Customizable GPS Tracking Platform for Monitoring Assets

Solution

The asset tracking solution we developed is comprised of a GPS tracking device and a cloud platform that stores the location of assets and displays it to users in real time via web and mobile user interfaces.

The main challenge of this project was to meet strict requirements for the device size and battery life. It had to work for about a month without charging.

Scope of work

• Full cycle hardware development for GPS tracker from schematic design to the design of the housing.
• Firmware development for the GPS tracker
• Backend development
• Frontend development

Technologies Used

• The GPS tracker has a set of sensors including temperature, humidity, accelerometer, gyroscope, GPS.
• We developed apps for iOS and Android which display the location and current state of the GPS tracker.
• The backend for the tracking platform is built in PHP.
• We used the PostgreSQL database.
• The firmware for the GPS tracker is written in C/C++.
• Microsoft Visual Studio with Visual GDB plugin was used for firmware implementation.
• The GPS Tracker has BLE, WiFi, and GSM/HSPA communication interfaces, which can be used in any combinations in the final solution.
• The GPS Tracker supports HTTP, HTTPS, and MQTT protocols.
• FreeRTOS was used for firmware development.
• STM32L452 with Cortex-M4 core was used as MCU in this project.
• The GPS tracker is equipped with an SD-Card which can be used to store tracks and sensors data.

Result

The GPS tracker is a small device that gets attached to a vehicle, a container, or can be carried in pockets. It records the location and condition of assets and transfers this information to the server via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or GSM at defined time intervals. To enable indoor positioning, the device gathers data and signal strength from beacons and sends this information to the server where the exact location of the GPS tracker is calculated. The device is integrated with temperature, humidity, accelerometer, and gyroscope sensors to understand the condition of the asset.

 

 

 

 

 

GPS tracker development process

In addition to the device, we also built a software platform that stores the data on assets and offers web and mobile user interfaces with Google Maps where a user can monitor the location of assets.

Our solution comes pre-equipped with basic asset tracking functionality. Because every client has special requirements for GPS tracking platforms, we can customize the platform for each customer. Our solution reduces the development time by 40-60%.