
on Android, iOS and can listen to cheap GPS devices attached to the car's 
ODBII port.
  
 Best Regards,
 Brent Fraser
  
  
  
  Original Message 
> From: "Jorieke Vyncke" 
> Sent: Wednesday, January 9, 2019 5:51 AM
> To: "HOT" 
> Subject: [HOT] Tracking vehicle movements
>
> Hello all,
>
> Forwarding you a question from Last, our MSF GIS officer in Zimbabwe:
>
> "I wanted to find out if there is an easy app that we can use to track
> movement of vehicles throughout an area. We are working with a partner 
whom
> we provide fuel, so we would like to verify the allocations we give them 
as
> well as have an accurate budget. Currently for our cars we have a 
tracking
> app installed on the vehicles which is paid for but it is costly so it
> won't be sustainable to implement for this other partner. So possibly 
what
> I'm looking for is something which the driver can log when he/she 
commences
> his trip and ends it which can be shared with us either in real-time or
> near-real time."
>
> Somebody has ideas for him?
>
> Best regards,
>
> Jorieke
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Re: [HOT] Tracking vehicle movements

[Blake Girardot]

On Wed, Jan 9, 2019 at 8:34 AM Bjoern Hassler  wrote:
>
> Hi Jorieke,
>
> The best option (from what you've described) that I can think of would be 
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mendhak.gpslogger. I can 
> record tracks, and then upload them e.g. to dropbox. It's possible to prefix 
> the track names with device numbers, so you know which track is from which 
> vehicle.

This was going to be my suggestion as well GPSLogger for Android, it
can auto start and auto roll over track recording files every day.

If they could just better automate the upload of tracks so it would
store and forward when wifi reached, it would be perfect.

Quite configurable to make sure it has minimum battery impact (but gps
always has some battery impact)

Cheers,
Blake


Blake Girardot
OSM Wiki - https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/User:Bgirardot
HOTOSM Member - https://hotosm.org/users/blake_girardot
skype: jblakegirardot

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Re: [HOT] Tracking vehicle movements

[Bjoern Hassler]

Hi Jorieke,

The best option (from what you've described) that I can think of would be
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mendhak.gpslogger. I can
record tracks, and then upload them e.g. to dropbox. It's possible to
prefix the track names with device numbers, so you know which track is from
which vehicle.

The only issue may be that when I last looked, it required a bit of
configuration. I think there are config files that you can share, but then
they have to be dropped into the right location. Overall, it's a really
flexible and reliable tool.

(OSMAnd and to an extent Maps.Me can record tracks. OSMAnd can also ping a
server with coordinates, which would give you live tracking, but that may
not work well if you have poor connectivity, but I think GPS logger would
be better.)

It'll be important to ensure that the drivers are aware of the logging, and
to get their consent.
Bjoern

On Wed, 9 Jan 2019 at 12:56, Paul Uithol  wrote:

> Hi Jorieke, I know Ivan has been working on some forms of open
> source/lightweight vehicle tracking recently. Ivan, do you have more
> details? Would this be fit for purpose & ready for use?
>
> best,
> Paul
>
> On 9-1-2019 13:50, Jorieke Vyncke wrote:
>
> Hello all,
>
> Forwarding you a question from Last, our MSF GIS officer in Zimbabwe:
>
> "I wanted to find out if there is an easy app that we can use to track
> movement of vehicles throughout an area. We are working with a partner whom
> we provide fuel, so we would like to verify the allocations we give them as
> well as have an accurate budget. Currently for our cars we have a tracking
> app installed on the vehicles which is paid for but it is costly so it
> won't be sustainable to implement for this other partner. So possibly what
> I'm looking for is something which the driver can log when he/she commences
> his trip and ends it which can be shared with us either in real-time or
> near-real time."
>
> Somebody has ideas for him?
>
> Best regards,
>
> Jorieke
>
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Re: [HOT] Tracking vehicle movements

[Paul Uithol]

Hi Jorieke, I know Ivan has been working on some forms of open 
source/lightweight vehicle tracking recently. Ivan, do you have more 
details? Would this be fit for purpose & ready for use?


best,
Paul

On 9-1-2019 13:50, Jorieke Vyncke wrote:

Hello all,

Forwarding you a question from Last, our MSF GIS officer in Zimbabwe:

"I wanted to find out if there is an easy app that we can use to track 
movement of vehicles throughout an area. We are working with a partner 
whom we provide fuel, so we would like to verify the allocations we 
give them as well as have an accurate budget. Currently for our cars 
we have a tracking app installed on the vehicles which is paid for but 
it is costly so it won't be sustainable to implement for this other 
partner. So possibly what I'm looking for is something which the 
driver can log when he/she commences his trip and ends it which can be 
shared with us either in real-time or near-real time."


Somebody has ideas for him?

Best regards,

Jorieke

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[HOT] Tracking vehicle movements

[Jorieke Vyncke]

Hello all,

Forwarding you a question from Last, our MSF GIS officer in Zimbabwe:

"I wanted to find out if there is an easy app that we can use to track
movement of vehicles throughout an area. We are working with a partner whom
we provide fuel, so we would like to verify the allocations we give them as
well as have an accurate budget. Currently for our cars we have a tracking
app installed on the vehicles which is paid for but it is costly so it
won't be sustainable to implement for this other partner. So possibly what
I'm looking for is something which the driver can log when he/she commences
his trip and ends it which can be shared with us either in real-time or
near-real time."

Somebody has ideas for him?

Best regards,

Jorieke
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