Glossary

AVL: Automatic Vehicle Locator is the TCU used in vehicles. At its core an AVL installed in a vehicle determines the location of a vehicle. AVLs vary in their capabilities, communication methods as well as the methodology they use for determining the location of vehicles.

CANBUS: Control Area Network (CAN) is a vehicle bus standard devised to enable the communication between various sensors and subsystems within the vehicle. A modern automobile may have as many as 50 electronic control units (ECU) for various subsystems. Typically the biggest processor is the engine control unit, which is also referred to as "ECU" in the context of automobiles; others are used for transmission, airbags, antilock braking, cruise control, audio systems, windows, doors, mirror adjustment, etc.

FMS: Fleet Management System, is a combination of various technologies providing a system of management and record keeping pertaining to maintaining a fleet of transportation vehicles. FMS is covered within the field of telematics.

G Sensor: G Sensor is an acceleration sensor (accelerometer) measuring G-force. G-force experienced by an object is its acceleration relative to free-fall. When an object is sitting still on the ground G-force exerted to it is 1g. By comparison, a Formula 1 car under heavy breaking experiences about 5g.

GIS: Geographical Information Systems captures, stores, analyzes, manages, and presents data that is linked to location. Technically, GIS is geographic information systems which includes mapping software and the digital map data. It is a vital system for telematics used to display assets on digital maps, determine the textual address information from the latitude and longitude data coming from GPS receivers as well as performing routing functions.

GPS: Global positioning system. A GPS receiver calculates its position by precisely timing the signals sent by the GPS satellites high above the Earth. Each satellite continually transmits messages containing the time the message was sent, precise orbital information (the ephemeris), and the general system health and rough orbits of all GPS satellites (the almanac). The receiver measures the transit time of each message and computes the distance to each satellite. Geometric trilateration is used to combine these distances with the location of the satellites to determine the receiver's location.

GPRS: General packet radio service (GPRS) is a packet oriented mobile data service available to users of the 2G cellular communication systems global system for mobile communications (GSM), as well as in the 3G systems. In the 2G systems, GPRS provides data rates of 56-114 kbit/s.

GSM: (Global System for Mobile communications: originally from Groupe Spécial Mobile) is the most popular standard for mobile phones in the world. Its promoter, the GSM Association, estimates that 80% of the global mobile market uses the standard.[1] GSM is used by over 3 billion people across more than 212 countries and territories.

LBS: Location-based service is an information and entertainment service, accessible with mobile devices through the mobile network and utilizing the ability to make use of the geographical position of the mobile device (TCU).

LBS services can be used in a variety of contexts, such as health, work, personal life, etc. LBS services include services to identify a location of a person or object, such as discovering the nearest banking cash machine or the whereabouts of a friend or employee.

Remote Diagnosis: See Technology – Remote Diagnosis.

Roaming: In wireless telecommunications, roaming is a general term that refers to the extending of connectivity service in a location that is different from the home location where the service was registered. Traditional GSM Roaming is defined as the ability for a cellular customer to automatically make and receive voice calls, send and receive data, or access other services, including home data services, when travelling outside the geographical coverage area of the home network, by means of using a visited network.

Using roaming for cross border vehicle tracking requires additional technological tools both on the operator as well as the telematics service provider side.

Satellite Communication: Satellite communication is used for transmitting data originating from TCUs to the central servers via satellite constellations. Satellite communication provides a much broader coverage as it does not require terrestrial networks. In areas where GSM networks are not present, satellite is the only option to transmit data over the air.

SVR: Stolen Vehicle Recovery is a service of locating and recovering stolen vehicles.

TCU: Telematics Control Unit is the device used to collect and transmit data to the remote assets within telematics applications. It acts as a communication bridge between the object and the central servers hosting the telematics application. Both a GPS enabled mobile phone as well as an automatic vehicle locator device are TCUs.

Telematics – Telemetry: Telematics is the use of information and communication technology to send, receive and store data from remote devices. Apparently the word derives from the Greek "tele" (meaning 'far away', especially in relation to the process of producing or recording data) and ~Matos (a derivative of the Greek machinari, or device). As combined, the term "telematics" describes the process of long-distance transmission of computer-based information. Fleet management and vehicle tracking applications are the core telematics use cases.