Tracking Technology

Summary:

Tracking systems are used to observe people, animals, or objects on the move and to supply a timely ordered sequence of location data for further processing. There are various uses for this information and data. It can be used to keep track of animals, or pets; or for more commercial uses trackers can be used to find out where different packages are, or government can track felons, and the most common use is for navigation. There are many different types of Tracking Technology with various purposes, benefits, and disadvantages. These tracking devices use varying protocols and technology each varying in cost and accuracy. Some of these technologies include: RFID, GPS, Geofencing, Internet Tracking, Glonass, Bluetooth Tracking, Wi-Fi Positioning System, Cellular ID, and Microchipping.

Analysis:

There are vary many different Tracking Technology, however, there are very few that don’t require power. RFID’s are a unique way to keep track of something or embed data into an object. RFID ID chips are chips that have no moving parts or batteries to replace proving them to have a long life span. RFID works by connecting with a NFC reader and receives power from the NFC reader and sends its chip ID. This can be used with tracking pets and animals.

Apart from RFID, a very popular tracking tool is GPS; it is almost used in every mass manufactured mobile device. GPS stands for Global Positioning System, the tool that can work all around the globe. GPS tracking systems are composed of 2 main components: the receiver and the reporting mechanism. Most modern-day devices are built with a GPS receiver for navigation functions; some common examples include cars, navigation systems, and cell phones. The receiver is used to determine an approximate location, often implemented by the use of a radio transmitter or cellular link. Survival GPS systems used in ships and planes are built to include a satellite receiver to provide world wide tracking. GPS systems are much more expensive, however, they provide the ability to pinpoint the location of an object fairly accurately.

GPS and RFID’s are quite active Tracking Technology, a more passive tracking technology is geofencing. Geofencing is a system that instead of pinging and transmitting a location constantly it contains a tracker that detects location by GPS or radio frequencies. If a tracker leaves a designated area (the “Geofenced” area) it can alert the user or system. A use of this can be at retail stores or clothing stores where items set of an alarm if they and their tag leave the store premises without being purchased.

Another system used for tracking is Internet Tracking. Internet Tracking is a way of helping owners find missing and/or lost computing devices(like laptops, cell phones, mp3 players, and other portable internet capable devices). If a tracking mechanism in these devices’ BIOS is activated it will use the internet to send the owner its location by analyzing the IP address and using wireless data for geographic triangulation. This form of tracking is primarily used for lost/stolen device recovery.

All of these different tracking tools have their pros and cons; RFID’s are cheap however not very powerful. GPS is very powerful and can have very accurate tracking, however, is quite expensive. Geofencing can use GPS and passively transmits alerts which however has very few uses. Internet Tracking is a great tool for portable devices, however, requires an internet connection and battery life.

Sources

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/kinds-tracking-technology-27692.html

Images

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