APPLICATIONS OF VEHICLE TRACKING

The MobiSafe system of the Swedish-based company Confidence International AB has been used commercially since early 1993, and the number of its customers has been increasing steadily. Sweden has now adopted MobiSafe as a standard in vehicle tracking. It has evolved into a true security product in collaboration with Partena. The system uses a 'black box', installed in a car or other vehicle, and optionally uses a small text display in the car. It can ensure that a vehicle with an active alarm cannot be moved. Its reliability has been so high that the police react instantly to every Mobisafe alarm. MobiSafe integrates satellite positioning with the transfer of position information via mobile telephone to a central location. During 1996, the MobiSafe concept was extended to MobiFleet, that focuses on fleet management and is aimed at customers who need to steer a specific fleet of vehicles from their own control centre. Customer groups which can benefit from MobiFleet include police, taxi companies, lorry fleets, distribution companies, and messenger firms. Applications of MobiFleet include: (1) security for goods transport; (2) emergency resource allocation for large fires, accidents and disasters; (3) police car guidance; (4) tracking of stolen vehicles; and (5) security of bank buses in sparsely populated areas. For the covering abstract, see IRRD 890291.