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Embedded geofencing function

Otto Wireless has announced a new firmware customisation suite for its range of G-Top GPS modules. These customisations have been designed specifically for asset management applications, and include ‘Last Position Retention’, ‘Distance Calculation’ and most interestingly ‘Geofencing’, which is the first time that such functionality has ever been featured in a GPS module.

Through the new ‘Geofencing’ feature, asset tracking hardware designers can easily implement a virtual circular perimeter by giving the module a set of coordinates that marks the centre of the perimeter, along with the length of radius which defines the size of area which the geofencing zone covers. The GPS module will then intelligently inform the host processor through serial protocol whether or not the current position is inside or outside of the geofencing zone.

The other two firmware customisation services are also designed to lighten calculation load on host processors in the asset tracking hardware. The ‘last position retention’ feature allows the GPS module to retain and output last known position in the standard NMEA0183 protocol after losing its GPS satellite fix. The ‘Distance Calculation’ feature enables the GPS module to internally calculate distances between multiple points of interest, making it a popular feature in GPS data logging applications.

These three new customisations: Geofencing, Last Position Retention and Distance Calculation, together with a host of other useful tailor made firmware functions, are designed to make implementing GPS functionality as easily and efficiently as possible. The new features will be available in selected G-Top GPS modules from Otto Wireless.

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