This article reviews the future prospects of the MobiSafe GPS-based transport security operation, designed to locate and trace various kinds of high-risk cargoes, and rapidly retrieve lost and stolen vehicles. It uses modern GPS positioning and navigation technology and digital maps. A MobiSafe unit in a vehicle can be activated by: (1) a driver, who presses a concealed alarm button in his vehicle; (2) a conventional car alarm connected to the unit; or (3) remotely from the control centre. The system starts transmitting position data as soon as it is activated. An operator at the control centre can then track the unit at intervals as little as 3s. MobiTrace will launch the new extended version of MobiSafe for GSM transmission at the end of 1995; this version will have several important new features. At the same time, it will also introduce MobiFleet, a subset of MobiSafe specifically designed for fleet management applications.
Abstract