Does GPS Use Cloud Computing?

The automotive industry is going through major changes in the face of stiff internal competition. As the market changes have led to them facing new challenges. Up and coming technological innovations are changing the face of the industry as we know it.

One example of this revolutionary change is the transformation in these companies’ IT assets. Cloud computing transforms data recording, storage, processing, and the associated costs.

Cloud computing is migrating data to the internet via remote servers. It is a key part of a long-term strategy that can improve the functioning and security of data management.

Does GPS use cloud computing? What about the effectiveness and utility of cloud computing in the automotive industry? Are we relying on cloud computing to improve navigation? Let’s discuss all this in detail!

Organizational importance of GPS and location services

Location services and GPS [1] allow you to locate your in-vehicle routers at any time. Your company can benefit greatly from tracking and locating your routers as well as their equipment, kiosks, and vehicles.

GPS and location services are essentially a way for your company to answer some basic questions.

  • Where are our routers right now?
  • They are now where they belong.
  • Are they still here?
  • Are they safe?
  • What is their performance?

These key pieces of information will help your company with troubleshooting, business activities, and loss prevention. It can also improve your overall functionality and efficiency. Cloud computing can solve almost all of these problems. 

If your GPS device does not have a cloud connection, you will need to install any updates or side-load them manually. You can be sure that updates or patches to the code will be available as soon as the device is deployed to the cloud. 

What are the advantages of using cloud computing to GPS?

Because GPS devices rely on software to function, it was only natural that the cloud could host many of their functions. It includes code patches, updates to map and way-points, and even offering entertainment content. What are the main reasons to choose a cloud-based GPS? There are abundant benefits of using cloud computing in GPS, but here. We’d demonstrate the top 4. 

#1: Tracking 

Some companies expect their routers’ to move, but others expect them to stay in one place. They need to be able to track if the location changes and IT personnel can track the company’s resources and infrastructure using GPS and location services. It doesn’t matter if your company tracks one unit or thousands; it’s vital to determine if they have been moved from the location you’ve chosen (and perhaps paid for).

A good real-life example would be DVD [2] rental companies that pay a premium to have their product placed in a particular location, such as at the main entrance to a shopping mall or outside the grocery store’s front doors. The rental company can use GPS and NCM location services to check if there has been a sudden drop in sales at that location. 

A construction company may have routers on its trailers at their worksites, but these trailers often move every few months. IT administrators can easily determine which routers are located in which location without having to report on-site workers each time a trailer moves to a new site. However, if you have mastered cloud computing and have a background in cloud computing engineering, tracking through GPS and NCM location services will be a breeze for you to understand.

#2: Dispatching 

Businesses that dispatch emergency response, delivery, and other vehicles must know where they are at all times. Location services and GPS allow for units to be quickly and accurately tracked, even when the driver or crew is too busy with their duties to reach out via telephone.

An ambulance company that previously required its emergency vehicles verbally to report their location via dispatch can now save crucial time by letting its in-ambulance router transmit its location automatically. Dispatchers can quickly locate each ambulance at any given moment and notify hospitals about their arrival times.

#3: Troubleshooting

IT teams in large organizations often lose track of where key components are located within the network infrastructure. IT administrators can save time, money, and headaches with GPS tracking. 

They can track and locate the problem and then fix it by the site. Instead of spending time trying to locate the exact location of an issue, you can spend your time resolving it.

For instance, if an IT department at a multistage construction company receives a call from a worker complaining about the networks being down, IT wouldn’t normally be able to identify the router being used by the worker or point out where to begin troubleshooting. 

IT staff can now use GPS and location services to ask the worker where they are located. They can then find the router that services them, locate its physical location and remotely run diagnostics. The worker doesn’t have to spend time looking for the router or reading numbers on its bottom, and the IT staff can start troubleshooting immediately.

#4: Physical security (Geo-fencing). 

Sometimes companies and organizations want to know if one of their routers or the vehicles in which they are housed has left a certain area. NCM and GPS can instantly alert the appropriate personnel (IT and security teams) when a router crosses a predetermined geographical boundary. 

This feature is safer for company equipment and protects employees and contractors. For example,  a city’s police department uses GPS and location services to create Geo-fencing for its patrol vehicles. 

It is to protect its officers. The router transmits an immediate alert to headquarters if a patrol car leaves the designated area. A response team can be dispatched to investigate because internal IT teams can track the GPS coordinates of the unit. It will also help if the officer cannot be reached by radio or any other communication methods. To learn more about Geo-fencing and other cloud computing features, you can go through a PG program in cloud computing.

Conclusion

Cloud computing can improve the performance of GPS systems and entertainment systems in vehicles. Research is ongoing to make vehicles more intelligent and better equipped to handle traffic and road conditions. These controls and continuous information feeds require systems that can be continuously and on-demand accessed via the cloud. Hence, cloud computing can add great success to GPS and make it more reliable than ever before.